A follow-UP to yesterday's Post ~~~
Our Malaysian hero businessman RAVICHANDRAN THARUNALINGAM, shares double-billing with New Zealander MARK INGLIS, for conquering EVEREST, the world's highest mountain, on Monday, the feat well captured by theSun's headline --
True grit
and all heart
~~~~
came INDIRECTLY via The Star today in its
Other News&Views column, page N32 -- I'm NOT reproducting anything more than
the HEADLINE. Predictable. You can raed what is NOT writ, can't you?
The said column s a compilation of news sighted in other papers,
vernacular like Tamil Nesan, Kosmo! and Sin Chew Daily.
Okay, just the HEADLINE:
MIC to honour
mountaineer
DESIDERATA: My first reaction was: Why MIC?
WHY NOT THE GOVERNMENT?
Why not the Government?
why not the gomen?
Whether Ravi is an MIC member or not, Desi does not know. No need to know.
But I know Ravi is a Malaysian.
And as a Malaysian, it should be the Malaysian Government
to honour him.
MIC, DAP and MCP can come later --- but they'd better wait in line.
Where is Youth&Sports Minister Azalina Othman?
Is she too busy looking after Other youths actvities
like Rakan Mudah
and Sepak Takcrawl?~~~~~~~~
Or she is struck dumb by RAVICHANDRAN's small acheivement.
Whatever.
I remember the lyrics to one song~~~
Shall we adopt this as a national Anathema Song?
Please rise, let's sing
WITH ONE VOICE, ONE HEART~~~
SILENCE IS GOLDEN
Tremeloes Lyrics
Oh, don't it hurt deep inside
To see someone do something to her
Oh, don't it pain to see someone cry
Oh, especially when someone is her
Silence is golden, but my eyes still see
Silence is golden, golden
But my eyes still see
Talking is cheap, people follow like sheep
Even though there is nowhere to go
How could she tell, he deceived her so well
Pity, she'll be the last one to know
Silence is golden, but my eyes still see
Silence is golden, golden
But my eyes still see
How many times will she fall for his line
Should I tell her or should I keep cool?
And if I tried, I know she'd say I lied
Mind your business, don't hurt her, you fool
Silence is golden, but my eyes still see
Silence is golden, golden
But my eyes still see
PS: There are many VVIPs among us,
They also have eyes,
But many do not see.
God save our souls,
I:
S:
A: men.
UPDATE@lunchtime in Malaysia:
mGf whispered: Many of these VVIPs vigorously promote Vision 2020, but they CLOSE ONE EYE.
One based in lundun was interjecting in his sleep:
No-lah, these mankeys have (BOTH) EYES WIDE SHUT.
Reminding us about the one featuring NICOLE KIDMANand TOM CRUISE.
In BTW mention, Howsy also claimed they were making love stuck NAKED.
Y&A Theels begs to differ, protesteth: I deem Nicole was wearing some bod-colored lingerie.(Words to similar effect which I'm recalling to my luver's best...)
But the hoRst has the final say:
That sort of attire is negligee-ble.
No wonder the Cruiser's tyres pumped out,
and an Urban-ite has taken over his place.
BTW2:
Page W47 of The Star has got the gossip~~~
Kidman to marry
country music star
LOS ANGELES: Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman,
ex-wife of actor Tom Cruise, is engaged to marry
country music star KEITH URBAN, his spokesman said
on Tuesday.
One Desi is still besotted with Nicole after seeing her can-can dance attired
role in Moulin Rouge, and misinterpretating her business-attired role as an "INTERPRETER" at the UNited NAsiones, and I don't know if it was her in
THE HOURS?
DatDesi's steal Patiently&Virtuously
waiting in the wings. Chicken, anyone?
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Extending a Tuesday with Morrie...
TheSUN frontpage today warms my heart like birds chirping on a summer's day -- as I guiltily bite into my non-CON BF of fried mee plus lontong sotong plus kambing rendang at "Semuanya Okay" kopishoppe somewhere in SJ, where folks are still okay.
The guilt arises from the dire warnings of well meaning friends that I should not indulge in "rich" foods because hereditary factors are not on my star's side. Maybe on my broadsides, but some say my Ignorance is Bliss policy is too much for asides. Hope thou art not LOST because that is not one of my goals in life, to misslead, especially young maidens adrift on life's by(E)ways.
Our Malaysian hero businessman RAVICHANDRAN THARUNALINGAM, shares double-billing with New Zealander MARK INGLIS, for conquering EVEREST, the world's highest mountain, on Monday, the feat well captured by theSun's headline --
True grit
and all heart
I can straightaway appreciate why TRUE GRIT takes precedence...
INGLIS LOST BOTH LEGS IN A CLIMBING ACCIDENT 24 YEARS AGO.
He becomes the first double amputee to reach the summit of Everest.
RAVICHANDRAN climbed for charity -- aimed at raising RM2million for seven Malaysian charitable organisations; so I hope our corporates will respond with a heart as big as Ravi's.
CONGRATULATIONS are more than in order to both men of much physical prowess and mental spirit. In the case of INGLIS, many human beings caught in his situation when he lost both his legs from below the knees would have given in to despair and be paralysed in self-pity.
The media reports said Inglis, 47, the feat was a showcase of what one can achieve with tru grit, as he is a double amputee, having lost both legs because of severe frostbite suffered after a blizzard trapped him and a fellow party member in a cave in New Zealand's Mount Cook for 14 days in 1982. In the latest climb, one of his carbon-fibre legs snapped while climbing at around 6,400m and he was forced to repair it with spare parts.
Truly a role model to the world, especially to the Young Ones.
Please forget the so forgetable Buku Rekod Guinness ala Malaysia -- No more the Longest sandwioch, Largest moon-cake and Most crooked bridge for with more hands and money, any nationals can do that.
Let's treasure the true human endeavour testing the individual's physical, spiritual and mental prowesses to their limits. Both Ravi and Inglis have risen to the occasion. Heroes to emulate.
Perhaps some of my ER would attempt to reach that Nobel Prize one fine day.
For starters, let's equip ourselves with some basic lessons of Living -- on any of the Tuesdays with Morrie.
~~~~~~~
Using Despotic, as opposed to poetic, Licence,
Desi extends Tuesdays with Morrie to wedNURSEday,
which is usually associated with a Childe of Woe.
But most of my ER here need some PEP-ing, don't you?
"Pep", in my vocab, means "to lift up" --
akin to XoXo, remember?
(or jest between mui-mui Helen -- and Desi -- who inspired,*
this Post, comPost?)~no, not instigated*, I know not till the day I die why the Oz tried to convert me to use this alternative.
I divert to my own selfish delight to Comments arriving like shy virginal brides at a blooming groom's chambers in
Da Steal of Da Nite, as if Da Desi's Code might transfer some Da Vinci's poison into YoungMinda, (Theels, please pass Da Chanel!...)
before I resume this morn's lesson on Life. Courtesy plus courtsey, from Mitch and Morrie. Gentlemen are aloud too, you know. The curtsey and lesson, my mean...
~C1:
"Helen said...
Meow, **scratching Mr Desi **
Sorry, sithkitty got the 1st prize liao! **purrrr, purrrrrr **
"Remember me with smiles and laughter
for that is how I will remember you all.
If you can only remember me with tears,
then don't remember me at all."
9:08 PM "
DESI: Joe.psc - There goes OUR attempt at JV-ing as Da Collectors. Let's stick to Versifying, some itchifying also-can:); we'll leave the bitchifrying to Da Helenic gang!:(No, no-cun', I hear some whisp''ing...
~~C2:
"lc teh said...
sigh...my you guys are so poetic, I need to go back to school to keep you in sight. And also remember that little girl running down hill (or was it up?) with arms outstretched. Really enjoy your play with words (and purposely-misspelling), Desi.
9:19 PM "
DESI:
Readers like you, LC, maketh my day. Backers like thee "feed" me (Oops, must watch my waistlines!) with more poetry --- that can wean the birds down from the safe branches of the Tree, into questionable Desi's terrortry! ~~
and soweth sweet charity&harmony as I offer Guests like Teh some teh-C!. Thanks for the kind words.
IT truly lifts. My heart is as Mitchy as can be for the sext 24...
~~~C3:
"sweetspirits said...
Earth has no sorrow that heaven can not heal.
Then i await for heaven to heal me.
10:24 PM "
DESI:
I'm among at least five in the Reception Committee,
but sweets, tarry awhile on GOoD Earth,
there is much comPOST to make with Desi.
C3plus1:
"Twisted Heelssaid...
Aww, I've missed just by an hour! Had exams, hehe.
Happy Belated Desi-teach Day :)
1:03 AM"
DESI: To all my EsteemedReaders like Theels,
You are all my Parttime Teachers, hopefoolly,
fulldime fRiends.
"HAPPY TEACHERS' DAE! dear all"
What is more gratifying than to know some parties I have not met regard Desi as a Mentor. I'd rather that I'm most times mentee, sometimes Mentor.
I always acknowledge that honour with rumour/humour, Desi's on the take, so how about gifting/buying me that CON?
Learning is lifelong, and at least is a two-way, but most times, multi-way, journey.
As some of my discerning readers did note, "Some pupils come in for a Reason, others for a Season, the gem-my ones for a Lifetime."
Now I must return to~~~~~~~
learning from Two Generous Teachers, Mitch and Morrie.
Exerpts:
The first time I saw Morrie on "Nightline", I wondered what regrets he had once he knew his death was imminent. Did he lament lost friends. Would he have done much differently? Selfishly, I wondered if I were in his shoes, wouuld I be consumed with sad thoughts of all that I had nmissed? Would I regret the secrets I had kep hidden?
When I mentioned this to Morrie, he noddded. "It's what everyone worries about, in't it? What if today wre my last day on earth?"
:
:
"Mitch," he said, "the culture doesn't encourage you to think about such things until you're about to die. We're so wrapped up with egotistical things, career, family, having enough moeny, meeting the mortgage, getting a new car, fixing the radiator when it breaks -- we're involved in trillions of little acts just to keep going. So we don't get into the habit of standing back and looking at our lives and saying, Is this all? Is this all I want? Is something missing?"
He paused.
"You need someone to probe you in that direction. It won't happen automatically."
I knew what he was saying. We all need teachers in our lives.
And mine was sitting in front of me.
:
:
The Fourth Tuesday
We Talk About Death
"Everyone knows they're going to die," he (Morrie) said again, "but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently."
So we kid ourselves about death, I (Mitch) said.
"Yes. But there's a better approach. To know you're going to die, and to be prepared for it at any time. That's better. That way you acn actually be more involved in your life while you're living."
How can you ever be prepared to die?
"Do what the Buddhists do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks,'Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?'"
He turned his head to his shoulder as if the bird were there now.
"Is today the day I die?" he said.
Morrie borrowed freely from all religions. He was born Jewish, but became an agnostic when he was a teenager, partly because of all that had happened to him as a child. He enjoyed some of the philosophies of Buddhism and Christianity, and he still felt at home, culturally, in Judaism. He was a religious mutt, which made him even more open to the students he taught over the years. And the things he was saying in his final months on earth seemed to transcend all religious differences. Death has a way of doing that.
"The truth is, Mitch," he said, "once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
I nodded.
The guilt arises from the dire warnings of well meaning friends that I should not indulge in "rich" foods because hereditary factors are not on my star's side. Maybe on my broadsides, but some say my Ignorance is Bliss policy is too much for asides. Hope thou art not LOST because that is not one of my goals in life, to misslead, especially young maidens adrift on life's by(E)ways.
Our Malaysian hero businessman RAVICHANDRAN THARUNALINGAM, shares double-billing with New Zealander MARK INGLIS, for conquering EVEREST, the world's highest mountain, on Monday, the feat well captured by theSun's headline --
True grit
and all heart
I can straightaway appreciate why TRUE GRIT takes precedence...
INGLIS LOST BOTH LEGS IN A CLIMBING ACCIDENT 24 YEARS AGO.
He becomes the first double amputee to reach the summit of Everest.
RAVICHANDRAN climbed for charity -- aimed at raising RM2million for seven Malaysian charitable organisations; so I hope our corporates will respond with a heart as big as Ravi's.
CONGRATULATIONS are more than in order to both men of much physical prowess and mental spirit. In the case of INGLIS, many human beings caught in his situation when he lost both his legs from below the knees would have given in to despair and be paralysed in self-pity.
The media reports said Inglis, 47, the feat was a showcase of what one can achieve with tru grit, as he is a double amputee, having lost both legs because of severe frostbite suffered after a blizzard trapped him and a fellow party member in a cave in New Zealand's Mount Cook for 14 days in 1982. In the latest climb, one of his carbon-fibre legs snapped while climbing at around 6,400m and he was forced to repair it with spare parts.
Truly a role model to the world, especially to the Young Ones.
Please forget the so forgetable Buku Rekod Guinness ala Malaysia -- No more the Longest sandwioch, Largest moon-cake and Most crooked bridge for with more hands and money, any nationals can do that.
Let's treasure the true human endeavour testing the individual's physical, spiritual and mental prowesses to their limits. Both Ravi and Inglis have risen to the occasion. Heroes to emulate.
Perhaps some of my ER would attempt to reach that Nobel Prize one fine day.
For starters, let's equip ourselves with some basic lessons of Living -- on any of the Tuesdays with Morrie.
~~~~~~~
Using Despotic, as opposed to poetic, Licence,
Desi extends Tuesdays with Morrie to wedNURSEday,
which is usually associated with a Childe of Woe.
But most of my ER here need some PEP-ing, don't you?
"Pep", in my vocab, means "to lift up" --
akin to XoXo, remember?
(or jest between mui-mui Helen -- and Desi -- who inspired,*
this Post, comPost?)~no, not instigated*, I know not till the day I die why the Oz tried to convert me to use this alternative.
I divert to my own selfish delight to Comments arriving like shy virginal brides at a blooming groom's chambers in
Da Steal of Da Nite, as if Da Desi's Code might transfer some Da Vinci's poison into YoungMinda, (Theels, please pass Da Chanel!...)
before I resume this morn's lesson on Life. Courtesy plus courtsey, from Mitch and Morrie. Gentlemen are aloud too, you know. The curtsey and lesson, my mean...
~C1:
"Helen said...
Meow, **scratching Mr Desi **
Sorry, sithkitty got the 1st prize liao! **purrrr, purrrrrr **
"Remember me with smiles and laughter
for that is how I will remember you all.
If you can only remember me with tears,
then don't remember me at all."
9:08 PM "
DESI: Joe.psc - There goes OUR attempt at JV-ing as Da Collectors. Let's stick to Versifying, some itchifying also-can:); we'll leave the bitchifrying to Da Helenic gang!:(No, no-cun', I hear some whisp''ing...
~~C2:
"lc teh said...
sigh...my you guys are so poetic, I need to go back to school to keep you in sight. And also remember that little girl running down hill (or was it up?) with arms outstretched. Really enjoy your play with words (and purposely-misspelling), Desi.
9:19 PM "
DESI:
Readers like you, LC, maketh my day. Backers like thee "feed" me (Oops, must watch my waistlines!) with more poetry --- that can wean the birds down from the safe branches of the Tree, into questionable Desi's terrortry! ~~
and soweth sweet charity&harmony as I offer Guests like Teh some teh-C!. Thanks for the kind words.
IT truly lifts. My heart is as Mitchy as can be for the sext 24...
~~~C3:
"sweetspirits said...
Earth has no sorrow that heaven can not heal.
Then i await for heaven to heal me.
10:24 PM "
DESI:
I'm among at least five in the Reception Committee,
but sweets, tarry awhile on GOoD Earth,
there is much comPOST to make with Desi.
C3plus1:
"Twisted Heelssaid...
Aww, I've missed just by an hour! Had exams, hehe.
Happy Belated Desi-teach Day :)
1:03 AM"
DESI: To all my EsteemedReaders like Theels,
You are all my Parttime Teachers, hopefoolly,
fulldime fRiends.
"HAPPY TEACHERS' DAE! dear all"
What is more gratifying than to know some parties I have not met regard Desi as a Mentor. I'd rather that I'm most times mentee, sometimes Mentor.
I always acknowledge that honour with rumour/humour, Desi's on the take, so how about gifting/buying me that CON?
Learning is lifelong, and at least is a two-way, but most times, multi-way, journey.
As some of my discerning readers did note, "Some pupils come in for a Reason, others for a Season, the gem-my ones for a Lifetime."
Now I must return to~~~~~~~
learning from Two Generous Teachers, Mitch and Morrie.
Exerpts:
The first time I saw Morrie on "Nightline", I wondered what regrets he had once he knew his death was imminent. Did he lament lost friends. Would he have done much differently? Selfishly, I wondered if I were in his shoes, wouuld I be consumed with sad thoughts of all that I had nmissed? Would I regret the secrets I had kep hidden?
When I mentioned this to Morrie, he noddded. "It's what everyone worries about, in't it? What if today wre my last day on earth?"
:
:
"Mitch," he said, "the culture doesn't encourage you to think about such things until you're about to die. We're so wrapped up with egotistical things, career, family, having enough moeny, meeting the mortgage, getting a new car, fixing the radiator when it breaks -- we're involved in trillions of little acts just to keep going. So we don't get into the habit of standing back and looking at our lives and saying, Is this all? Is this all I want? Is something missing?"
He paused.
"You need someone to probe you in that direction. It won't happen automatically."
I knew what he was saying. We all need teachers in our lives.
And mine was sitting in front of me.
:
:
The Fourth Tuesday
We Talk About Death
"Everyone knows they're going to die," he (Morrie) said again, "but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently."
So we kid ourselves about death, I (Mitch) said.
"Yes. But there's a better approach. To know you're going to die, and to be prepared for it at any time. That's better. That way you acn actually be more involved in your life while you're living."
How can you ever be prepared to die?
"Do what the Buddhists do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks,'Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?'"
He turned his head to his shoulder as if the bird were there now.
"Is today the day I die?" he said.
Morrie borrowed freely from all religions. He was born Jewish, but became an agnostic when he was a teenager, partly because of all that had happened to him as a child. He enjoyed some of the philosophies of Buddhism and Christianity, and he still felt at home, culturally, in Judaism. He was a religious mutt, which made him even more open to the students he taught over the years. And the things he was saying in his final months on earth seemed to transcend all religious differences. Death has a way of doing that.
"The truth is, Mitch," he said, "once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
I nodded.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Showers with Teachers
"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where
his influence stops." ~~ HENRY ADAMS
While it's good to converse with Mitch and Morrie on this cool Tuesday, Desi thinks a break for all of us to take a breather is in order. Sandwiches taste better with a change of the servings within -- I'll go into the garden to pick lettuce and tomato even as the rhythm of the rain soothes the soul and gives dance to one's ageing feet, renewal of greying cells because Mother nature has a way of preserving.
If my dear ER think the foregoing seems an odd way to introduce my Post today, you are right. But my subject today is in many ways an odd one, and a writer must keep to the spirit of his subject!
Soothin' in the Rain
While must we always ask for sunshine in our lives?
Peep through the darkening clouds
They bring showers of blessing
To quieten the jagged soul
To quicken the sagging spirit
I remember
it was not so long ago
A sweet young thing visited in a dream
Before the dawn
Sometimes a SWT visits surprisingly
When one's eyes are still daze with yesterday's mourns
The man snores terribly
Disturbing her tender sleep above perhaps
Yet she caresses his head gently
Mayhaps like Eve did for te virginal time
Hugging Adam's lighweight against her beating
breast longing to feed a mouth yet to be
And he snuggles like a babe against her biege-coloured breast
Surreal as he
samples a second childhood before time
suckling her two choc tipped nipples
Tasting like fresh baked French buns
And he draws in deep breaths of esctasy
But it evaporates with the break of day
My Soothin', thou sweet young thing
Come, make it a sure thing
We dance with the dew drops
Flowing softly to the edges of the leaves
Like your presence waving goodbye
With the approaching streaks of yellow, red and gold
As the sun peeps between yonder hills
of dark green and bold
And I'll linger a while in heaven
And thou my angel be
Kissing me softly in the rain
As you blend into nothingness
Melting into the warming, embracing atmosphere
Chong Yen Long (c)
9.00AM, Tuesday with ...
Composed on Inspiration
after re-visiting Two
Great Teachers
Monday night ...
Waking to the soft strains of pitter patter
on the roof top... (to be continued)
My cool haven.
What's the lesson about?
It's the teachings of a pupuil and his teacher.
About dying. Living. Living as a death approaches.
And every passing Tuesday is a fresh lesson on the art,
or is it the Tapestry? -- of Life and Living?
"The truth is, Mitch," he said, "once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
I nodded.
This climactic lesson comes somewhere midway through the "I" in MITCH ALBOM's narrative of his last, and greatest lesson, his teacher -- MORRIE SCHWARTZ -- gave on his deathbed.
My re-visit to Morrie's Place was prompted by a Post titled EPITAPH.
I won't say whose or where except only a potential teacher akin to Morrie would
approach such a subject with alacrity and pomp. And pomp is far from being pompous.
As for alacrity -- find out the meaning for yourself. A teacher's first favour to his students is NEVER TO SPOON-FEED. Unless the teacher is on his deathbed, then it';s role reversal.
Some exerpts, no, not from TUESDAYS with MORRIE ... that will be continued.
From the EPITAPH~~~
E1~
Here lies
Johnny Yeast
Pardon me
For not rising.
E2~~
In a Thurmont, Maryland, cemetery
Here lies an Atheist
All dressed up
And no place to go.
E3~~~
Do believe I'll never leave you:
Always I'll be in your heart.
Don't forget my soul is near you,
And so we'll never be apart.
E3~~~
It is not length of life, but depth of life.
He jumped into life and never touched bottom.
E4~~~~
Earth has no sorrow that heaven can not heal.
And the author seeks help from ER, now extended to my ER here2 -- can anyone help in recalling word for dying word what was written on Little House on The Prairie's Laura Ingalls' tombstone?
A strange SOS, but what pitter patters in a woman's heart?
Desi's also dying to know...
We'll continue this conversation tomorrow, God willing. I'd dead serious.
Mitch and Morrie are also waiting, and they sure keep their deadline. Every Tuesday.
his influence stops." ~~ HENRY ADAMS
While it's good to converse with Mitch and Morrie on this cool Tuesday, Desi thinks a break for all of us to take a breather is in order. Sandwiches taste better with a change of the servings within -- I'll go into the garden to pick lettuce and tomato even as the rhythm of the rain soothes the soul and gives dance to one's ageing feet, renewal of greying cells because Mother nature has a way of preserving.
If my dear ER think the foregoing seems an odd way to introduce my Post today, you are right. But my subject today is in many ways an odd one, and a writer must keep to the spirit of his subject!
Soothin' in the Rain
While must we always ask for sunshine in our lives?
Peep through the darkening clouds
They bring showers of blessing
To quieten the jagged soul
To quicken the sagging spirit
I remember
it was not so long ago
A sweet young thing visited in a dream
Before the dawn
Sometimes a SWT visits surprisingly
When one's eyes are still daze with yesterday's mourns
The man snores terribly
Disturbing her tender sleep above perhaps
Yet she caresses his head gently
Mayhaps like Eve did for te virginal time
Hugging Adam's lighweight against her beating
breast longing to feed a mouth yet to be
And he snuggles like a babe against her biege-coloured breast
Surreal as he
samples a second childhood before time
suckling her two choc tipped nipples
Tasting like fresh baked French buns
And he draws in deep breaths of esctasy
But it evaporates with the break of day
My Soothin', thou sweet young thing
Come, make it a sure thing
We dance with the dew drops
Flowing softly to the edges of the leaves
Like your presence waving goodbye
With the approaching streaks of yellow, red and gold
As the sun peeps between yonder hills
of dark green and bold
And I'll linger a while in heaven
And thou my angel be
Kissing me softly in the rain
As you blend into nothingness
Melting into the warming, embracing atmosphere
Chong Yen Long (c)
9.00AM, Tuesday with ...
Composed on Inspiration
after re-visiting Two
Great Teachers
Monday night ...
Waking to the soft strains of pitter patter
on the roof top... (to be continued)
My cool haven.
What's the lesson about?
It's the teachings of a pupuil and his teacher.
About dying. Living. Living as a death approaches.
And every passing Tuesday is a fresh lesson on the art,
or is it the Tapestry? -- of Life and Living?
"The truth is, Mitch," he said, "once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
I nodded.
This climactic lesson comes somewhere midway through the "I" in MITCH ALBOM's narrative of his last, and greatest lesson, his teacher -- MORRIE SCHWARTZ -- gave on his deathbed.
My re-visit to Morrie's Place was prompted by a Post titled EPITAPH.
I won't say whose or where except only a potential teacher akin to Morrie would
approach such a subject with alacrity and pomp. And pomp is far from being pompous.
As for alacrity -- find out the meaning for yourself. A teacher's first favour to his students is NEVER TO SPOON-FEED. Unless the teacher is on his deathbed, then it';s role reversal.
Some exerpts, no, not from TUESDAYS with MORRIE ... that will be continued.
From the EPITAPH~~~
E1~
Here lies
Johnny Yeast
Pardon me
For not rising.
E2~~
In a Thurmont, Maryland, cemetery
Here lies an Atheist
All dressed up
And no place to go.
E3~~~
Do believe I'll never leave you:
Always I'll be in your heart.
Don't forget my soul is near you,
And so we'll never be apart.
E3~~~
It is not length of life, but depth of life.
He jumped into life and never touched bottom.
E4~~~~
Earth has no sorrow that heaven can not heal.
And the author seeks help from ER, now extended to my ER here2 -- can anyone help in recalling word for dying word what was written on Little House on The Prairie's Laura Ingalls' tombstone?
A strange SOS, but what pitter patters in a woman's heart?
Desi's also dying to know...
We'll continue this conversation tomorrow, God willing. I'd dead serious.
Mitch and Morrie are also waiting, and they sure keep their deadline. Every Tuesday.
Monday, May 15, 2006
What is History?
I am pledged to staying away from Politics. But this sighting at a fellow blogger's post on a dark day in history of NegaraKu has been bugging me over the weekend.
I need to get IT out of my system -- politics or non-. Desi believes it falls within the realm of Truth seeking, the least expounded of my original goals when I ventured into blogsworld lending my 3sen worth.
First explaining the 3sen. When we give our opinions, the standard phrase is to give one's two sen worth. Desi thinks he tries a "li'l harder" than most, hence claiming the additional test. That way I drive myself in not takling my readers fro granted. I'd rather be silent than to mouth the first thing that comes to mind without reflection.
I've often challenged my EsteemedReaders to give me Da Rationale. I'd feel unsatisfied if a YoungOne gives me a one-liner with a claim. Standalone, e.g. "Yes, I think Amir Muhammad's Lelaki Komunist Terakhir is an educational movie and should be approved for public viewing." PERIOD.
(Period is of course the Americanisation of the conventional British FULL-STOP, the dot one uses to end most sentences, like this one.)
I would demand of my conversationist that he/he give REASONS for her/his views for the listener may then beg to agree or disagree with the grounds cited. I'd respect the most seemingly "ridiculous" statement from a Reader, but if he/she giveth good grounds, I salute him/her.
So, what troubled Desi?
This opening paragraph:
"Today is the anniversary of racial strife.
I realised this morning that today is 13th May, the day when two racist and Chinese-chauvinist parties, DAP and Gerakan, reared their ugly serpent heads and mobillised their death-killing machines and literally massacred Muslims in Kuala Lumpur in 1969. And for that crime, I will never forgive DAP for that." Please note that I'm NOT reproducing any other paragraphs because it's not logical to go any further as I have questioned the original premise of his thesis.
And the author used wikipedia as the source of what he deems good historical records for the May 13, 1969 incident.
I would have thought official, published sources like Tunku Abdul Rahman's and Leon Comber's and other "academically published" sources would have been more useful and authoritative.
Wikipedia as a source for HISTORY?
There is such a thing called ATTRIBUTION is news-writing. If a reporter is to do a feature on cancers, an authority that immediately comes to mind would be a medical doctor, better still, specialised in Cancers. And this doctior would have to be properly attributed as the source for his medical opinions, based on research and case studies.
Can you imagine if the reporter (dumbass!) were to iontyerview a JKR worker he met at the Mamak stall to give his medical viewpoints on the subject of Cancers. Don't laugh, mGf, I had had first hand experience dealing with a similar scenario. But me Hariidas tehtarik and I'll entertain with de tail/tael/tale.
For less demanding subjects like Entertainment and Sports, ongoing technology and news developments where other sources are concurrently available for referencing, I would accept a Wikipedia's account as "reliable", even then qualified.
For Malaysia's alledgedly "darkest hour" in modern history, I won't even count Wikipedia as suitable for a news summary. I woyuld go to the establsihed news organisations like Reuters, AP, ABC,BBC and yes, NST, The Star, and Bernama even.
Desiderata won't quote further from the Blogger's writeup because I follow what I have always written here, that one must not start off on wrong premise/s, otherwise, whatever that follows, FAILS.
For its 3sen worth, I left this footprint at the Blogger's Comments channel, which I thank him for making available, whether we agree or disagree. I indeed hold frim to VOLTAIRE's dictum:
"I may disgree with what you say but I will degfend, to the death, your right to say it."
[+] Digg: Feature this article
1 comment
Read the comments left by other users below, or:
(I suggest if you can track down the Blog, read also the first Commenter's, which I'm NOT reprising here as I don't have his permission.)
ylchong
#2. May 13th, 2006, at 2:34 PM.
"… the day when two racist and Chinese-chauvinist parties, DAP and Gerakan, reared their ugly serpent heads and mobillised their death-killing machines and literally massacred Muslims in Kuala Lumpur in 1969…”
I ask you from what and which source did you extract the above as FACT, then followed by subsequent laments?
If your premise is wrong, then all other thoughts are similarly flawed.
Please do NOT spread falsehood. Your children don’t deserve that wrong guardianship from you; your father’s gen also does not need to carry that burden."
In fact Malaysians are poorly served in terms of proper schooling in Malaysian history as the Government has sttrenuously kept under wraps the events surrounding May 13. Official accounts cannot be disputed, and yioung Malaysians in school, even at University, are not encouraged to think for themselves. The Government has succeeded in producing two generations of very skilled "rote learners" but hardly any original thinkiers, inventors -- a Nobel Prize winner from Malaysia?
Maybe in producing the largest "nasi lemak" enough to feed the whjole of Kuala Lumpyur for next City Day!
Nobel Prize, my kaki! When even a bold artiostioc work like LKT cannot see the day of light, oops, the light of Malaysian day. But it saw it in Singapore and many overseas venues.
And we have the proud record of a group of "enlightened" university students presenting a Memorandum to the DPM asking the Government to continue with the Universitioes and Uniobversity Colleges Act, whose primary aim is to gag students, or minimise their activities, as far as involvement in politics and civil issues of the day are concerned. In NegaraKu, a "minority" of vocal students who toe the Government's line is often used a "concveninet" representative of Young&Artculate when they really "mewakili the Degenerate and Ethno-entric Politics" of a certain group or class within that group.
I close Monday's rambling with one recall from The Man In Black, and should you ask who, please invest RM20 on the Ori of "WALK THE LINE"
WHAT IS TRUTH?
The old man turned off the radio
Said, "Where did all of the old songs go
Kids sure play funny music these days
They play it in the strangest ways"
Said, "it looks to me like they've all gone wild
It was peaceful back when I was a child"
Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys
Are trying to be heard above your noise?
And the lonely voice of youth cries "What is truth?"
A little boy of three sittin' on the floor
Looks up and says, "Daddy, what is war?"
"son, that's when people fight and die"
The little boy of three says "Daddy, why?"
A young man of seventeen in Sunday school
Being taught the golden rule
And by the time another year has gone around
It may be his turn to lay his life down
Can you blame the voice of youth for asking
"What is truth?"
A young man sittin' on the witness stand
The man with the book says "Raise your hand"
"Repeat after me, I solemnly swear"
The man looked down at his long hair
And although the young man solemnly swore
Nobody seems to hear anymore
And it didn't really matter if the truth was there
It was the cut of his clothes and the length of his hair
And the lonely voice of youth cries
"What is truth?"
The young girl dancing to the latest beat
Has found new ways to move her feet
The young man speaking in the city square
Is trying to tell somebody that he cares
Yeah, the ones that you're calling wild
Are going to be the leaders in a little while
This old world's wakin' to a new born day
And I solemnly swear that it'll be their way
You better help the voice of youth find"What is truth?"
I need to get IT out of my system -- politics or non-. Desi believes it falls within the realm of Truth seeking, the least expounded of my original goals when I ventured into blogsworld lending my 3sen worth.
First explaining the 3sen. When we give our opinions, the standard phrase is to give one's two sen worth. Desi thinks he tries a "li'l harder" than most, hence claiming the additional test. That way I drive myself in not takling my readers fro granted. I'd rather be silent than to mouth the first thing that comes to mind without reflection.
I've often challenged my EsteemedReaders to give me Da Rationale. I'd feel unsatisfied if a YoungOne gives me a one-liner with a claim. Standalone, e.g. "Yes, I think Amir Muhammad's Lelaki Komunist Terakhir is an educational movie and should be approved for public viewing." PERIOD.
(Period is of course the Americanisation of the conventional British FULL-STOP, the dot one uses to end most sentences, like this one.)
I would demand of my conversationist that he/he give REASONS for her/his views for the listener may then beg to agree or disagree with the grounds cited. I'd respect the most seemingly "ridiculous" statement from a Reader, but if he/she giveth good grounds, I salute him/her.
So, what troubled Desi?
This opening paragraph:
"Today is the anniversary of racial strife.
I realised this morning that today is 13th May, the day when two racist and Chinese-chauvinist parties, DAP and Gerakan, reared their ugly serpent heads and mobillised their death-killing machines and literally massacred Muslims in Kuala Lumpur in 1969. And for that crime, I will never forgive DAP for that." Please note that I'm NOT reproducing any other paragraphs because it's not logical to go any further as I have questioned the original premise of his thesis.
And the author used wikipedia as the source of what he deems good historical records for the May 13, 1969 incident.
I would have thought official, published sources like Tunku Abdul Rahman's and Leon Comber's and other "academically published" sources would have been more useful and authoritative.
Wikipedia as a source for HISTORY?
There is such a thing called ATTRIBUTION is news-writing. If a reporter is to do a feature on cancers, an authority that immediately comes to mind would be a medical doctor, better still, specialised in Cancers. And this doctior would have to be properly attributed as the source for his medical opinions, based on research and case studies.
Can you imagine if the reporter (dumbass!) were to iontyerview a JKR worker he met at the Mamak stall to give his medical viewpoints on the subject of Cancers. Don't laugh, mGf, I had had first hand experience dealing with a similar scenario. But me Hariidas tehtarik and I'll entertain with de tail/tael/tale.
For less demanding subjects like Entertainment and Sports, ongoing technology and news developments where other sources are concurrently available for referencing, I would accept a Wikipedia's account as "reliable", even then qualified.
For Malaysia's alledgedly "darkest hour" in modern history, I won't even count Wikipedia as suitable for a news summary. I woyuld go to the establsihed news organisations like Reuters, AP, ABC,BBC and yes, NST, The Star, and Bernama even.
Desiderata won't quote further from the Blogger's writeup because I follow what I have always written here, that one must not start off on wrong premise/s, otherwise, whatever that follows, FAILS.
For its 3sen worth, I left this footprint at the Blogger's Comments channel, which I thank him for making available, whether we agree or disagree. I indeed hold frim to VOLTAIRE's dictum:
"I may disgree with what you say but I will degfend, to the death, your right to say it."
[+] Digg: Feature this article
1 comment
Read the comments left by other users below, or:
(I suggest if you can track down the Blog, read also the first Commenter's, which I'm NOT reprising here as I don't have his permission.)
ylchong
#2. May 13th, 2006, at 2:34 PM.
"… the day when two racist and Chinese-chauvinist parties, DAP and Gerakan, reared their ugly serpent heads and mobillised their death-killing machines and literally massacred Muslims in Kuala Lumpur in 1969…”
I ask you from what and which source did you extract the above as FACT, then followed by subsequent laments?
If your premise is wrong, then all other thoughts are similarly flawed.
Please do NOT spread falsehood. Your children don’t deserve that wrong guardianship from you; your father’s gen also does not need to carry that burden."
In fact Malaysians are poorly served in terms of proper schooling in Malaysian history as the Government has sttrenuously kept under wraps the events surrounding May 13. Official accounts cannot be disputed, and yioung Malaysians in school, even at University, are not encouraged to think for themselves. The Government has succeeded in producing two generations of very skilled "rote learners" but hardly any original thinkiers, inventors -- a Nobel Prize winner from Malaysia?
Maybe in producing the largest "nasi lemak" enough to feed the whjole of Kuala Lumpyur for next City Day!
Nobel Prize, my kaki! When even a bold artiostioc work like LKT cannot see the day of light, oops, the light of Malaysian day. But it saw it in Singapore and many overseas venues.
And we have the proud record of a group of "enlightened" university students presenting a Memorandum to the DPM asking the Government to continue with the Universitioes and Uniobversity Colleges Act, whose primary aim is to gag students, or minimise their activities, as far as involvement in politics and civil issues of the day are concerned. In NegaraKu, a "minority" of vocal students who toe the Government's line is often used a "concveninet" representative of Young&Artculate when they really "mewakili the Degenerate and Ethno-entric Politics" of a certain group or class within that group.
I close Monday's rambling with one recall from The Man In Black, and should you ask who, please invest RM20 on the Ori of "WALK THE LINE"
WHAT IS TRUTH?
The old man turned off the radio
Said, "Where did all of the old songs go
Kids sure play funny music these days
They play it in the strangest ways"
Said, "it looks to me like they've all gone wild
It was peaceful back when I was a child"
Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys
Are trying to be heard above your noise?
And the lonely voice of youth cries "What is truth?"
A little boy of three sittin' on the floor
Looks up and says, "Daddy, what is war?"
"son, that's when people fight and die"
The little boy of three says "Daddy, why?"
A young man of seventeen in Sunday school
Being taught the golden rule
And by the time another year has gone around
It may be his turn to lay his life down
Can you blame the voice of youth for asking
"What is truth?"
A young man sittin' on the witness stand
The man with the book says "Raise your hand"
"Repeat after me, I solemnly swear"
The man looked down at his long hair
And although the young man solemnly swore
Nobody seems to hear anymore
And it didn't really matter if the truth was there
It was the cut of his clothes and the length of his hair
And the lonely voice of youth cries
"What is truth?"
The young girl dancing to the latest beat
Has found new ways to move her feet
The young man speaking in the city square
Is trying to tell somebody that he cares
Yeah, the ones that you're calling wild
Are going to be the leaders in a little while
This old world's wakin' to a new born day
And I solemnly swear that it'll be their way
You better help the voice of youth find"What is truth?"
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Blogosphere -- Freeworld Or Freewheeling
The old saying goes that
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword.
In modern Age of Technology,
The Bytes Are Mightier tThan The Bites...
For better or for worse.
Power to build up, power to bring down.
The wielder decides.
It is innocent to believe that all humans inherently will do good with the tools or equipment in their hands.
Many quarters believe Armageddon will take place in the present human beings' lifetime. BECAUSE OF THE PRSENCE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
And who are we to argue this is a mere fallacy?
BECAUSE THE PROBABILITY IS EVER PRESENT as the means to self-destruct is there.
THE UNited States wants to play the role -- unmandated -- of International Policeman, being the leading Super-Power in the world.
The UN on the other hand wants to play the mandated role of International Peacekeeper.
Smaller countries can only lend their Voices of Reason.
And Blogsworld provides a channel for Voices from all nooks and crannies of the whole, wide world to speak out.
The power lies in the hand of the wielder.
I am only one small weaver trying to spin some threads of sanity
in this world full of bewildering forces pulling us in different directions.
This Sunday's INTER:LUDE looks at some aspects of blogsworld development and the growing influence and power of the Internet. I have had occasionwritten in several Posts about the relentless march of Globalisation, rednering this geographical world truly "borderless".
As quickly as I read Howsy and Theels in LOndon, or Sweetspirit in Australia, or Sabrina IN LOTR teritory, or mGf Yan in Sarawak, they can almost in the next instant communicate with Desi via the Net. It's a powerful ENABLER which is hardly two decades old, yet its impact is beyong imagination and deescription.
The traditional print newwspapers ignore their online counterparts at their own peril. Worldwide, circulations of the former represenattiives of the 4th Esate are losing ground -- definitely victim to the fast rising online news providers, often 12 hours or more in advance of their print brethren.
Bloggers, now staking a claim as the 5th Estate, are pushing the reach of a borderless audience. But citing an overly used cliche -- with Overwhelming power comes great responsibility.
Is the Malaysian blog community reaping the full benefits -- or maximising the full potential, of this medium being honed to be the tool of the 5th Essstaters, forseen to be dominating communications for some decades to come?
Are the authoities and bodies rested with the power to enable maximum use of the Internet doing their utmost best to provide access to the villages and kampong? Or is the Internet the privileged tool of urbanites, and even within this class, mainly the English educated?
Are we being left behind if we do not keep informed of where the real competitition in business and knowledge lies?
Are we barking up the wrong tree? Witness the recent lambast by a Minister, well-meaning perhaps, that Malaysians who have studied overseas and NOT returning home to serve NegaraKu might be guilty of being "unpatriotic"? The Prime Minister, through his age-old wisdom,and logic, and common sense, dissmissed this "notion" that Malaysians staying back overseas are an ungrateful or disloyal lot. I promise "hiatus from Politics" for this week, so I shall not tarry here.
Earlier in the week, I picked up two items from AsiaBusinessConsulting, for Desi indeed vbelieves my ER should keep abreast of regional,, even global, business trends. We are indeed Living In a Global Village Now.
~~~~~~~
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The language of blogs
What is the main language in which blogs are written? Did you guess English?
Well, sorry, wrong!
"Technorati's David Sifry has produced some interesting data on the language of the blogosphere, indicating that Japanese, not English, is actually the most popular language for blogs. 37 per cent of blogs are in Japanese, followed by English (31 per cent) and Chinese (15 per cent)."
The Telegraph's Shane Richmond adds:
"But it isn’t just the blogosphere we should worry about – the Internet at large is being divided along language lines. The latest figures show that there are around 300 million English-speaking internet users compared with just over 100 million who speak Chinese. However, internet usage in China is growing at a terrific rate and it won’t be long before the Chinese internet is bigger than its English-language counterpart."
So well, here we have another disparity - not only geographic but also by language.
posted by JM @ 11:19 AM
~~~~~~~
Global Internet Usage
An impressively high number of youth aged 15 and above around the globe accessed the Internet in March 2006 = 694 million.
This is slightly above 10% of total global population - still a long way to go, but hey, public access to the Internet is not that long available. So let's celebrate those numbers as advancement and progress.
But naturally, there are huge disparities in the usage:
"China, Japan, India and Korea - which represent nearly 25 per cent of the total worldwide online population (168.1 million users). These four countries combined represent a larger user base than the US, which had over 152 million users in March."
Just imagine what benefits will happen if the usage spreads?
(By Asia Business Consulting)
(DESIDERATA's comment at ABC): The growing power of the Internet, hence also Blogosworld, and concurrent emergence of China as the next Superpower to rival the USA. It's just a matter of a decade before the Europeans need to master Mandarin in order to tap the Chinese market, or they prish and fade away ... maybe then my country will wakeup from its 15th cventury dreams of olde worlde Malacca singing the praises of P Ramlee and debating whether to allow the screening of a Communist titled musical documentary by Amir Muhammad!
ylchong | Homepage | 05.10.06 - 8:18 am | #
And this morn I was further pleasantly surprised by an update channeled by mGf in lundun, but often MIA across the English Chanel, that some Global Voices Online deemed Desi's voice of sufficient desibels to be heard, hopefully by some of Howsy's belles2~~~
"" howsy said...
CONgradulashyuns, Desi! Your post on the Lelaki Komunis Terakhir was picked up Global Voice Online. Check it out "here" (link via previous Comments page please!)
8:30 AM
DESIDERATA: So the above demonstrates the power of the bytes. You spend hafl an hour on your PC, and your reach hundreds across the seven seas. Hence, you see when I promote fellow Bloggers' sites with free mention, we do get Rewards Points; Anak Merdeka especially, please note beause she wondered allowed why Desi was so generous in promoting here one time. Desi's altruism hides behind some Maz-ey, Laz-ey Sundae.
Have fun-D blogging -- you never know you may find tthat SOMEONE -- Primrose, Theels, -- who lingers for a Lifetime.:)
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword.
In modern Age of Technology,
The Bytes Are Mightier tThan The Bites...
For better or for worse.
Power to build up, power to bring down.
The wielder decides.
It is innocent to believe that all humans inherently will do good with the tools or equipment in their hands.
Many quarters believe Armageddon will take place in the present human beings' lifetime. BECAUSE OF THE PRSENCE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
And who are we to argue this is a mere fallacy?
BECAUSE THE PROBABILITY IS EVER PRESENT as the means to self-destruct is there.
THE UNited States wants to play the role -- unmandated -- of International Policeman, being the leading Super-Power in the world.
The UN on the other hand wants to play the mandated role of International Peacekeeper.
Smaller countries can only lend their Voices of Reason.
And Blogsworld provides a channel for Voices from all nooks and crannies of the whole, wide world to speak out.
The power lies in the hand of the wielder.
I am only one small weaver trying to spin some threads of sanity
in this world full of bewildering forces pulling us in different directions.
This Sunday's INTER:LUDE looks at some aspects of blogsworld development and the growing influence and power of the Internet. I have had occasionwritten in several Posts about the relentless march of Globalisation, rednering this geographical world truly "borderless".
As quickly as I read Howsy and Theels in LOndon, or Sweetspirit in Australia, or Sabrina IN LOTR teritory, or mGf Yan in Sarawak, they can almost in the next instant communicate with Desi via the Net. It's a powerful ENABLER which is hardly two decades old, yet its impact is beyong imagination and deescription.
The traditional print newwspapers ignore their online counterparts at their own peril. Worldwide, circulations of the former represenattiives of the 4th Esate are losing ground -- definitely victim to the fast rising online news providers, often 12 hours or more in advance of their print brethren.
Bloggers, now staking a claim as the 5th Estate, are pushing the reach of a borderless audience. But citing an overly used cliche -- with Overwhelming power comes great responsibility.
Is the Malaysian blog community reaping the full benefits -- or maximising the full potential, of this medium being honed to be the tool of the 5th Essstaters, forseen to be dominating communications for some decades to come?
Are the authoities and bodies rested with the power to enable maximum use of the Internet doing their utmost best to provide access to the villages and kampong? Or is the Internet the privileged tool of urbanites, and even within this class, mainly the English educated?
Are we being left behind if we do not keep informed of where the real competitition in business and knowledge lies?
Are we barking up the wrong tree? Witness the recent lambast by a Minister, well-meaning perhaps, that Malaysians who have studied overseas and NOT returning home to serve NegaraKu might be guilty of being "unpatriotic"? The Prime Minister, through his age-old wisdom,and logic, and common sense, dissmissed this "notion" that Malaysians staying back overseas are an ungrateful or disloyal lot. I promise "hiatus from Politics" for this week, so I shall not tarry here.
Earlier in the week, I picked up two items from AsiaBusinessConsulting, for Desi indeed vbelieves my ER should keep abreast of regional,, even global, business trends. We are indeed Living In a Global Village Now.
~~~~~~~
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The language of blogs
What is the main language in which blogs are written? Did you guess English?
Well, sorry, wrong!
"Technorati's David Sifry has produced some interesting data on the language of the blogosphere, indicating that Japanese, not English, is actually the most popular language for blogs. 37 per cent of blogs are in Japanese, followed by English (31 per cent) and Chinese (15 per cent)."
The Telegraph's Shane Richmond adds:
"But it isn’t just the blogosphere we should worry about – the Internet at large is being divided along language lines. The latest figures show that there are around 300 million English-speaking internet users compared with just over 100 million who speak Chinese. However, internet usage in China is growing at a terrific rate and it won’t be long before the Chinese internet is bigger than its English-language counterpart."
So well, here we have another disparity - not only geographic but also by language.
posted by JM @ 11:19 AM
~~~~~~~
Global Internet Usage
An impressively high number of youth aged 15 and above around the globe accessed the Internet in March 2006 = 694 million.
This is slightly above 10% of total global population - still a long way to go, but hey, public access to the Internet is not that long available. So let's celebrate those numbers as advancement and progress.
But naturally, there are huge disparities in the usage:
"China, Japan, India and Korea - which represent nearly 25 per cent of the total worldwide online population (168.1 million users). These four countries combined represent a larger user base than the US, which had over 152 million users in March."
Just imagine what benefits will happen if the usage spreads?
(By Asia Business Consulting)
(DESIDERATA's comment at ABC): The growing power of the Internet, hence also Blogosworld, and concurrent emergence of China as the next Superpower to rival the USA. It's just a matter of a decade before the Europeans need to master Mandarin in order to tap the Chinese market, or they prish and fade away ... maybe then my country will wakeup from its 15th cventury dreams of olde worlde Malacca singing the praises of P Ramlee and debating whether to allow the screening of a Communist titled musical documentary by Amir Muhammad!
ylchong | Homepage | 05.10.06 - 8:18 am | #
And this morn I was further pleasantly surprised by an update channeled by mGf in lundun, but often MIA across the English Chanel, that some Global Voices Online deemed Desi's voice of sufficient desibels to be heard, hopefully by some of Howsy's belles2~~~
"" howsy said...
CONgradulashyuns, Desi! Your post on the Lelaki Komunis Terakhir was picked up Global Voice Online. Check it out "here" (link via previous Comments page please!)
8:30 AM
DESIDERATA: So the above demonstrates the power of the bytes. You spend hafl an hour on your PC, and your reach hundreds across the seven seas. Hence, you see when I promote fellow Bloggers' sites with free mention, we do get Rewards Points; Anak Merdeka especially, please note beause she wondered allowed why Desi was so generous in promoting here one time. Desi's altruism hides behind some Maz-ey, Laz-ey Sundae.
Have fun-D blogging -- you never know you may find tthat SOMEONE -- Primrose, Theels, -- who lingers for a Lifetime.:)
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Chinoserie yellow on yellow
For some of us born Chinese but know not its language -- lament oh lament, my cultural roots! -- here's a little help from mGf Huimei based also inn Lundun where these overseas arrivals are helping to prop up the London Bridge -- Howsy and his Gang, Theels, now Mei ... visit her @mei0305.blogspot.com and she gives you a bilingual post.~~~
"Friday, May 12, 2006
A season, A reason, A Lifetime
I have met people and made friends who are a reason and a season...
For me to my friends whom I fortunately have met and made, I wish that I am not a reason, and I will not be a season, but lifetime genuine friendship.
For the only one, I believe that I will certainly be more than a lifetime for him and me.
posted by Liew Hui Mei at 11:56:00 AM | 0 comments
保護自己的寧靜與幸福
"保護自己的寧靜與幸福，是我們人生的一大目標，找到一個對的男人則不是人生一大目標。只有抱持著這種態度，我們才能夠開始去尋找一個能夠用健康、正常的方法關愛我們的人。"
posted by Liew Hui Mei at 11:47:00 AM | 0 comments
自信與優雅
＊ 高雅、幽默、聰明、仁慈
＊ 多閱讀、多分享、多體會
＊ 待人有禮、溫和謙恭
＊ 說話語氣和緩、不急不徐
＊ 飲食細嚼慢嚥，是教養與優雅的展現
＊ 認真做事的女人最美麗
＊ 高跟鞋更顯出女人的高貴
＊ 乾淨的香味是女人優雅的風味
＊ 簡單的穿衣風格為你的優雅氣質加分
＊ 嘮叨與抱怨會讓你的優雅氣質扣分
奧黛麗赫本之所以是絕佳的優雅女人角色典範，不僅是她擁有的寬闊胸襟與氣度，也是因為她質樸不做作的風格使然。所以囉，在以上所提的優雅守則當中，如何學習其中的精神，而使其毫不做作地自然展現出來，才是真正的「赫本精神」。
posted by Liew Hui Mei at 11:40:00 AM | 0 comments
"desiderata said...
mei:
Good to see a Bilingual Post -- helps some "banana" Chinoserie to go yellow on the ouside-white on the inside to go yellow-yellow!
Keep up the language service -- will promote IT over my Blog!:)
Happy wickend!
May 13, 2006 4:47 AM
A Reluctant Lament in May!
May 13, 1969 -- do we remember?
Countless Malaysians shed their blood
Life's fabric is oft strong, yet tender
Can withstand the elements even in a flood
But man's foul mood, tearing all asunder
I want to make this my motherland
Many of mGf chorus in similar trend
But ill mouths and ill minds
They can't see our love
Sight closeted within their racial blinds
Some slog to get by with two jobs
Others born into privilege behave ike mobs
Ninety percent of us shed
Blood, sweat and tears
That the other 10 percent
gallicant in wine, women and bed
They then question our loyalty
Meanwhile they reap the oil royalty
We dutifully pay our taxes
Meanwhile they squander in madness
Monuments are built to meet the sky
They see gods and goddeses on high
Wrapped around karaoke lasses' bosoms
Behold, lo and hi
At the slightest sign of trouble
To safer havens they and lovers flee
Meanwhile they yam seng in glee
They ask: Why art thou overseas?
Come back to serve your Motherland
Meanwhile, they who stay, they smother
Oh Mum's the Word
The majority lament
Why bother?
Mei also forwarded a Nutgift to share for this weekend, ENJOY but don't be 2WICKED! (like Howsy, painting the town Red, Commie-stylo! I'm not joing him, I'm socialist, remember? CON BF tomorrow, if some enriched mate in the Forong Maze would burrow...
Anak Merdeka, Betul-ke, 100% merdeka?
~~~~~~~~
The Difference between Rich and Poor People
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took
his son on a trip to the country with the express
purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm
of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked
his son, "How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father
asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?"
asked the father.
The son answered:
"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our
garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they
have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have
the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they
have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve
others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us,
they have friends to protect them."
The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how
poor we are."
~~~~~~~~
DESIDERATA: THanks Mei, and I join her in thinking allowed: Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you
wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for
everything we have, instead of worrying about what
we don't have.
Appreciate every single thing you have, especially
your friends!
"Friday, May 12, 2006
A season, A reason, A Lifetime
I have met people and made friends who are a reason and a season...
For me to my friends whom I fortunately have met and made, I wish that I am not a reason, and I will not be a season, but lifetime genuine friendship.
For the only one, I believe that I will certainly be more than a lifetime for him and me.
posted by Liew Hui Mei at 11:56:00 AM | 0 comments
保護自己的寧靜與幸福
"保護自己的寧靜與幸福，是我們人生的一大目標，找到一個對的男人則不是人生一大目標。只有抱持著這種態度，我們才能夠開始去尋找一個能夠用健康、正常的方法關愛我們的人。"
posted by Liew Hui Mei at 11:47:00 AM | 0 comments
自信與優雅
＊ 高雅、幽默、聰明、仁慈
＊ 多閱讀、多分享、多體會
＊ 待人有禮、溫和謙恭
＊ 說話語氣和緩、不急不徐
＊ 飲食細嚼慢嚥，是教養與優雅的展現
＊ 認真做事的女人最美麗
＊ 高跟鞋更顯出女人的高貴
＊ 乾淨的香味是女人優雅的風味
＊ 簡單的穿衣風格為你的優雅氣質加分
＊ 嘮叨與抱怨會讓你的優雅氣質扣分
奧黛麗赫本之所以是絕佳的優雅女人角色典範，不僅是她擁有的寬闊胸襟與氣度，也是因為她質樸不做作的風格使然。所以囉，在以上所提的優雅守則當中，如何學習其中的精神，而使其毫不做作地自然展現出來，才是真正的「赫本精神」。
posted by Liew Hui Mei at 11:40:00 AM | 0 comments
"desiderata said...
mei:
Good to see a Bilingual Post -- helps some "banana" Chinoserie to go yellow on the ouside-white on the inside to go yellow-yellow!
Keep up the language service -- will promote IT over my Blog!:)
Happy wickend!
May 13, 2006 4:47 AM
A Reluctant Lament in May!
May 13, 1969 -- do we remember?
Countless Malaysians shed their blood
Life's fabric is oft strong, yet tender
Can withstand the elements even in a flood
But man's foul mood, tearing all asunder
I want to make this my motherland
Many of mGf chorus in similar trend
But ill mouths and ill minds
They can't see our love
Sight closeted within their racial blinds
Some slog to get by with two jobs
Others born into privilege behave ike mobs
Ninety percent of us shed
Blood, sweat and tears
That the other 10 percent
gallicant in wine, women and bed
They then question our loyalty
Meanwhile they reap the oil royalty
We dutifully pay our taxes
Meanwhile they squander in madness
Monuments are built to meet the sky
They see gods and goddeses on high
Wrapped around karaoke lasses' bosoms
Behold, lo and hi
At the slightest sign of trouble
To safer havens they and lovers flee
Meanwhile they yam seng in glee
They ask: Why art thou overseas?
Come back to serve your Motherland
Meanwhile, they who stay, they smother
Oh Mum's the Word
The majority lament
Why bother?
Mei also forwarded a Nutgift to share for this weekend, ENJOY but don't be 2WICKED! (like Howsy, painting the town Red, Commie-stylo! I'm not joing him, I'm socialist, remember? CON BF tomorrow, if some enriched mate in the Forong Maze would burrow...
Anak Merdeka, Betul-ke, 100% merdeka?
~~~~~~~~
The Difference between Rich and Poor People
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took
his son on a trip to the country with the express
purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm
of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked
his son, "How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father
asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?"
asked the father.
The son answered:
"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our
garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they
have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have
the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they
have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve
others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us,
they have friends to protect them."
The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how
poor we are."
~~~~~~~~
DESIDERATA: THanks Mei, and I join her in thinking allowed: Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you
wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for
everything we have, instead of worrying about what
we don't have.
Appreciate every single thing you have, especially
your friends!
Friday, May 12, 2006
Breakaway from Politics
When Desiderata indicates to mGf Theels this abode will take a one-week Breakaway from Politics, she wrote back voicing a hesitant "Dessicant", saying other EsteemedReaders may protest.
I assure thee, Y&A based nigh the Bdge Not Nyet Fallin' Down, though our kindie teachers have been forwarning us for years on end its eventual gravitational dierction into the River T'ame'?, that Desi has indeed set a precedent last year, in response to seeing many of my ER (Sabrina Tan, stilll there in LOTR overdozedland?) "weary" of Malaysian politics. Day after day -- more of the same roadside medicine that flushes our taxpayers' ringgit and sensE down the longkang, endlessly. Be Carrefool. But the oil is drying up.
In da steal of lust nite~~~
"I wanted to say Desiccant but what do you know? After so many years, I finally penned one :)
So nice of you to take a week's break but..but..your regular readers would miss you. So don't stop, I'll just close one eye, or maybe two also okay.
(Psst..Howsy's version I don't know how to sing lah!)
By Twisted Heels, at 5:40 AM" ~~~~
An ode to myself
I have done this before
Breakaway from Politics
Which sucks, drains and more
I'd rather serve some Poetics
And taste some Memomile Tea
Even Haridas' tehtarik
Or Helen's pastries
Enhanced with Ipoh white coffee
Oooh, it's Ecstasy
Come enter Desi's versified
Maybe a li'l itchified
Politrics-free terrotry
The sext serving may draw protest that Desi is not keeping his word, but I'm categorsing this under POETRY. Head I win, Tail you lose! (wisdom ciulled from a fishtaeler who also Inspired my closing ditty which is another C&P, which stands for Cute&Pretty.
On Googling for some inspiration, I received this gem, as according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, "Martin Niemoller was a Protestant pastor and head of the anti-Nazi Confessing Church. Arrested for 'malicious attacks against the state', he spent seven years in the Dachau and Sachsenhausen. Released in 1945 by the Allies."
He penned the moving and oft quoted poem:
In Germany, they first came for the communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Catholic.
Then they came for me -- and by that time there was nobody left to speak up.
-Martin Niemoller
Over the years many groups, feeling persecuted, have edited the words of the poem to apply to themselves and their causes.
The second-most popular oppressed group fitted to the stanzas is Poor Women. In this example Congresswoman Carol Moseley-Braun addresses their plight, and is advised to keep her day job.
Then they came for women in the Federal Government and I did not speak out --
because I did not work for the Government.
She didn't?!
Then what the hell was she doing all those years - writing poetry?!
The Addicts is one of the few that qualifies as poetic. Riffing on the standard format, it puts a little unexpected twist on the ending.
First they came for The Addicts
First they came for the addicts.
But I was not an addict.
Bad people. Dangerous people.
Better off our streets.
Then they came for the drunkards.
But I was not a drunkard.
Bad people. Dangerous people.
Better off our streets.
Then they came for the smokers.
But I was not a smoker.
Bad people. Dangerous people.
Better off our streets.
Then they came for the poets.
And I
could not
stop
writing.
Reprising from last year's ditty "Salute to Mum" (May 8, 2005), but before that, or after this -- See, Desi practises absolute democrazy! -- detour to julyfishtail.blogspot.com and savour his offering May 8's of "Mother's 5 Year Visa" (I'm doing this promo not because I'm 100% altruistic; in return I 'm hoping he returns with a Mona Lisa mystic tael!:):)~~~
Now, try to ENJOY Dessicant's:~~~MUM Is The WORD(l)D
because TheEEEEEels, you dared to THINK ALLOoooooOWED!:)
We stumble, we fall
We run to her, with problems big or small
SomeOne who’s always there on call
To caress us without question, warts and all.
We tell her our small secrets
Her smiles multiply our joys
Confide in her your first kiss maybe, your regrets?
Your tiffs with this gf, that bf & some tom-boys?
My Mom has moved on
To a better place I know
But everyday, every waking hour
Or when I’m at rest
I know she watches over me
That I’ll be out of harm’s way.
We all know with Mum around
A house becomes a universal home
She may be by your side
Present, or Unseen
She remains Everyone’s FirstLove
Constant, caring and evergreen
So on this SpecialDay in May
Let’s Salute Mother everywhere for her guiding,
Loving, tendering, and caring
AlWays the Best, that’s Mum’s Way!
Remember her EveryDay with a grateful heart
Say Go’dnigh’ with a warm kiss and a big hug
O Mom, ‘tis a small prayer of praise for thee
Keep a watchful eye o’er me.
YLChong (C)
I assure thee, Y&A based nigh the Bdge Not Nyet Fallin' Down, though our kindie teachers have been forwarning us for years on end its eventual gravitational dierction into the River T'ame'?, that Desi has indeed set a precedent last year, in response to seeing many of my ER (Sabrina Tan, stilll there in LOTR overdozedland?) "weary" of Malaysian politics. Day after day -- more of the same roadside medicine that flushes our taxpayers' ringgit and sensE down the longkang, endlessly. Be Carrefool. But the oil is drying up.
In da steal of lust nite~~~
"I wanted to say Desiccant but what do you know? After so many years, I finally penned one :)
So nice of you to take a week's break but..but..your regular readers would miss you. So don't stop, I'll just close one eye, or maybe two also okay.
(Psst..Howsy's version I don't know how to sing lah!)
By Twisted Heels, at 5:40 AM" ~~~~
An ode to myself
I have done this before
Breakaway from Politics
Which sucks, drains and more
I'd rather serve some Poetics
And taste some Memomile Tea
Even Haridas' tehtarik
Or Helen's pastries
Enhanced with Ipoh white coffee
Oooh, it's Ecstasy
Come enter Desi's versified
Maybe a li'l itchified
Politrics-free terrotry
The sext serving may draw protest that Desi is not keeping his word, but I'm categorsing this under POETRY. Head I win, Tail you lose! (wisdom ciulled from a fishtaeler who also Inspired my closing ditty which is another C&P, which stands for Cute&Pretty.
On Googling for some inspiration, I received this gem, as according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, "Martin Niemoller was a Protestant pastor and head of the anti-Nazi Confessing Church. Arrested for 'malicious attacks against the state', he spent seven years in the Dachau and Sachsenhausen. Released in 1945 by the Allies."
He penned the moving and oft quoted poem:
In Germany, they first came for the communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Catholic.
Then they came for me -- and by that time there was nobody left to speak up.
-Martin Niemoller
Over the years many groups, feeling persecuted, have edited the words of the poem to apply to themselves and their causes.
The second-most popular oppressed group fitted to the stanzas is Poor Women. In this example Congresswoman Carol Moseley-Braun addresses their plight, and is advised to keep her day job.
Then they came for women in the Federal Government and I did not speak out --
because I did not work for the Government.
She didn't?!
Then what the hell was she doing all those years - writing poetry?!
The Addicts is one of the few that qualifies as poetic. Riffing on the standard format, it puts a little unexpected twist on the ending.
First they came for The Addicts
First they came for the addicts.
But I was not an addict.
Bad people. Dangerous people.
Better off our streets.
Then they came for the drunkards.
But I was not a drunkard.
Bad people. Dangerous people.
Better off our streets.
Then they came for the smokers.
But I was not a smoker.
Bad people. Dangerous people.
Better off our streets.
Then they came for the poets.
And I
could not
stop
writing.
Reprising from last year's ditty "Salute to Mum" (May 8, 2005), but before that, or after this -- See, Desi practises absolute democrazy! -- detour to julyfishtail.blogspot.com and savour his offering May 8's of "Mother's 5 Year Visa" (I'm doing this promo not because I'm 100% altruistic; in return I 'm hoping he returns with a Mona Lisa mystic tael!:):)~~~
Now, try to ENJOY Dessicant's:~~~MUM Is The WORD(l)D
because TheEEEEEels, you dared to THINK ALLOoooooOWED!:)
We stumble, we fall
We run to her, with problems big or small
SomeOne who’s always there on call
To caress us without question, warts and all.
We tell her our small secrets
Her smiles multiply our joys
Confide in her your first kiss maybe, your regrets?
Your tiffs with this gf, that bf & some tom-boys?
My Mom has moved on
To a better place I know
But everyday, every waking hour
Or when I’m at rest
I know she watches over me
That I’ll be out of harm’s way.
We all know with Mum around
A house becomes a universal home
She may be by your side
Present, or Unseen
She remains Everyone’s FirstLove
Constant, caring and evergreen
So on this SpecialDay in May
Let’s Salute Mother everywhere for her guiding,
Loving, tendering, and caring
AlWays the Best, that’s Mum’s Way!
Remember her EveryDay with a grateful heart
Say Go’dnigh’ with a warm kiss and a big hug
O Mom, ‘tis a small prayer of praise for thee
Keep a watchful eye o’er me.
YLChong (C)
Thursday, May 11, 2006
The Incredibles (M) Sdn Bhd
I'm sure many of mGf and families have had the joy and luxury of watching THE INCREDIBLES on the big screen.
Desio was too bee-sy earning B&B with some kaya thrown in occasionally, so I missed the golden opportunity.
The Hollywood production enriches the minds of the audience -- especially the YoungOnes -- with "incredible" powers of their childhood heroes all working in concert to overcome "evel"
Yes, it's the fable storyline that GOOD WILL TRIUMPH OVER EVIL.
A fairy tale ending.
But some generous and responsible and diligent Malaysians have produced an alternative -- but it's far from that Good Triumphs Over Evil storyboard line.
It's even more incredible when Creatures from that RUMAHssParlimen to entertain us with spins that can only ciome out of Yes! Mollywood, courtesy of THE INCREDIBLES (M) SDN BHD.
The first instalment created by BinYu Sof Enterprise comes at the generosity of the Scriptwriter-cum-honourable MP for Jasin, DATUK MOHD SAID YUSOF (IC: 530424045447) registered at house address at 676-A, Batu 2-1/2, Padang Temu, 75050 Malacca.
Mark his name, he will surely win OsScars to bring Malaysia up into the International Arena of Stars. AMIR MUHAMMAD, getyour Commie out of the Malaysian stage! Lelaki Komunis Terakhir, my foot.
I'm giving the details courtesy of the
New Straits Times, May 11, 2006 pages 1&4;
CONGRATS to this paper who now gifts us Act 1, Scene 2 after opening with Act 1, Scene 1 a week ago (See "With Eyes Wide Open", May 4, 2006)
:The current episode flags off on the frontpage with
Case of the MP who asked Customs to close one eye
It's YB Mohd Said Yusof's
ENTERPRISE
Jasin MP admits he is the owner of *company
(Binyu Sof ENTERPRISE)
11 May 2006
KUALA LUMPUR: It’s no coincidence — Binyu Sof Enterprise is indeed a company owned by Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof.
In an open admission at a Press conference in the lobby of Parliament yesterday, the Malacca politician said he was the sole proprietor of the company which transported a consignment of imported logs seized by Customs last month.
This directly answered a poser front-paged by the New Straits Times yesterday over the similarity between his and the company’s names.
The controversy arose since NST broke the story on Thursday of an MP who had tried to interfere with the work of the Malacca Customs, which had seized a consignment of timber that exceeded specifications.
Mohd Said said he had also apologised to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday night over the matter, but maintained he had done no wrong as "MPs are allowed to do business".
Mohd Said said the question of whether he was prepared to face punishment did not arise because the Umno supreme council had discussed the matter and concluded that "there was no case".
He had earlier admitted he was the one who went to the Malacca Customs office on April 14 to ask officers to "close one eye" over the seized timber.
"I am the sole proprietor. It is my forwarding company. I have, from the start, declared my interest in this company. I have never hidden my interest," he said, although he maintained that the consignment of logs seized was not his.
"I have no interest in the logs or the companies which brought them into the country. Binyu Sof only acted as a forwarding agent."
Mohd Said could not name the companies offhand, but said his company acted for one "Ah Chooi at the Sungai Rambai port and Daud in Sungai Linggi".
"We are a small company. Our office is like a petition writer’s office... small. I have interest in both ports as a forwarding agent. I don’t deny my interest in this matter as a forwarding agent. I am allowed to do business. Why can’t MPs do business?"
Mohd Said took exception to a remark from a Customs officer in yesterday’s NST report that it was not proper for an MP to help smugglers.
"How can I be accused of helping smugglers? The sawn timber was declared to the Customs. How can you say that these people are smugglers? Smugglers are those who run away from Customs, not those who seek Customs."
Reading intermittently from his prepared statement and taking questions from time to time, Mohd Said said he had gone to Malacca Customs to ask the director to "close one eye" to the import of sawn timber exceeding the size limit of 60 square inches in cross-section.
"I went there after Sungai Rambai importers, timber traders, jetty operators and forwarding agents came to my office to complain about the seizure," he said, pointing out that the group was a mix of Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras.
Mohd Said said since the start of the year, the Customs Department had been strictly enforcing the rule and trade players were unhappy as their sawn timber shipments were being seized and auctioned off.
Mohd Said said he had gone to the Malacca Customs headquarters in Ayer Keroh on April 14 and the meeting lasted 20 minutes.
"I went to meet the director as I would do whenever there was a problem. I went as Mohd Said, the owner of Binyu Sof and Jasin MP. The problem occurred in my constituency. I admit I am one of the players at the port. I admit I have interest. What’s wrong with that?"
Mohd Said said the director met him and asked him what the problem was. "He called the assistant director in the prevention unit and the three of us discussed the problem. They told me they were enforcing the rule put in place by the Malaysian Timber Industry Board."
Mohd Said said he then appealed to them to consider the matter and compound those who broke the law.
"I appealed to them to just compound. If Customs seized the timber, the traders lose their investment and would have to fork out more money to buy back the timber at the auction.
"If the situation at both ports continue, the Indonesian barter traders will not go there anymore. It will turn the ports into a white elephant."
Mohd Said said this was when he asked the officers to "close one eye" and take into consideration that the sawn timber, though bigger, was hollow in the middle.
"I only asked them to compound and not seize the consignment."
Mohd Said said he also appealed to the Deputy Finance Minister on behalf of the other traders.
"However, the appeal was rejected and the entire consignment was auctioned off."
Asked if Abdullah had called him over the issue, Mohd Said said: "I met the PM last night (Tuesday). I saw him at the PWTC. I met him. I shook hands with him. I told him, if I was wrong, I am sorry."
Asked what the Prime Minister had said to him, Mohd Said said: "That, you ask him, lah."
DESIDERATA:
This INCREDIBLE MP still wants to justify his "bluff" when he had been caught with his pants down.
~~~"Mohd Said could not name the companies offhand, but said his company acted for one "Ah Chooi at the Sungai Rambai port and Daud in Sungai Linggi".
Today we know, thanks to THE NST! that the Yang Berhormat Jasin MP was acting for himself, his own ENTERPRISE.
Some people only know how to shit, but forget they also talk bull!
Look at his twists and turns -- how did UMNO nominate such a guy in the first place to stand for erections, oops, ELECTIONS? To wit, amore:
~~~"Mohd Said said the question of whether he was prepared to face punishment did not arise because the Umno supreme council had discussed the matter and concluded that "there was no case".
Hey,MP of Jasin -- "That" was before the FACT was unearthed by THE NST that YOU LIED WHEN YOU CLAIMED YOU WERE REPRESENTED A FELLOW BUSINESSMAN IN APPEALING TO THER LMALACCA CUSTOMS TO 'CLOSE AN EYE'! Now let's see what Pak Lah will do as UMNO President to an Incredible who told a BLASTANT LIE.
Like he was such a responsible MP acting for the interests of his constituents. My foot! (Oh, it aches!)
~~~"Asked if Abdullah had called him over the issue, Mohd Said said: "I met the PM last night (Tuesday). I saw him at the PWTC. I met him. I shook hands with him. I told him, if I was wrong, I am sorry."
Pak Lah, just use those famaous words of the visitor from the US recently in KL City, from The Apprentice: "You're Fired!"
~~ Donald Trump
For recall, Act 1, Scene 1 last Thursday opened with~~~
CLOSE
one
eye
Eyes
wide
SHUT
Shall we proceed to Act 1, Scene 3 to the Scriptwriter's Residence?
We await the NST instalment's tomorrow.
Perhaps the country's CEO will make his grand entry?
Put THE END to the credits before Malaysia really proves
top the 'hole wide worlde that SOME MALAYSIANS in deed still
LIVE ON TOWN HOUSES BUILT ON SWAYING COCONUT TREES?
Incredible isn't it, that the PROOF COMES WITH THE PUDDING MADE BY THAT AUGUST HOWSE!
From page 4, NST~~~
Firm’s address is MP’s home
MALACCA: Details of Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof’s interests in Binyu Sof Enterprise were obtained through a check with the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
The company is a sole proprietorship registered under Mohd Said bin Yusof (IC: 530424045447), with a house address at 676-A, Batu 2 1/2, Padang Temu, 75050 Malacca.
A further check with the Malacca Government 2006 official diary, which lists the names, designations, addresses and contact numbers of all elected representatives and government offices, found that Jasin MP Mohd Said lives at the same address.
Binyu Sof Enterprise was set up on Nov 20, 2000, as an electrical, mechanical and construction contractor, a shipping and forwarding agent, and a commission agent.
Also listed among the company’s businesses are ship painting services; cleaning services for buildings, gardens, roads and pools; water piping and component maintenance; heavy machinery, tug-boat, ferry and marine services; and parking and sand-blasting services.
DESIDERATA: A first worlde resume spelt out in the last para that would make any White House occupant go red with envy.
No wonder our country provides CEO's terms that can go on indefinitely when the most powerfool person in the 'hol;e wilde worlde can only fool us for max: TWO TERMS totalling 8 years.
I end with a prayer for NegaraKu:
R.I.P.
Desio was too bee-sy earning B&B with some kaya thrown in occasionally, so I missed the golden opportunity.
The Hollywood production enriches the minds of the audience -- especially the YoungOnes -- with "incredible" powers of their childhood heroes all working in concert to overcome "evel"
Yes, it's the fable storyline that GOOD WILL TRIUMPH OVER EVIL.
A fairy tale ending.
But some generous and responsible and diligent Malaysians have produced an alternative -- but it's far from that Good Triumphs Over Evil storyboard line.
It's even more incredible when Creatures from that RUMAHssParlimen to entertain us with spins that can only ciome out of Yes! Mollywood, courtesy of THE INCREDIBLES (M) SDN BHD.
The first instalment created by BinYu Sof Enterprise comes at the generosity of the Scriptwriter-cum-honourable MP for Jasin, DATUK MOHD SAID YUSOF (IC: 530424045447) registered at house address at 676-A, Batu 2-1/2, Padang Temu, 75050 Malacca.
Mark his name, he will surely win OsScars to bring Malaysia up into the International Arena of Stars. AMIR MUHAMMAD, getyour Commie out of the Malaysian stage! Lelaki Komunis Terakhir, my foot.
I'm giving the details courtesy of the
New Straits Times, May 11, 2006 pages 1&4;
CONGRATS to this paper who now gifts us Act 1, Scene 2 after opening with Act 1, Scene 1 a week ago (See "With Eyes Wide Open", May 4, 2006)
:The current episode flags off on the frontpage with
Case of the MP who asked Customs to close one eye
It's YB Mohd Said Yusof's
ENTERPRISE
Jasin MP admits he is the owner of *company
(Binyu Sof ENTERPRISE)
11 May 2006
KUALA LUMPUR: It’s no coincidence — Binyu Sof Enterprise is indeed a company owned by Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof.
In an open admission at a Press conference in the lobby of Parliament yesterday, the Malacca politician said he was the sole proprietor of the company which transported a consignment of imported logs seized by Customs last month.
This directly answered a poser front-paged by the New Straits Times yesterday over the similarity between his and the company’s names.
The controversy arose since NST broke the story on Thursday of an MP who had tried to interfere with the work of the Malacca Customs, which had seized a consignment of timber that exceeded specifications.
Mohd Said said he had also apologised to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday night over the matter, but maintained he had done no wrong as "MPs are allowed to do business".
Mohd Said said the question of whether he was prepared to face punishment did not arise because the Umno supreme council had discussed the matter and concluded that "there was no case".
He had earlier admitted he was the one who went to the Malacca Customs office on April 14 to ask officers to "close one eye" over the seized timber.
"I am the sole proprietor. It is my forwarding company. I have, from the start, declared my interest in this company. I have never hidden my interest," he said, although he maintained that the consignment of logs seized was not his.
"I have no interest in the logs or the companies which brought them into the country. Binyu Sof only acted as a forwarding agent."
Mohd Said could not name the companies offhand, but said his company acted for one "Ah Chooi at the Sungai Rambai port and Daud in Sungai Linggi".
"We are a small company. Our office is like a petition writer’s office... small. I have interest in both ports as a forwarding agent. I don’t deny my interest in this matter as a forwarding agent. I am allowed to do business. Why can’t MPs do business?"
Mohd Said took exception to a remark from a Customs officer in yesterday’s NST report that it was not proper for an MP to help smugglers.
"How can I be accused of helping smugglers? The sawn timber was declared to the Customs. How can you say that these people are smugglers? Smugglers are those who run away from Customs, not those who seek Customs."
Reading intermittently from his prepared statement and taking questions from time to time, Mohd Said said he had gone to Malacca Customs to ask the director to "close one eye" to the import of sawn timber exceeding the size limit of 60 square inches in cross-section.
"I went there after Sungai Rambai importers, timber traders, jetty operators and forwarding agents came to my office to complain about the seizure," he said, pointing out that the group was a mix of Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras.
Mohd Said said since the start of the year, the Customs Department had been strictly enforcing the rule and trade players were unhappy as their sawn timber shipments were being seized and auctioned off.
Mohd Said said he had gone to the Malacca Customs headquarters in Ayer Keroh on April 14 and the meeting lasted 20 minutes.
"I went to meet the director as I would do whenever there was a problem. I went as Mohd Said, the owner of Binyu Sof and Jasin MP. The problem occurred in my constituency. I admit I am one of the players at the port. I admit I have interest. What’s wrong with that?"
Mohd Said said the director met him and asked him what the problem was. "He called the assistant director in the prevention unit and the three of us discussed the problem. They told me they were enforcing the rule put in place by the Malaysian Timber Industry Board."
Mohd Said said he then appealed to them to consider the matter and compound those who broke the law.
"I appealed to them to just compound. If Customs seized the timber, the traders lose their investment and would have to fork out more money to buy back the timber at the auction.
"If the situation at both ports continue, the Indonesian barter traders will not go there anymore. It will turn the ports into a white elephant."
Mohd Said said this was when he asked the officers to "close one eye" and take into consideration that the sawn timber, though bigger, was hollow in the middle.
"I only asked them to compound and not seize the consignment."
Mohd Said said he also appealed to the Deputy Finance Minister on behalf of the other traders.
"However, the appeal was rejected and the entire consignment was auctioned off."
Asked if Abdullah had called him over the issue, Mohd Said said: "I met the PM last night (Tuesday). I saw him at the PWTC. I met him. I shook hands with him. I told him, if I was wrong, I am sorry."
Asked what the Prime Minister had said to him, Mohd Said said: "That, you ask him, lah."
DESIDERATA:
This INCREDIBLE MP still wants to justify his "bluff" when he had been caught with his pants down.
~~~"Mohd Said could not name the companies offhand, but said his company acted for one "Ah Chooi at the Sungai Rambai port and Daud in Sungai Linggi".
Today we know, thanks to THE NST! that the Yang Berhormat Jasin MP was acting for himself, his own ENTERPRISE.
Some people only know how to shit, but forget they also talk bull!
Look at his twists and turns -- how did UMNO nominate such a guy in the first place to stand for erections, oops, ELECTIONS? To wit, amore:
~~~"Mohd Said said the question of whether he was prepared to face punishment did not arise because the Umno supreme council had discussed the matter and concluded that "there was no case".
Hey,MP of Jasin -- "That" was before the FACT was unearthed by THE NST that YOU LIED WHEN YOU CLAIMED YOU WERE REPRESENTED A FELLOW BUSINESSMAN IN APPEALING TO THER LMALACCA CUSTOMS TO 'CLOSE AN EYE'! Now let's see what Pak Lah will do as UMNO President to an Incredible who told a BLASTANT LIE.
Like he was such a responsible MP acting for the interests of his constituents. My foot! (Oh, it aches!)
~~~"Asked if Abdullah had called him over the issue, Mohd Said said: "I met the PM last night (Tuesday). I saw him at the PWTC. I met him. I shook hands with him. I told him, if I was wrong, I am sorry."
Pak Lah, just use those famaous words of the visitor from the US recently in KL City, from The Apprentice: "You're Fired!"
~~ Donald Trump
For recall, Act 1, Scene 1 last Thursday opened with~~~
CLOSE
one
eye
Eyes
wide
SHUT
Shall we proceed to Act 1, Scene 3 to the Scriptwriter's Residence?
We await the NST instalment's tomorrow.
Perhaps the country's CEO will make his grand entry?
Put THE END to the credits before Malaysia really proves
top the 'hole wide worlde that SOME MALAYSIANS in deed still
LIVE ON TOWN HOUSES BUILT ON SWAYING COCONUT TREES?
Incredible isn't it, that the PROOF COMES WITH THE PUDDING MADE BY THAT AUGUST HOWSE!
From page 4, NST~~~
Firm’s address is MP’s home
MALACCA: Details of Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof’s interests in Binyu Sof Enterprise were obtained through a check with the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
The company is a sole proprietorship registered under Mohd Said bin Yusof (IC: 530424045447), with a house address at 676-A, Batu 2 1/2, Padang Temu, 75050 Malacca.
A further check with the Malacca Government 2006 official diary, which lists the names, designations, addresses and contact numbers of all elected representatives and government offices, found that Jasin MP Mohd Said lives at the same address.
Binyu Sof Enterprise was set up on Nov 20, 2000, as an electrical, mechanical and construction contractor, a shipping and forwarding agent, and a commission agent.
Also listed among the company’s businesses are ship painting services; cleaning services for buildings, gardens, roads and pools; water piping and component maintenance; heavy machinery, tug-boat, ferry and marine services; and parking and sand-blasting services.
DESIDERATA: A first worlde resume spelt out in the last para that would make any White House occupant go red with envy.
No wonder our country provides CEO's terms that can go on indefinitely when the most powerfool person in the 'hol;e wilde worlde can only fool us for max: TWO TERMS totalling 8 years.
I end with a prayer for NegaraKu:
R.I.P.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Where a newspaper leads the Ministry ...
You know that you are back in BolehLand.
Infrastructure of the 2000s,First World ranking;
Mentality of the 1500s. Third-going-to-Fourth World status.
The Basic Con
Those who can’t find anything to live for,
always invent something to die for.
Then they want the rest of us to
die for it, too.
by Lew Welch
When Castro visited Malaysia in the glory days once upon a time, or when a former Malaysian PM visited Cuba, there were bear hugs like the embracers were of the same faith or ideology.
When the same leader visited China once upon a dime, there was a planned timetable to reap maxium mileage with grandiose photo opportunities for the media so that the people back home -- especially of a particular ethnic group -- would be enthralled, besotted mayhaps, to have a "feel good" lasting feeling, and vote in the next GE for the leader's party.
The question of the Communist bogey did NOT arise then.
But it DOES now -- and it was all over a semi-documentary movie by a Malaysian young artiste named AMIR MUHAMMAD. Well, I think the 32-year-old knew what he was up against. But he was always one who would stick his neck, guts and gumption out in pursuit of artistic excellence.
But in Malaysia, the quest for excellence does NOT pay.
Be mediocre, and play ball, that pays.
No wonder for five long decades, the only name we hear of in filmdom is P. RAMLEE.
Sometimes, some politikus and their ratty way make it to the credits, in cahoots with more than pro/pros nu'esmen. Like a Berita Harian fellow/fella, who got the better of Amir, and there goes Malaysians' opportuinity to view his (NOT THE PROS! Amir's!) 90-mminute, low-budget LELAKI KOMUNIS TERAKHIR (The Last Communist). The semi-docu musical was banned by the Home Affaitrs Ministry AFTER THE CENSORSHIP BOPARD GAVE IT A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH.
But "Words, Words, Words" by Berita Harian in three consecutive days of critical rundown of the film made sure the Censorship Board's station was not the last in such clearance matters. The Malaysian 4th Estate prospers, and has its tentacles welcomed by the Minstry who has more than an artistic agenda.
THE TIMING IS NOT RIGHT FOR THE FILMis the official line.
But you read Page N3 of The Star today, and you know what the unofficial line is.
Badder still, hear IT from the horse's mouth by surfing http://lastcommunist.blogspot.combut you did not get the advice here!
Not the right time for film
PETALING JAYA: The Home Affairs Ministry banned the movie Lelaki Komunis Terakhir (The Last Communist) because the timing of its screening was inappropriate due to current events and public sentiment.
Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said he made the decision to exercise his powers as the minister under Section 26 of the Film Censorship Act 2002 to ban the movie as it would be “insensitive” to release the semi-documentary about Chin Peng, the country’s most notorious communist, at a time when Umno was celebrating its 60th anniversary.
"I don’t think it’s right. I also received a lot of objections and negative feedback from the public so I don’t believe Malaysians have reached a level where they are ready for it,” he said.
On whether he had viewed the movie before deciding, he said he saw parts of it, including a scene showing the house where Chin Peng lived.
“So whether you like it or not, the underlying message is that this movie will promote Chin Peng. This is the man who was behind the destruction of property and the loss of many innocent lives. And this is still fresh in the minds of people of that generation who lived through it,” he explained yesterday.
The movie was written and directed by Amir Muhammad who co-produced it with Red Films. The film was shot late last year.
In his blog, Amir described the movie as a “semi-musical documentary road movie inspired by the places and events in the early life of Chin Peng, secretary-general of the outlawed Communist Party of Malaya.”
It made its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February.
Amir said the film has since been invited to 14 other film festivals around the world, including in London, Seattle, Vancouver and Hong Kong.
Notice of the ban came last Friday, two weeks before it was scheduled for public screening on May 18.
Meanwhile, Amir believes that reports in a local daily may have influenced the authorities to ban his film, which was earlier passed uncut by the National Film Censorship Board and even viewed by officers of the police Special Branch.
“They saw it, we had a discussion and they thought it was okay,” Amir said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles, where he is attending the Asia Pacific Film Festival.
He felt that the disapproving voices of the people interviewed by the daily had led to the Home Ministry’s decision to ban the film.
“There can be no other reason,” he said.
The film’s executive producer Lina Tan expressed disappointment over the ban.
“It would be nice if they could see the film before judging it,” she said. “I know they are knowledgeable people and I am sure they can be fair about it.” (EMPHASIS is all Desiderata's, not The Star's, not Amir's, not the Censorship Board's, not any broad's.)
~~~~~~~~
Reprised from Amir's blog:
The First Assault Begins
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
From Berita Harian,
Censors accused of being insensitive
KUALA LUMPUR: The decision of the Malaysian Film Censorship Board (LPF) to allow the screening of the documentary Lelaki Komunis Terakhir which talks about the life of the former head of the Communist Party of Malaya, Chin Peng, is described as not appropriate.
Various people who were contacted for reactions concerning the issue criticised the LPF's action because it it seen as insensitive to the people of this country especially the victims and families who suffered atrocities committed by the communists.
The head of Puteri Umno, Datuk Noraini Ahmad said the LPF's action is not appropriate as it is not right for anyone to glorify the communist leader when the country has much more credible people that we can learn from.
She said, the issue relating to the production of this documentary and whether it was appropriate to be approved by the authorities was discussed earlier but did not continue because it was thought that the film would never become a reality.
History figure, Professor Emeritus Datuk Khoo Kay Kim said the LPF should not have been hasty in giving approval for the documentary but should have consulted experts especially about the potential effects of screening it to the public.
"Before passing it, let experts view it first. In this case I think the LPF doesn't really understand if we were to ask them to explain communism and the history of the Emergency."
"The cruelty of the communists caused suffering to the public and security forces. Screening it will only make them feel uneasy," he said when asked to comment on the LPF's decision to allow the documentary by Amir Muhammad to screen in cinemas from 18 May.
However the documentary was passed for only three screens operated by Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) namely Mid Valley and One Utama, Kuala Lumpur; and Gurney Plaza in Penang.
UMNO veteran. Tan Sri Aziz Tapa said the documentary should have been banned from screening because hatred towards Chin Peng is very deeply felt especially by the victims of the Communist Party's cruelty and although the wounds have disappeared, the scars remain.
"Just mention Chin Peng and people will get angry. The screening will cause this anger to resurface especially among families of victims and we are worried 'old wounds will bleed again'" he said and also suggests that the approval might have been made by a young LPF officer who is too eager for 'democracy' without realising the effects.
Another UMNO veteran, Tan Sri Zaleha Ismail said she opposes strongly the screening of the documentary because it will only hurt the feelings of those who suffered atrocities committed by communists.
Meanwhile, the Director of the National Internal Security and Public Safety Department, Datuk Mustafa Abdullah said he is unsure about the approval status of the screening of the documentary.
He said that until now, his department had not received any information about the making or screening of the film but is certain the Special Branch unit of Police Headquarters knows about it.
"Whatever it is, I am sure there is a reason for the approval given by LPF for the documentary to be screened," he said and refused further comment.
The President of the Former Armed Servicemen Association of Malaysia, Datuk Mohamad Ghani said that the LPF's decision could anger all army personnel especially those who fought against the communists.
"This film seemingly belittles our struggle in the security forces to fight communists but during that time, more than 11,000 policemen, soldiers and civilians were killed."
*Translated from the original Malay.
posted by Amir at 1:31 PM
9 Comments:
Amir said...
Q: What do ALL of the people in the article, including the 4 reporters who wrote it, have in common?
A: Not one of them has seen, or even asked to see, a single frame from the documentary.
2:05 PM
DESIDERATA: I have the privilege of interacting with AMIR for close to a year while working at an online newspaper. He has an independent mind, and one thing I believe we share in common is our love for WORDPLAY. Foreplay, mid-pray, Postplay. Then pray-pray.
I believe Amir had also "LOST" his job at the NST because his weekly column obviously made certain quarters "uncomfortable", but this was once upon a time. He moved on into the film world debuting with Lips to Lips (Hope I gotta this right. I'm a rightist, See! definAtely not a leftist; socialist maybe. But to some quarters looking for trouble where there is none, even socialists are branded Communist. Some socialites too. Sorry if I digressed. But WTF, this is my terrortry!:()
Amir's film qualified to be shown at international arenas.
But Malaysians are NOT READY for IT!
Does that ring a belle?
Howsy, mGf, you tell Desi!
Infrastructure of the 2000s,First World ranking;
Mentality of the 1500s. Third-going-to-Fourth World status.
The Basic Con
Those who can’t find anything to live for,
always invent something to die for.
Then they want the rest of us to
die for it, too.
by Lew Welch
When Castro visited Malaysia in the glory days once upon a time, or when a former Malaysian PM visited Cuba, there were bear hugs like the embracers were of the same faith or ideology.
When the same leader visited China once upon a dime, there was a planned timetable to reap maxium mileage with grandiose photo opportunities for the media so that the people back home -- especially of a particular ethnic group -- would be enthralled, besotted mayhaps, to have a "feel good" lasting feeling, and vote in the next GE for the leader's party.
The question of the Communist bogey did NOT arise then.
But it DOES now -- and it was all over a semi-documentary movie by a Malaysian young artiste named AMIR MUHAMMAD. Well, I think the 32-year-old knew what he was up against. But he was always one who would stick his neck, guts and gumption out in pursuit of artistic excellence.
But in Malaysia, the quest for excellence does NOT pay.
Be mediocre, and play ball, that pays.
No wonder for five long decades, the only name we hear of in filmdom is P. RAMLEE.
Sometimes, some politikus and their ratty way make it to the credits, in cahoots with more than pro/pros nu'esmen. Like a Berita Harian fellow/fella, who got the better of Amir, and there goes Malaysians' opportuinity to view his (NOT THE PROS! Amir's!) 90-mminute, low-budget LELAKI KOMUNIS TERAKHIR (The Last Communist). The semi-docu musical was banned by the Home Affaitrs Ministry AFTER THE CENSORSHIP BOPARD GAVE IT A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH.
But "Words, Words, Words" by Berita Harian in three consecutive days of critical rundown of the film made sure the Censorship Board's station was not the last in such clearance matters. The Malaysian 4th Estate prospers, and has its tentacles welcomed by the Minstry who has more than an artistic agenda.
THE TIMING IS NOT RIGHT FOR THE FILMis the official line.
But you read Page N3 of The Star today, and you know what the unofficial line is.
Badder still, hear IT from the horse's mouth by surfing http://lastcommunist.blogspot.combut you did not get the advice here!
Not the right time for film
PETALING JAYA: The Home Affairs Ministry banned the movie Lelaki Komunis Terakhir (The Last Communist) because the timing of its screening was inappropriate due to current events and public sentiment.
Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said he made the decision to exercise his powers as the minister under Section 26 of the Film Censorship Act 2002 to ban the movie as it would be “insensitive” to release the semi-documentary about Chin Peng, the country’s most notorious communist, at a time when Umno was celebrating its 60th anniversary.
"I don’t think it’s right. I also received a lot of objections and negative feedback from the public so I don’t believe Malaysians have reached a level where they are ready for it,” he said.
On whether he had viewed the movie before deciding, he said he saw parts of it, including a scene showing the house where Chin Peng lived.
“So whether you like it or not, the underlying message is that this movie will promote Chin Peng. This is the man who was behind the destruction of property and the loss of many innocent lives. And this is still fresh in the minds of people of that generation who lived through it,” he explained yesterday.
The movie was written and directed by Amir Muhammad who co-produced it with Red Films. The film was shot late last year.
In his blog, Amir described the movie as a “semi-musical documentary road movie inspired by the places and events in the early life of Chin Peng, secretary-general of the outlawed Communist Party of Malaya.”
It made its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February.
Amir said the film has since been invited to 14 other film festivals around the world, including in London, Seattle, Vancouver and Hong Kong.
Notice of the ban came last Friday, two weeks before it was scheduled for public screening on May 18.
Meanwhile, Amir believes that reports in a local daily may have influenced the authorities to ban his film, which was earlier passed uncut by the National Film Censorship Board and even viewed by officers of the police Special Branch.
“They saw it, we had a discussion and they thought it was okay,” Amir said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles, where he is attending the Asia Pacific Film Festival.
He felt that the disapproving voices of the people interviewed by the daily had led to the Home Ministry’s decision to ban the film.
“There can be no other reason,” he said.
The film’s executive producer Lina Tan expressed disappointment over the ban.
“It would be nice if they could see the film before judging it,” she said. “I know they are knowledgeable people and I am sure they can be fair about it.” (EMPHASIS is all Desiderata's, not The Star's, not Amir's, not the Censorship Board's, not any broad's.)
~~~~~~~~
Reprised from Amir's blog:
The First Assault Begins
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
From Berita Harian,
Censors accused of being insensitive
KUALA LUMPUR: The decision of the Malaysian Film Censorship Board (LPF) to allow the screening of the documentary Lelaki Komunis Terakhir which talks about the life of the former head of the Communist Party of Malaya, Chin Peng, is described as not appropriate.
Various people who were contacted for reactions concerning the issue criticised the LPF's action because it it seen as insensitive to the people of this country especially the victims and families who suffered atrocities committed by the communists.
The head of Puteri Umno, Datuk Noraini Ahmad said the LPF's action is not appropriate as it is not right for anyone to glorify the communist leader when the country has much more credible people that we can learn from.
She said, the issue relating to the production of this documentary and whether it was appropriate to be approved by the authorities was discussed earlier but did not continue because it was thought that the film would never become a reality.
History figure, Professor Emeritus Datuk Khoo Kay Kim said the LPF should not have been hasty in giving approval for the documentary but should have consulted experts especially about the potential effects of screening it to the public.
"Before passing it, let experts view it first. In this case I think the LPF doesn't really understand if we were to ask them to explain communism and the history of the Emergency."
"The cruelty of the communists caused suffering to the public and security forces. Screening it will only make them feel uneasy," he said when asked to comment on the LPF's decision to allow the documentary by Amir Muhammad to screen in cinemas from 18 May.
However the documentary was passed for only three screens operated by Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) namely Mid Valley and One Utama, Kuala Lumpur; and Gurney Plaza in Penang.
UMNO veteran. Tan Sri Aziz Tapa said the documentary should have been banned from screening because hatred towards Chin Peng is very deeply felt especially by the victims of the Communist Party's cruelty and although the wounds have disappeared, the scars remain.
"Just mention Chin Peng and people will get angry. The screening will cause this anger to resurface especially among families of victims and we are worried 'old wounds will bleed again'" he said and also suggests that the approval might have been made by a young LPF officer who is too eager for 'democracy' without realising the effects.
Another UMNO veteran, Tan Sri Zaleha Ismail said she opposes strongly the screening of the documentary because it will only hurt the feelings of those who suffered atrocities committed by communists.
Meanwhile, the Director of the National Internal Security and Public Safety Department, Datuk Mustafa Abdullah said he is unsure about the approval status of the screening of the documentary.
He said that until now, his department had not received any information about the making or screening of the film but is certain the Special Branch unit of Police Headquarters knows about it.
"Whatever it is, I am sure there is a reason for the approval given by LPF for the documentary to be screened," he said and refused further comment.
The President of the Former Armed Servicemen Association of Malaysia, Datuk Mohamad Ghani said that the LPF's decision could anger all army personnel especially those who fought against the communists.
"This film seemingly belittles our struggle in the security forces to fight communists but during that time, more than 11,000 policemen, soldiers and civilians were killed."
*Translated from the original Malay.
posted by Amir at 1:31 PM
9 Comments:
Amir said...
Q: What do ALL of the people in the article, including the 4 reporters who wrote it, have in common?
A: Not one of them has seen, or even asked to see, a single frame from the documentary.
2:05 PM
DESIDERATA: I have the privilege of interacting with AMIR for close to a year while working at an online newspaper. He has an independent mind, and one thing I believe we share in common is our love for WORDPLAY. Foreplay, mid-pray, Postplay. Then pray-pray.
I believe Amir had also "LOST" his job at the NST because his weekly column obviously made certain quarters "uncomfortable", but this was once upon a time. He moved on into the film world debuting with Lips to Lips (Hope I gotta this right. I'm a rightist, See! definAtely not a leftist; socialist maybe. But to some quarters looking for trouble where there is none, even socialists are branded Communist. Some socialites too. Sorry if I digressed. But WTF, this is my terrortry!:()
Amir's film qualified to be shown at international arenas.
But Malaysians are NOT READY for IT!
Does that ring a belle?
Howsy, mGf, you tell Desi!
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Full extract from: lastcommunist.blogspot.com
LISTEN to the FULL STORY from Da Horse's Mouth.
Uncut.
Unpolished.
Has got balls.
Please note some of the highlights (emphasis) in the article that follows, the original by Amir Muhammad, with NO EDITING whatsoever, is mine.~~~Desiderata
Lelaki Komunis Terakhir
(The Last Communist)
A semi-musical documentary road movie inspired by the places and events in the early life of Chin Peng, Secretary General of the outlawed Communist Party of Malaya. This blog commences right after the movie has been fully completed.
IN THE WORDS OF AMIR MUHAMMAD~~~
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Why is Lelaki Komunis Terakhir banned in Malaysia?
In March 2006 we submitted my documentary Lelaki Komunis Terakhir (known in English as The Last Communist) to the Malaysian Film Censorship Board (LPF). “We” in this case refers to myself as well as Red Films, the local production company which is the co-producer.
Lelaki Komunis Terakhir is a semi-musical road movie documentary tracing the towns in which Chin Peng (exiled leader of the banned Communist Party of Malaya) lived in from birth to national independence in 1957. It does not include any interviews with, or even photographs of, Chin Peng himself. The documentary features interviews with people who live in those same present-day towns such as Sitiawan, Bidor, Taiping, Ipoh and Betong, Thailand. Along the way there are also specially-composed songs and capsule biographical data explaining what Chin Peng did in those towns. Chin Peng himself is mentioned only once during the interviews.
What were my expectations upon submission to LPF? I can honestly say, “I don’t know.” Censorship in this country is an unpredictable thing. I am not a censor so I wouldn’t know what a censor would look out for or find objectionable. I just hoped for the best.
Lelaki Komunis Terakhir had been shot over the course of 4 weeks in late 2005. The total budget including promotion is RM80,000. The shoot had the necessary permit from the National Film Development Corporation (Finas). This was not a ‘guerrilla’ or ‘underground’ shoot and Red Films is a licensed production company responsible for, among others, last year’s teen futsal romance Gol & Gincu.
The funding came partly from the Jan Vrijman Fund of Amsterdam which is a documentary fund for developing countries and not (as a letter in last year’s Berita Harian claimed) a body responsible for spreading communism worldwide.
When the news came out that the documentary was going to be made, UMNO Youth issued a single protest letter. As I had not even started shooting, they were probably making an assumption about its content. I did not respond to this protest letter as I believed the proper thing to do is to make the documentary first.
Lelaki Komunis Terakhir made its world premiere at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival in February. The audience included the Malaysian ambassador to Germany who said he enjoyed it. It has since been invited to 14 other film festivals around the world, including London, Seattle, Vancouver and Hong Kong. All these invites were received up to and including April this year.
In April we received the good news: Lelaki Komunis Terakhir was passed uncut by the censors. Yes, not a single cut. And the rating given was U, meaning suitable for all ages. After a meeting that we had with LPF chairman, he clarified that this approval meant that we could screen it in the three digital cinemas we had asked for: namely, the Golden Screen Cinemas of MidValley, One Utama Kuala Lumpur and Gurney Plaza, Penang. This approval did not include VCD/DVD sales and TV broadcast; we were made to understand that these extra approvals would depend on the public reaction after watching it in the cinemas.
I am not naïve and do know that the subject of communism is taboo in Malaysia. I maintain that Lelaki Komunis Terakhir was made with a certain sense of responsibility and sensitivity to history. It is not a propaganda film but a rather odd documentary. “Odd” is the word I heard when I screened it overseas, but most meant it in a nice way.
Being “odd” as it is, we never wanted a big nationwide release. Lelaki Komunis Terakhir is a documentary shot and finished on digital video. It is not a feature film with stars. It is therefore not “commercial.” There are only 3 cinemas in Malaysia equipped to show digital-video movies and these happen to be the 3 cinemas that we chose. (Berita Harian brought up a bizarre point that Kuala Lumpur and Penang have a majority Chinese population but I fail to see why this matters). Each cinema can fit not even 100 people so it is a very limited screening and hardly Lord of the Rings.
After discussion with Golden Screen Cinemas, we set 18 May for the release date on these 3 screens.
Oh yes: Due to its subject-matter, we were asked to hold a special screening for officers of the Special Branch unit of the Royal Malaysian Police Force. I never knew of any other film that has received such a request but we obliged. We screened it for an audience of 20 Special Branch officers. After the screening we had a nice discussion. They did not indicate any objection to the documentary; one said “It should be OK” but another said, “It’s very academic and most people will be bored.” A few of them took my name-card but said they had none of their own. We did not hear from them again.
All seemed to be going well until Berita Harian ran a series of articles criticizing the LPF’s decision to approve the documentary. Berita Harian was the only newspaper in the country to do this. These articles appeared on May 3, 4 and 5 of the newspaper. These included interviews with politicians, filmmakers and academics who seemed appalled that such a documentary was approved for screening.
On the evening of May 5, Red Films received instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs to not screen Lelaki Komunis Terakhir anywhere in Malaysia. The reason cited was that “the public had protested.”
We of course cancelled the Golden Screen Cinemas release date and also an Ipoh charity screening on 19 May (for which separate approval was in the process of being obtained from the Ipoh police department).
The decision to ban the documentary was based on the series of articles in Berita Harian. I need to emphasise this point: No one in Berita Harian has seen the documentary. And no one interviewed by Berita Harian had seen it either.
According to friends of mine who were called up by Berita Harian (and who refused to make any comments), the question that was asked of them was “Do you approve of this Amir guy making a movie glorifying communism and Chin Peng?” This sort of leading question obviously got the answers that the paper was looking for. The people who were quoted were making comments on a documentary they had not even seen. Some of them didn’t even know of its existence until Berita Harian told them. In order words, they literally didn’t know what they were talking about.
I was called up by that newspaper on 3 May to give my comments. The reporter said, “There are all these people angry at you. How do you respond?” I said, “They haven’t even seen the documentary. How am I supposed to respond?” He seemed disappointed that he couldnt goad me into saying anything else.
Why did Berita Harian object to the documentary even without seeing it? Berita Harian is a conservative newspaper whose cultural politics verges on the ethnocentric and semi-fascist. Proof of this was its intense daily campaign (which ran for weeks) to discredit Yasmin Ahmads Sepet after it won Best Film at the Malaysian Film Festival. Berita Harian was the only newspaper to take such exception to this interracial romance as being “insulting to Malay culture”. Its Assistant Entertainment Editor Akmal Abdullah even appeared on the RTM talk-show Fenomena Seni to further denounce Sepet and its follow-up Gubra along the same lines. He seemed to take particular exception to the plot of a Malay girl falling in love with an “infidel” (Chinese) youth.
Akmal in his weekly Thursday column Epilog (ironic that such a Malaycentric writer would choose such a foreign word) also ran a weekly campaign against any local film not made in the Malay language. He sees this as part of some kind of conspiracy to “destroy Malay culture”. He singles out internationally acclaimed, small movies like The Beautiful Washing Machine, Sanctuary and Chemman Chaalai (made by people from what he terms “foreign” and “immigrant races”) for attack but has offered no proof that he has even seen any of these fine works.
In fact, central to Berita Harian’s objection to Lelaki Komunis Terakhir seems to be that Chin Peng is an ethnic Chinese. I was ‘advised’ in these articles to concentrate on Malay characters from now on; even if they are radical or communist it’s OK!
More evidence can be found on Berita Harian’s reactionary, racist cultural views. This is the same newspaper that a few years ago ran a long, positive review of that famous anti-Jewish fraud, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion! The fact that it could run such a review with no apology or retraction already places it beyond the ethical standards of civilized international journalism.
I repeat: The censorship board, whose job it is to monitor these things, had obviously found nothing objectionable in the film; this is why it was passed uncut.
The censors of all the countries that have screened the documentary so far in festivals (including Germany, Hong Kong, Argentina) passed it uncut too.
In none of the international reviews published did the critics say anything about how this was a ‘dangerous’ movie that will ‘harm the public.’ The advantage these reviews have over Berita Harian: They were written by people who had actually viewed the documentary. Not one of them came to the conclusion that I was “glorifying” any political leader including Chin Peng. All those reviews are available (Desi: PLease access links via Amir's blog!)here:
Variety
Sign and Sight
Film Kritiken
Die Tageszeitung
Sight & Sound
OK you might say those are ‘liberal’ and ‘tolerant’ countries whose standards don’t apply to us. But how about this: Singapore passed it uncut too! Yes, Singapore! The very country that barely has any opposition politicians or chewing gum.
It screened at the Singapore International Film Festival in late April. I was there at the full-house screening. I can assure you that no one ran amok after the screening or threatened national security. People just politely went back to the MRT and their lives.
It is, to put it mildly, horribly unfair for a movie to be banned based on comments by people who had not seen it. I am dismayed that a single newspaper (and a culturally chauvinistic one at that) could cause the Home Affairs Ministry to reverse the decision by the censors.
* Perhaps the objections are to the title? Well, Malaysia did once ban Daredevil and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers because of the words ‘devil’ and ‘morphin’ (which sounds like morphine) respectively. But that was in the past. The current Censorship Board seems determined to not make Malaysia an international laughingstock for ill-advised bans such as those. Do we want to return to those times?
* Perhaps the objection is to the very subject of communism? If communism is so untouchable, why is Malaysia now such pals with China and Cuba?
* Perhaps the objection is to “glorifying” communism and Chin Peng? I repeat: This charge has only been made by people who have not seen the documentary. Read the reviews by people who have seen it.
* Perhaps the objection is to painful depictions of the past? Lelaki Komunis Terakhir has no archive footage or historical recreations of war at all. The most violent image you will see is a strip of petai beans being removed from its tree in Bidor. Government-funded films like Leftenan Adnan, Paloh and Embun all feature violence but no one protested about those.
* Perhaps the objection is to the subject of Chin Peng? Well, Chin Peng’s book is not banned (even though he is), so why a different standard for the documentary, which was furthermore not made in cooperation with him?
* Perhaps the objection is to the fact that some communists were interviewed? Well, the 15-minute sequence in Betong (out of the 90 minutes of the whole documentary) does have retired men and women from the Communist Party of Malaya. But they are living lawfully as farmers and traders in land provided after the Peace Agreement in 1989 between Malaysia, the CPM and Thailand. Although they do describe some of their previous experiences in the jungle, they are in no way advocating a return to war. What does a Peace Agreement mean if the other side cannot even be seen and heard at all?
* Perhaps the objection is to the fact that Chin Peng is ethnic Chinese? Well, you got me there!
We will be meeting with the relevant Ministry to appeal the ban. I made the documentary for Malaysians first of all, since it is about our own past and present. Screening in foreign festivals is worthwhile but it has never been my primary intention. A Malaysian audience (the ones who can stay awake for a 90-minute documentary with no love stories, fight scenes or special effects) will understand it so much more.
This is what I humbly ask: If you feel the public has the right to see Lelaki Komunis Terakhir, please write to the press. The authorities do take note of reports in the media. (That’s why the ban happened in the first place!)
Even if you feel this doesn’t affect you, and you wouldn’t even want to watch the documentary anyway: What’s to stop the same newspaper from starting a campaign against some other local movie, book or song for being “not Malay enough”? That might certainly affect you in the future.
I made a multilingual documentary that explores the diversity and plurality of contemporary Malaysia to contrast against the more turbulent times of Chin Peng’s era. It is about both the geographic and historical ‘landscape’ that make up a country. It is this very diversity that is under threat if we allow chauvinists to determine what the rest of us can or cannot see.
posted by Amir at 6:06 AM
16 Comments:
~~~~~~~~
desiderata said...
Amir:
keep your chin up; we know how these retrogrades mind works.
They even lambasted "socialists" as commies -- so what's new?
I won't write to mainstream papers -- it's exercise in futility; I'll hi lite in my blog.
To Anon and Not a Bllogger..you can keep on asking 1,001 Qs like BH and UMNO Youth : why not Dr Mahathir, Why not Musa, why not My Papa? ad nauseum -- Give me RM20million, I'll do your 20 titles!
4:04 PM
Uncut.
Unpolished.
Has got balls.
Please note some of the highlights (emphasis) in the article that follows, the original by Amir Muhammad, with NO EDITING whatsoever, is mine.~~~Desiderata
Lelaki Komunis Terakhir
(The Last Communist)
A semi-musical documentary road movie inspired by the places and events in the early life of Chin Peng, Secretary General of the outlawed Communist Party of Malaya. This blog commences right after the movie has been fully completed.
IN THE WORDS OF AMIR MUHAMMAD~~~
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Why is Lelaki Komunis Terakhir banned in Malaysia?
In March 2006 we submitted my documentary Lelaki Komunis Terakhir (known in English as The Last Communist) to the Malaysian Film Censorship Board (LPF). “We” in this case refers to myself as well as Red Films, the local production company which is the co-producer.
Lelaki Komunis Terakhir is a semi-musical road movie documentary tracing the towns in which Chin Peng (exiled leader of the banned Communist Party of Malaya) lived in from birth to national independence in 1957. It does not include any interviews with, or even photographs of, Chin Peng himself. The documentary features interviews with people who live in those same present-day towns such as Sitiawan, Bidor, Taiping, Ipoh and Betong, Thailand. Along the way there are also specially-composed songs and capsule biographical data explaining what Chin Peng did in those towns. Chin Peng himself is mentioned only once during the interviews.
What were my expectations upon submission to LPF? I can honestly say, “I don’t know.” Censorship in this country is an unpredictable thing. I am not a censor so I wouldn’t know what a censor would look out for or find objectionable. I just hoped for the best.
Lelaki Komunis Terakhir had been shot over the course of 4 weeks in late 2005. The total budget including promotion is RM80,000. The shoot had the necessary permit from the National Film Development Corporation (Finas). This was not a ‘guerrilla’ or ‘underground’ shoot and Red Films is a licensed production company responsible for, among others, last year’s teen futsal romance Gol & Gincu.
The funding came partly from the Jan Vrijman Fund of Amsterdam which is a documentary fund for developing countries and not (as a letter in last year’s Berita Harian claimed) a body responsible for spreading communism worldwide.
When the news came out that the documentary was going to be made, UMNO Youth issued a single protest letter. As I had not even started shooting, they were probably making an assumption about its content. I did not respond to this protest letter as I believed the proper thing to do is to make the documentary first.
Lelaki Komunis Terakhir made its world premiere at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival in February. The audience included the Malaysian ambassador to Germany who said he enjoyed it. It has since been invited to 14 other film festivals around the world, including London, Seattle, Vancouver and Hong Kong. All these invites were received up to and including April this year.
In April we received the good news: Lelaki Komunis Terakhir was passed uncut by the censors. Yes, not a single cut. And the rating given was U, meaning suitable for all ages. After a meeting that we had with LPF chairman, he clarified that this approval meant that we could screen it in the three digital cinemas we had asked for: namely, the Golden Screen Cinemas of MidValley, One Utama Kuala Lumpur and Gurney Plaza, Penang. This approval did not include VCD/DVD sales and TV broadcast; we were made to understand that these extra approvals would depend on the public reaction after watching it in the cinemas.
I am not naïve and do know that the subject of communism is taboo in Malaysia. I maintain that Lelaki Komunis Terakhir was made with a certain sense of responsibility and sensitivity to history. It is not a propaganda film but a rather odd documentary. “Odd” is the word I heard when I screened it overseas, but most meant it in a nice way.
Being “odd” as it is, we never wanted a big nationwide release. Lelaki Komunis Terakhir is a documentary shot and finished on digital video. It is not a feature film with stars. It is therefore not “commercial.” There are only 3 cinemas in Malaysia equipped to show digital-video movies and these happen to be the 3 cinemas that we chose. (Berita Harian brought up a bizarre point that Kuala Lumpur and Penang have a majority Chinese population but I fail to see why this matters). Each cinema can fit not even 100 people so it is a very limited screening and hardly Lord of the Rings.
After discussion with Golden Screen Cinemas, we set 18 May for the release date on these 3 screens.
Oh yes: Due to its subject-matter, we were asked to hold a special screening for officers of the Special Branch unit of the Royal Malaysian Police Force. I never knew of any other film that has received such a request but we obliged. We screened it for an audience of 20 Special Branch officers. After the screening we had a nice discussion. They did not indicate any objection to the documentary; one said “It should be OK” but another said, “It’s very academic and most people will be bored.” A few of them took my name-card but said they had none of their own. We did not hear from them again.
All seemed to be going well until Berita Harian ran a series of articles criticizing the LPF’s decision to approve the documentary. Berita Harian was the only newspaper in the country to do this. These articles appeared on May 3, 4 and 5 of the newspaper. These included interviews with politicians, filmmakers and academics who seemed appalled that such a documentary was approved for screening.
On the evening of May 5, Red Films received instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs to not screen Lelaki Komunis Terakhir anywhere in Malaysia. The reason cited was that “the public had protested.”
We of course cancelled the Golden Screen Cinemas release date and also an Ipoh charity screening on 19 May (for which separate approval was in the process of being obtained from the Ipoh police department).
The decision to ban the documentary was based on the series of articles in Berita Harian. I need to emphasise this point: No one in Berita Harian has seen the documentary. And no one interviewed by Berita Harian had seen it either.
According to friends of mine who were called up by Berita Harian (and who refused to make any comments), the question that was asked of them was “Do you approve of this Amir guy making a movie glorifying communism and Chin Peng?” This sort of leading question obviously got the answers that the paper was looking for. The people who were quoted were making comments on a documentary they had not even seen. Some of them didn’t even know of its existence until Berita Harian told them. In order words, they literally didn’t know what they were talking about.
I was called up by that newspaper on 3 May to give my comments. The reporter said, “There are all these people angry at you. How do you respond?” I said, “They haven’t even seen the documentary. How am I supposed to respond?” He seemed disappointed that he couldnt goad me into saying anything else.
Why did Berita Harian object to the documentary even without seeing it? Berita Harian is a conservative newspaper whose cultural politics verges on the ethnocentric and semi-fascist. Proof of this was its intense daily campaign (which ran for weeks) to discredit Yasmin Ahmads Sepet after it won Best Film at the Malaysian Film Festival. Berita Harian was the only newspaper to take such exception to this interracial romance as being “insulting to Malay culture”. Its Assistant Entertainment Editor Akmal Abdullah even appeared on the RTM talk-show Fenomena Seni to further denounce Sepet and its follow-up Gubra along the same lines. He seemed to take particular exception to the plot of a Malay girl falling in love with an “infidel” (Chinese) youth.
Akmal in his weekly Thursday column Epilog (ironic that such a Malaycentric writer would choose such a foreign word) also ran a weekly campaign against any local film not made in the Malay language. He sees this as part of some kind of conspiracy to “destroy Malay culture”. He singles out internationally acclaimed, small movies like The Beautiful Washing Machine, Sanctuary and Chemman Chaalai (made by people from what he terms “foreign” and “immigrant races”) for attack but has offered no proof that he has even seen any of these fine works.
In fact, central to Berita Harian’s objection to Lelaki Komunis Terakhir seems to be that Chin Peng is an ethnic Chinese. I was ‘advised’ in these articles to concentrate on Malay characters from now on; even if they are radical or communist it’s OK!
More evidence can be found on Berita Harian’s reactionary, racist cultural views. This is the same newspaper that a few years ago ran a long, positive review of that famous anti-Jewish fraud, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion! The fact that it could run such a review with no apology or retraction already places it beyond the ethical standards of civilized international journalism.
I repeat: The censorship board, whose job it is to monitor these things, had obviously found nothing objectionable in the film; this is why it was passed uncut.
The censors of all the countries that have screened the documentary so far in festivals (including Germany, Hong Kong, Argentina) passed it uncut too.
In none of the international reviews published did the critics say anything about how this was a ‘dangerous’ movie that will ‘harm the public.’ The advantage these reviews have over Berita Harian: They were written by people who had actually viewed the documentary. Not one of them came to the conclusion that I was “glorifying” any political leader including Chin Peng. All those reviews are available (Desi: PLease access links via Amir's blog!)here:
Variety
Sign and Sight
Film Kritiken
Die Tageszeitung
Sight & Sound
OK you might say those are ‘liberal’ and ‘tolerant’ countries whose standards don’t apply to us. But how about this: Singapore passed it uncut too! Yes, Singapore! The very country that barely has any opposition politicians or chewing gum.
It screened at the Singapore International Film Festival in late April. I was there at the full-house screening. I can assure you that no one ran amok after the screening or threatened national security. People just politely went back to the MRT and their lives.
It is, to put it mildly, horribly unfair for a movie to be banned based on comments by people who had not seen it. I am dismayed that a single newspaper (and a culturally chauvinistic one at that) could cause the Home Affairs Ministry to reverse the decision by the censors.
* Perhaps the objections are to the title? Well, Malaysia did once ban Daredevil and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers because of the words ‘devil’ and ‘morphin’ (which sounds like morphine) respectively. But that was in the past. The current Censorship Board seems determined to not make Malaysia an international laughingstock for ill-advised bans such as those. Do we want to return to those times?
* Perhaps the objection is to the very subject of communism? If communism is so untouchable, why is Malaysia now such pals with China and Cuba?
* Perhaps the objection is to “glorifying” communism and Chin Peng? I repeat: This charge has only been made by people who have not seen the documentary. Read the reviews by people who have seen it.
* Perhaps the objection is to painful depictions of the past? Lelaki Komunis Terakhir has no archive footage or historical recreations of war at all. The most violent image you will see is a strip of petai beans being removed from its tree in Bidor. Government-funded films like Leftenan Adnan, Paloh and Embun all feature violence but no one protested about those.
* Perhaps the objection is to the subject of Chin Peng? Well, Chin Peng’s book is not banned (even though he is), so why a different standard for the documentary, which was furthermore not made in cooperation with him?
* Perhaps the objection is to the fact that some communists were interviewed? Well, the 15-minute sequence in Betong (out of the 90 minutes of the whole documentary) does have retired men and women from the Communist Party of Malaya. But they are living lawfully as farmers and traders in land provided after the Peace Agreement in 1989 between Malaysia, the CPM and Thailand. Although they do describe some of their previous experiences in the jungle, they are in no way advocating a return to war. What does a Peace Agreement mean if the other side cannot even be seen and heard at all?
* Perhaps the objection is to the fact that Chin Peng is ethnic Chinese? Well, you got me there!
We will be meeting with the relevant Ministry to appeal the ban. I made the documentary for Malaysians first of all, since it is about our own past and present. Screening in foreign festivals is worthwhile but it has never been my primary intention. A Malaysian audience (the ones who can stay awake for a 90-minute documentary with no love stories, fight scenes or special effects) will understand it so much more.
This is what I humbly ask: If you feel the public has the right to see Lelaki Komunis Terakhir, please write to the press. The authorities do take note of reports in the media. (That’s why the ban happened in the first place!)
Even if you feel this doesn’t affect you, and you wouldn’t even want to watch the documentary anyway: What’s to stop the same newspaper from starting a campaign against some other local movie, book or song for being “not Malay enough”? That might certainly affect you in the future.
I made a multilingual documentary that explores the diversity and plurality of contemporary Malaysia to contrast against the more turbulent times of Chin Peng’s era. It is about both the geographic and historical ‘landscape’ that make up a country. It is this very diversity that is under threat if we allow chauvinists to determine what the rest of us can or cannot see.
posted by Amir at 6:06 AM
16 Comments:
~~~~~~~~
desiderata said...
Amir:
keep your chin up; we know how these retrogrades mind works.
They even lambasted "socialists" as commies -- so what's new?
I won't write to mainstream papers -- it's exercise in futility; I'll hi lite in my blog.
To Anon and Not a Bllogger..you can keep on asking 1,001 Qs like BH and UMNO Youth : why not Dr Mahathir, Why not Musa, why not My Papa? ad nauseum -- Give me RM20million, I'll do your 20 titles!
4:04 PM
I once had a dream
Breakaway
A journey into awayness.
Away from the madding crowd
Away from words, words, words
Which I don't care their abouts
Away from the cacophony
Of squabbling men and louts
Away from greed
Men's damning need
Away from earthly mean things
That corrupt God-gifted beautiful beings
Mother's Day is nigh
Sons and daughters
Hope you have some time
Pause to wonder why
I can't hear your whispers
above the shout
oh, brothers and sisters
of dear Malaysia
I hope you puase a while
and listen to your heart
Are you selling out
For position and title
And put your mummy's soul
On hold.
mGf Helen knows Desi so well despite the fact we only know each other in mindscape via the blogosphere in less than a year. She informs my ER not to expects pictures in colours, no, not even in B&W, from mt Breakaway. It's only WORDS, and words are all I have, to take your heart away...
And Theels, it's not going to be mind-boggling. THat we've have to wait for Fishtail to blow up our minds to see the mystery behind that ML smile -- will the taeler oblige? Let's hold our breath. And when time cometh for Desi's sext Breakaway, I'd deputise Howsy to get in thy way.
"It was the pounding of the water against the rocks
In counter resonance to the soft beating of our hearts
Life's travails must dictate that the heart-bearer stakes a breather
That nerves be calm again and mind be stern to bear oft-changing weather
I once had a dream
That NegaraKu be of love-gift my soul to take
But after decades of fitful rides
Through mostly storms and dawns that ne'er last
Broken promises, shatter'd hopes
Do I still dare to commit to
That motherland, whatever IT be
I must, and I have to trust?
Last night I was overcome with FFF feelings
My land still instills faint stirrings...
:
:
I, the youngest billionaire, at twenty-seven,
My birth's surely ordained in heaven
Without a life's single care
Maidens lie at my feet
Bathe me in scented water and rose petals
Drown me in their kisses tasting like nectar sweet and neat
Or is it like strange brew from some animals in heat?
My best freind besides me
Beside himself with gay laughter
If in ecstasy we can buy with money
Spoil me, tenderise me, let hell and heaven be
Brother me, sister me, coddle me
You're my biz partner, my sworn brother be
This historic day May the ninth
Sees a typical youngman in his prime
I wake up happy and proud
The great tidings at me shout aloud
Tan Sri and Datuk sing my praises
I, a man of such graces
I'm like them now elevated
Sensation of a demi-god re-surrected
They 'gallant' me again with flowers
Decorate my name in national papers
I am the new crowned prince of my community
Waiting for the next anointment, befitting
My royal blood among their exalted realm
My Malaysian dream
Soon as a royal son to be seated
I see my youthful dream
A few years from now
Realised afore the PM I bow
I'm gonna be a Minister, wOw
:
:
:
The pounding of the waves grew into a thunderclap
The seabirds wailed in distress
Was it some lightning or awakening flashed
Or some boulders through my mind had crashed
I woke up with a start on a May day
A breakaway's resurging of a once weary heart
'twas one nightmare
Gifting the Dreamer a delight
Of savouring the state of being
Away.
Desiderata
W
I
L
L
together, with mGf,
willing Esteemed Readers all
make another fresh
Start.
Smart.
Rejuvenated
Heart.
May Dream ChallengiA:
The above was composed inspired by a foolpage
in a national nu'espaper this morning; please
sight and cite the mstery page by stating the
NUMBER of Tan Sri and Datuk named there.
NO NAMES please, we are blogospheric Malaysians.
DA PRIZE: First three correct entries to receive
Come September Miss Patience Price.
A journey into awayness.
Away from the madding crowd
Away from words, words, words
Which I don't care their abouts
Away from the cacophony
Of squabbling men and louts
Away from greed
Men's damning need
Away from earthly mean things
That corrupt God-gifted beautiful beings
Mother's Day is nigh
Sons and daughters
Hope you have some time
Pause to wonder why
I can't hear your whispers
above the shout
oh, brothers and sisters
of dear Malaysia
I hope you puase a while
and listen to your heart
Are you selling out
For position and title
And put your mummy's soul
On hold.
mGf Helen knows Desi so well despite the fact we only know each other in mindscape via the blogosphere in less than a year. She informs my ER not to expects pictures in colours, no, not even in B&W, from mt Breakaway. It's only WORDS, and words are all I have, to take your heart away...
And Theels, it's not going to be mind-boggling. THat we've have to wait for Fishtail to blow up our minds to see the mystery behind that ML smile -- will the taeler oblige? Let's hold our breath. And when time cometh for Desi's sext Breakaway, I'd deputise Howsy to get in thy way.
"It was the pounding of the water against the rocks
In counter resonance to the soft beating of our hearts
Life's travails must dictate that the heart-bearer stakes a breather
That nerves be calm again and mind be stern to bear oft-changing weather
I once had a dream
That NegaraKu be of love-gift my soul to take
But after decades of fitful rides
Through mostly storms and dawns that ne'er last
Broken promises, shatter'd hopes
Do I still dare to commit to
That motherland, whatever IT be
I must, and I have to trust?
Last night I was overcome with FFF feelings
My land still instills faint stirrings...
:
:
I, the youngest billionaire, at twenty-seven,
My birth's surely ordained in heaven
Without a life's single care
Maidens lie at my feet
Bathe me in scented water and rose petals
Drown me in their kisses tasting like nectar sweet and neat
Or is it like strange brew from some animals in heat?
My best freind besides me
Beside himself with gay laughter
If in ecstasy we can buy with money
Spoil me, tenderise me, let hell and heaven be
Brother me, sister me, coddle me
You're my biz partner, my sworn brother be
This historic day May the ninth
Sees a typical youngman in his prime
I wake up happy and proud
The great tidings at me shout aloud
Tan Sri and Datuk sing my praises
I, a man of such graces
I'm like them now elevated
Sensation of a demi-god re-surrected
They 'gallant' me again with flowers
Decorate my name in national papers
I am the new crowned prince of my community
Waiting for the next anointment, befitting
My royal blood among their exalted realm
My Malaysian dream
Soon as a royal son to be seated
I see my youthful dream
A few years from now
Realised afore the PM I bow
I'm gonna be a Minister, wOw
:
:
:
The pounding of the waves grew into a thunderclap
The seabirds wailed in distress
Was it some lightning or awakening flashed
Or some boulders through my mind had crashed
I woke up with a start on a May day
A breakaway's resurging of a once weary heart
'twas one nightmare
Gifting the Dreamer a delight
Of savouring the state of being
Away.
Desiderata
W
I
L
L
together, with mGf,
willing Esteemed Readers all
make another fresh
Start.
Smart.
Rejuvenated
Heart.
May Dream ChallengiA:
The above was composed inspired by a foolpage
in a national nu'espaper this morning; please
sight and cite the mstery page by stating the
NUMBER of Tan Sri and Datuk named there.
NO NAMES please, we are blogospheric Malaysians.
DA PRIZE: First three correct entries to receive
Come September Miss Patience Price.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Bonus Track: TWO LIGHTS
TWINS?
I ACCIDENTALLY walked into the wrong room in the budget hotel named Nilai (in Malay it means "Value") as I was tired from a four-hour outing, consisting of exploring the nearby Mantin town and savouring its gastronomic delights. The last course of "fishhead curry" shared with two long-lost friends as I had just returned from abroad after a long absence, must have induced my wandering into Room 007 (when my registered was 008).
I saw the two lights on the reading table -- dim as if not to disturb the rest, perhaps, of a dainty maiden? It's an hour past midnight -- only the sound of soft running water exited from an adjoining bathroom, due to a tap not completely closed by a tired soul, I surmised.
Above the table was a portrait, and what seemed a ray of light emitting from a smile, flirting on the face of yet another beauty? My head had lately been obsessed with beauties from unknown landscapes -- they visited me in my dreams, and even at daytime reverie during tea-breaks.
Or the two beauties could be related -- even twin sisters? My writer's imaginings becoming richer by the second-- maybe it's the rice wine, or the fishhead, especially its brains said to contain aphrodisiac and sublimal values.
Two lights, dim and shy, hiding some secrets. Perhaps One of apparitional delight. And the Other, I'll find out, tomorrow, should I have the pleasure of meeting the living delight.
---Ends Short Story ---
~~~~~~~Breakaway begins...
I ACCIDENTALLY walked into the wrong room in the budget hotel named Nilai (in Malay it means "Value") as I was tired from a four-hour outing, consisting of exploring the nearby Mantin town and savouring its gastronomic delights. The last course of "fishhead curry" shared with two long-lost friends as I had just returned from abroad after a long absence, must have induced my wandering into Room 007 (when my registered was 008).
I saw the two lights on the reading table -- dim as if not to disturb the rest, perhaps, of a dainty maiden? It's an hour past midnight -- only the sound of soft running water exited from an adjoining bathroom, due to a tap not completely closed by a tired soul, I surmised.
Above the table was a portrait, and what seemed a ray of light emitting from a smile, flirting on the face of yet another beauty? My head had lately been obsessed with beauties from unknown landscapes -- they visited me in my dreams, and even at daytime reverie during tea-breaks.
Or the two beauties could be related -- even twin sisters? My writer's imaginings becoming richer by the second-- maybe it's the rice wine, or the fishhead, especially its brains said to contain aphrodisiac and sublimal values.
Two lights, dim and shy, hiding some secrets. Perhaps One of apparitional delight. And the Other, I'll find out, tomorrow, should I have the pleasure of meeting the living delight.
---Ends Short Story ---
~~~~~~~Breakaway begins...
An Ode Composed in Heaven
I'm going for a three-day BREAKAWAY from tomorrow.
So I've giving out TWO BONUS TRACKS which are NUTGIFTS
stolen from another Young&Articulate who laments and sings
(which enjoys higher priority, Y&A?) Frus and Fuss
@anakmerdeka.blogspot.com. Jest because Desi imposes himself as
D'Artagan (have you checked the spell?) on her triumvirate comprising her GOoDself disguised as a Musketeer with bruddders (Seee 3-D!) HOWSY and MAVERICK SM, she said "YES" to all my requests. Fu Ronglang, be careful when you're in Ipohlang terrortry! Hey, Mave, which land do you hail from?
An ode composed in Heaven, Swell isn't it?
Another jest C&P! -- for Anak Merdeka's take,
please visit her at her warm abode --
she may serve thee Seremban Siew Pau!
If you can tracke Desi down through the Maze,
I offer Haridas tehtarik by the barrelfool2!
SWELLITIS
Someone said he'd done it well,
And presto!
his head began to swell;
Bigger and bigger
the poor thing grew -
A wonder it didn't split in two.
In size
a balloon could scarcely match it;
He need a fishing-pole
to scratch it; -
But six and a half was the size of his hat,
And it rattled around on his head at that!
"Good work," somebody chanced to say,
And his chest
swelled as big as a load of hay.
About himself, like a rooster,
he crowed;
Of his wonderful work
he bragged and blowed.
He marched around
with a peacock strut;
Gigantic to him
was the figure he cut; -
But he wore a very small-sized suit,
And loosely it hung on him,
to boot!
HE was the chap who made things hum!
HE was the drumstick and the drum!
HE was the shirt bosom and the starch!
HE was the keystone in the arch!
HE was the axis of the earth!
Nothing existed before his birth!
But when he was off from work a day,
Nobody knew that he was away!
This is a fact
that is sad to tell:
It's the empty head
that is bound to swell;
It's the light-weight fellow
who soars to the skies,
And bursts like a bubble
before your eyes.
A big man is humbled
by honest praise,
And tries to think of all the ways
To improve his work
and do it well; -
But a little man starts
of himself to yell!
by Joseph Morris
DESIDERATA: I believe poet Joseph Morris
has vision 2020
I'd think he does our future to see
His Poem rings so true and blue
Is it about Someone New/NU'e
Or all along, AM, you knew?
So I've giving out TWO BONUS TRACKS which are NUTGIFTS
stolen from another Young&Articulate who laments and sings
(which enjoys higher priority, Y&A?) Frus and Fuss
@anakmerdeka.blogspot.com. Jest because Desi imposes himself as
D'Artagan (have you checked the spell?) on her triumvirate comprising her GOoDself disguised as a Musketeer with bruddders (Seee 3-D!) HOWSY and MAVERICK SM, she said "YES" to all my requests. Fu Ronglang, be careful when you're in Ipohlang terrortry! Hey, Mave, which land do you hail from?
An ode composed in Heaven, Swell isn't it?
Another jest C&P! -- for Anak Merdeka's take,
please visit her at her warm abode --
she may serve thee Seremban Siew Pau!
If you can tracke Desi down through the Maze,
I offer Haridas tehtarik by the barrelfool2!
SWELLITIS
Someone said he'd done it well,
And presto!
his head began to swell;
Bigger and bigger
the poor thing grew -
A wonder it didn't split in two.
In size
a balloon could scarcely match it;
He need a fishing-pole
to scratch it; -
But six and a half was the size of his hat,
And it rattled around on his head at that!
"Good work," somebody chanced to say,
And his chest
swelled as big as a load of hay.
About himself, like a rooster,
he crowed;
Of his wonderful work
he bragged and blowed.
He marched around
with a peacock strut;
Gigantic to him
was the figure he cut; -
But he wore a very small-sized suit,
And loosely it hung on him,
to boot!
HE was the chap who made things hum!
HE was the drumstick and the drum!
HE was the shirt bosom and the starch!
HE was the keystone in the arch!
HE was the axis of the earth!
Nothing existed before his birth!
But when he was off from work a day,
Nobody knew that he was away!
This is a fact
that is sad to tell:
It's the empty head
that is bound to swell;
It's the light-weight fellow
who soars to the skies,
And bursts like a bubble
before your eyes.
A big man is humbled
by honest praise,
And tries to think of all the ways
To improve his work
and do it well; -
But a little man starts
of himself to yell!
by Joseph Morris
DESIDERATA: I believe poet Joseph Morris
has vision 2020
I'd think he does our future to see
His Poem rings so true and blue
Is it about Someone New/NU'e
Or all along, AM, you knew?
The culprit steps forward -- 'Harakiri' anyone?
Hura-hara, yes. Harakiri? This is not Jepun-lah!
I serve my ER this as BF starters because one faithful commenter in the steal of last night wrote:
"Mr Pak should ask the MP to own up and be made known. No need to commit hara-kiri, just stand up and be counted (among the corrupt).
By fishtail, at 11:38 PM
Now let's plunge inmto the BF proper as I'm famished, not finished nor furnishedlike the MP hot under his colar~~~
Now, Drum-roll!~~~From the newspaper that "broke" the nu'es
about an initiative MP from Malacca, the targeted
representative caught with his pants down steps
forward in all his half-naked glory, to say:
I am the one, says Jasin MP
05 May 2006
TheSun has a better header:
JASIN MP: I asked
Customs to close
an eye
Back to the NST report:
KUALA LUMPUR: The Member of Parliament for Jasin, Datuk Mohd Said Yusof, has admitted that he asked the Customs and Excise Department to close an eye over a case involving the import of sawn timber.
He said he was the person mentioned in yesterday’s front page report in the New Straits Times.
"I am the one in the story. I went to the Customs office after I got a complaint from an entrepreneur from the Sungai Rambai port. The port is in my constituency," he said.
He said he went to the Customs office in his capacity as a Member of Parliament as well as a forwarding agent.
"I went there to ask the Customs officials to be lenient. They did their job in seizing the sawn timber but I went there to seek their help in getting the sawn timber released.
"I asked for the agent to be compounded and the timber released," he said calmly in the lobby.
Mohd Said admitted he asked the department to "close one eye" (tutup sebelah mata) and to let the consignment through after issuing a compound.
"The Customs Department was right in holding back the consignment. I only asked for the compound to be issued and the consignment to be released.
"But they seized it. I don’t know what happened after that," he said of his April 14 meeting with Customs officials at the Sungai Rambai Port office.
Mohd Said said his reason for asking the Customs Department to close an eye was based on a technicality.
:
:
:
DESIDERATA: I can only say that no one is gpoing to commit "hara kiri" over this technicality. It such were to happen, it would be SE7EN times the Shahrir Shocker, wouldn't it? And the majority of the 24million populace in dear NegaraKu don't have a stout heart to withsatnd such a shock, greater than a 2,400 volts from the mains!
But I know one former MP -- oh, a former DPM-cum-Finance Minister no less!, yes, also from UMNO! -- went to serve SIX YEARS for "corruption" in allegedly committing abuse of power by interfering with the Police work. Or have we -- many are masochistic!-- Malaysians forgotten?
But the Yang Berhormat MP for Jasin is an "honourable" man -- he steps forward to say: "I am the one."
And aren't all his compatriots in the RUMAHSsParlimen all "hobnourable" men?
But one piece of writing troubled Desi this moUrn -- and it's Friday, a day for loving and gifting. So I'll give the papers the benefit of the doubt that they aren't expected to go nigh Shakespearean English. Or could the culprit in the original Motion wording -- maybe the HANSARD will reveal, I'm not telling because I can't tell.
The English press headlines this morning centred on one and only one personality, even eclipsing the nation's CEO now overseas -- it's none other than the MP for Johor Baru, DATUK SHARIR ABDUL SAMAD.
For once I think the national press got IT right.
But wait a minute! The opening paras of the NST could be "very misleading"!
Or was it the original wording of the motion filed by the Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang, MP for Ipoh Timur? I stand to be educated!
The NST which broke the news about an MP from Malacca allegedly interfering with the Customs Department by asking it to "CLOSE AN EYE" to an offence by a timber forwardiung agent, had the headline SHARIR SHOCKER. TheSun had an identical header.
The Star had this neutra -- emotionless -- one:
Sharir quits as Backbenchers Club chief.
From The NST first:
Shahrir shocker
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Shahrir Samad yesterday dropped a bombshell by quitting as Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairman.
He was apparently unhappy that fellow MPs did not follow his cue and support a motion to refer the New Straits Times to the House’s Rights and Privileges Committee.
The motion was moved by Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, following a report in the NST yesterday on an MP who allegedly asked the Customs and Excise Department to "close one eye" in a case involving the import of sawn timber.
:
:
:
And compare the above with The Star's:
Friday May 5, 2006
Shahrir quits as Backbenchers Club chief
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad dropped a bombshell in Parliament yesterday by resigning as Backbenchers Club (BBC) chairman.
He had earlier walked out of Dewan Rakyat disappointed that his colleagues had distanced themselves from a DAP motion related to alleged interference by an MP in the work of the Malacca Customs Department.
The motion called for a newspaper report containing the allegation that the unnamed MP had asked the department to be lenient with those caught importing sawn timber from Indonesia to be referred to the Parliament Rights and Privileges Committee.
Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang had proposed the motion, which was debated for 20 minutes.
Voicing support for the motion, Shahrir, who is Johor Baru MP, said the matter should be investigated by the committee to clear the air as “integrity should begin in Parliament.”
“The problem with the civil service is that it has become an old body that refuses to take action against itself.
:
:
:
DESIDERATA: The NST's purported reason that Shahrir "was apparently unhappy that fellow MPs did not follow his cue and support a motion to refer the New Straits Times to the House’s Rights and Privileges Committee
HAS A DIFFERENT CONNOTATION:
That the motion was to refer the newspaper, the NST, to the House's Rights and Privileges Committee.
I might not be present at the august House, but I think that definitely was not the aim of the DAP motion.
But as I stated TWICE -- what was the actual WORDING in the original motion?
I think the heart of the matter was correctly centred by the Star report ~~~
"The motion called for a newspaper report containing the allegation that the unnamed MP had asked the department to be lenient with those caught importing sawn timber from Indonesia to be referred to the Parliament Rights and Privileges Committee.
One of my ER -- ANAK MERDEKA -- likened Sharir's episode as a "hurricane" out there. (I have to spotlight this Y&A not compleatly out of altruism, jest wait for a stolen NUTGIFT from her Blog later ~~ COMING.)
My response via Comments yesterday as we learnt online about a truly remarkable event in that august House, reprised here with some editing. This is for the benefit of some Readers who had not much interest in Politics until they descended on Desi's Place (Trumpet-roll! ... if someone could have a Drum-roll, why not a blardy, half-past-SE7EN scribe doing his own blowin' in the wind?)
"anak merdeka:
It's healthy development for Malaysian poltics that one UMNO MP dared to support Oppo Leader's motion -- it's a day to celebrate! Yeah, yeAH, YEAH!
This is only Act 1, Scne 1;
Let's await Secne 2.
Don't under-estimate Sharir -- he survived by resigning as JB MP once to contest as an Independent and WON the seat back! How many UMNOputras dare even to resign on Matters of Principle?
Hi Salute, MP of JB -- GOoD Role Model -- even DAP MPs are NOT UP TO IT! I know at close hand, many FROGGED over to MCA in mid-term or when they knew they would be dropped for following GE. One even got himself a Gomen supported foundation scholarship to do Law in UK, Howsy's that?!
By desiderata, at 5:53 PM "~~~
PS: May 4, 2006 -- In Desi's record, a momentous day in Malaysian politics -- healthy for progress towards a more responsive, less partisan, democratic Parliament as is to be promoted.
I serve my ER this as BF starters because one faithful commenter in the steal of last night wrote:
"Mr Pak should ask the MP to own up and be made known. No need to commit hara-kiri, just stand up and be counted (among the corrupt).
By fishtail, at 11:38 PM
Now let's plunge inmto the BF proper as I'm famished, not finished nor furnishedlike the MP hot under his colar~~~
Now, Drum-roll!~~~From the newspaper that "broke" the nu'es
about an initiative MP from Malacca, the targeted
representative caught with his pants down steps
forward in all his half-naked glory, to say:
I am the one, says Jasin MP
05 May 2006
TheSun has a better header:
JASIN MP: I asked
Customs to close
an eye
Back to the NST report:
KUALA LUMPUR: The Member of Parliament for Jasin, Datuk Mohd Said Yusof, has admitted that he asked the Customs and Excise Department to close an eye over a case involving the import of sawn timber.
He said he was the person mentioned in yesterday’s front page report in the New Straits Times.
"I am the one in the story. I went to the Customs office after I got a complaint from an entrepreneur from the Sungai Rambai port. The port is in my constituency," he said.
He said he went to the Customs office in his capacity as a Member of Parliament as well as a forwarding agent.
"I went there to ask the Customs officials to be lenient. They did their job in seizing the sawn timber but I went there to seek their help in getting the sawn timber released.
"I asked for the agent to be compounded and the timber released," he said calmly in the lobby.
Mohd Said admitted he asked the department to "close one eye" (tutup sebelah mata) and to let the consignment through after issuing a compound.
"The Customs Department was right in holding back the consignment. I only asked for the compound to be issued and the consignment to be released.
"But they seized it. I don’t know what happened after that," he said of his April 14 meeting with Customs officials at the Sungai Rambai Port office.
Mohd Said said his reason for asking the Customs Department to close an eye was based on a technicality.
:
:
:
DESIDERATA: I can only say that no one is gpoing to commit "hara kiri" over this technicality. It such were to happen, it would be SE7EN times the Shahrir Shocker, wouldn't it? And the majority of the 24million populace in dear NegaraKu don't have a stout heart to withsatnd such a shock, greater than a 2,400 volts from the mains!
But I know one former MP -- oh, a former DPM-cum-Finance Minister no less!, yes, also from UMNO! -- went to serve SIX YEARS for "corruption" in allegedly committing abuse of power by interfering with the Police work. Or have we -- many are masochistic!-- Malaysians forgotten?
But the Yang Berhormat MP for Jasin is an "honourable" man -- he steps forward to say: "I am the one."
And aren't all his compatriots in the RUMAHSsParlimen all "hobnourable" men?
But one piece of writing troubled Desi this moUrn -- and it's Friday, a day for loving and gifting. So I'll give the papers the benefit of the doubt that they aren't expected to go nigh Shakespearean English. Or could the culprit in the original Motion wording -- maybe the HANSARD will reveal, I'm not telling because I can't tell.
The English press headlines this morning centred on one and only one personality, even eclipsing the nation's CEO now overseas -- it's none other than the MP for Johor Baru, DATUK SHARIR ABDUL SAMAD.
For once I think the national press got IT right.
But wait a minute! The opening paras of the NST could be "very misleading"!
Or was it the original wording of the motion filed by the Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang, MP for Ipoh Timur? I stand to be educated!
The NST which broke the news about an MP from Malacca allegedly interfering with the Customs Department by asking it to "CLOSE AN EYE" to an offence by a timber forwardiung agent, had the headline SHARIR SHOCKER. TheSun had an identical header.
The Star had this neutra -- emotionless -- one:
Sharir quits as Backbenchers Club chief.
From The NST first:
Shahrir shocker
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Shahrir Samad yesterday dropped a bombshell by quitting as Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairman.
He was apparently unhappy that fellow MPs did not follow his cue and support a motion to refer the New Straits Times to the House’s Rights and Privileges Committee.
The motion was moved by Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, following a report in the NST yesterday on an MP who allegedly asked the Customs and Excise Department to "close one eye" in a case involving the import of sawn timber.
:
:
:
And compare the above with The Star's:
Friday May 5, 2006
Shahrir quits as Backbenchers Club chief
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad dropped a bombshell in Parliament yesterday by resigning as Backbenchers Club (BBC) chairman.
He had earlier walked out of Dewan Rakyat disappointed that his colleagues had distanced themselves from a DAP motion related to alleged interference by an MP in the work of the Malacca Customs Department.
The motion called for a newspaper report containing the allegation that the unnamed MP had asked the department to be lenient with those caught importing sawn timber from Indonesia to be referred to the Parliament Rights and Privileges Committee.
Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang had proposed the motion, which was debated for 20 minutes.
Voicing support for the motion, Shahrir, who is Johor Baru MP, said the matter should be investigated by the committee to clear the air as “integrity should begin in Parliament.”
“The problem with the civil service is that it has become an old body that refuses to take action against itself.
:
:
:
DESIDERATA: The NST's purported reason that Shahrir "was apparently unhappy that fellow MPs did not follow his cue and support a motion to refer the New Straits Times to the House’s Rights and Privileges Committee
HAS A DIFFERENT CONNOTATION:
That the motion was to refer the newspaper, the NST, to the House's Rights and Privileges Committee.
I might not be present at the august House, but I think that definitely was not the aim of the DAP motion.
But as I stated TWICE -- what was the actual WORDING in the original motion?
I think the heart of the matter was correctly centred by the Star report ~~~
"The motion called for a newspaper report containing the allegation that the unnamed MP had asked the department to be lenient with those caught importing sawn timber from Indonesia to be referred to the Parliament Rights and Privileges Committee.
One of my ER -- ANAK MERDEKA -- likened Sharir's episode as a "hurricane" out there. (I have to spotlight this Y&A not compleatly out of altruism, jest wait for a stolen NUTGIFT from her Blog later ~~ COMING.)
My response via Comments yesterday as we learnt online about a truly remarkable event in that august House, reprised here with some editing. This is for the benefit of some Readers who had not much interest in Politics until they descended on Desi's Place (Trumpet-roll! ... if someone could have a Drum-roll, why not a blardy, half-past-SE7EN scribe doing his own blowin' in the wind?)
"anak merdeka:
It's healthy development for Malaysian poltics that one UMNO MP dared to support Oppo Leader's motion -- it's a day to celebrate! Yeah, yeAH, YEAH!
This is only Act 1, Scne 1;
Let's await Secne 2.
Don't under-estimate Sharir -- he survived by resigning as JB MP once to contest as an Independent and WON the seat back! How many UMNOputras dare even to resign on Matters of Principle?
Hi Salute, MP of JB -- GOoD Role Model -- even DAP MPs are NOT UP TO IT! I know at close hand, many FROGGED over to MCA in mid-term or when they knew they would be dropped for following GE. One even got himself a Gomen supported foundation scholarship to do Law in UK, Howsy's that?!
By desiderata, at 5:53 PM "~~~
PS: May 4, 2006 -- In Desi's record, a momentous day in Malaysian politics -- healthy for progress towards a more responsive, less partisan, democratic Parliament as is to be promoted.
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