All wickedend was spent with goode friends -- terrestrial and cyber -- and the perennial humming in his riveting lo down Voice of a hound dog permeates my head the whole day. And lingers on today. Whoever feels he/she/it is the recipent of Elvis' -- and Desi's -- dedication to chase away all the political woes besieging NegaraKu or your homeland if thou art from India, Australia or Great Britain (I pay this tribute in recognition of the wonderful English language I inherited as its colonial legacy:) or any land for we are all Global Villagers... ENJOY! across the SE7EN Seas
~XoXo~XoXo~XoXo~XoXo~XoXo~XoXo~XoXo~
L'VE LETTERS
Love letters straight from your heart
Keep us so near while apart
I'm not alone in the night
When I can have all the love you write
I memorize ev'ry line
I kiss the name that you sign
And darlin', then I read again right from the start
Love letters straight from your heart
Monday, November 19, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Pu-Erh Cha, Dear?
TEA COLLECTOR for two years, NCChoo has a large collection of 2005 Nan Zhao, primarily as a form of investment and also a late bloomer in appreciating Chinese teas, especially of the renowned kind. Consuming tea in association with a healthy food diet ensures Choo and family a soothing environment to enjoy a semi-retired lifestyle that gives him time to research and build on his treasury of mainly two types of teas.
In Choo's own words:
"I have a large collection of 2005 Nan Zhao as a form of investment.
The climate (temperature & humidity) in Malaysia where I am staying, is very conducive to tea aging. The experts say that one year of tea aging in the Malaysia is equivalent to about 3 years in temperate countries.
My Nan Zhao Pu-erh tea has now aged to a level where the colour of the infusion from the third round, is light brown and the taste is devoid of that of raw tea and the smoky smell is at a minimum. The flowery fragrance is very distinct.
I am no tea drinking expert but some friends who are more expert than I have told me the taste is excellent approaching that of a good aged tea. From the eight infusion onwards, it tastes sweet.
I am very pleased to have this collection of tea to savour as well as an investment vehicle."
Meng Hai Pu Erh
Choo proudly declares he also stocks the Meng Hai Pu Erh -- acknowledged by Chinese tea connossiers in China as the "best" pu-erh in the market now.
"This tea is of the highest quality. I consider in the blue-chip Pu Erh, and it justifies the high premium price it commands over the other Pu Erh teas," he added.
Since he started collecting the teas from the Meng Hai Factory, their values in two years have appreciated easily double the investments as the local tropical climate is conducive in maturing the teas -- that is, in accelerating the Composting process, besides of course, the rising demand in the marketplace, Choo explains.
Market Prospects of Pu Erh Tea
TWO OUTSTANDING features easily noted of current developments
which will determine largely the prospects of Pu Erh in the
local and overseas markets are as follows:
(1) A significant amount of scientific research is being
done on the effects of pu-erh on the human body, the
microbial activity involved, and the science of
developing mature pu-erh faster. As more and more people
become more aware of the health benefits of Pu Erh tea,
they will invest more on Research and Development, and
this will further enhance the tea quality.
(2) The rising economic affluence has created a new middle
class in China. This new middle class has
created an unprecedented demand for quality Pu Erh,
which in turn has put pressure on the factories to
produce more tea even faster. This trend is also noted in
other countries in Southeast Asia, especially those with
substantial overseas Chinese communities, including Malaysia.
Consuming Pu Erh tea has indeed become a symbol of achievement.
New research facilities have been commissioned to further the
processing techniques with an emphasis on scientific theory,
manufacturing technology, quality and economics.
*********************************************************
The following literature is extracted from Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia:
Menghai Tea Factory
Menghai Tea Factory (Chinese: 勐海茶厂; pinyin: měnghăi cháchăng) is a tea factory producing pu erh tea located in Menghai, Yunnan, China. The factory is well known for its old raw pu-erh cakes and is highly reputed in the tea industry of China.
History
Menghai Tea Factory was founded in 1940 and is located in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China (中国云南西双版纳勐海县). The factory was originally called Fo Hai Tea Factory (佛海茶厂), but changed its name to Menghai Tea Factory in 1953 with the establishment of the Xishuangbanna autonomous prefecture.
Menghai Tea Factory is credited as being one of the first two factories to make "cooked" (熟茶, shúchá) pu'er tea in 1973 (the other factory was Kunming Tea Factory). As the tea factory industry in China privatized in the late 1980s through the 1990s, Menghai Tea Factory adopted its "Dayi" (大益) logo and went fully private in 1996. Currently, Menghai Tea Factory is owned by The Bowin Company, who purchased Menghai Tea Industry Co. Ltd and Menghai Tea Factory in October 2004.
Products
Menghai protection ticket from 2006 7742 recipe bingcha; prominently features Dayi brand logo Menghai Tea Factory is perhaps the most widely known producer of compressed and loose pu'er tea, including túochá (沱茶, "Bowl-shaped Tea"), bĭngchá (饼茶, "Disc Tea"), and other compressed shapes. Vintage Bĭngchá from Menghai Tea Factory are perhaps the most highly prized pu'er tea produced in the 1970s and 1980s. Current productions from Menghai Tea Factory products remain popular, even with trends of pu-erh collectors favoring smaller producers. Because of the high prices fetched by both new and old Menghai products, Menghai products often suffer from widespread counterfeiting. In 2006, Menghai began issuing microprinted tickets in their pu-erh cakes in an attempt to throw off counterfeiters.
Recipes
Like Xiaguan Tea Factory and many other formerly government-owned pu-erh factories, Menghai produces many cakes by recipe, indicated by number. Recipe numbers are formulated in a four-digit numeric format: ####. The first two digits represent the year the recipe was first produced, the third digit the grade of leaves used in the recipe, and the last digit represents the factory (2 for Menghai Tea Factory). 7542, for example, would be a recipe from 1975 using fourth-grade tea leaf made by Menghai Tea Factory.
Some examples of bĭngchá recipes are below.
Menghai also produces some zhuānchá (砖茶, "brick tea") and túochá by recipe as well. Many pu'er series by Menghai—especially newer series--are not referenced by recipe number.
Bĭngchá recipes (partial list):
Raw: 7432, 7532, 7572, 7582, 7742, 8542, 8582, 8972, 0622
Cooked: 7262, 7552, 7562, 7572, 7592, 7632, 7672, 7752, 8562, 8592, 0532, 0562
Brands
Menghai Tea Factory previously produced its teas under the zhōngchá label of the state-run China National Native Produce & Animal by Products Import & Export (CNNP), but registered its own brand, Dayi in June 1989, and began producing exclusively under this label in 1996. While some Menghai labels contain other more prominent labels, such as the Menghai peacock, the Dayi brand is always found on these labels as well.
Dayi logo below recipe number on Menghai 2006 7742 cake wrapper.
Menghai 8542 Recipe Bingcha, 2005
BACKGROUNDER
The Tea Horse Caravans
One of the more colorful aspects of Pu Erh history is
the Tea Horse Roads and the Caravans that traversed
them. Tea products made in Yunnan were transported
by mules and horses in long Caravans along established
routes that became known as the Tea Horse Roads.
Traders from Tibet, Laos, Burma, etc would trade for
tea in the tea markets of Pu-erh County and then
hire the Caravans to carry the tea back to their
respective homes.
It was the logistics of transporting tea via these
Caravans that inspired merchants to start compressing
the tea in the first place, it was easier to handle
and they were able to get more tea on each horse
that way. This form of transportation was relatively
cheap, but the transportation lead time was quite long
since the Caravans traveled very long distances at a very
slow speed. It was quite by accident that they
discovered that Pu-Erh actually tasted better at the
end of the journey than at the beginning.
Though the Caravans no longer exist, the rich culture
and history prevails to this day. The old tea Horse
Roads are quite the tourist attraction in China and
you can still find remnants of three well-maintained
routes today in Pu-Erh County. Many footprints of
mules and horses can be found on those roads, as well
as sign posts, and other famous landmarks. These are
the roads that made Pu-erh famous.
In Choo's own words:
"I have a large collection of 2005 Nan Zhao as a form of investment.
The climate (temperature & humidity) in Malaysia where I am staying, is very conducive to tea aging. The experts say that one year of tea aging in the Malaysia is equivalent to about 3 years in temperate countries.
My Nan Zhao Pu-erh tea has now aged to a level where the colour of the infusion from the third round, is light brown and the taste is devoid of that of raw tea and the smoky smell is at a minimum. The flowery fragrance is very distinct.
I am no tea drinking expert but some friends who are more expert than I have told me the taste is excellent approaching that of a good aged tea. From the eight infusion onwards, it tastes sweet.
I am very pleased to have this collection of tea to savour as well as an investment vehicle."
Meng Hai Pu Erh
Choo proudly declares he also stocks the Meng Hai Pu Erh -- acknowledged by Chinese tea connossiers in China as the "best" pu-erh in the market now.
"This tea is of the highest quality. I consider in the blue-chip Pu Erh, and it justifies the high premium price it commands over the other Pu Erh teas," he added.
Since he started collecting the teas from the Meng Hai Factory, their values in two years have appreciated easily double the investments as the local tropical climate is conducive in maturing the teas -- that is, in accelerating the Composting process, besides of course, the rising demand in the marketplace, Choo explains.
Market Prospects of Pu Erh Tea
TWO OUTSTANDING features easily noted of current developments
which will determine largely the prospects of Pu Erh in the
local and overseas markets are as follows:
(1) A significant amount of scientific research is being
done on the effects of pu-erh on the human body, the
microbial activity involved, and the science of
developing mature pu-erh faster. As more and more people
become more aware of the health benefits of Pu Erh tea,
they will invest more on Research and Development, and
this will further enhance the tea quality.
(2) The rising economic affluence has created a new middle
class in China. This new middle class has
created an unprecedented demand for quality Pu Erh,
which in turn has put pressure on the factories to
produce more tea even faster. This trend is also noted in
other countries in Southeast Asia, especially those with
substantial overseas Chinese communities, including Malaysia.
Consuming Pu Erh tea has indeed become a symbol of achievement.
New research facilities have been commissioned to further the
processing techniques with an emphasis on scientific theory,
manufacturing technology, quality and economics.
*********************************************************
The following literature is extracted from Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia:
Menghai Tea Factory
Menghai Tea Factory (Chinese: 勐海茶厂; pinyin: měnghăi cháchăng) is a tea factory producing pu erh tea located in Menghai, Yunnan, China. The factory is well known for its old raw pu-erh cakes and is highly reputed in the tea industry of China.
History
Menghai Tea Factory was founded in 1940 and is located in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China (中国云南西双版纳勐海县). The factory was originally called Fo Hai Tea Factory (佛海茶厂), but changed its name to Menghai Tea Factory in 1953 with the establishment of the Xishuangbanna autonomous prefecture.
Menghai Tea Factory is credited as being one of the first two factories to make "cooked" (熟茶, shúchá) pu'er tea in 1973 (the other factory was Kunming Tea Factory). As the tea factory industry in China privatized in the late 1980s through the 1990s, Menghai Tea Factory adopted its "Dayi" (大益) logo and went fully private in 1996. Currently, Menghai Tea Factory is owned by The Bowin Company, who purchased Menghai Tea Industry Co. Ltd and Menghai Tea Factory in October 2004.
Products
Menghai protection ticket from 2006 7742 recipe bingcha; prominently features Dayi brand logo Menghai Tea Factory is perhaps the most widely known producer of compressed and loose pu'er tea, including túochá (沱茶, "Bowl-shaped Tea"), bĭngchá (饼茶, "Disc Tea"), and other compressed shapes. Vintage Bĭngchá from Menghai Tea Factory are perhaps the most highly prized pu'er tea produced in the 1970s and 1980s. Current productions from Menghai Tea Factory products remain popular, even with trends of pu-erh collectors favoring smaller producers. Because of the high prices fetched by both new and old Menghai products, Menghai products often suffer from widespread counterfeiting. In 2006, Menghai began issuing microprinted tickets in their pu-erh cakes in an attempt to throw off counterfeiters.
Recipes
Like Xiaguan Tea Factory and many other formerly government-owned pu-erh factories, Menghai produces many cakes by recipe, indicated by number. Recipe numbers are formulated in a four-digit numeric format: ####. The first two digits represent the year the recipe was first produced, the third digit the grade of leaves used in the recipe, and the last digit represents the factory (2 for Menghai Tea Factory). 7542, for example, would be a recipe from 1975 using fourth-grade tea leaf made by Menghai Tea Factory.
Some examples of bĭngchá recipes are below.
Menghai also produces some zhuānchá (砖茶, "brick tea") and túochá by recipe as well. Many pu'er series by Menghai—especially newer series--are not referenced by recipe number.
Bĭngchá recipes (partial list):
Raw: 7432, 7532, 7572, 7582, 7742, 8542, 8582, 8972, 0622
Cooked: 7262, 7552, 7562, 7572, 7592, 7632, 7672, 7752, 8562, 8592, 0532, 0562
Brands
Menghai Tea Factory previously produced its teas under the zhōngchá label of the state-run China National Native Produce & Animal by Products Import & Export (CNNP), but registered its own brand, Dayi in June 1989, and began producing exclusively under this label in 1996. While some Menghai labels contain other more prominent labels, such as the Menghai peacock, the Dayi brand is always found on these labels as well.
Dayi logo below recipe number on Menghai 2006 7742 cake wrapper.
Menghai 8542 Recipe Bingcha, 2005
BACKGROUNDER
The Tea Horse Caravans
One of the more colorful aspects of Pu Erh history is
the Tea Horse Roads and the Caravans that traversed
them. Tea products made in Yunnan were transported
by mules and horses in long Caravans along established
routes that became known as the Tea Horse Roads.
Traders from Tibet, Laos, Burma, etc would trade for
tea in the tea markets of Pu-erh County and then
hire the Caravans to carry the tea back to their
respective homes.
It was the logistics of transporting tea via these
Caravans that inspired merchants to start compressing
the tea in the first place, it was easier to handle
and they were able to get more tea on each horse
that way. This form of transportation was relatively
cheap, but the transportation lead time was quite long
since the Caravans traveled very long distances at a very
slow speed. It was quite by accident that they
discovered that Pu-Erh actually tasted better at the
end of the journey than at the beginning.
Though the Caravans no longer exist, the rich culture
and history prevails to this day. The old tea Horse
Roads are quite the tourist attraction in China and
you can still find remnants of three well-maintained
routes today in Pu-Erh County. Many footprints of
mules and horses can be found on those roads, as well
as sign posts, and other famous landmarks. These are
the roads that made Pu-erh famous.
Sweets Lifts Desi Up To the Heavens!:)
Thanks, that was Hi-heavens as heavenly as Sweet,
A Sundae I came back a hard-work in Koala Lumpur,
Like a cowboy's work is never done, I was beat,
Then this luvly dedication on Oz beach lifted me,
With such a soulmate here on Earth,
I don't need four or five people to meet,
In Heaven as Mitch Albom does promise,
I'll treasure with a throbbin' heArt this note from Ozsome Miss.
For voyeurs here, please surf to sweetspirits.blogspot.com,
but don't get jeles!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The Beach i love Redhead beach
I spent the afternoon at the beach , ar my second home .Well it's my fav place to be , well i guess i thoughtof my friend Desi and how he longs for his own island :) . Anyways heres a pic message for my dear friend Desi.
posted by sweetspirits @ 2:10 AM 0 comments
DESIDERATA: Techie-non-savvy awaits nephew to fly back to his nest before he helps me reprise, slow grain by shiny grain,
the L've letter in the sand...
A Sundae I came back a hard-work in Koala Lumpur,
Like a cowboy's work is never done, I was beat,
Then this luvly dedication on Oz beach lifted me,
With such a soulmate here on Earth,
I don't need four or five people to meet,
In Heaven as Mitch Albom does promise,
I'll treasure with a throbbin' heArt this note from Ozsome Miss.
For voyeurs here, please surf to sweetspirits.blogspot.com,
but don't get jeles!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The Beach i love Redhead beach
I spent the afternoon at the beach , ar my second home .Well it's my fav place to be , well i guess i thoughtof my friend Desi and how he longs for his own island :) . Anyways heres a pic message for my dear friend Desi.
posted by sweetspirits @ 2:10 AM 0 comments
DESIDERATA: Techie-non-savvy awaits nephew to fly back to his nest before he helps me reprise, slow grain by shiny grain,
the L've letter in the sand...
Saturday, November 17, 2007
ALIBI
From clarityofnight.blogspot.com cometh the Alibi that I went to the US of Eh!:)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Entry #43
An American Dreamscape
by YL Chong
Hopeful orange, yellow and red in the background, fronted by dark blue and purple and sardonic blacks, a bit gloomy. It is sunset in Oklahoma, but it may well pass off as sunrise back home.
Mei Lee said she was only leaving for a short sabbatical on a scholarship gifted her on the basis of a thesis I helped her craft. She swore she would be back in Singapore "in less than eighteen months", and we will then talk "wedding bells".
As I look out at this mystical landscape, I was looking forward towards an enchanting candle-light dinner. Until an hour ago -- and her excited voice still echoes in my ear: "My internship has been extended by another six months. Honey, I will be delayed a little tonight, seeya!"
So my fiancée wants to campaign for a candidate aspiring to become the first female president, can I begrudge her? The colours on the horizon seem forebodingly darker now.
The handphone intones a message. "Sorry, missed my flight. See you tomorrow moUrn!" She even forgot to end with our XoXo signature!
I feel the initial tear-drops warming my cheeks. I reach out for Reception, wanting to book the next flight home.
Just then the door-bell rings. I open the door, and there she is -- Mei Lee resplendent in a short-skirted dress in sexy red.
"The sms just now, you..." I mumble.
"American humour I picked up along the by-ways," she intones, pressing her dreamscape XoXo on my lips.
posted by jason evans at 9:43 PM
***********************;););):0:):):)***************************
19 Comments:
Abhinav said...
A nice read... The dog-tail twist.
November 13, 2007 10:40 PM
Katie Hart - Writer and Avon Representative said...
Liked this one - full views of both characters and a nice finale twist!
November 14, 2007 2:46 AM
SzélsőFa said...
Oh, an easy going nice story, I liked it.
November 14, 2007 6:06 AM
Church Lady said...
Uplifting and happy. A nice story.
November 14, 2007 7:12 AM
desiderata said...
Abhinav:
I'm glad you twisted in laughter -- not so loud please, don't want to wake the sleeping doggie!:)
November 14, 2007 7:18 AM
desiderata said...
katie hart:
Consider thou privileged you had/have "full views" of the two characters -- please tell me what happens after the dinner!:)
Meanwhile, let's join abhinav in doin' the Twist...
November 14, 2007 7:22 AM
desiderata said...
szelsofa:
Glad you like the dog's tale/tail!:0
The double " above thy name is "cute", signifies anything? I am familiar with the single ' above the e, not this cutie:)
November 14, 2007 7:25 AM
desiderata said...
church lady:
"Uplifting and happy" -- exactly how I felt while crafting the 247-word Twistie.
Thanks to "AWE" the four Conversationists, will read your writes too if you had sent in your story and leave comment. It's delightful chatting with thee.
November 14, 2007 7:29 AM
Sarah Hina said...
Yay! A happy story, for a change. Feels like a breath of fresh air.
I wonder if they'll get around to eating dinner...
;)
November 14, 2007 10:49 AM
SzélsőFa said...
Hee:)
The double ' over a vowel alters the vowel, making it to another one. These are Hungarian characters.
November 14, 2007 1:34 PM
The Anti-Wife said...
Good story and all told within 250 words. Nicely done.
November 14, 2007 4:45 PM
desiderata said...
sara hina:
Iam sure dinner will be savoured;I am waiting for fellow writer katie hart to entertain us with her peek!:)
Thanks for brinigin' the evening breeze into my room2:):)
November 15, 2007 1:30 AM
desiderata said...
SzelsoFa 2X:
Thanks for explanation; ah, Hungary. If you make it to millinaire, sponsor a free tic for Desi to visit thee? Vice versa if I reach my 20mil SPIRITEdesTINATIO.:) I will flood you with local writer's brew -- Tehtarik ("pulled tea" in my nationallanguage, Bahsa Malaysia:)
November 15, 2007 1:33 AM
desiderata said...
Anti-Wife:
Glad you enjoy the short read:) What I ENJOY most in taking part in Jason's regular contests is the camaraderie fostered among us -- not-so-shy let our mind fly --"wordsmiths", yes!:):)
November 15, 2007 1:37 AM
SzélsőFa said...
You're funny.
If I were a millionaire, I would definitely travel to lots of places in the world, including Malaysia as well :)
And would like you to see our country as well, so yes, I would support your coming here :)
Any chances of your becoming a millionaire?
November 15, 2007 5:26 AM
Beth said...
Yes, this is nice and easygoing. I like it.
I also like the camaraderie here. It's my favorite part.
November 15, 2007 12:14 PM
desiderata said...
szelsofa 3X:
Writers are funny people indeed; instead of chasing the almighty dollar, they pen in poverty mostly (some lucky after going 6 ft under, and the lazy-bummer heirs ENJOY their sweat!:(
When I become a milli0naire, the first place I'd visit will be Hungary, then wehop over to say "Hi-dare" to Jason, yes!Answering thy Q, yes, Malaysia makes at least one or 2 millionaires via a once-in-3-weeks lottery, of 7+1 digit numbers. So it's unlikely Desi has such luck, but Hope springs eternal aong us (US2) writ(H)ers, yes!:)
PS: Just came here from Word Verification: "exdim" is laughing at both of us!
November 15, 2007 7:28 PM
desiderata said...
beth:
Thanks for thy sweet words.
Welcome to the club of easy going chatterers. If thou art a milionaire -- or rich milliner? -- come over to Malaysia, but drop a note at my Blog first, eh?, and I'd buy thee Tehtarik!:):)
November 15, 2007 7:31 PM
Abhinav said...
Sorry for a late reply to your comments here and at my story but my semester exams are on... :-(
You love tehtarik, don't you? We don't get tehtarik in India but a lot of other drinks ;-)
And take heart... I think the Malaysian English writer has arrived in you. Will check out more of your blog later...
November 16, 2007 9:34 AM
Post a Comment
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Entry #43
An American Dreamscape
by YL Chong
Hopeful orange, yellow and red in the background, fronted by dark blue and purple and sardonic blacks, a bit gloomy. It is sunset in Oklahoma, but it may well pass off as sunrise back home.
Mei Lee said she was only leaving for a short sabbatical on a scholarship gifted her on the basis of a thesis I helped her craft. She swore she would be back in Singapore "in less than eighteen months", and we will then talk "wedding bells".
As I look out at this mystical landscape, I was looking forward towards an enchanting candle-light dinner. Until an hour ago -- and her excited voice still echoes in my ear: "My internship has been extended by another six months. Honey, I will be delayed a little tonight, seeya!"
So my fiancée wants to campaign for a candidate aspiring to become the first female president, can I begrudge her? The colours on the horizon seem forebodingly darker now.
The handphone intones a message. "Sorry, missed my flight. See you tomorrow moUrn!" She even forgot to end with our XoXo signature!
I feel the initial tear-drops warming my cheeks. I reach out for Reception, wanting to book the next flight home.
Just then the door-bell rings. I open the door, and there she is -- Mei Lee resplendent in a short-skirted dress in sexy red.
"The sms just now, you..." I mumble.
"American humour I picked up along the by-ways," she intones, pressing her dreamscape XoXo on my lips.
posted by jason evans at 9:43 PM
***********************;););):0:):):)***************************
19 Comments:
Abhinav said...
A nice read... The dog-tail twist.
November 13, 2007 10:40 PM
Katie Hart - Writer and Avon Representative said...
Liked this one - full views of both characters and a nice finale twist!
November 14, 2007 2:46 AM
SzélsőFa said...
Oh, an easy going nice story, I liked it.
November 14, 2007 6:06 AM
Church Lady said...
Uplifting and happy. A nice story.
November 14, 2007 7:12 AM
desiderata said...
Abhinav:
I'm glad you twisted in laughter -- not so loud please, don't want to wake the sleeping doggie!:)
November 14, 2007 7:18 AM
desiderata said...
katie hart:
Consider thou privileged you had/have "full views" of the two characters -- please tell me what happens after the dinner!:)
Meanwhile, let's join abhinav in doin' the Twist...
November 14, 2007 7:22 AM
desiderata said...
szelsofa:
Glad you like the dog's tale/tail!:0
The double " above thy name is "cute", signifies anything? I am familiar with the single ' above the e, not this cutie:)
November 14, 2007 7:25 AM
desiderata said...
church lady:
"Uplifting and happy" -- exactly how I felt while crafting the 247-word Twistie.
Thanks to "AWE" the four Conversationists, will read your writes too if you had sent in your story and leave comment. It's delightful chatting with thee.
November 14, 2007 7:29 AM
Sarah Hina said...
Yay! A happy story, for a change. Feels like a breath of fresh air.
I wonder if they'll get around to eating dinner...
;)
November 14, 2007 10:49 AM
SzélsőFa said...
Hee:)
The double ' over a vowel alters the vowel, making it to another one. These are Hungarian characters.
November 14, 2007 1:34 PM
The Anti-Wife said...
Good story and all told within 250 words. Nicely done.
November 14, 2007 4:45 PM
desiderata said...
sara hina:
Iam sure dinner will be savoured;I am waiting for fellow writer katie hart to entertain us with her peek!:)
Thanks for brinigin' the evening breeze into my room2:):)
November 15, 2007 1:30 AM
desiderata said...
SzelsoFa 2X:
Thanks for explanation; ah, Hungary. If you make it to millinaire, sponsor a free tic for Desi to visit thee? Vice versa if I reach my 20mil SPIRITEdesTINATIO.:) I will flood you with local writer's brew -- Tehtarik ("pulled tea" in my nationallanguage, Bahsa Malaysia:)
November 15, 2007 1:33 AM
desiderata said...
Anti-Wife:
Glad you enjoy the short read:) What I ENJOY most in taking part in Jason's regular contests is the camaraderie fostered among us -- not-so-shy let our mind fly --"wordsmiths", yes!:):)
November 15, 2007 1:37 AM
SzélsőFa said...
You're funny.
If I were a millionaire, I would definitely travel to lots of places in the world, including Malaysia as well :)
And would like you to see our country as well, so yes, I would support your coming here :)
Any chances of your becoming a millionaire?
November 15, 2007 5:26 AM
Beth said...
Yes, this is nice and easygoing. I like it.
I also like the camaraderie here. It's my favorite part.
November 15, 2007 12:14 PM
desiderata said...
szelsofa 3X:
Writers are funny people indeed; instead of chasing the almighty dollar, they pen in poverty mostly (some lucky after going 6 ft under, and the lazy-bummer heirs ENJOY their sweat!:(
When I become a milli0naire, the first place I'd visit will be Hungary, then wehop over to say "Hi-dare" to Jason, yes!Answering thy Q, yes, Malaysia makes at least one or 2 millionaires via a once-in-3-weeks lottery, of 7+1 digit numbers. So it's unlikely Desi has such luck, but Hope springs eternal aong us (US2) writ(H)ers, yes!:)
PS: Just came here from Word Verification: "exdim" is laughing at both of us!
November 15, 2007 7:28 PM
desiderata said...
beth:
Thanks for thy sweet words.
Welcome to the club of easy going chatterers. If thou art a milionaire -- or rich milliner? -- come over to Malaysia, but drop a note at my Blog first, eh?, and I'd buy thee Tehtarik!:):)
November 15, 2007 7:31 PM
Abhinav said...
Sorry for a late reply to your comments here and at my story but my semester exams are on... :-(
You love tehtarik, don't you? We don't get tehtarik in India but a lot of other drinks ;-)
And take heart... I think the Malaysian English writer has arrived in you. Will check out more of your blog later...
November 16, 2007 9:34 AM
Post a Comment
Friday, November 16, 2007
Urgent CSM for Today's "Judiciary" Forum!
I just received from mGf Din Merican
a note which I'm flagging off as URGENT COMMUNITY SERVICE MESAGE tomy Esteemed Readers. Please attend to lend your support! -- Desi
November 16, 2007
Salam sejahtera, chong:
From the
Office of Anwar Ibrahim
This week the three-member panel that was created to investigate the Lingam tape indicated that it "favoured" the creation of a Royal Commission. What comes next?
Tonight, Tun Salleh Abas, the former Lord President who was sacked in the 1988 Judicial Crisis, will speak for the first time on the recent judicial crisis, as well reflect on the legacy of the events of 1988.
Joining him are former senior judge Datuk Shaik Daud and Bar Council Vice President, Ragunath Kesavan.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, former deputy Prime Minister and currently advisor to KeADILan, will also share his views on judidical reform.
This is an event not to be missed.
Public Forum on Judicial Crisis
Friday, November 16, 2007
8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Federal Hotel
Kuala Lumpur
35, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Admission is free
All are welcome
No Registration required
Best regards,
Office of Anwar Ibrahim
a note which I'm flagging off as URGENT COMMUNITY SERVICE MESAGE tomy Esteemed Readers. Please attend to lend your support! -- Desi
November 16, 2007
Salam sejahtera, chong:
From the
Office of Anwar Ibrahim
This week the three-member panel that was created to investigate the Lingam tape indicated that it "favoured" the creation of a Royal Commission. What comes next?
Tonight, Tun Salleh Abas, the former Lord President who was sacked in the 1988 Judicial Crisis, will speak for the first time on the recent judicial crisis, as well reflect on the legacy of the events of 1988.
Joining him are former senior judge Datuk Shaik Daud and Bar Council Vice President, Ragunath Kesavan.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, former deputy Prime Minister and currently advisor to KeADILan, will also share his views on judidical reform.
This is an event not to be missed.
Public Forum on Judicial Crisis
Friday, November 16, 2007
8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Federal Hotel
Kuala Lumpur
35, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Admission is free
All are welcome
No Registration required
Best regards,
Office of Anwar Ibrahim
Want an orgasm? Exquisite writHingly speaking...
Travel to www.clarityofnight.blogspot.com,NOW!
Add thy foreplay, midway, or finale, it's okay; even a foreword will do at the sensual comments section where relevant and right, though thou a leftist be like me. But minus the Da Desi Code (DDC) because Desi is not host there, only a player among 53+1. Savour the mainly American -- but I sighted a few foreigners, including an Hungarian! but alas, no Malaysian to keep Desi company... Sigh, why? -- wordsmiths' handiwork if you can, some recipes give you a Lad(y) Chatterley's Lover high, but you can add on some local ingredients. Just spice it up, or down, with imagery -- sambal belacan I hear is *GIB -- and enhance the imagination, no permit required.
Some of the shorts (less than 250 words) may appear confusing read on first attempt, but don't despair. Thou art not alone, I've been confused too because American writes have their own quirks nd cultural idioms different from generally South-east Asians'. But EXQUISITE WRITINGS describe this special community of sharing kindly gifted by JASON EVANS, and desiderata.english urges that "general" Blogsosphere writers in Malaysia can and must aspire to heavenly standards. Digressing a bit-or-byte -- with no offence to our inauguarlangkasawan! -- taking a tourist-passenger ride in a Russian space-craft doesn't launch us into the Space age league of US, Russia, China or India. Cocky DPM says we can now walk a few inches taller. Yes, on Jimmy Choo's high heels, if you can afford it.
That's the beauty of globalisation, we can have INTERNATIONAL BENCH-MARKING at the click of a mouse, dare we press it? Let's not compare Malaysia with Zimbabwe or Papua New Guinea, the horizons are much wider than a pampung wira's radarscope made in Kuantan. If and When our writers in English are almost on par with US standards discerned from ClarityOfNight's -- especially requisite of our news Editors and journalists, both of old and new media -- then I would say, OUR NATION'S ENGLISH WRITERS HAVE ARRIVED. We once had the potential, but politics got in the way.
Please read with respect and decorum and see if you can raise the climax to the heavens, almightily arresting and awesome in hues of reds, oranges and yellows, sublimated by darker blues, crimson and sardonic blacks. Entry number 43 humbly needs your fancy calisthenics in cyber-bed of the writHing kind to help raise its bar! (Just one Desispeak here allowed!:)
Be humble, and learn from those who are better.
ENJOY!:):):):):):):) Se7en Times Over.on this day of giving and loving, Fridae's Childe, we are all.
*This book titled such is within the domain of a gardner at primroses.blogspot.com, see if you can pluck the flower off her. I don't know if she's under age.
Add thy foreplay, midway, or finale, it's okay; even a foreword will do at the sensual comments section where relevant and right, though thou a leftist be like me. But minus the Da Desi Code (DDC) because Desi is not host there, only a player among 53+1. Savour the mainly American -- but I sighted a few foreigners, including an Hungarian! but alas, no Malaysian to keep Desi company... Sigh, why? -- wordsmiths' handiwork if you can, some recipes give you a Lad(y) Chatterley's Lover high, but you can add on some local ingredients. Just spice it up, or down, with imagery -- sambal belacan I hear is *GIB -- and enhance the imagination, no permit required.
Some of the shorts (less than 250 words) may appear confusing read on first attempt, but don't despair. Thou art not alone, I've been confused too because American writes have their own quirks nd cultural idioms different from generally South-east Asians'. But EXQUISITE WRITINGS describe this special community of sharing kindly gifted by JASON EVANS, and desiderata.english urges that "general" Blogsosphere writers in Malaysia can and must aspire to heavenly standards. Digressing a bit-or-byte -- with no offence to our inauguarlangkasawan! -- taking a tourist-passenger ride in a Russian space-craft doesn't launch us into the Space age league of US, Russia, China or India. Cocky DPM says we can now walk a few inches taller. Yes, on Jimmy Choo's high heels, if you can afford it.
That's the beauty of globalisation, we can have INTERNATIONAL BENCH-MARKING at the click of a mouse, dare we press it? Let's not compare Malaysia with Zimbabwe or Papua New Guinea, the horizons are much wider than a pampung wira's radarscope made in Kuantan. If and When our writers in English are almost on par with US standards discerned from ClarityOfNight's -- especially requisite of our news Editors and journalists, both of old and new media -- then I would say, OUR NATION'S ENGLISH WRITERS HAVE ARRIVED. We once had the potential, but politics got in the way.
Please read with respect and decorum and see if you can raise the climax to the heavens, almightily arresting and awesome in hues of reds, oranges and yellows, sublimated by darker blues, crimson and sardonic blacks. Entry number 43 humbly needs your fancy calisthenics in cyber-bed of the writHing kind to help raise its bar! (Just one Desispeak here allowed!:)
Be humble, and learn from those who are better.
ENJOY!:):):):):):):) Se7en Times Over.on this day of giving and loving, Fridae's Childe, we are all.
*This book titled such is within the domain of a gardner at primroses.blogspot.com, see if you can pluck the flower off her. I don't know if she's under age.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Somethin' to cheer about!
November 15, 2007 13:49 PM
Malaysia's Application To Set Up HPTC In Brickendonbury Rejected
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- The East Herts Council Development Control Committee has rejected the Malaysian government's application to set up a High Performance Training Centre (HPTC) at the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) in Brickendonbury, Britain.
The National Sports Institute director-general, Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz, said the decision was made at the council meeting in Bishops Startford, Herts, on Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Malaysia).
"With the decision, we now have to prepare a report to be submitted to the Cabinet Committee on Sports headed by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for their guidance on the next course of action," he said in a statement.
Dr Ramlan, who attended the hearing, said: "We can either appeal, submit a fresh application, which will be a faster process, or not to pursue the matter at all. All of which depends on the pending decision by the Cabinet Committee."
He said the council committee, chaired by R. Gilbert, saw 13 of the 19 councillors rejecting the application.
The only councillor, K.A. Barners, who spoke in support of the application, had abstained.
Dr Ramlan said NSC's consultant, John Whittaker of White Young Green Planning, was allowed to speak for three minutes to convince the council to either approve or defer their early decision.
However, the nine objections by case officer, Tim Hagyard, in his report for the application to be rejected "clearly influenced the councillors," he said.
"Among recommendations for the rejection came from reports from the Historical Society, Biological Centre, Development Planning Unit and Brickendon Liberty Parish," Dr Ramlan said.
In their rejection, he said, the councillors were concerned over the absence of future plans to develop the HPTC, and the limited facilities built in the first phase of the plan.
"Although the committee was drawn to the positive feedback and support from Sport England's senior planning manager, Roy Warren, on the application, they (the committee) felt they have to reject the application at that stage," he said. The 16 TARRC, owned by the Malaysian Rubber Board, is in Hertfordshire, East London, just 24km from the London 2012 Olympics Games Village.
Among facilities available at TARRC are a football field, swimming pool, cricket pitch, canteen, hostel, laboratory, meeting rooms and office.
Dr Ramlan said recently the proposal to develop the TARRC into a HPTC was submitted to the East Herts Council in June and a series of meetings were held by ministry officials with the councillors.
He had expected the HPTC to be operational by early next year after the 10 million pounds (RM67.22 million) renovation project, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Sports, was completed.
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said had said the HPTC would serve as a transit centre for Malaysian athletes before competing in Europe.
Malaysian Under-16 football squad are among sportsmen who had a chance to stay at the TARRC in May during their friendly stint with Arsenal U-16 team.
-- BERNAMA
DESI: No (cy)long comments required. What Citizen-Nades and Bloggers could not achieve,our former colonial masters did. Just take out your champagne glasses, rut bir or tehtarik also can!:):):)
UPDATEd @5.25pm:
A NST NEWS BREAK online timelined 4.37pm today and headed
BRICKENDONBURY: Malaysia still has chance to set up training centre
IT shows how desperate the perennially declining-circulation MSM is doing the Hope-against-hope line leaning towards the Putrajaya 4th Floor boys. Thinking Aloud and While Still Allowed: Maybe they are thinking the "from Below-the-table to Above-the-table" thingy can work its magic in London like it does in Kuala Lumpur's Ministry of Youth and Sports, eh?
PERHAPS like former MB of Selangor, Muhammad son of Muhammad, Azalina Othman may do the next-PWTC-twist bringing in bagfulloads of pound sterling and USD into London, and claim ignorance that she was as ignorant of laws barring that ferrying in of cash, even as a Minister, into UK? If helps greatly if the now UMNO Information Chief went along as bag-carrier, No?
1984
Phobia.
From the start, I assure my Esteemed Readers that this Post is DDC (Da Desi Code) or Desispeak-free, except for some slip showing, like that embarassing incident your zip was broke or one Dr Yeoh SM was highlighting to his students about one bigwig's "kemaluan" on display when he meant "shame". Where DDC appears, the normal equivalent is companion, to "placate" Moses Foo's request momentarily. (REFERENCE: Transported one of his comments here ~~ Mosesfoo said...
Dear Desi,
A suggestion:
why not "publish" or organize an organic growing glossary list of Desi-speak words, phrases, vocabulary and macam-macam pun ada for the benefit of ur ERs and newbies, ala elven-speak of tolkien world?
7:42 AM
One of my favourite authors, George Orwell, wrote about Big Brother watching over us 24/7 in his futuristic novel 1984. I have a dog-eared copy and I'll sell it for 20million now if you write Desi a cheque that doesn't hop-step-n-jump.
1984 does not refer to Orwell's date of birth, or even this writer YLChong's DOB. I use YLChong in my capacity as Journalist, then Desiderata when crafting creative pieces, so I sayDesi is much younger -- if you don't belive me, ask the host of maverickysm.blogspot.com , who is slightly younger, or infernalramblings.com, the most young and articulate of them all!
No doubt the tale was set in the US landscape, but modern tehnology development the past two decades has ensured that even third world countries like Malaysia (are we in 2-1/2th world league since one of us rode on a Russian space-craft weeks back? For several hundred million, I guess it's worth it so that our ministers can sing high praises that we have arrived at First World stage, PWTC-keris-waving notwithstanding) are keyed in on events that took place just a few hours ago, but right now being received via new media like online news and weblogs and YouTube.
For Ignoramuses, the spies are everywhere -- listening devices, phone taos, CTV cameras in the loos even as you pump out your morning BF and evening dinner overload, so you have been slowly surrendering, unwittingly for most -- that's why Desi calls thee Ignoramus! -- your privacy in the name of official "security" the Government says you need.
1984 is thus a must-read if you wish to avoid specimens like the CIA, KGB and our very own Special Branch. But lazy bummers like you (If you eat cili, you feel the pedasnurse/hot feeling), catch a few-years-old movie "ENEMY OF THE STATE" and you get an idea when I whsipered to the host of allofhelen.blogspot.com at kopitiam in Central Market recently "why one must never say anything" except while making love with your hubby/wife/mistress that "can be used against you by the STATE". Except in a country likened to Denmark, by a former Prime Minister no less, citizens like you and me feel very secure because we have First World leaders like Nazri and Zam and DPM Najib who constantly assure us that "we are very responsible people versus the Bloggers who are 'liars, biased, mostly unemployed and worst of all, pondan!'"
Even the Education Minister has assured us with his annual waving of the "keris" -- like his cousin several years ago in a public field/padang -- is to show his love for his countrymen as "it is a refuge for all". But myGOoDfriend Helen whispers: with friends like these, Malaysia does not need enemies.
So what's with the PHOBIA?
In an email to a buddy:
______________ C&P&Edited4Decency __________________
"When I logged onto Yahoo!mail yesterday at about 5.45pm,
I was advised when I clicked on "5mails" that I do not
"have access to this URL"!
It got me worried, tried several times after logging
out, then on again, for some 20 minutes, SAME
advice!
I became a little apprehensive :( as THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME experiencing this!
I spoke to my nephew and he "assured" me that "No,
the gomen did not hack in to stop you!", just log on
after a few hours -- the problem is with the SERVER!:)
So I did as advised, logged in at 7.30pm, Voila,
it's safe!
_______________________ Email extract ends ______________
DESIDERATA continues:
The phobia arose from some previous incidents when as an activist -- politically and journalistically speaking -- YL had been "followed" by some shady figures, including
at the KL-Seremban highway when I broke journey at rest sops and I could "see" same car and occupants making same stops. I guess we breathed the same air and drank the same "air" (this doesn't qualify for DDC as I use Bahasa Malaysia some times to show "off" my loyalty/patriotism/multilingual proficiency.) I could "see" these figures were from the Special Branch (if I were DDC-engaged, it would read SpecialBrunch!), even at a Book launch when NGO-figures were scheduled to speak.
I'll stop here for now and see if I can break free from this 1984 phobia to bring you more later. Amore!
POSTSCRIPT @3.09pm
A few of my Blogger friends were told specofically to use Desi's Pic only with an Einstein frontage, especially with white shocking hair as its closest crowning resemblance. These mateys graduated from conversing via cyber-space to terrestrial in person at several G7 meets I initiated, temporarily stopped because two rgulars deserted the party for the Land of the American Dream!
So I urge my Esteemed Readers to peep at today's theSUN, page 33 report headlined:
Einstein's spot on a century later
Just one openin para as tea-ser or AP-petiser:
TIME, as we all know it,is relative: good experiences seem to fly by, whereas bad ones seem to drag on forever. "After two hours, I looked at my watch," a reviewer of a Wagnerian opera is said to have written."I found that 17 minutes had gone by."
:
:
:
My limted understanding of my idol's THEORY OF RELATIVITY is that if Dr Say Yee How or would-be johnleemk could in a decade invent a machine that travels faster than c, the speed of light, then I can hitch a ride to rendezvoo with "Yes, Einstein!", if I could track him down in whatever joint he's hyding, or he cares to come down, or up, to Furong.
From the start, I assure my Esteemed Readers that this Post is DDC (Da Desi Code) or Desispeak-free, except for some slip showing, like that embarassing incident your zip was broke or one Dr Yeoh SM was highlighting to his students about one bigwig's "kemaluan" on display when he meant "shame". Where DDC appears, the normal equivalent is companion, to "placate" Moses Foo's request momentarily. (REFERENCE: Transported one of his comments here ~~ Mosesfoo said...
Dear Desi,
A suggestion:
why not "publish" or organize an organic growing glossary list of Desi-speak words, phrases, vocabulary and macam-macam pun ada for the benefit of ur ERs and newbies, ala elven-speak of tolkien world?
7:42 AM
One of my favourite authors, George Orwell, wrote about Big Brother watching over us 24/7 in his futuristic novel 1984. I have a dog-eared copy and I'll sell it for 20million now if you write Desi a cheque that doesn't hop-step-n-jump.
1984 does not refer to Orwell's date of birth, or even this writer YLChong's DOB. I use YLChong in my capacity as Journalist, then Desiderata when crafting creative pieces, so I sayDesi is much younger -- if you don't belive me, ask the host of maverickysm.blogspot.com , who is slightly younger, or infernalramblings.com, the most young and articulate of them all!
No doubt the tale was set in the US landscape, but modern tehnology development the past two decades has ensured that even third world countries like Malaysia (are we in 2-1/2th world league since one of us rode on a Russian space-craft weeks back? For several hundred million, I guess it's worth it so that our ministers can sing high praises that we have arrived at First World stage, PWTC-keris-waving notwithstanding) are keyed in on events that took place just a few hours ago, but right now being received via new media like online news and weblogs and YouTube.
For Ignoramuses, the spies are everywhere -- listening devices, phone taos, CTV cameras in the loos even as you pump out your morning BF and evening dinner overload, so you have been slowly surrendering, unwittingly for most -- that's why Desi calls thee Ignoramus! -- your privacy in the name of official "security" the Government says you need.
1984 is thus a must-read if you wish to avoid specimens like the CIA, KGB and our very own Special Branch. But lazy bummers like you (If you eat cili, you feel the pedasnurse/hot feeling), catch a few-years-old movie "ENEMY OF THE STATE" and you get an idea when I whsipered to the host of allofhelen.blogspot.com at kopitiam in Central Market recently "why one must never say anything" except while making love with your hubby/wife/mistress that "can be used against you by the STATE". Except in a country likened to Denmark, by a former Prime Minister no less, citizens like you and me feel very secure because we have First World leaders like Nazri and Zam and DPM Najib who constantly assure us that "we are very responsible people versus the Bloggers who are 'liars, biased, mostly unemployed and worst of all, pondan!'"
Even the Education Minister has assured us with his annual waving of the "keris" -- like his cousin several years ago in a public field/padang -- is to show his love for his countrymen as "it is a refuge for all". But myGOoDfriend Helen whispers: with friends like these, Malaysia does not need enemies.
So what's with the PHOBIA?
In an email to a buddy:
______________ C&P&Edited4Decency __________________
"When I logged onto Yahoo!mail yesterday at about 5.45pm,
I was advised when I clicked on "5mails" that I do not
"have access to this URL"!
It got me worried, tried several times after logging
out, then on again, for some 20 minutes, SAME
advice!
I became a little apprehensive :( as THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME experiencing this!
I spoke to my nephew and he "assured" me that "No,
the gomen did not hack in to stop you!", just log on
after a few hours -- the problem is with the SERVER!:)
So I did as advised, logged in at 7.30pm, Voila,
it's safe!
_______________________ Email extract ends ______________
DESIDERATA continues:
The phobia arose from some previous incidents when as an activist -- politically and journalistically speaking -- YL had been "followed" by some shady figures, including
at the KL-Seremban highway when I broke journey at rest sops and I could "see" same car and occupants making same stops. I guess we breathed the same air and drank the same "air" (this doesn't qualify for DDC as I use Bahasa Malaysia some times to show "off" my loyalty/patriotism/multilingual proficiency.) I could "see" these figures were from the Special Branch (if I were DDC-engaged, it would read SpecialBrunch!), even at a Book launch when NGO-figures were scheduled to speak.
I'll stop here for now and see if I can break free from this 1984 phobia to bring you more later. Amore!
POSTSCRIPT @3.09pm
A few of my Blogger friends were told specofically to use Desi's Pic only with an Einstein frontage, especially with white shocking hair as its closest crowning resemblance. These mateys graduated from conversing via cyber-space to terrestrial in person at several G7 meets I initiated, temporarily stopped because two rgulars deserted the party for the Land of the American Dream!
So I urge my Esteemed Readers to peep at today's theSUN, page 33 report headlined:
Einstein's spot on a century later
Just one openin para as tea-ser or AP-petiser:
TIME, as we all know it,is relative: good experiences seem to fly by, whereas bad ones seem to drag on forever. "After two hours, I looked at my watch," a reviewer of a Wagnerian opera is said to have written."I found that 17 minutes had gone by."
:
:
:
My limted understanding of my idol's THEORY OF RELATIVITY is that if Dr Say Yee How or would-be johnleemk could in a decade invent a machine that travels faster than c, the speed of light, then I can hitch a ride to rendezvoo with "Yes, Einstein!", if I could track him down in whatever joint he's hyding, or he cares to come down, or up, to Furong.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Took a Dreamscape Break in the US!
A wedNURSEdae's Childe of Woe took a Dreamscape break in the Land of the American Dream.
Join Desi if thou be like Moses Foo, quite a Man from Tin-town nigh Furong who obviously, like hoRst of allofhelen.blogspot.com, enjoys my DDC/Desispeak. Read his comment at yesterday's Post and see if you share his command that Desi do some homeworke.
For todie -- my Oz effect/influence (Y)earning AUS for 13 years showOFing hear! -- I welcome my ER who endear or endure the Bard, in da goode compagnie of Dr Mahathir and Anwar, WoW, achieving greatNURSE with Desi by aRsEsoctaion!, SURF NOW to clarityofnight.blogspot.com and savour the hospital of Jason Evans.
Desi's Dreamscape entry will likely do a RM20mil APpearance tomolo, rimes with Helen's fave gift to me, pomelo! -- Chow!
WHICH in Desispeak, according to Moses, means Seeya!
or COME EAT CON BRUNCH with us NOW f you can track Desi/Moses/moo_t, undere-w'eare arte thoue weie? downtown in Hazy, Mazy, Crazy and Lace-y Men Kee. WO-men also Aloud:)
Join Desi if thou be like Moses Foo, quite a Man from Tin-town nigh Furong who obviously, like hoRst of allofhelen.blogspot.com, enjoys my DDC/Desispeak. Read his comment at yesterday's Post and see if you share his command that Desi do some homeworke.
For todie -- my Oz effect/influence (Y)earning AUS for 13 years showOFing hear! -- I welcome my ER who endear or endure the Bard, in da goode compagnie of Dr Mahathir and Anwar, WoW, achieving greatNURSE with Desi by aRsEsoctaion!, SURF NOW to clarityofnight.blogspot.com and savour the hospital of Jason Evans.
Desi's Dreamscape entry will likely do a RM20mil APpearance tomolo, rimes with Helen's fave gift to me, pomelo! -- Chow!
WHICH in Desispeak, according to Moses, means Seeya!
or COME EAT CON BRUNCH with us NOW f you can track Desi/Moses/moo_t, undere-w'eare arte thoue weie? downtown in Hazy, Mazy, Crazy and Lace-y Men Kee. WO-men also Aloud:)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
We Agree to be Agreeable in our Disagreement
That's the motto to conduct rational discourse in Civil Society, and Sdr Din Merican was often practising in our banters -- yes, we even traded barbs with him defending former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and Desi quite vociferous in challenging his defence -- and we never were ever disrespectful to each other. In his latest post at bakrimusa.com reporting on BERSIH's historic "V" rally on November 10,2007, Din again promoted this ethos of civil discourse when responding to a Commenter, generally sharing his thoughts on WHY he joined the PKR vehicle under former DPM Sdr Anwar Ibrahim as a "political activist", whatever that means.
I would have thrown some rotten eggs had he fronted himself as a "social actvist" chauffered around in a Merdes, caliming himself as The Face of National Service, but waiving responsibility for the deaths that occurred among the trainees -- Sack the DG, he cried -- but taking high credit for its so-called successes. Maybe TanSi LLT's working extra hard creeping onto more boards of blue-chip listed Companies in the steal of the night. Also fighting for national interest to get that tonnesheep -- oops, TUNship.
Sorry folks for the digression. I just need to get that off my chest because the MSM giveth him daily coverage and traets him as Lord of all Issues, including new shares of laughing stocks on Bursaa Malaysiaa, but they were blind to 40,000-60,000 Malaysians marching for Free and Fair Elections, and Justice.
Back to Sdr Din, now Programme Director at Sdr Anwar Ibrahim's Office, and VVe rendeswooed halfway round the VVorld in the USA, guests of the good doctor Sdr Bakri Musa:
"Din Merican Says:
November 12th, 2007 at 4:08 am
I am not a politician in the true sense of the word. I have entered the world of political activism, whatever that term means. In doing so, I have cast my lot with Anwar Ibrahim and KeADILan.
My own professor of Rural Sociology at University of Malaya, Prof. Dr. Syed Husin Ali is with the party too. I feel good about reuniting with this unassuming gentleman and intellectual because I yet to meet another human being who is more dedicated than he in the service of his fellow Malaysians and the cause of justice and equity. I feel a man must be driven by an ennobling mission and high ideals. Prof. Dr Syed Hussin is one such person.
It is not my purpose here to change your views about anything. But I would like to say here that Anwar has not said any unkind word about former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir to me even in his most unguarded moment.
I think we all at KeADILan respect the Tun has a one of an unusual kind national leader with lots of guts and intellectual power. Some of my colleagues may disagree with the Tun and his politics, but they are never disrespectful. The Tun would be a formidable competitor, if he was still in office.
We cannot say the same about the present lot of UMNO leaders and opportunists who have ignored the Tun. Perhaps, it is because he cannot give them any more contracts.
Anwar himself never denied that he was able to rise in UMNO to the status of Deputy President and in government as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance largely because of the Tun. One day we will know just yet what actually happened between them during the period 1997-1998. In the meantime, there is lots of speculation and stories about it.
I remain respectful of the Tun and am saddened that the people in the Badawi Administration are trying to blow out the former Prime Minister’s candle to make their man’s look bright. Let me say to you that even a thousand candles cannot help Badawi. They will, in fact, make him look more inept, dysfunctional and deceitful.
Badawi pales in comparison to Anwar and that is a fact. I believe Anwar is the best Malay leader of his generation just as Tun Mahathir is the shining star of his. It is a sad accident of history that Anwar did (Desi inserts here a key word inadvertenly left out by Din -- "not")have the chance to succeed him as Prime Minister. But he may yet be, God willing, by sheer grit, hard work and good strategy. My colleagues and I are working to make it happen.
Yes, we agree to disagree and I will defend your right to speak and express yourself freely ala ***Voltaire."
DESIDERATA: After much rumination,I will be the first to take on Din's take, and I won't allow hisconstantKopi-O kau-kau at Subang Jaya make me any less dilute in my rebuttal, because I will placate him with goblets of tehtarik afterwords.:)
In the same spirit expressed by Din, in similar vein of ***Voltaire's ethos:
"I may disagree with what you say but I will defend, to the death, your right to say it."~~ Voltaire:
I continue.
Dr Mahathir might have performed remarkably in the first decade of his administration, I have always saluted that. But it must also be noted that from the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis onwards, Malaysia saw some heart-breaking events as many of the businessmen who became victims of the crisis, marked by extrme falls in the then Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, were also cronies of several of the BN ministers. BAILOUTS were then the order of the day, but I won't detail them except cite the cases of Dr Mahathir's own son hit in a "slghtly biger than small" way -- the MISC debacle, remember? -- and the then MCA chief's own son, also hit in a "slightly bigger than small" way -- the youngest-billionaire-at-27, don't you remember? "Small" used in the context of billion-dollar losses, as Zakaria Mad Deros eloquently used as a benchmark to describe his RM7mil-10mil palace in Port Klang a decade later.
But gostan to another decade before that, the 1988 sacking of LOrd President Tun Salleh Abas, and suspension of five senior judges, events well documented by my fellow writer KIM QUEK - that truly started the emasculaion of the Judiciary.
The Lingam video tape scandal still in progress was an event that took place in 2002, almost a year plus before Dr Mahathir handed over the premiership in November 2003 to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. So brother Din, the culpability of the former UMNO president is just a difference in degrees from his successor who many enjoy lambasting as "sleepy-eyed", even catching 80 winks while standing with other national leaders at a regional event. If you are nice to RPK, he may point you to the hoto in his archives. Desi is technology-deficient, won't render this service for free. Indeed, I learnt from organising last year's BUM2007 thingy there is no such sure thing as a constant freelunch.
So while Sdr Anwar has been diplomatic to Din -- a newbie into PKR which is to be welcomed!:)-- in not criticising his mentor Dr Mahathir, it remains a "fact" that the same bastardised Judiciary whose rot started a deacde earlier (when Anwar was himself a member in Tun Mahathir's Cabinet...) caused his (Anwar's) downfall.
All in all, I would think Dr Mahathir would have been recorded in Malaysian history had he not overstayed by some 10 years. Malaysians like Desi would have judged him more kindly. But I believe he's making some amends -- indeed Blogsworld agrees with him when he concluded that the only media in NegaraKu that can report with facts and responsibility today is the infant and emerging Fifth Estate. I was happy I heard it from the horse's mouth one eventfulorning in Putrajaya.
We all are human -- and "To Err is Human, To Forgive Divine" -- and we are hearened by Dr Mahathir's takes on some of the "rotten" things befalling the State of Malaysia-ala-Denmark, paraphrasing someone claimed to be the greatest writer born on this goode earthe. By the way, Dr Mahathir, Anwar and Desi share something in common -- we constantly quote the Bard. That's how some writHers achieve "greatnurse" by aRssocoiation. For badder or worse.The lust byte is abusing Poetic licence, in the tradition of one William Shakespeare.
Din, I offer thee one golden goblet of tehtarik for listening so patiently. With Miss Sunthi if you like. Some arSENic for voyeurs hear?
I would have thrown some rotten eggs had he fronted himself as a "social actvist" chauffered around in a Merdes, caliming himself as The Face of National Service, but waiving responsibility for the deaths that occurred among the trainees -- Sack the DG, he cried -- but taking high credit for its so-called successes. Maybe TanSi LLT's working extra hard creeping onto more boards of blue-chip listed Companies in the steal of the night. Also fighting for national interest to get that tonnesheep -- oops, TUNship.
Sorry folks for the digression. I just need to get that off my chest because the MSM giveth him daily coverage and traets him as Lord of all Issues, including new shares of laughing stocks on Bursaa Malaysiaa, but they were blind to 40,000-60,000 Malaysians marching for Free and Fair Elections, and Justice.
Back to Sdr Din, now Programme Director at Sdr Anwar Ibrahim's Office, and VVe rendeswooed halfway round the VVorld in the USA, guests of the good doctor Sdr Bakri Musa:
"Din Merican Says:
November 12th, 2007 at 4:08 am
I am not a politician in the true sense of the word. I have entered the world of political activism, whatever that term means. In doing so, I have cast my lot with Anwar Ibrahim and KeADILan.
My own professor of Rural Sociology at University of Malaya, Prof. Dr. Syed Husin Ali is with the party too. I feel good about reuniting with this unassuming gentleman and intellectual because I yet to meet another human being who is more dedicated than he in the service of his fellow Malaysians and the cause of justice and equity. I feel a man must be driven by an ennobling mission and high ideals. Prof. Dr Syed Hussin is one such person.
It is not my purpose here to change your views about anything. But I would like to say here that Anwar has not said any unkind word about former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir to me even in his most unguarded moment.
I think we all at KeADILan respect the Tun has a one of an unusual kind national leader with lots of guts and intellectual power. Some of my colleagues may disagree with the Tun and his politics, but they are never disrespectful. The Tun would be a formidable competitor, if he was still in office.
We cannot say the same about the present lot of UMNO leaders and opportunists who have ignored the Tun. Perhaps, it is because he cannot give them any more contracts.
Anwar himself never denied that he was able to rise in UMNO to the status of Deputy President and in government as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance largely because of the Tun. One day we will know just yet what actually happened between them during the period 1997-1998. In the meantime, there is lots of speculation and stories about it.
I remain respectful of the Tun and am saddened that the people in the Badawi Administration are trying to blow out the former Prime Minister’s candle to make their man’s look bright. Let me say to you that even a thousand candles cannot help Badawi. They will, in fact, make him look more inept, dysfunctional and deceitful.
Badawi pales in comparison to Anwar and that is a fact. I believe Anwar is the best Malay leader of his generation just as Tun Mahathir is the shining star of his. It is a sad accident of history that Anwar did (Desi inserts here a key word inadvertenly left out by Din -- "not")have the chance to succeed him as Prime Minister. But he may yet be, God willing, by sheer grit, hard work and good strategy. My colleagues and I are working to make it happen.
Yes, we agree to disagree and I will defend your right to speak and express yourself freely ala ***Voltaire."
DESIDERATA: After much rumination,I will be the first to take on Din's take, and I won't allow hisconstantKopi-O kau-kau at Subang Jaya make me any less dilute in my rebuttal, because I will placate him with goblets of tehtarik afterwords.:)
In the same spirit expressed by Din, in similar vein of ***Voltaire's ethos:
"I may disagree with what you say but I will defend, to the death, your right to say it."~~ Voltaire:
I continue.
Dr Mahathir might have performed remarkably in the first decade of his administration, I have always saluted that. But it must also be noted that from the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis onwards, Malaysia saw some heart-breaking events as many of the businessmen who became victims of the crisis, marked by extrme falls in the then Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, were also cronies of several of the BN ministers. BAILOUTS were then the order of the day, but I won't detail them except cite the cases of Dr Mahathir's own son hit in a "slghtly biger than small" way -- the MISC debacle, remember? -- and the then MCA chief's own son, also hit in a "slightly bigger than small" way -- the youngest-billionaire-at-27, don't you remember? "Small" used in the context of billion-dollar losses, as Zakaria Mad Deros eloquently used as a benchmark to describe his RM7mil-10mil palace in Port Klang a decade later.
But gostan to another decade before that, the 1988 sacking of LOrd President Tun Salleh Abas, and suspension of five senior judges, events well documented by my fellow writer KIM QUEK - that truly started the emasculaion of the Judiciary.
The Lingam video tape scandal still in progress was an event that took place in 2002, almost a year plus before Dr Mahathir handed over the premiership in November 2003 to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. So brother Din, the culpability of the former UMNO president is just a difference in degrees from his successor who many enjoy lambasting as "sleepy-eyed", even catching 80 winks while standing with other national leaders at a regional event. If you are nice to RPK, he may point you to the hoto in his archives. Desi is technology-deficient, won't render this service for free. Indeed, I learnt from organising last year's BUM2007 thingy there is no such sure thing as a constant freelunch.
So while Sdr Anwar has been diplomatic to Din -- a newbie into PKR which is to be welcomed!:)-- in not criticising his mentor Dr Mahathir, it remains a "fact" that the same bastardised Judiciary whose rot started a deacde earlier (when Anwar was himself a member in Tun Mahathir's Cabinet...) caused his (Anwar's) downfall.
All in all, I would think Dr Mahathir would have been recorded in Malaysian history had he not overstayed by some 10 years. Malaysians like Desi would have judged him more kindly. But I believe he's making some amends -- indeed Blogsworld agrees with him when he concluded that the only media in NegaraKu that can report with facts and responsibility today is the infant and emerging Fifth Estate. I was happy I heard it from the horse's mouth one eventfulorning in Putrajaya.
We all are human -- and "To Err is Human, To Forgive Divine" -- and we are hearened by Dr Mahathir's takes on some of the "rotten" things befalling the State of Malaysia-ala-Denmark, paraphrasing someone claimed to be the greatest writer born on this goode earthe. By the way, Dr Mahathir, Anwar and Desi share something in common -- we constantly quote the Bard. That's how some writHers achieve "greatnurse" by aRssocoiation. For badder or worse.The lust byte is abusing Poetic licence, in the tradition of one William Shakespeare.
Din, I offer thee one golden goblet of tehtarik for listening so patiently. With Miss Sunthi if you like. Some arSENic for voyeurs hear?
New Ministry of Juvenile Behaviour Proposed
When we were kids, often we would boast about this being that long -- spanning two hands -- or that BIG -- citing the size of a cow -- and our opponent would rebut with "Mine was even longer -- like a ten foot pole good for pole vault -- or even BIG-URE -- like a dinosaur!"
Those were innocent fun-D days when your Opponent started boasting about his birddae celeb, with "Dad bought me a bicycle for RM100," and his buddies looked at him in awe as he related his story the 10th-plus-one time to an audience of 10.
And Jeles Fighter-kok you countered: "My Mum bought me a holidae in Disneyland, Japan!" although back in 1980 Disney only existed in the United States. But kids didn't know that!:(
So we grew up. Kid Siang, Nazi Azeez, Zam-zam ala Kazam and Rapidah AP also grew older. Desi, Howsy and Mave and Anak Merdeka grew wiser... If Desi's sperring ain't too goode this moUrn, it's because he's only up to that Selangore MB's standard, can't fill up, or down, or in, Immigeresi forma to enter Queensland with pocketfool of USD2.4million. As a Blogger, we take many liberties2. Including taking to the streets like on November 10.
And this drew admiration from the de facto Law Minister who once promised protection to whistle-blowers -- wrt LINGAM tape scandal still brewing -- under an Act short as WPA he had in his mind only, including changing the witneses' ID with a face-lift. When the Bar Council pointed out there was no such Witness Protection Act, the red-faced minister said the press, yes the MSM included, misquoted him. His press aide too let him down when he/she/it was supposed to make a correction to the weakness.
Hence, at the DEWAN RAKYAT yesterday, there seemed to be a step closer to forming a new Ministry -- of JUNVENILE BEHAVIOUR -- for the ilks of leaky Bung, Amirudin, close-1-eye Yusof Said, and now the top gun, Nazi Azeees. He told the Oppositon Leader that the Rally organsers of the BERSIH Rally last Saturday "had lost their marbles or kepala wayar putus", and the gathering was the work of pondang (cowards).
Hopefully, the NST did not misreport. If they did, I don't AP!:( I may be guilty only of slight playgiarhythm.
And other UMNO Ministers have been taking potshots at the Blogging community, taking us as de facto Mr Opposition 2B, but get no allowances for the trouble:(
First Tourism minster one Tengku Addnon Manso(?) described Bloggers as mostly women who were chiefly "unemployed". Yet not getting any dole after paying some 20 to 30 years of taxes, like Desi, who's quite not sure he/she belonged to that category the Addnon guy/gal/gay created.
Yes, yesterday, the Nazi again lambasted the November 10 "V" Rally as the "work of 'pondan'". (Read the 7ELEVEN's kopi of NST Nov 13, 2007, page 15. ***DON'T BUY ONE!) This MSM carried a photo finally almost 48 hours after the historic event on its front page, but the photo was sourced from REUTERS.
Imagine -- the KL-based newspaper did not even have enough photographers to take any action shots of the 40,000 members of the public taking to the streets. It had to rely on a foreign wire agency! (often lambasted by ZAM, the mnister of propaganda-ganda-wang-anda:) as not having proper understanding and perception of Malaysia in their biased reports.
Yes, I finally sighted The Star and NST in their first accounts in BTW mention stating the crowds of BERSIH Yellow marchers only numbered 4,000.Of course, the same papers multiplied the numbers of guests at the recentg PM's HR open house by a factor or 3 to 5! These editors must have excelled in Higher Mathematics, scoring straight As from UPSR to STPM to Uni. But sometimes they don't even know the difference between asquatter house and a palation mansion, reference: The house that Zak built is only a "small" one, wat! RM7million to RM10million. ZAM also said Zak was cleared of corruption, wat! WHY YOU BLARDY BLOGERS KEEP HARPING ON THAT? And did not acknowledge the charity the great UMBO SA performed for Port Klang ORPHANS.You blary Bloggers did not know what's important to focus on, so PONDANish!
Were some of the UMNO ministers cutting down the UMNO Youth cheif cum Education Minister who needed to wield a keris to show he was amsculine at the PWTC Stage every year?
Maybe the former UMNO Puteri chief Azalina OthMAN should take over the UMNO Youth's ;leadrship. She has a natural flair, and bent, for IT ...just a non-member's view. We Bloggers still can THINK ALLOWED, yes, Jeff?
PS: *** For one blardy weak, Desi is not buying the NST and The Star for their dereliction of duty and surrendering their balls to Ministers ZAM and Nazri and the ilks, and the Putrajaya's 4th Floor boys/gals/in-betweeen?
Those were innocent fun-D days when your Opponent started boasting about his birddae celeb, with "Dad bought me a bicycle for RM100," and his buddies looked at him in awe as he related his story the 10th-plus-one time to an audience of 10.
And Jeles Fighter-kok you countered: "My Mum bought me a holidae in Disneyland, Japan!" although back in 1980 Disney only existed in the United States. But kids didn't know that!:(
So we grew up. Kid Siang, Nazi Azeez, Zam-zam ala Kazam and Rapidah AP also grew older. Desi, Howsy and Mave and Anak Merdeka grew wiser... If Desi's sperring ain't too goode this moUrn, it's because he's only up to that Selangore MB's standard, can't fill up, or down, or in, Immigeresi forma to enter Queensland with pocketfool of USD2.4million. As a Blogger, we take many liberties2. Including taking to the streets like on November 10.
And this drew admiration from the de facto Law Minister who once promised protection to whistle-blowers -- wrt LINGAM tape scandal still brewing -- under an Act short as WPA he had in his mind only, including changing the witneses' ID with a face-lift. When the Bar Council pointed out there was no such Witness Protection Act, the red-faced minister said the press, yes the MSM included, misquoted him. His press aide too let him down when he/she/it was supposed to make a correction to the weakness.
Hence, at the DEWAN RAKYAT yesterday, there seemed to be a step closer to forming a new Ministry -- of JUNVENILE BEHAVIOUR -- for the ilks of leaky Bung, Amirudin, close-1-eye Yusof Said, and now the top gun, Nazi Azeees. He told the Oppositon Leader that the Rally organsers of the BERSIH Rally last Saturday "had lost their marbles or kepala wayar putus", and the gathering was the work of pondang (cowards).
Hopefully, the NST did not misreport. If they did, I don't AP!:( I may be guilty only of slight playgiarhythm.
And other UMNO Ministers have been taking potshots at the Blogging community, taking us as de facto Mr Opposition 2B, but get no allowances for the trouble:(
First Tourism minster one Tengku Addnon Manso(?) described Bloggers as mostly women who were chiefly "unemployed". Yet not getting any dole after paying some 20 to 30 years of taxes, like Desi, who's quite not sure he/she belonged to that category the Addnon guy/gal/gay created.
Yes, yesterday, the Nazi again lambasted the November 10 "V" Rally as the "work of 'pondan'". (Read the 7ELEVEN's kopi of NST Nov 13, 2007, page 15. ***DON'T BUY ONE!) This MSM carried a photo finally almost 48 hours after the historic event on its front page, but the photo was sourced from REUTERS.
Imagine -- the KL-based newspaper did not even have enough photographers to take any action shots of the 40,000 members of the public taking to the streets. It had to rely on a foreign wire agency! (often lambasted by ZAM, the mnister of propaganda-ganda-wang-anda:) as not having proper understanding and perception of Malaysia in their biased reports.
Yes, I finally sighted The Star and NST in their first accounts in BTW mention stating the crowds of BERSIH Yellow marchers only numbered 4,000.Of course, the same papers multiplied the numbers of guests at the recentg PM's HR open house by a factor or 3 to 5! These editors must have excelled in Higher Mathematics, scoring straight As from UPSR to STPM to Uni. But sometimes they don't even know the difference between asquatter house and a palation mansion, reference: The house that Zak built is only a "small" one, wat! RM7million to RM10million. ZAM also said Zak was cleared of corruption, wat! WHY YOU BLARDY BLOGERS KEEP HARPING ON THAT? And did not acknowledge the charity the great UMBO SA performed for Port Klang ORPHANS.You blary Bloggers did not know what's important to focus on, so PONDANish!
Were some of the UMNO ministers cutting down the UMNO Youth cheif cum Education Minister who needed to wield a keris to show he was amsculine at the PWTC Stage every year?
Maybe the former UMNO Puteri chief Azalina OthMAN should take over the UMNO Youth's ;leadrship. She has a natural flair, and bent, for IT ...just a non-member's view. We Bloggers still can THINK ALLOWED, yes, Jeff?
PS: *** For one blardy weak, Desi is not buying the NST and The Star for their dereliction of duty and surrendering their balls to Ministers ZAM and Nazri and the ilks, and the Putrajaya's 4th Floor boys/gals/in-betweeen?
Monday, November 12, 2007
A Y&A Account of November 10 "V" Rally
PKR comrade Sdr Will Leong forwarded an email with a first-hand account by a "young Malaysian" on the "historic"November "V"OTE4CHANGE and "V"$VICTORY Rally in Kuala Lumpur on November 10. Desi does a small part to support this future gen's Young Voice of HOPE for NegaraKu. ENJOY!:)
Saturday, November 10, 2007
And soon,
You will not be able to Breathe: My report from the Bersih Rally
Rashaad Ali
This is not some second-hand story; this is an account from the front line.
These are not borrowed photographs; these are pictures from the epicentre.
Because that was what the situation descended to in the city centre this afternoon, where my entire view of the present government was shattered the moment I saw those first gas cannisters fly. You can read it in a paper, on a website, in a forwarded email, but the magnanimity of the brutality will never compare to the panic that infiltrated into my being, and the fear that I now harbour for the government.
You could feel the stillness in the air, the sudden descent of tension into the atmosphere. Ominous signs paraded before us, my younger brother, my sister and I, before we even left the house. We headed toward the city via the Putra LRT, where Shaz managed this almost candid shot of policemen in RapidKL uniforms being briefed by a senior officer.
Once we exited the station at Masjid Jamek, we were greeted by the ever heart-warming sight of riot police. Here they call them the Federal Reserve Unit, but they are nothing more than mercenaries in uniform. Zealots armed with batons and gas launchers, completely apathetic to the growing crowd, swollen by passer-bys and passionate Malaysians. The police sprayed preliminary water-cannon fire on the crowd, which I wasn't to concerned about. It was only upon reaching home that I found out they were contaminated with chemicals.
Now there is something of great importance that I need to stress; in no way, absolutely none, did the demonstrators aim to incite the police. There was lots of chanting, of slogan shouting, of crowd rallying, but there was no hatred or contempt hurled against those in power. In short, we did not merit the treatment we received. One may say, "But it was an illegal gathering anyway." How can the executive issue a decree banning the people in a democracy from voicing their opinion? We are not looking for a riot. We're not looking for impeachment. We're not looking for a revolution. We want clean elections. After all, if the government did its job efficiently, without corruption,racism and wanton aggression, why would we want to vote for the opposition? The demonstration today was truly a model demonstration. A peaceful, passionate crowd standing defiant, in a completely passive manner. It was a moment to remember, the solidarity on the f aces of others as we stared down the threats in the hope of a better tomorrow.
All until the police became violent.
And then God played his hand; the heavens opened as it started to pour. As the precipitation flowed down my skin, a sickening sight developed before my eyes. If you notice in the above picture, the corner was crowded with people, having made some headway, only for cannon fire to push us back to the aforementioned corner. That's when the police formed a line, and fired tear gas at the crowd.
Fellow Malaysians, firing on their countrymen.
It wasn't so much as the actual shooting which was horrendous, but seeing them take their line of sight made my stomach turn. These uncompassionate robots, protectors of the society shooting against the people they swear to protect. Here they are, ladies and gentlemen, "dispersing crowds", while paedophiles run riot, pun very much intended.
When they fired, they shot directly infront of the crowd. Shaz and I happened to be caught in between a mass of bodies and a drain barrier. Just like some bad war movie, everything seemed to happen in slow motion, as the cannister rolled to a stop barely 10 feet away. Time sped back to normal as the people around me started scrambling into the nearby station. Shaz and I were stuck outside, but fortunately, my brother was pulled in by a fairy-tale hero.
"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death", but don't give me tear gas. The following account is in no way dramatisation, it is, as it is. Maybe it was my severe underestimation of the pain, both physical and psychological, that caused my hesitation. If not for the rain, I shudder to think of the potential pain. Had I known...
Completely immobile and covering our faces with wet cloths, we were powerless for a good 45 seconds to the gas. Initially, you feel a sting in your nose. As the pain increases, it ignites your eyeballs into blindness. As the pain mounts unbearable, tears streaming uncontrollably out of your eyes, the gas enters the pores on your face, the sensation acid to the pH. As you try and escape the gas, running literally blindly, with your skin aflame, the gas enters your lungs, constricting respiration to almost nil. Every inhalation you take is void of oxygen, and soon you will not be able to breathe. More than once the thought of death surfaced in my mind, as I moved with, not fought against the crowd to clear the area. Shazee later told me she thought she was as good as gone as well. Tear gas brings you to the edge of death, only for you to be resuscitated back into Hell.
Finally, we broke into the station, where the gas was less. The stations themselves had all been shutdown, effectively freezing all those in the city centre, as the station officials looked on with barely masked glee. 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.
Now I'm unaware in the ensuing panic whether they fired two volleys or one, for as we moved away from the gas (by the way, huge kudos to all BERSIH chaps for ensuring people kept cool) we turned into the corner. The shots were similar to the first episode in that they were fired infront of the crowd, however, as we entered the corner there was ANOTHER canister on my right barely 10 feet away. What luck.
As we scrambled yet again, in my mind I was still able to ponder, as the familiar pain returns, "Are they aware of how devastatingly painful it is?" I question the tactics of the police. Why fire so unbelievably close to the crowd? The gas is supposed to deter and disperse, not to cause chaos and anarchy. How would they have liked it, that fatalistic sensation creeping upon themselves?
We were able to move quicker this time. The crowd pushed and heaved past empty buildings, knocking over motorcycles carelessly parked. An entry point of one office building, and we all rushed in, taking to the stairs, and as the sensation died down the sight in the stairwell was one to behold. Like some kind of urban warfare, there were people slumped against the wall, faces in disarray, completely broken in spirit, trying to regain some semblance of composure. Around went a saviour passing out salt, which miraculously rid us of the worst effects almost instantly. Resigned to painful defeat, we decided to walk back home, with public transport at the mercy of the government.
Funnily enough, we found ourselves walking towards Istana Negara, where the memo was to be passed to the king. And i've just learned from dad that as we left the city, people lingered on as a decoy, while a mass gathering took place at the Istana. Ingenious, when you see the size of the crowd. Once again, hats off and big kudos the the organisers who did a fantastic job of keeping everyone calm, orderly, help direct traffic, etcetera etcetera.
At the Istana, it was a normal looking sort of demonstration, one which did not look like it was gonna get ugly. Cheers as I presume the memo was handed over, and the crowd slowly dispersed. As quickly as the tear gas hit, it was all over.
Even now, as I write this, I feel a mild headache coming on. It may or may not be a side effect, but surely the worrying thing is my willingness to believe it is born out of injustice. For now, I have come to a deeper understanding as to why private security is still employed despite the police, and I may cower everytime I see smoke or smell something foreign in the air.
Today serves as a landmark for my patriotism. Today serves as a landmark for the nation's patriotism, for in the face of such cruelty and opposition we prevailed and were crowned victors of the day. I also hope, that with the events of today, change shall, God willing, be effected. The people have spoken, the people have risen, the people have taken action. The onus passes to the King as a test of strength, and to the government to clean up its act.
You want the votes? Bloody earn it.
RASHAAD ALI
rashaadali@gmail.com
Saturday, November 10, 2007
And soon,
You will not be able to Breathe: My report from the Bersih Rally
Rashaad Ali
This is not some second-hand story; this is an account from the front line.
These are not borrowed photographs; these are pictures from the epicentre.
Because that was what the situation descended to in the city centre this afternoon, where my entire view of the present government was shattered the moment I saw those first gas cannisters fly. You can read it in a paper, on a website, in a forwarded email, but the magnanimity of the brutality will never compare to the panic that infiltrated into my being, and the fear that I now harbour for the government.
You could feel the stillness in the air, the sudden descent of tension into the atmosphere. Ominous signs paraded before us, my younger brother, my sister and I, before we even left the house. We headed toward the city via the Putra LRT, where Shaz managed this almost candid shot of policemen in RapidKL uniforms being briefed by a senior officer.
Once we exited the station at Masjid Jamek, we were greeted by the ever heart-warming sight of riot police. Here they call them the Federal Reserve Unit, but they are nothing more than mercenaries in uniform. Zealots armed with batons and gas launchers, completely apathetic to the growing crowd, swollen by passer-bys and passionate Malaysians. The police sprayed preliminary water-cannon fire on the crowd, which I wasn't to concerned about. It was only upon reaching home that I found out they were contaminated with chemicals.
Now there is something of great importance that I need to stress; in no way, absolutely none, did the demonstrators aim to incite the police. There was lots of chanting, of slogan shouting, of crowd rallying, but there was no hatred or contempt hurled against those in power. In short, we did not merit the treatment we received. One may say, "But it was an illegal gathering anyway." How can the executive issue a decree banning the people in a democracy from voicing their opinion? We are not looking for a riot. We're not looking for impeachment. We're not looking for a revolution. We want clean elections. After all, if the government did its job efficiently, without corruption,racism and wanton aggression, why would we want to vote for the opposition? The demonstration today was truly a model demonstration. A peaceful, passionate crowd standing defiant, in a completely passive manner. It was a moment to remember, the solidarity on the f aces of others as we stared down the threats in the hope of a better tomorrow.
All until the police became violent.
And then God played his hand; the heavens opened as it started to pour. As the precipitation flowed down my skin, a sickening sight developed before my eyes. If you notice in the above picture, the corner was crowded with people, having made some headway, only for cannon fire to push us back to the aforementioned corner. That's when the police formed a line, and fired tear gas at the crowd.
Fellow Malaysians, firing on their countrymen.
It wasn't so much as the actual shooting which was horrendous, but seeing them take their line of sight made my stomach turn. These uncompassionate robots, protectors of the society shooting against the people they swear to protect. Here they are, ladies and gentlemen, "dispersing crowds", while paedophiles run riot, pun very much intended.
When they fired, they shot directly infront of the crowd. Shaz and I happened to be caught in between a mass of bodies and a drain barrier. Just like some bad war movie, everything seemed to happen in slow motion, as the cannister rolled to a stop barely 10 feet away. Time sped back to normal as the people around me started scrambling into the nearby station. Shaz and I were stuck outside, but fortunately, my brother was pulled in by a fairy-tale hero.
"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death", but don't give me tear gas. The following account is in no way dramatisation, it is, as it is. Maybe it was my severe underestimation of the pain, both physical and psychological, that caused my hesitation. If not for the rain, I shudder to think of the potential pain. Had I known...
Completely immobile and covering our faces with wet cloths, we were powerless for a good 45 seconds to the gas. Initially, you feel a sting in your nose. As the pain increases, it ignites your eyeballs into blindness. As the pain mounts unbearable, tears streaming uncontrollably out of your eyes, the gas enters the pores on your face, the sensation acid to the pH. As you try and escape the gas, running literally blindly, with your skin aflame, the gas enters your lungs, constricting respiration to almost nil. Every inhalation you take is void of oxygen, and soon you will not be able to breathe. More than once the thought of death surfaced in my mind, as I moved with, not fought against the crowd to clear the area. Shazee later told me she thought she was as good as gone as well. Tear gas brings you to the edge of death, only for you to be resuscitated back into Hell.
Finally, we broke into the station, where the gas was less. The stations themselves had all been shutdown, effectively freezing all those in the city centre, as the station officials looked on with barely masked glee. 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.
Now I'm unaware in the ensuing panic whether they fired two volleys or one, for as we moved away from the gas (by the way, huge kudos to all BERSIH chaps for ensuring people kept cool) we turned into the corner. The shots were similar to the first episode in that they were fired infront of the crowd, however, as we entered the corner there was ANOTHER canister on my right barely 10 feet away. What luck.
As we scrambled yet again, in my mind I was still able to ponder, as the familiar pain returns, "Are they aware of how devastatingly painful it is?" I question the tactics of the police. Why fire so unbelievably close to the crowd? The gas is supposed to deter and disperse, not to cause chaos and anarchy. How would they have liked it, that fatalistic sensation creeping upon themselves?
We were able to move quicker this time. The crowd pushed and heaved past empty buildings, knocking over motorcycles carelessly parked. An entry point of one office building, and we all rushed in, taking to the stairs, and as the sensation died down the sight in the stairwell was one to behold. Like some kind of urban warfare, there were people slumped against the wall, faces in disarray, completely broken in spirit, trying to regain some semblance of composure. Around went a saviour passing out salt, which miraculously rid us of the worst effects almost instantly. Resigned to painful defeat, we decided to walk back home, with public transport at the mercy of the government.
Funnily enough, we found ourselves walking towards Istana Negara, where the memo was to be passed to the king. And i've just learned from dad that as we left the city, people lingered on as a decoy, while a mass gathering took place at the Istana. Ingenious, when you see the size of the crowd. Once again, hats off and big kudos the the organisers who did a fantastic job of keeping everyone calm, orderly, help direct traffic, etcetera etcetera.
At the Istana, it was a normal looking sort of demonstration, one which did not look like it was gonna get ugly. Cheers as I presume the memo was handed over, and the crowd slowly dispersed. As quickly as the tear gas hit, it was all over.
Even now, as I write this, I feel a mild headache coming on. It may or may not be a side effect, but surely the worrying thing is my willingness to believe it is born out of injustice. For now, I have come to a deeper understanding as to why private security is still employed despite the police, and I may cower everytime I see smoke or smell something foreign in the air.
Today serves as a landmark for my patriotism. Today serves as a landmark for the nation's patriotism, for in the face of such cruelty and opposition we prevailed and were crowned victors of the day. I also hope, that with the events of today, change shall, God willing, be effected. The people have spoken, the people have risen, the people have taken action. The onus passes to the King as a test of strength, and to the government to clean up its act.
You want the votes? Bloody earn it.
RASHAAD ALI
rashaadali@gmail.com
Verily, Three "VVV"-couraged Malaysians
Desi just came back from "kualalumpurismyhome.com", and knowing fellow Bloggers on the Yellow March on Nov 10 are Very "V"-minded, I reprise one photo worth 10,000 words (also please surf dare and view Youtube video...)of a "Trio" who make me Very Proud, and my MOnday now is not blue, still Very Yellow despite the heavy rain in Furongnow even as I write. A huge "Terima Kasih, mates!" to thee, thee, thee and thee.
"When I reached the LRT station infront of the Sime Darby Building, I took up the stairs of the overhead pedestrians bridge towards Sime Darby building so that I can shoot the video footages from the top of the bridge. Just when I was about to leave the bridge, I was emotionally moved by what I saw right in front of me. I saw a blind man. I stopped for a brief few seconds and looked at the man behind another man very carefully to verify what I just saw… take a look at the short video here….
The blind man who was in the light yellow shirt was holding very tight to the man in the grey shirt as he was bending down to tighten up his shoe lace I presumed.. I asked both of them where they had come from and the man in the grey shirt told me they were from Batu Tiga. In my awe, I thanked them for walking with the rest of the crowds and that it was good that they had played their roles in this effort to ensure clean and fair elections. By this time, there was no tear gas infront of Sime Darby LRT station but all of a sudden, I felt my tears were rushing to get out as I tried as hard as I could not to show how much I was emotionally moved by the courage of this blind man in joining the march to Istana Negara… I didn’t know whether this brave blind man ever reach the palace but the message to the power that be is as clear as crystal….. people from all walks of life want change in the election processes.
And today, as I hop on from blogs to blogs looking for what others had to say about the awesome march for clean and fair elections, I came across this awesome story of Amri at Harris Ibrahim’s blog:
Finally, before I forget, to all those who did not attend the rally and march yesterday because you thought that there would be no need to as you were sure there would be others to make up the numbers, you owe a big ‘Thank You’ to Amri of Shah Alam.
He bore your responsibility on his shoulders.
To those whom did not make it to the historic walk for whatever reasons…. please say a big “THANK YOU” in the comments area of this post to show your solidarity with these two less fortunate but brave- and couraged-citizens.
The rest of the journey to the Istana Negara went very smoothly along Jalan Mahameru, passing National Mosque and all the way to the palace. I however decided to make my way back to Masjid Jamek when I reached what used to be ex-UMBC building where I was told that the Bersih delegation had successfully delivered the memorandum to the King and that the crowds at the Istana Negara were already on their way back to the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. By this time, the battery of my Nikon camera also went dead.
Malaysiakini had reported that the organiser had hailed the banned rally a success.
Despite attempts to spook the public from participating in the Bersih rally, 40,000 people turned up today in the largest show of force since the reformasi protests a decade ago.
Relief was clearly written on the faces of Bersih leaders and the police for they have both avoided the potential of an ugly confrontation. But the rally ended too early for thousands more who were still marching from downtown Kuala Lumpur to Istana Negara.
I will always remember this day in my life for as long as I live. Malaysiaku Gemilang.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Laughing Stocks Rally to Historic Peaks
November 10, 2007 is a watershed in Malaysia's political landscape when it saw a "V"ictorious Peoples's Rally of at least 40,000 people gathering under the BERSIH ("clean" in Bahasa Malaysia) banner to demand for fair, free and clean elections. The assembly of peaceful and concerned Malaysians putting aside race, colour or creed or gender successfully braved police warnings and the inclement weather to march to the vicinity of Istana Negara grounds around the appointed time of 3.00pm to about 4.15pm (when the assembly was officially dismissed after the Memorandum had been handed over officially to an Palace official) to support a delegation of leaders headed by PAS, PKR, DAP and BERSIH leaders to hand over a Memorandum for Electoral Reforms to his Royal Highess, the Yang diPertuan Agong.
If there were no Internet, especially the emergent Fifth Estate (Blogosphere), and foreign agencies to cover the historic event, the Malaysian populace would have been hoodwinked by the mainstream media (MSM) in the English language and Government-controlled national news agency BERNAMA and RTM1 and RTM2.
The figures of the people who gathered to show their solidarity cited by these media, including The Star and NST, ran into single digit THOUSAND people only, and therefore is a non-event. I sighted some reports attributed to the Star stating 3,000 or 4,000 participants (Readers, please help me out here as I was too busy surfing tocheck as many news accounts as possible and did not properly C&P the figures...I humbly stand to be corrected.)
(PLease note I am not including the newspapers in the Chinese and Tamil and BM languages here.)
The People's Paper's editors must be blind that day, and its reporters and photographers must have been blindfolded, because they could not notice large groups of Malaysians crowding around Kuala Lumpur, half of them prominent in Yellow T-shirts displaying BERSIH's objectives, as part of the November 10 Rally. NOT A SINGLE PICTURE anywhere is sighted in the daily. Instead they dutifully trained their eyes and ears on what should have been a page 13 story but played upon page N4,
headlined:
Thousands at open house
Kuala Lumpur: Despite the heavy downpour, more than 10,000 city folk turned up at the Hari Raya open house hosted by Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique at his Taman Tasik Titiwangsa residence.
(Desi stops at first para -- the rest is laughing stock staff, soon to be listed.)
They also reported on page N8 three Rally-related items, but not a single picture of the POLICE or FEDERAL RESERVE UNIT firing tear-gas and water cannons on the participants gathered by the thousands. As hinted by the headline of the news report at the top of page:
Cops break up march
Teargas and water cannons used on illegal assembly, 245 held
Desi asks a question here of these Fourth Estate buggers -- Didn't they teach you in the newsroom the value of ACTION SHOTS?
Instead there was a large "passive" photo in the middle of same page, captioned Traffic bottleneck: Vehicles trickling through a police roadblock at a section of the print Expressway in Petaling Jaya yesterday (Sunday Star, 11 November, 2007).
And finally who else to be BIG MOUTH mouthing the predictable rubbish befitting a Malaysian DPM -- but he would have been laughed off the stage other than the PWTC and RTM's -- at the bottom of page, headlined:
Najib on why police did not permit gathering
___________________________________
My regular reader "V" then pointed Desi to another equally arresting Minister who raised laughter to a new(s) peak, and Malaysians must thank KL-headquarteed AL-JAZEERA for bringing us prime news entertainment, via:
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1_GQ-K7P_w&eurl=http://www.jeffooi.com/2007/11/nov_10_and_zam_turned_yellow.php"
When the stock market resumes trading on Mondae, it’s anticipated NSTPP and The STarr Pubications would be transferred to the "Laughing Stocks" category as most appropriate to keep the Minister of Propaganda-ganda Wand Anda company:( BERNAMA and RTM are expected to be listed very soon after they confer Tan Sriship on the CEs, and the stocks will rise to great peaks to generate funds for the BN to finance their leaders ERECTIONS.
If there were no Internet, especially the emergent Fifth Estate (Blogosphere), and foreign agencies to cover the historic event, the Malaysian populace would have been hoodwinked by the mainstream media (MSM) in the English language and Government-controlled national news agency BERNAMA and RTM1 and RTM2.
The figures of the people who gathered to show their solidarity cited by these media, including The Star and NST, ran into single digit THOUSAND people only, and therefore is a non-event. I sighted some reports attributed to the Star stating 3,000 or 4,000 participants (Readers, please help me out here as I was too busy surfing tocheck as many news accounts as possible and did not properly C&P the figures...I humbly stand to be corrected.)
(PLease note I am not including the newspapers in the Chinese and Tamil and BM languages here.)
The People's Paper's editors must be blind that day, and its reporters and photographers must have been blindfolded, because they could not notice large groups of Malaysians crowding around Kuala Lumpur, half of them prominent in Yellow T-shirts displaying BERSIH's objectives, as part of the November 10 Rally. NOT A SINGLE PICTURE anywhere is sighted in the daily. Instead they dutifully trained their eyes and ears on what should have been a page 13 story but played upon page N4,
headlined:
Thousands at open house
Kuala Lumpur: Despite the heavy downpour, more than 10,000 city folk turned up at the Hari Raya open house hosted by Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique at his Taman Tasik Titiwangsa residence.
(Desi stops at first para -- the rest is laughing stock staff, soon to be listed.)
They also reported on page N8 three Rally-related items, but not a single picture of the POLICE or FEDERAL RESERVE UNIT firing tear-gas and water cannons on the participants gathered by the thousands. As hinted by the headline of the news report at the top of page:
Cops break up march
Teargas and water cannons used on illegal assembly, 245 held
Desi asks a question here of these Fourth Estate buggers -- Didn't they teach you in the newsroom the value of ACTION SHOTS?
Instead there was a large "passive" photo in the middle of same page, captioned Traffic bottleneck: Vehicles trickling through a police roadblock at a section of the print Expressway in Petaling Jaya yesterday (Sunday Star, 11 November, 2007).
And finally who else to be BIG MOUTH mouthing the predictable rubbish befitting a Malaysian DPM -- but he would have been laughed off the stage other than the PWTC and RTM's -- at the bottom of page, headlined:
Najib on why police did not permit gathering
___________________________________
My regular reader "V" then pointed Desi to another equally arresting Minister who raised laughter to a new(s) peak, and Malaysians must thank KL-headquarteed AL-JAZEERA for bringing us prime news entertainment, via:
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1_GQ-K7P_w&eurl=http://www.jeffooi.com/2007/11/nov_10_and_zam_turned_yellow.php"
And BERNAMA followed up with a RATIONALISATION for its overseeing Boss, ZAM, who with Putrajaya's 4th Floor boys, must have impressed their 15th century Fourth Estate mindset to the Star and NST GEICs the "ideal perceptions" to own to play their role to reach new peaks in journalism. Of course their Datuk title helps. And ZAM is an eminent role model as he was once GEIC of Utusan Malaysia, the leading BM and famous UMNO BIG Mouthpiece in Malaysia.
"
11/11: Zam refutes Al Jazeera's claim police used force on protesters
(Bernama) -- Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin has refuted satellite television station Al Jazeera's claim that police had used force on hundreds of protesters here today.
He told the station that police had tried to disperse the protesters by using water cannons as the gathering was illegal.
"When they refused to disperse, the police allowed them to march to Istana Negara to hand over a memorandum demanding for a clean and fair election.
"The police managed to handle the situation as best they could," he said over the phone in a live interview by Al Jazeera here. He was responding to the illegal assembly organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections or "Bersih" comprising 26 non-governmental organisations and which also involved opposition parties, to hand over the memorandum containing their demands, to Istana Negara.
Asked why Malaysia did not allow such gatherings, Zainuddin said they were unnecessary because general elections had been held without fail in this country and according to the scheduled dates.
The minister also hit out at Al Jazeera for having the wrong perception when posing questions. Al Jazeera reporters had their own perceptions about Malaysia before coming here, he said, adding that "Malaysia is not Myanmar or Pakistan; it is a democratic country".
Zainuddin said many television viewers in Malaysia were laughing at the antics of the Al Jazeera reporter who seemed to be trying to portray the situation as ugly.
"The reporter was seen shouting, so much so the situation seemed unreal to the viewers."He also criticised Al Jazeera for only interviewing journalists known to be pro-opposition but not getting the government's views."
I heard my kopitiam blogger friends and readers saying maybe soon Bursaa Malaysiaa would be listing a new category of shares under "laughing stocks". Minister Zam Zam ala Kazam aka Minister of Propaganda-ganda Wand Anda will flag off par value stocks of RM1 at a special price of RM0.01 to all journalists of his mindset and perception. Malaysian journalists working for Al Jazeera and all foreign wires are not allowed to apply for the new share issues. They don't understand the rationale forlisting laughing stocks.
When the stock market resumes trading on Mondae, it’s anticipated NSTPP and The STarr Pubications would be transferred to the "Laughing Stocks" category as most appropriate to keep the Minister of Propaganda-ganda Wand Anda company:( BERNAMA and RTM are expected to be listed very soon after they confer Tan Sriship on the CEs, and the stocks will rise to great peaks to generate funds for the BN to finance their leaders ERECTIONS.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
It's Raining Men.. Yellow Men
Guest Blogger: aweOFhelen!:)
If her AC varies from Desi's,blame it on the typesetters! -- Desi
Saturday, November 10, 2007
It's Raining Men.. Yellow Men
Helicopter circling DataranHubby and I were cussing in Chinese in front of the policemen about the lame technical excuse. Afterall, it's not like the police can understand Canto right? When the 2 policemen turned round only we realized they're Chinese.. yeak.. we quickly walk off liao.. :-P
We walked to Pasar Seni and the police and FRU were stationed all the way. Hubby and I met up with another blogger in Pasar Seni and together we made our way to Coliseum for lunch. I was frantically looking out for Adrian in yellow boots.. but didn't see him. It was drizzling and they were no people in yellow in sight.
All main road leading to Masjid Jamek were sealed off by FRU and even the LRT station is shut tight. Hubby, Mr Desiderata and I took the back lane and managed to reach Coliseum to have our lunch.
FRUs on the way to Masjid Jamek
Masjid Jamek LRT station. Shut tight.
After the tear gas incident. The crowd was dispersing.Feeling a little discouraged, hubby and I headed home. All the route to the Istana were sealed off. But, in the end, we did managed to bump into a sizeable crowd in yellow heading to Masjid Negara.
The "V" for Viva Reformasi Spirit Is Alive!
This is an anecdoctal and onservational account, so it's not to be treated as a news report -- readers are advised to read as many accounts as possible and form a composite picture of a "historic" event.
I arrived at 12.15pm early for a 1.00pm AP with fellow blogger Helen (all the way from Ipoh, further than from my Furong nest .. .and even as I went to Youssof Curry Fishhead to queue to pee, she sms-ed me she had arrived at the Kopitiam just 20 meters away.
It was drizzling, but my heart was warmed as I saw quite a good crowd of fellow PKR and PAS buddies chatting in groups, though few were in "yellow" as it was a mite too early to don the distinctive attire of that colour (denoting an important date with ROYALTY:) In less than 10 minutes I joined Helen and her significant other, Mr John Lee, and I made small talk as they slowly finished some bread and butter to energise after their 15-minute Lovers' walk from a hotel nearby. I told them some secrets about myself which I held them to secrecy except to the ears of Howsy -- another Ipohlang who was running sked and ran off to the US to be as far as possible away from the FRU in dark blue, quite many of them hanging around., hey this is jest a joke,OK! -- and MaverickDr sm yeoh. (Whenever Howsy is mentioned, SM is next in line but one AM is still hyde-ing in Seremban! VVVVe apparently maketh up the Four Muskitdears in blogsworld: wonder are we equivalent to wan "V"?)
Back from diversion, we (as a trio) decided to survey the scene near Dataran Merdeka. We already guessed access to the field of independence was unilaterally blocked off by soem blockheads, and I had a ground-level view of a helicopter flying above DM. I surmised the pilot was taking pictures of the "empty" field below to show to his political masters later -- see,no one showed up for the "V" Rally!
But don't believe the usual BN-UMNO and MSM crap. I led my two Ipoh mates down Jalan Tun Perak, but we were not allowed down the last 20 meters leading to the intersection with Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. So Helen and her significant other had to be guided by Desi via the backlane to emerge at Jalan TAR some 20 meters away from the said intersection, so Helen's and John's camera shots in the direction of DM -- that's 4 Dataran Merdeka -- only captured the heads of our comrades straining to see over the blue-shirted men to see if there was any action on DM. Above DM we could see of course the droning helicopter-- couldn't see any "Nuri" sign, otherwise I wouldn't go to DM even if they paid me my 20million!
It was difficult to estimate numbers of people who answered BERSIH's call to spend Saturday afternoon in the neighbourhood fronting the Court complex at Jalan Raja, but I think the Police did not underestimate the numbers present, and I told Helen it would be goode if the number reached 50,000, since the weather was not too kind. As we were all dispersed over FOUR rallying points since DM was out of reach (as anticipated by the BERSIH organisers), but the spirit of solidarity was clearly in the air. I wished inside me that there could have been more Malaysians of Chinese and Indian descendancy (I am reluctant to note this "ethnic" reference, but I said this because later Helen did raise a relevant point...come to this later***) present as a quick guesstimate they amounted to less than 10%! (hey, it's just one person Desi's figure okay!)
As it was still an hour before 3pm, we then popped over to Coliseum for chicken chop lunch (I told the host John my CON BF came early by 12 hours today!:). Helen was educating Desi about her USD-paying PayPerPost posts she started severalmonths back and this got Desi excited -- ah,my 20mil seemed nearer on the horizon, and I don't have to ham-burgger moo_t so much for auction quotes at eBoy for desiderata2000.BC!
Exiting back into Jln TAR after gaining some Satisfaction from Helen's PPP efforts, we were greeted by a downpour. Despite protesting that I could stand the heat -- or the cold naked -- Mr Helen raced across the busy Jln TAR to buy us three umbrellas. No,I think they did not raise the price -- thee vendors are sympathetic to us concerned citizens walking for fair and free elections, and also, justice.
We headed towards the direction of Wisma Tun Abdul Razak, and that was when we had some excitement -- at about 2.45pm. As we joined the crowd -- with 3/4 of them displaying proudly their Yellow T-shirts with BERSIH objectives well displayed -- suddenly there was shouting and people turning toards us and running. John, Helen and Desi slowed down and only after some minutes, we realised ahead of us by some 100 meters along Jalan Kuching (?) near City Hall, the FRU force had fired several rounds of tear gas. Soem among the yellow-shirted comrades were seen chatting with "fellow coordinators" and shouting instructions, and the running in the opposite direction stopped. I stopped a yellow shirt and he confirmed Yes, the FRU were firing tears gas to disperse the gathering. Helen and hubby who were about 10 mteres in front of Desi "felt" the chemical effect, and she reported seeing some "red" faces. Desi at a cowardly distance behind did not taste the action, but why should this writHer complain? It's better to be in one whole piece to be able to file this report for my ER, 'rite?
On the way back to Central Market, where I boasted to my "ignorant" friends from Ipoh we could have a good Vantage point to see the participants in Yellow heading towards the Istana Negara, I voiced aloud my earlier lament ***. Helen opined that Chinoserie Malaysians were quite "apolitical" as long as they could "cari makan" and many adopt the attitude of "less political noseying, the better for us-lah". Now this is not a research finding so don't blast her okay, but I nodded my head anyway, and the "free lunch" assisted in the nodding Okay, I admit. As for the community with too many problems besieging them because they have to put up with a "leader" who over-stayed his time by some 50% more than Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad -- which is always "disastrous", which is why the US President's terms are limted to two consisting of eight years only but our BN compnentparty leaders think they are God's gifts to mankind, hence indispensable. But Desi whispered to Helen -- "Most are more useful when they are six feet under -- look at how Ijok people got development worth 10 years in ONE MONTH after the last SA said an early goodbuy...:( Of course, those BN wakil rakyat can beg to differ -- as Desi is a diehard promoter of democracy, that's why we are spending Saturday afternoon at Jalan Tar, yes? -- butt do you think I'll defer?
We took a tea-break at the CM Kopitiam -- VVVe had covered at least 3km by now? so I insisted we deserve an iced limau teh-O -- and we surmised the PAS, PKR, DAP leaders like Sdr Awang Hadi, Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Guan Eng,must be leading their troops towards Istana Negara by now. We prayed there would not be road blocks along the way like the FRU did towards DM! I told Helen that she could have a good bird's eye view from her hubby's hotel room,so we headed away from CM towards the Jalan Syed Putra direction.
promised to keep in touch by HP. Some 10minutes later, Helen rang to inform Desi: "Yes, we could see thousands of yellow shirts around the perimeter of the Istana grounds!"
That really lifted my heart. It was then about 3.45pm. Some 20 minutes later, I stopped some brudder returning from the Istana to enquire if the People"s Memorandum was handed over, and it was a glad sound of "YES, " and their estimates of crowds who turned up varied from 50,000 to 100,000. I can't blame anyone for such a wide range of numbers for VVee were not congregated at one point. The Prime Minister's yes-men made sure we did not rally at Dataran Merdeka. But we achieved our date with the Yang diPertuan Agong.
We sent a resounding message which will reverberate throughout our beloved Malaysia. We the RAKYAT want free and fair elections!
BACK TO THIS POINT EARLIER ***, Desi adds that "Anyway, in the long term, it's a good start that we have a multi-racial rally today -- hence I term it historic." We must continue to struggle for a NegaraKu regardless of race, creed or colour or gender. We have made an important step on November 10, 2007. For a fictional Englande, it was a November 5 "V"ictory. For NegaraKu, it's the start of a "V"OTE4CHANGE VICTORY. There is HOPE yet.
GoodNight, GBless, now buy Desi another lamb chop 12 hours from now with goblets of tehtarik, will you!
I arrived at 12.15pm early for a 1.00pm AP with fellow blogger Helen (all the way from Ipoh, further than from my Furong nest .. .and even as I went to Youssof Curry Fishhead to queue to pee, she sms-ed me she had arrived at the Kopitiam just 20 meters away.
It was drizzling, but my heart was warmed as I saw quite a good crowd of fellow PKR and PAS buddies chatting in groups, though few were in "yellow" as it was a mite too early to don the distinctive attire of that colour (denoting an important date with ROYALTY:) In less than 10 minutes I joined Helen and her significant other, Mr John Lee, and I made small talk as they slowly finished some bread and butter to energise after their 15-minute Lovers' walk from a hotel nearby. I told them some secrets about myself which I held them to secrecy except to the ears of Howsy -- another Ipohlang who was running sked and ran off to the US to be as far as possible away from the FRU in dark blue, quite many of them hanging around., hey this is jest a joke,OK! -- and MaverickDr sm yeoh. (Whenever Howsy is mentioned, SM is next in line but one AM is still hyde-ing in Seremban! VVVVe apparently maketh up the Four Muskitdears in blogsworld: wonder are we equivalent to wan "V"?)
Back from diversion, we (as a trio) decided to survey the scene near Dataran Merdeka. We already guessed access to the field of independence was unilaterally blocked off by soem blockheads, and I had a ground-level view of a helicopter flying above DM. I surmised the pilot was taking pictures of the "empty" field below to show to his political masters later -- see,no one showed up for the "V" Rally!
But don't believe the usual BN-UMNO and MSM crap. I led my two Ipoh mates down Jalan Tun Perak, but we were not allowed down the last 20 meters leading to the intersection with Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. So Helen and her significant other had to be guided by Desi via the backlane to emerge at Jalan TAR some 20 meters away from the said intersection, so Helen's and John's camera shots in the direction of DM -- that's 4 Dataran Merdeka -- only captured the heads of our comrades straining to see over the blue-shirted men to see if there was any action on DM. Above DM we could see of course the droning helicopter-- couldn't see any "Nuri" sign, otherwise I wouldn't go to DM even if they paid me my 20million!
It was difficult to estimate numbers of people who answered BERSIH's call to spend Saturday afternoon in the neighbourhood fronting the Court complex at Jalan Raja, but I think the Police did not underestimate the numbers present, and I told Helen it would be goode if the number reached 50,000, since the weather was not too kind. As we were all dispersed over FOUR rallying points since DM was out of reach (as anticipated by the BERSIH organisers), but the spirit of solidarity was clearly in the air. I wished inside me that there could have been more Malaysians of Chinese and Indian descendancy (I am reluctant to note this "ethnic" reference, but I said this because later Helen did raise a relevant point...come to this later***) present as a quick guesstimate they amounted to less than 10%! (hey, it's just one person Desi's figure okay!)
As it was still an hour before 3pm, we then popped over to Coliseum for chicken chop lunch (I told the host John my CON BF came early by 12 hours today!:). Helen was educating Desi about her USD-paying PayPerPost posts she started severalmonths back and this got Desi excited -- ah,my 20mil seemed nearer on the horizon, and I don't have to ham-burgger moo_t so much for auction quotes at eBoy for desiderata2000.BC!
Exiting back into Jln TAR after gaining some Satisfaction from Helen's PPP efforts, we were greeted by a downpour. Despite protesting that I could stand the heat -- or the cold naked -- Mr Helen raced across the busy Jln TAR to buy us three umbrellas. No,I think they did not raise the price -- thee vendors are sympathetic to us concerned citizens walking for fair and free elections, and also, justice.
We headed towards the direction of Wisma Tun Abdul Razak, and that was when we had some excitement -- at about 2.45pm. As we joined the crowd -- with 3/4 of them displaying proudly their Yellow T-shirts with BERSIH objectives well displayed -- suddenly there was shouting and people turning toards us and running. John, Helen and Desi slowed down and only after some minutes, we realised ahead of us by some 100 meters along Jalan Kuching (?) near City Hall, the FRU force had fired several rounds of tear gas. Soem among the yellow-shirted comrades were seen chatting with "fellow coordinators" and shouting instructions, and the running in the opposite direction stopped. I stopped a yellow shirt and he confirmed Yes, the FRU were firing tears gas to disperse the gathering. Helen and hubby who were about 10 mteres in front of Desi "felt" the chemical effect, and she reported seeing some "red" faces. Desi at a cowardly distance behind did not taste the action, but why should this writHer complain? It's better to be in one whole piece to be able to file this report for my ER, 'rite?
On the way back to Central Market, where I boasted to my "ignorant" friends from Ipoh we could have a good Vantage point to see the participants in Yellow heading towards the Istana Negara, I voiced aloud my earlier lament ***. Helen opined that Chinoserie Malaysians were quite "apolitical" as long as they could "cari makan" and many adopt the attitude of "less political noseying, the better for us-lah". Now this is not a research finding so don't blast her okay, but I nodded my head anyway, and the "free lunch" assisted in the nodding Okay, I admit. As for the community with too many problems besieging them because they have to put up with a "leader" who over-stayed his time by some 50% more than Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad -- which is always "disastrous", which is why the US President's terms are limted to two consisting of eight years only but our BN compnentparty leaders think they are God's gifts to mankind, hence indispensable. But Desi whispered to Helen -- "Most are more useful when they are six feet under -- look at how Ijok people got development worth 10 years in ONE MONTH after the last SA said an early goodbuy...:( Of course, those BN wakil rakyat can beg to differ -- as Desi is a diehard promoter of democracy, that's why we are spending Saturday afternoon at Jalan Tar, yes? -- butt do you think I'll defer?
We took a tea-break at the CM Kopitiam -- VVVe had covered at least 3km by now? so I insisted we deserve an iced limau teh-O -- and we surmised the PAS, PKR, DAP leaders like Sdr Awang Hadi, Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Guan Eng,must be leading their troops towards Istana Negara by now. We prayed there would not be road blocks along the way like the FRU did towards DM! I told Helen that she could have a good bird's eye view from her hubby's hotel room,so we headed away from CM towards the Jalan Syed Putra direction.
promised to keep in touch by HP. Some 10minutes later, Helen rang to inform Desi: "Yes, we could see thousands of yellow shirts around the perimeter of the Istana grounds!"
That really lifted my heart. It was then about 3.45pm. Some 20 minutes later, I stopped some brudder returning from the Istana to enquire if the People"s Memorandum was handed over, and it was a glad sound of "YES, " and their estimates of crowds who turned up varied from 50,000 to 100,000. I can't blame anyone for such a wide range of numbers for VVee were not congregated at one point. The Prime Minister's yes-men made sure we did not rally at Dataran Merdeka. But we achieved our date with the Yang diPertuan Agong.
We sent a resounding message which will reverberate throughout our beloved Malaysia. We the RAKYAT want free and fair elections!
BACK TO THIS POINT EARLIER ***, Desi adds that "Anyway, in the long term, it's a good start that we have a multi-racial rally today -- hence I term it historic." We must continue to struggle for a NegaraKu regardless of race, creed or colour or gender. We have made an important step on November 10, 2007. For a fictional Englande, it was a November 5 "V"ictory. For NegaraKu, it's the start of a "V"OTE4CHANGE VICTORY. There is HOPE yet.
GoodNight, GBless, now buy Desi another lamb chop 12 hours from now with goblets of tehtarik, will you!
Friday, November 09, 2007
CSM from the Desk of Anwar Ibrahim
I just received the latest news break regarding the ongoing Lingam video tape saga from mGf Sdr Din Merican, so follows another Community Service Message; I do hope I get onto the Tonneeship list when I approach 90:
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SECOND CSM received @9.00pm:
Dear chong
Electoral reform and the future of Malaysia The right to free and fair elections is a democratic right to which the people of Malaysia are entitled. The Malaysian people have, in lawful pursuit of this right, exercised and exhausted all means of recourse to petition their government to reform an electoral system that is visibly corrupt and beholden to vested interests and the powers that be. The rally that is scheduled to take place on November 10th in Kuala Lumpur represents the next step in our campaign to reform the system and safeguard the electoral process from fraud and corruption. Those who attend the rally represent a vanguard of Malaysian society who realise that democracy does not come served on a silver platter. Our basic right to be governed by people who are just and of sound moral character is a right that sometimes requires great sacrifice and courage in the face of intimidation and adversity. I commend the organizers of the rally for their leadership and visionary thinking in bringing this event to fruition. I also applaud the thousands who are traveling to our nation's capital to exercise their democratic right to peaceful assembly and free expression. Our nation has reached a crossroads. To continue along the current trajectory is to ensure our continued decline and to rob us of our dignity as a people. The legacy of our founding fathers urges us to change and to reclaim the values upon which the nation was founded - unity, equity and justice. The generations who follow ours will look back in history and glorify those patriots who were steadfast on November 10th to reclaim the rights that have been usurped from us all. I therefore urge all Malaysians of conscience, irrespective of race, national origin, religion or political affiliation to join this movement and to appear on Saturday in Merdeka Square. Let us work together for a better Malaysia. ANWAR IBRAHIM | ||||||||||||
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