It’s been a while since I last wrote in my Blog
Therein is my New Year resolution for 2009, to write at least once a month in my Blog. New Year’s resolutions have been going on as far as I can remember and every year we declare new resolutions but not many committed ourselves to it and consequentially we continue declaring the same resolutions every year.
Let’s not put our expectation too high and start with simple ideas for our resolutions.
1. Start waking up early every morning, leave early to work, avoid the traffic jams and arrive early in the office- well that will be some doing but achievable if you set your mind to it. Think of how much more you gain if you are early. Suddenly you have created more time that you thought you don’t have. Try it.
2. Start saving 10% of your salary every month. These will be useful for your retirement, that long overdue vacation overseas and maybe treat yourself to something extravagant at the end of the year. Having more saving is definitely a good thing, no question about that.
3. Start making more regular trips to see your parents, who may be staying by themselves. Try to make it once a month. If distance is a hindrance maybe you should try to make it a point to call them once a week to check on them. It will make them happy that their children care for them.
4. Try to do more cooking and cut down on eating out. Eating out is expensive and not forgetting that home cooking has more quality and tastier. Furthermore eating out too often will soon become a chore. Have you ever come to a situation not knowing what to eat when outside? This means that you have been eating out too often.
5. Start to exercise. If you have been exercising but not regularly try to make it more regular. Many of us can’t find time to exercise. In a society of high anxiety and not enough time start creating time for yourself. Too many people died of heart failure and that in itself is a strong incentive to start exercising.
6. Try to see your neighbour more. We are living in a society where neighbourliness is non existence. Everybody is busy and have no time for neighbour. Sadly the only time you visit them is when they passed away and you are paying your last respect. It will be awful as you hardly speak to them when they are alive. Start speaking to them today.
7. Maintain friendship and create new friends. Start to be interested in other people and they will show interest to you. Start talking to people instead of talking about yourself to them. Start calling them instead of waiting for them to call you. Use the sms more often; it’s save time and money and just as effective. In other words start connecting to other people and they will connect to you.
8. Read and read and read....well reading is the windows to the world. People who don’t read do not know what they are missing. Try to read at least a book per month and in between read a lot of newspaper, magazines, comic books, cooking books, journal etc whatever that interest you. In other words don’t stop reading.....
9. Start cutting down on credits. Limit your credit to an amount manageable to you. For example you may set maximum credit outstanding to be 10% of your take home pay. Anything beyond will means that you are exposing yourself to financial risks. Take control of credit before it take control of you.
10. Make yourself happy. Do anything that makes you happy. This last one can be anything. Whatever it is keep within the law and do not create unhappiness to others.
Wishing all of you a Happy New Year 2009 and let’s hope that it will be a great year for all of us.
December 31, 2008
August 31, 2008
Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka
Recently I walked to KLCC to meet someone for lunch. I had to pass a busy junction with 3 traffic lights to cross the road before eventually making it to the footpath leading to KLCC, the tallest twin towers in the world today and the pride of all Malaysian. KLCC is also the office of Petronas, the national oil company and one of the most successful national oil company in the world.
All this augurs well for Malaysia, a nation that is celebrating its 51st independence in August. However it was very clear from my short walk to KLCC that afternoon that some Malaysian are still far from being independent and certainly do not have mentality of a nation who has been independent for 51 years. Car drivers and motor bikers have scant regards for the pedestrian. In fact it is dangerous to walk around in KL if you are not used to it. Car and motorbikes sped like daredevil trying to catch the orange traffic light and most of the time sped pass even when the traffic light has turned red. This is endangering the public and for the uninitiated may results in fatal consequences. These happened at all the 3 traffic lights and I can assure you that it’s common sights anywhere else in KL.
If you are a regular to KL you will also notice that cars are parked at the road side not meant for parking and slowing down traffics, cars stopping on yellow boxes that are supposed to be cleared to allow other cars to pass, drivers throwing cigarette butts and rubbish onto the road, vehicles not giving way to pedestrians, using modified exhaust that is clearly a noise pollutant, riding motor bike on foot pathway that is endangering the public and so on.....
I also noted that in my short walk there was not a single car or vehicle has any Malaysian flag mounted on it. There was nothing bizarre about that as Malaysian has generally taken “Merdeka” for granted. Even now (Saturday night, 3 hours from “Merdeka”) there is hardly any Malaysian flags to be seen.
One thing for sure though, many will be making it to the KLCC, Lake Titiwangsa, Padang Merdeka to see the fireworks and the entertainment. Many more will be at home watching from the TV tubes the same events. That is "Medeka" to most Malaysian and it has been the same as long as I can remember, except that the venues have changed over the years. It used to be Merdeka stadium, Padang Kelab Selangor, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman etc at the time. “Merdeka” only happens at 12 mid-night of 30th August and to the wee hours of the morning followed by grand parades in KL and other state capitals in Malaysia and that’s it until another 30th August comes again. The government has not done much to make any positive change to celebrating “Merdeka”.
I am not a staunch supporter of waving flags to celebrate “Merdeka”. To me “Merdeka” is more than just symbolic of waving flags. “Merdeka” is about behavioural and mindset change more than anything else. Imagine someone driving a car full of mini flags sticking from their his car and yet speeding pass traffic lights and throwing cigarette butts out of car window. Imagine having thousands of people in a parade and all litters the streets with bottles, plastic bags, tissue papers etc etc.
As children of an independent nation for the last 51 years we need to be liberated to embrace the true spirit of “Merdeka”. While waiting for the next “Merdeka”, let’s see if we can do some of the followings:
1. Keeping time. Let’s not keep people waiting for us and lets rid off the adage ‘janji melayu”. Time is the essence of counting down “Merdeka” and for measuring how long have we have been “Merdeka”, therefore respecting time is respecting “Merdeka”
2. More caring. In every aspects of it to be more caring to children, animals, fellow citizens, other people, environment, properties etc. When we care about our society we care about 'Merdeka"
3. More considerate to others. Use judgement to give way while driving, when entering lifts, while walking etc. I learned that before “Merdeka” people are more considerate as it was then difficult time and people needs each other’s support to live. We need to preserve this attitude to liven up ‘Merdeka”.
4. Read more. People that have been independent tend to read more and increase their knowledge. From reading you will also learn more about the world and the universe and will make us appreciate our country more. People before “Merdeka” can’t read as they seldom went to school. People after “Merdeka” are more fortunate and yet we don’t read as much.
5. Stop wasting time as time is precious. “Masa itu emas”, we learned this when we are still children. The country needs us to work and contribute to its growth. Do something useful all the time.”Merdeka” people should not have free time to loiter as there is so much to do.
6. Know our neighbours. Be it at home or in the office. We live in a community and dependent of others around us. Don’t live on your own when we have the whole country to ourselves. To preserve our “Merdeka” we need to be united and have strength. Draw these strength from the community that we live in. “Merdeka” is about unity and preserving “Merdeka” is being united.
7. Fill up the mosques during prayers. Too many mosques are lifeless and without spirits. Draw unity form mosques around us. We are fortunate to have many beutiful mosques after "Merdeka". Use them and don't let them become tourist attraction.
8. Be trustworthy. Do not cheat others. Do not take what’s not belonging to you. Do not engage in bribe. We are not yet “Merdeka” if we still engaged in bribery. Our mind and soul is still trapped in insecurity and yet the nation has since then being independent for 51 years. Shame on us for the people before “Merdeka” struggled and died for independent and we can’t set ourselves free from bribery.
9. Learn about “Merdeka” and part this knowledge of ours to our children. To preserve “Merdeka” we need to pass the “Merdeka” to the future generations.
10. Always think that we will lose “Merdeka” tomorrow. In this way we will work hard to preserve “Merdeka”. When we understand “Merdeka” we will not want to lose it. Believe me.
The 10 items listed are by no means an exclusive list. These are my perspective of being “Merdeka” and some of the qualities that “Merdeka” nations can enjoy. There are others that we can do to fill our times while waiting for the next cry of “Merdeka” in August 2009, and hoping that when we shout the word, we partially understood what it means. The true meaning of “Merdeka” is immense and we will continue to learn it in our life time. The cry of “Merdeka” in 1957 and in 2009 are different although the spirit is the same.
Our children views “Merdeka” very differently from our parents and grand -parents. Probably our grand -parent will understand more of the “Merdeka” spirit having being involved in the Japanese occupation and the British government leading to the actual independent of 31st August, 1957. For us our resources remain in the many books that were written about the country and its independence. I used to talk to my late farther about “Merdeka” and he related to me many stories about “Merdeka”. He told me that it’s difficult to understand and appreciate “Merdeka” if we do not experience the hardship and the anguish of the pre-“Merdeka” and the joy and harmony of the post “Merdeka” in 1957, it’s like not being to Mekah and appreciate the Kaabah, eventhough we prayed everyday towards Mekah.
In those few words I understood the meaning.
“Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!” – Jebat_Siber
All this augurs well for Malaysia, a nation that is celebrating its 51st independence in August. However it was very clear from my short walk to KLCC that afternoon that some Malaysian are still far from being independent and certainly do not have mentality of a nation who has been independent for 51 years. Car drivers and motor bikers have scant regards for the pedestrian. In fact it is dangerous to walk around in KL if you are not used to it. Car and motorbikes sped like daredevil trying to catch the orange traffic light and most of the time sped pass even when the traffic light has turned red. This is endangering the public and for the uninitiated may results in fatal consequences. These happened at all the 3 traffic lights and I can assure you that it’s common sights anywhere else in KL.
If you are a regular to KL you will also notice that cars are parked at the road side not meant for parking and slowing down traffics, cars stopping on yellow boxes that are supposed to be cleared to allow other cars to pass, drivers throwing cigarette butts and rubbish onto the road, vehicles not giving way to pedestrians, using modified exhaust that is clearly a noise pollutant, riding motor bike on foot pathway that is endangering the public and so on.....
I also noted that in my short walk there was not a single car or vehicle has any Malaysian flag mounted on it. There was nothing bizarre about that as Malaysian has generally taken “Merdeka” for granted. Even now (Saturday night, 3 hours from “Merdeka”) there is hardly any Malaysian flags to be seen.
One thing for sure though, many will be making it to the KLCC, Lake Titiwangsa, Padang Merdeka to see the fireworks and the entertainment. Many more will be at home watching from the TV tubes the same events. That is "Medeka" to most Malaysian and it has been the same as long as I can remember, except that the venues have changed over the years. It used to be Merdeka stadium, Padang Kelab Selangor, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman etc at the time. “Merdeka” only happens at 12 mid-night of 30th August and to the wee hours of the morning followed by grand parades in KL and other state capitals in Malaysia and that’s it until another 30th August comes again. The government has not done much to make any positive change to celebrating “Merdeka”.
I am not a staunch supporter of waving flags to celebrate “Merdeka”. To me “Merdeka” is more than just symbolic of waving flags. “Merdeka” is about behavioural and mindset change more than anything else. Imagine someone driving a car full of mini flags sticking from their his car and yet speeding pass traffic lights and throwing cigarette butts out of car window. Imagine having thousands of people in a parade and all litters the streets with bottles, plastic bags, tissue papers etc etc.
As children of an independent nation for the last 51 years we need to be liberated to embrace the true spirit of “Merdeka”. While waiting for the next “Merdeka”, let’s see if we can do some of the followings:
1. Keeping time. Let’s not keep people waiting for us and lets rid off the adage ‘janji melayu”. Time is the essence of counting down “Merdeka” and for measuring how long have we have been “Merdeka”, therefore respecting time is respecting “Merdeka”
2. More caring. In every aspects of it to be more caring to children, animals, fellow citizens, other people, environment, properties etc. When we care about our society we care about 'Merdeka"
3. More considerate to others. Use judgement to give way while driving, when entering lifts, while walking etc. I learned that before “Merdeka” people are more considerate as it was then difficult time and people needs each other’s support to live. We need to preserve this attitude to liven up ‘Merdeka”.
4. Read more. People that have been independent tend to read more and increase their knowledge. From reading you will also learn more about the world and the universe and will make us appreciate our country more. People before “Merdeka” can’t read as they seldom went to school. People after “Merdeka” are more fortunate and yet we don’t read as much.
5. Stop wasting time as time is precious. “Masa itu emas”, we learned this when we are still children. The country needs us to work and contribute to its growth. Do something useful all the time.”Merdeka” people should not have free time to loiter as there is so much to do.
6. Know our neighbours. Be it at home or in the office. We live in a community and dependent of others around us. Don’t live on your own when we have the whole country to ourselves. To preserve our “Merdeka” we need to be united and have strength. Draw these strength from the community that we live in. “Merdeka” is about unity and preserving “Merdeka” is being united.
7. Fill up the mosques during prayers. Too many mosques are lifeless and without spirits. Draw unity form mosques around us. We are fortunate to have many beutiful mosques after "Merdeka". Use them and don't let them become tourist attraction.
8. Be trustworthy. Do not cheat others. Do not take what’s not belonging to you. Do not engage in bribe. We are not yet “Merdeka” if we still engaged in bribery. Our mind and soul is still trapped in insecurity and yet the nation has since then being independent for 51 years. Shame on us for the people before “Merdeka” struggled and died for independent and we can’t set ourselves free from bribery.
9. Learn about “Merdeka” and part this knowledge of ours to our children. To preserve “Merdeka” we need to pass the “Merdeka” to the future generations.
10. Always think that we will lose “Merdeka” tomorrow. In this way we will work hard to preserve “Merdeka”. When we understand “Merdeka” we will not want to lose it. Believe me.
The 10 items listed are by no means an exclusive list. These are my perspective of being “Merdeka” and some of the qualities that “Merdeka” nations can enjoy. There are others that we can do to fill our times while waiting for the next cry of “Merdeka” in August 2009, and hoping that when we shout the word, we partially understood what it means. The true meaning of “Merdeka” is immense and we will continue to learn it in our life time. The cry of “Merdeka” in 1957 and in 2009 are different although the spirit is the same.
Our children views “Merdeka” very differently from our parents and grand -parents. Probably our grand -parent will understand more of the “Merdeka” spirit having being involved in the Japanese occupation and the British government leading to the actual independent of 31st August, 1957. For us our resources remain in the many books that were written about the country and its independence. I used to talk to my late farther about “Merdeka” and he related to me many stories about “Merdeka”. He told me that it’s difficult to understand and appreciate “Merdeka” if we do not experience the hardship and the anguish of the pre-“Merdeka” and the joy and harmony of the post “Merdeka” in 1957, it’s like not being to Mekah and appreciate the Kaabah, eventhough we prayed everyday towards Mekah.
In those few words I understood the meaning.
“Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!” – Jebat_Siber
August 1, 2008
Way Forward
Having watched the match between Chelsea FC and Team Malaysia, I have the followings observations to share:
1. Malaysia need a coach with international experiences who are exposed to competitive matches in Europe and in major competition such as the World Cup and the Olympics. How is a local coach to train a group of young Malaysians who are not exposed to competitive matches when the coach has no such experiences? For example when a team is preparing for major competition how are the training regime like? What sorts of preparation took place? Other than physical training, what about psychology and mental training? These experiences are invaluable when come to major competition and Malaysia need one right now.
2. Malaysia does not have form and shape in their game. The game plan in the match with Chelsea was very simple and very similar to the 70’s during the era of Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aun, Santokh Singh etc where individual flair dictates the game most of the time. In another word, there was very little progress since the 70’s, which directly justifies Malaysia’s FIFA ranking at this time. In the game there were sporadic individual skill but we couldn’t really see any build up and set play in their game. Most of the time they were desperately chasing the ball and trying to limit the Chelsea team and not really having a plan of what to do once they get the ball. The player tends to look at each other looking for someone to pass the ball and when under pressure will release the ball aimlessly.
3. Malaysian players need more stamina and speed to compensate for the lack of frame and size. Having said this, there is no compromise on the goalkeeper and the defenders, who need to be fairly built to compete at the higher level. What we lack in size we have to make up in stamina and speed, and there are no options. If a Malaysian player can reach a loose ball faster than his opponent because he has speed it will hold him in good stead in the match. However most of the time we saw Malaysian players playing at walking pace and have the ball snatched from their feet countless time. They also tend to back pass quite a lot.
4. For the defenders and goalkeeper Malaysia need to develop players of at least 5 ft 8 in for defenders and 5 ft 11 in for goalkeepers. The defenders need to be heavily built and robust. They need to be trained to jump higher by developing the knee and leg muscle scientifically. This will allow them to challenge for crosses and to make a decent wall during free kicks. Since Malaysia’s FIFA ranking is low, we are bound to meet opponent higher in the ranking and as such its logical to assume that in most matches that Malaysia will be subjected to attacks from the opponent and as such the defense need to be trained to cater for this possibility. In competitive matches the better ranked opponent will score from slimmest of a chance and having big gaps in the defense will invite flurry of goals which will not bring any confidence to the team.
5. For the other positions, having skillful players with certain lack of size is still acceptable. Shukor Salleh and Azizul Abu Hanifa were slim built midfielders who can dictate game and make beautiful thru passes, as they are skillful and can read the game. They are mobile all the time and always get behind opponent’s defenders and supply crosses into the opponent’s goal area. However, if it’s at all possible, Malaysia must seek to build team with players of acceptable size and skill to compete at the highest level.
6. Malaysia needs more thinking players. Therefore please source for players that are university graduate of even university dropouts. The players must be able to listen, understand and implement instructions. The players need to also increase their knowledge by watching, observing and reading. The players need to be playing the game and react positively to situation, as all matches are different. They can’t wait for instruction from the coach all the time. At times they need to also provide feedbacks, because as players as they are the ones who are on the pitch and not the coach and thus will see the match at different perspective from the coach. Therefore if the players can’t communicate than how are they to provide these feedbacks?
I probably have other comments but these have been heard before, such as sending players to play overseas, money incentives, changes in FAM structure, converting imports to Malaysian etc etc.
However, having said the above it was commendable of the Malaysian team who were very hard working and spirited in the match. For the night it may be worth it, however for long term achievement we will be chasing shadows as spirit and hard-work without any strategy will not get us very far. I am a big fan of Malaysia, since the days of Moktar Dahari and Co, however the last 20 years were not much to shout about. Something drastic needs to happen to recapture the glory days of the 70’s and 80’s. Those days we have our football heroes that we always can count on in matches. It felt good to watch a football match knowing damn well that our team are capable of achieving something and when it happened it was such a frenzy and satisfaction and will be talked about for many years. In the match with England B in 1978 ( I think, I was then 17 years old), Mokhtar Dahari ran away from chasing England defenders and lobbed Joe Corrigan from 30 M to earned Malaysia a 1-1 draw with England at Stadium Merdeka. The whole stadium of 45,000 people erupted with cheers and it was just magical.
I hope I will live to experience the same again…….
Jebat-Siber
1. Malaysia need a coach with international experiences who are exposed to competitive matches in Europe and in major competition such as the World Cup and the Olympics. How is a local coach to train a group of young Malaysians who are not exposed to competitive matches when the coach has no such experiences? For example when a team is preparing for major competition how are the training regime like? What sorts of preparation took place? Other than physical training, what about psychology and mental training? These experiences are invaluable when come to major competition and Malaysia need one right now.
2. Malaysia does not have form and shape in their game. The game plan in the match with Chelsea was very simple and very similar to the 70’s during the era of Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aun, Santokh Singh etc where individual flair dictates the game most of the time. In another word, there was very little progress since the 70’s, which directly justifies Malaysia’s FIFA ranking at this time. In the game there were sporadic individual skill but we couldn’t really see any build up and set play in their game. Most of the time they were desperately chasing the ball and trying to limit the Chelsea team and not really having a plan of what to do once they get the ball. The player tends to look at each other looking for someone to pass the ball and when under pressure will release the ball aimlessly.
3. Malaysian players need more stamina and speed to compensate for the lack of frame and size. Having said this, there is no compromise on the goalkeeper and the defenders, who need to be fairly built to compete at the higher level. What we lack in size we have to make up in stamina and speed, and there are no options. If a Malaysian player can reach a loose ball faster than his opponent because he has speed it will hold him in good stead in the match. However most of the time we saw Malaysian players playing at walking pace and have the ball snatched from their feet countless time. They also tend to back pass quite a lot.
4. For the defenders and goalkeeper Malaysia need to develop players of at least 5 ft 8 in for defenders and 5 ft 11 in for goalkeepers. The defenders need to be heavily built and robust. They need to be trained to jump higher by developing the knee and leg muscle scientifically. This will allow them to challenge for crosses and to make a decent wall during free kicks. Since Malaysia’s FIFA ranking is low, we are bound to meet opponent higher in the ranking and as such its logical to assume that in most matches that Malaysia will be subjected to attacks from the opponent and as such the defense need to be trained to cater for this possibility. In competitive matches the better ranked opponent will score from slimmest of a chance and having big gaps in the defense will invite flurry of goals which will not bring any confidence to the team.
5. For the other positions, having skillful players with certain lack of size is still acceptable. Shukor Salleh and Azizul Abu Hanifa were slim built midfielders who can dictate game and make beautiful thru passes, as they are skillful and can read the game. They are mobile all the time and always get behind opponent’s defenders and supply crosses into the opponent’s goal area. However, if it’s at all possible, Malaysia must seek to build team with players of acceptable size and skill to compete at the highest level.
6. Malaysia needs more thinking players. Therefore please source for players that are university graduate of even university dropouts. The players must be able to listen, understand and implement instructions. The players need to also increase their knowledge by watching, observing and reading. The players need to be playing the game and react positively to situation, as all matches are different. They can’t wait for instruction from the coach all the time. At times they need to also provide feedbacks, because as players as they are the ones who are on the pitch and not the coach and thus will see the match at different perspective from the coach. Therefore if the players can’t communicate than how are they to provide these feedbacks?
I probably have other comments but these have been heard before, such as sending players to play overseas, money incentives, changes in FAM structure, converting imports to Malaysian etc etc.
However, having said the above it was commendable of the Malaysian team who were very hard working and spirited in the match. For the night it may be worth it, however for long term achievement we will be chasing shadows as spirit and hard-work without any strategy will not get us very far. I am a big fan of Malaysia, since the days of Moktar Dahari and Co, however the last 20 years were not much to shout about. Something drastic needs to happen to recapture the glory days of the 70’s and 80’s. Those days we have our football heroes that we always can count on in matches. It felt good to watch a football match knowing damn well that our team are capable of achieving something and when it happened it was such a frenzy and satisfaction and will be talked about for many years. In the match with England B in 1978 ( I think, I was then 17 years old), Mokhtar Dahari ran away from chasing England defenders and lobbed Joe Corrigan from 30 M to earned Malaysia a 1-1 draw with England at Stadium Merdeka. The whole stadium of 45,000 people erupted with cheers and it was just magical.
I hope I will live to experience the same again…….
Jebat-Siber
July 30, 2008
Being blue and being the "Blues"
I read with amusement and sympathy the article written by the STAR, R Manogaran (Mano) in today’s edition dated 30th July 2008. This was about the friendly football match between Chelsea and team Malaysia. Nothing special you think because visits by top English clubs to KL have been going on for years. We have seen the likes of Arsenal with Malcolm MacDonald, Liverpool with Kevin Keegan, Man United with Eric Cantona and other clubs whose agenda is to “connect” with the millions of fans in Asia for the obvious monetary gains thru TV rights, merchandises, sponsorship etc.
However the article by STAR touched on the second-class treatment accorded to local media and local “Blues” fan by both the organizer and the Chelsea team. He wrote that the fans that came to watch the team in training never got close enough for an autograph and that the local media were not allowed in the main press conference and instead a separate press conference was arranged. However, all hopes were dashed for the player attending the ‘second-class” press conference was only Carlo Cudicini, the reserve goalkeeper. There was no John Terry, no Frank Lampard, no Michael Ballack, no Michael Essien, no star player, no nothing….
“All I can say is that it’s not the first time and certainly it will not be the last”
It was also reported in the press that 80% of the 50,000 who watched the match at the stadium were “Blues” fans. Therefore there were about 40,000 Chelsea fans who sacrificed their time and hard earned cash to see “their team” in action. Wow..if only 40,000 fans can fill up the stadium every week in the local league, surely Malaysian football would have enough gate collection to buy good import players.
Last few years I watched the match between visiting Liverpool team and Thailand national team on TV. At the end of the match I saw a Thai national player trying to swap jersey with a famous Liverpool player but was hushed away by the arrogant Liverpool player. This was on TV and watched by millions through satellite. So much for their social responsibilities to the fans in the Far East.
I was once a student in UK long time ago. Unfortunately I have never been to any of the football matches as it was filled with hooligans and safety of us Asians were not guaranteed. Those students who stayed near any of the football stadium will attest that after the Saturday matches there will always be broken window panes and other damages to properties as the fans leaving the stadium either venting their anger or celebrating their win. Most would be drunk and would not be aware of the score-line anyway.
Back to the friendly match, in order to create the atmosphere of EPL you must also throw in the fans as well. You have to sing the same song and anthem and be rowdy, drunk and boisterous. Wearing blue and clapping will not make you a “blues” or “reds” or “devil” fans. Since we are used to watching the game on TV lets keep it that way. Do not go to the stadium for you will be disappointed as reported by Mano. I have seen many football friendlies live and on TV to tell that the “Star” Team will play only for exhibition and will not be stretched. They are here on promotion tour and not to “connect” with their fans in this region. Do not expect too much from them, as this is a “holiday cum training” for them. Work will start in August when the EPL kicks off. For some, touring the region is a pain in the neck as its too far from England, what with the traveling time, time difference, away from families, climate changes being humid and all and other grouses fitted to be made by superstars. In fact I think this visit by the “Blues” is a drag and they just couldn’t wait for it to be done with. Can’t really blame them, as the oppositions were all mediocre by their standards. Actually they got nothing from the tour, come to think of it, other than the commercial values as mentioned earlier.
These days I see tour packages being promoted to watch live EPL matches in England. For a real EPL experience hop on to these tours but first sign yourself an insurance policy. Paint your hair blond and color your face so that being Asians will not be so obvious. Do not shout too loud as your slang will give you away. Eat fish and chips and not nasi goring. If in winter put on extra jackets so that you will look big. Make sure you have the scarf of the home team and not the visiting team. When the match is over stay longer in the stadium because you have paid much more to be there.
Next time a big club comes visiting, play the match at MPPJ stadium, in this case the stadium will be brimming with people instead of half full. Otherwise take the match to another location such as Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Ipoh, Penang where there are also strong fan base for EPL. For the opposition lets have a Malaysian league selection instead of just Malaysian players. In this case we can include say maximum 5 international players for the friendlies. Maybe P Chipeta can score a goal or two where we Malaysian cant.
The new EPL season is just round the corner, good luck to all the ladies whose men made up the 40,000 at the stadium and many others around the country who are just as fanatics about EPL.
Good Luck to the "Blues" in the new season. I hope that the team will win the championship.
Jebat-Siber
However the article by STAR touched on the second-class treatment accorded to local media and local “Blues” fan by both the organizer and the Chelsea team. He wrote that the fans that came to watch the team in training never got close enough for an autograph and that the local media were not allowed in the main press conference and instead a separate press conference was arranged. However, all hopes were dashed for the player attending the ‘second-class” press conference was only Carlo Cudicini, the reserve goalkeeper. There was no John Terry, no Frank Lampard, no Michael Ballack, no Michael Essien, no star player, no nothing….
“All I can say is that it’s not the first time and certainly it will not be the last”
It was also reported in the press that 80% of the 50,000 who watched the match at the stadium were “Blues” fans. Therefore there were about 40,000 Chelsea fans who sacrificed their time and hard earned cash to see “their team” in action. Wow..if only 40,000 fans can fill up the stadium every week in the local league, surely Malaysian football would have enough gate collection to buy good import players.
Last few years I watched the match between visiting Liverpool team and Thailand national team on TV. At the end of the match I saw a Thai national player trying to swap jersey with a famous Liverpool player but was hushed away by the arrogant Liverpool player. This was on TV and watched by millions through satellite. So much for their social responsibilities to the fans in the Far East.
I was once a student in UK long time ago. Unfortunately I have never been to any of the football matches as it was filled with hooligans and safety of us Asians were not guaranteed. Those students who stayed near any of the football stadium will attest that after the Saturday matches there will always be broken window panes and other damages to properties as the fans leaving the stadium either venting their anger or celebrating their win. Most would be drunk and would not be aware of the score-line anyway.
Back to the friendly match, in order to create the atmosphere of EPL you must also throw in the fans as well. You have to sing the same song and anthem and be rowdy, drunk and boisterous. Wearing blue and clapping will not make you a “blues” or “reds” or “devil” fans. Since we are used to watching the game on TV lets keep it that way. Do not go to the stadium for you will be disappointed as reported by Mano. I have seen many football friendlies live and on TV to tell that the “Star” Team will play only for exhibition and will not be stretched. They are here on promotion tour and not to “connect” with their fans in this region. Do not expect too much from them, as this is a “holiday cum training” for them. Work will start in August when the EPL kicks off. For some, touring the region is a pain in the neck as its too far from England, what with the traveling time, time difference, away from families, climate changes being humid and all and other grouses fitted to be made by superstars. In fact I think this visit by the “Blues” is a drag and they just couldn’t wait for it to be done with. Can’t really blame them, as the oppositions were all mediocre by their standards. Actually they got nothing from the tour, come to think of it, other than the commercial values as mentioned earlier.
These days I see tour packages being promoted to watch live EPL matches in England. For a real EPL experience hop on to these tours but first sign yourself an insurance policy. Paint your hair blond and color your face so that being Asians will not be so obvious. Do not shout too loud as your slang will give you away. Eat fish and chips and not nasi goring. If in winter put on extra jackets so that you will look big. Make sure you have the scarf of the home team and not the visiting team. When the match is over stay longer in the stadium because you have paid much more to be there.
Next time a big club comes visiting, play the match at MPPJ stadium, in this case the stadium will be brimming with people instead of half full. Otherwise take the match to another location such as Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Ipoh, Penang where there are also strong fan base for EPL. For the opposition lets have a Malaysian league selection instead of just Malaysian players. In this case we can include say maximum 5 international players for the friendlies. Maybe P Chipeta can score a goal or two where we Malaysian cant.
The new EPL season is just round the corner, good luck to all the ladies whose men made up the 40,000 at the stadium and many others around the country who are just as fanatics about EPL.
Good Luck to the "Blues" in the new season. I hope that the team will win the championship.
Jebat-Siber
June 17, 2008
Oil Price vs Asian Renaissance
Recently I was privileged to be one of the delegates in the 13th Asian Oil & Gas Conference, which was held in KL Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur. Over 1,000 delegates from all over the world attended the conference and it’s the biggest oil & gas conference in the region. This conference was special because everybody was looking forward to serious discussions and views from the industry experts especially on the recent steep increase in crude oil prices that are impacting everybody in the world. What with the Malaysian government only last week increased the price of retail petrol by some 45%, the highest increase ever experience (see my previous article)
So what was new this time??
Like in any conference the keynote address on the first day and the speakers that follows will set the mood for the conference. The conference quickly turned into a fascinating West vs East showdown. It was apparent that the western ideology that was more superior in the previous conference was not so apparent this time around. Dr Tony Hayward, CEO of BP in his keynote address was candid in delivering his western world’s perspective of energy crisis when he said that this time around the urbanization that are taking place in Asian countries involved billion of people when compared to the European Renaissance which was about 50 to 100 million and about 200 million when American urbanized early in the 20th century. Therefore with this massive population involved obviously the energy required to meets these demands will be choking on the existing oil production thus painting a scenario of “there’s not enough energy to go by in the world today” and therefore “pay for these energy guys! Whatever USD per barrel necessary, you just have to pay for it”. So it means we Asian has to pay for this energy that we need!! So it’s the Western bully tactics again that we see here ??
Dr Jeffrey Currie, MD Goldman Sachs International UK, continued by “blaming” the crude price increased to “non-flexibility of funds movement in and out of the industry and in and out of USA due to government fiscal measures of producing countries. As a result the available fund was deployed in other industries elsewhere and these created a situation of not sufficient revolving fund within the oil & gas market worldwide and as such cut downs in oil exploration and development. He also said that now there’s so much pressure on USD due to the steep increase in crude price it is driving the US dollar down. Nice try Jeff, but is it really?? Any experts in economics that can help us here??? Please do comment on this statement as its very confusing to me!
I think the USD is weakened by internal economic pressure in the USA and just could not support the oil price anymore than it can and the sooner all of us understand the easier it is for us to approach this crude price issues.
We also learned that the world crude reserves have actually increased to 40 years and for natural gas reserves to 60 years and as such security of supply is sustainable. However we were also told that production could not meet demand and this shortage in oil supply has driven crude prices up and up and none of the panelist dared to predict to what level will it plateau off. So shall somebody predict??
I think it will increase to a level that China, India and the rest of us in Asian cant afford it anymore. So we will cut down on imports and stunt development. When this happens naturally the economic gap with Western countries will remain. You see, the Westerners just could not allow us Asian to catch up to their status. Japan has for so long shown us the way of Asian renaissance. Korea and the rest Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, quickly followed this. Now when China and India get into the fray, the Western world just could not let it happened. What with combined population of 2.4 Billion, the 2 countries are like atomic bomb waiting to explode…. With consumerism that is!! There is just too much econimies to content with.
This is where Prof Kishore Mahbubani from Singapore tilted the conference to Asian perspective. What I explained above was his perspective brought to the conference. The conference hall was all silence, listening and understanding every-thing thrown by the professor. It was reckoned that by 2050, based on existing economic growth that the major economies in the world will be China, India, Japan and USA in that order. Where are the Europeans?? Interesting facts…indeed.
Where Asians will dominate will be in best practices. For so long Asians have studied, improvised and improved on the Western practices and will surge ahead and be unstoppable by the Westerns. Indeed Asian already has the technology, willpower and the financial resources to imitate and dominate the economies of the world. Billions of people duplicating these all over Asia will just be too much for the Westerns to bear. So the Westerners need to stop this march. One way is by controlling the energy price, starting with crude price. So for how long can we Asian afford the fuel cost. This is a conspiracy of the West and we need to understand them so that we can react appropriately. We need to persevere and collectively manage the economies so that we will continue to grow.
The West must gracefully share power with the East, said the professor. History he said taught us that the rise of new power almost always leads to tension and conflict. But this can be avoided if the world accepts the key principles for new global partnership spelled out in The New Asian Hemisphere. ( will check this out later)
So the conference has left me with different perspective of energy crises. There were so much more that was discussed; however I already understood the theme in the first day itself. I just hope that we will see better future to the oil crises. I can already feel the pinch in buying power as written in my earlier article.
Till I see you again…"have gas will travel" - Jebat-Siber
So what was new this time??
Like in any conference the keynote address on the first day and the speakers that follows will set the mood for the conference. The conference quickly turned into a fascinating West vs East showdown. It was apparent that the western ideology that was more superior in the previous conference was not so apparent this time around. Dr Tony Hayward, CEO of BP in his keynote address was candid in delivering his western world’s perspective of energy crisis when he said that this time around the urbanization that are taking place in Asian countries involved billion of people when compared to the European Renaissance which was about 50 to 100 million and about 200 million when American urbanized early in the 20th century. Therefore with this massive population involved obviously the energy required to meets these demands will be choking on the existing oil production thus painting a scenario of “there’s not enough energy to go by in the world today” and therefore “pay for these energy guys! Whatever USD per barrel necessary, you just have to pay for it”. So it means we Asian has to pay for this energy that we need!! So it’s the Western bully tactics again that we see here ??
Dr Jeffrey Currie, MD Goldman Sachs International UK, continued by “blaming” the crude price increased to “non-flexibility of funds movement in and out of the industry and in and out of USA due to government fiscal measures of producing countries. As a result the available fund was deployed in other industries elsewhere and these created a situation of not sufficient revolving fund within the oil & gas market worldwide and as such cut downs in oil exploration and development. He also said that now there’s so much pressure on USD due to the steep increase in crude price it is driving the US dollar down. Nice try Jeff, but is it really?? Any experts in economics that can help us here??? Please do comment on this statement as its very confusing to me!
I think the USD is weakened by internal economic pressure in the USA and just could not support the oil price anymore than it can and the sooner all of us understand the easier it is for us to approach this crude price issues.
We also learned that the world crude reserves have actually increased to 40 years and for natural gas reserves to 60 years and as such security of supply is sustainable. However we were also told that production could not meet demand and this shortage in oil supply has driven crude prices up and up and none of the panelist dared to predict to what level will it plateau off. So shall somebody predict??
I think it will increase to a level that China, India and the rest of us in Asian cant afford it anymore. So we will cut down on imports and stunt development. When this happens naturally the economic gap with Western countries will remain. You see, the Westerners just could not allow us Asian to catch up to their status. Japan has for so long shown us the way of Asian renaissance. Korea and the rest Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, quickly followed this. Now when China and India get into the fray, the Western world just could not let it happened. What with combined population of 2.4 Billion, the 2 countries are like atomic bomb waiting to explode…. With consumerism that is!! There is just too much econimies to content with.
This is where Prof Kishore Mahbubani from Singapore tilted the conference to Asian perspective. What I explained above was his perspective brought to the conference. The conference hall was all silence, listening and understanding every-thing thrown by the professor. It was reckoned that by 2050, based on existing economic growth that the major economies in the world will be China, India, Japan and USA in that order. Where are the Europeans?? Interesting facts…indeed.
Where Asians will dominate will be in best practices. For so long Asians have studied, improvised and improved on the Western practices and will surge ahead and be unstoppable by the Westerns. Indeed Asian already has the technology, willpower and the financial resources to imitate and dominate the economies of the world. Billions of people duplicating these all over Asia will just be too much for the Westerns to bear. So the Westerners need to stop this march. One way is by controlling the energy price, starting with crude price. So for how long can we Asian afford the fuel cost. This is a conspiracy of the West and we need to understand them so that we can react appropriately. We need to persevere and collectively manage the economies so that we will continue to grow.
The West must gracefully share power with the East, said the professor. History he said taught us that the rise of new power almost always leads to tension and conflict. But this can be avoided if the world accepts the key principles for new global partnership spelled out in The New Asian Hemisphere. ( will check this out later)
So the conference has left me with different perspective of energy crises. There were so much more that was discussed; however I already understood the theme in the first day itself. I just hope that we will see better future to the oil crises. I can already feel the pinch in buying power as written in my earlier article.
Till I see you again…"have gas will travel" - Jebat-Siber
June 8, 2008
Petrol oh Petrol!!
Last Wednesday night I left office at 930 pm and was looking forward to a cup of coffee to wind down at home. I was supposed to be on leave but was called to office for urgent matter and didn’t bargain for a massive traffic jam in the city that night. It took me a while to realized the cause of the traffic snarl once I approached the 2 petrol stations along Jalan Tun Razak. The petrol stations were grid locked with cars spilling onto the main road queuing for their turn to fill up. Only that afternoon a friend sms’ed me that petrol price will increase by 50 cents after 12 midnight. I thought then that I would fill up later since I have more time and need to rush to this meeting of mine. How wrong were I then, with cars at frenzy trying to fill up there’s no way I will want to join these crowds for the sake of saving a few Ringgit that night. I would if I can, but that night was terrible and I am better off at home catching up with my family, what with the school holidays. I have to eventually fill up with the new price later anyway, I cant beat the system for too long, what with all the traffic chaos and the long wait I kind of feel that it’s not worth it.
Finally the government has made its decision to lift subsidy of retail petrol. However the manner by which the government was doing it was shocking to me, to say the least. With the sudden increase in fuel price it will have major impact to the people all round, from farmers to traders, to government servant to private industries, bankers and businessmen and all of us. It’s not difficult to visualize the chain reactions resulting from increased in fuel price. Just about everything around us has in one form or another are dependent on fuel.
As we got down in the morning for breakfast, the bread, egg, butter, jam, coffee will has impact in production and transport charges due to the increased I fuel price. I recently noted that a trolley-full of grocery shopping in Giant hypermart will cost me RM 400+ compared to RM 300+ a year ago. Not too log ago it was RM 200+. Now with the recent increase in fuel I am anticipating a RM 500+ for the same trolley filled up with groceries. I am a medium size family and the groceries will last me a month on normal consumption. I have been using this benchmark for years and its kind of my consumer index heh..heh. I am not savvy enough to compare prices of each single item; therefore a trolly-full will do for me. Also my heart is not very strong to go through ten’s of items in the shopping bags and cringe at every time I see an increase in item’s prices. So there’s my basic analysis based on trolley-full of groceries.
Lat week RM 100 will last me a week’s petrol for going to work and return. Now with the 39% increase in fuel I anticipate that I will now need RM 140/week for fuel. Using the same formula all over I will see a reduction of at least 30% of my buying power with the same salary I am getting. With average increment of at best 10% per year I will need 3 years to return to the same buying power as before. However the world is not an ideal place, therefore with other factors thrown in such as unstable world economy, crash in stock market, further increase of fuel price, continuing war in the world especially in Arab countries, etc it’s unlikely that I will enjoy the same buying power again. So overnight I, like the majority of people in the country will be poorer by 30% all due to the government increasing the fuel price.
Like I said its not difficult to visualize the domino effects of fuel price increase with price escalations of foodstuffs, water, electricity, bus fares and fares of all forms of public transport, clothing, services etc and very soon inflation will creeps in. This will be going on for a while and government will be doing its bits to institute price check, price control, price campaign etc. However the fundamental law of economy can’t be restrained for long and very soon the Government will caved in to trade unions call for salary increase for government servants. This will always be followed by similar increase in the salary of private companies and the vicious circle will just goes on and on… and all round there will be increased in cost. Therefore with the overall increased in prices of goods and services the Government and the industry at large will be paying for higher cost for new projects, development, initiatives etc. Therefore is lifting the petrol subsidy worth it in the overall scheme of thing??
I am not an economist and all the scenarios above are based on logics and a bit of experience acquired through my work experience thus far. However it just seemed that the Government has been hasty in its approach in managing the country’s economy. With Malaysia being net exporter of crude oil, I am sure the country can withstand the world-wide crude price escalation a bit better than other countries that are non oil producers and who are also net importer of crude. The Government should have more flexibility in managing this issue (compared to others such as Singapore, Vietnam, Philippine) and should have taken a wiser approach that will benefit the country in the long run.
As we braved ourselves for a “teh-tarik” that will cost us RM 1.50, basic nasi lemak for RM 1.60 to RM 2.00, a roti canai for RM 1.50 etc, we hope that somebody in the present Government will be brave enough to call for a change in the economic strategy of the country. I cringed to think that our finest days are over and that Malaysia will never be the same country to live again….Ya-Allah Selamatkan Kami dan pelihara lah Kami….Amin!
Jebat_Siber
Finally the government has made its decision to lift subsidy of retail petrol. However the manner by which the government was doing it was shocking to me, to say the least. With the sudden increase in fuel price it will have major impact to the people all round, from farmers to traders, to government servant to private industries, bankers and businessmen and all of us. It’s not difficult to visualize the chain reactions resulting from increased in fuel price. Just about everything around us has in one form or another are dependent on fuel.
As we got down in the morning for breakfast, the bread, egg, butter, jam, coffee will has impact in production and transport charges due to the increased I fuel price. I recently noted that a trolley-full of grocery shopping in Giant hypermart will cost me RM 400+ compared to RM 300+ a year ago. Not too log ago it was RM 200+. Now with the recent increase in fuel I am anticipating a RM 500+ for the same trolley filled up with groceries. I am a medium size family and the groceries will last me a month on normal consumption. I have been using this benchmark for years and its kind of my consumer index heh..heh. I am not savvy enough to compare prices of each single item; therefore a trolly-full will do for me. Also my heart is not very strong to go through ten’s of items in the shopping bags and cringe at every time I see an increase in item’s prices. So there’s my basic analysis based on trolley-full of groceries.
Lat week RM 100 will last me a week’s petrol for going to work and return. Now with the 39% increase in fuel I anticipate that I will now need RM 140/week for fuel. Using the same formula all over I will see a reduction of at least 30% of my buying power with the same salary I am getting. With average increment of at best 10% per year I will need 3 years to return to the same buying power as before. However the world is not an ideal place, therefore with other factors thrown in such as unstable world economy, crash in stock market, further increase of fuel price, continuing war in the world especially in Arab countries, etc it’s unlikely that I will enjoy the same buying power again. So overnight I, like the majority of people in the country will be poorer by 30% all due to the government increasing the fuel price.
Like I said its not difficult to visualize the domino effects of fuel price increase with price escalations of foodstuffs, water, electricity, bus fares and fares of all forms of public transport, clothing, services etc and very soon inflation will creeps in. This will be going on for a while and government will be doing its bits to institute price check, price control, price campaign etc. However the fundamental law of economy can’t be restrained for long and very soon the Government will caved in to trade unions call for salary increase for government servants. This will always be followed by similar increase in the salary of private companies and the vicious circle will just goes on and on… and all round there will be increased in cost. Therefore with the overall increased in prices of goods and services the Government and the industry at large will be paying for higher cost for new projects, development, initiatives etc. Therefore is lifting the petrol subsidy worth it in the overall scheme of thing??
I am not an economist and all the scenarios above are based on logics and a bit of experience acquired through my work experience thus far. However it just seemed that the Government has been hasty in its approach in managing the country’s economy. With Malaysia being net exporter of crude oil, I am sure the country can withstand the world-wide crude price escalation a bit better than other countries that are non oil producers and who are also net importer of crude. The Government should have more flexibility in managing this issue (compared to others such as Singapore, Vietnam, Philippine) and should have taken a wiser approach that will benefit the country in the long run.
As we braved ourselves for a “teh-tarik” that will cost us RM 1.50, basic nasi lemak for RM 1.60 to RM 2.00, a roti canai for RM 1.50 etc, we hope that somebody in the present Government will be brave enough to call for a change in the economic strategy of the country. I cringed to think that our finest days are over and that Malaysia will never be the same country to live again….Ya-Allah Selamatkan Kami dan pelihara lah Kami….Amin!
Jebat_Siber
May 21, 2008
"Setan Merah" VS "Yang Biru"
6 hours from now, thousands of kilometres from Moscow, a nation will experienced high electricity loadings very early in the morning. The national power company from years of experience will have anticipated this situation and will not scheduled any maintainence work at this hour. So we all dont have to be worry about electricity disruption. No its not gonna be a any fireworks display or anything like that. No, its not going to be any warfare between 2 giants either as implied in the title bar. Its the football's EUFA Champions league Final Between "Red Devil" and "Blues" more commonly known as Manchester United and Chelsea, respectively.
What makes this match special is that both finalist are from the English Premier League that has strong followings in Malaysia and in the Asian region. Most Malaysian footbal fanatics knows these 2 teams by hard, from managers, players, substitues, jerseys, track records, goals scored, goals against, injury list,players diet, last medical check up, marital status, size of underpants, last parking fines not paid, favorite food, etc etc. Most of us will be watching this match from our living room but for added thrill some will watch this games at cafes, "mamak" stalls, complete with jersey of their team and all.
Well quite normal you say, but its gonna be 230 am in the morning in Malaysia when this game is played in Moscow. Expect the day after that most Malaysian men will be at work with bleary eyes, mis-button shirt, fly undone,wear underpants wrong way round,different coloured socks, hairs combed the wrong way, brought wife's briefcase to office, wallet accidently left on the breakfast table etc etc. For should the match goes to penalty kicks it will only be done by almost 6 in the morning, what with the medal presentation, interviews, replays etc. So there will be only enough time to shower, do the subuh prayer, have breakfast, send kids to school(hopefully the right school) and off to office praying very hard that there will not be a traffic jam. If there is one, then pray that you dont fall asleep and knock into the bumper of the car in front of you or worst still the bumper of a fan of the losing team.
So why do we keep doing this, year in-year out between May to July every year???
Do drop me something to share...
For the final, I think "Yang Biru" will win this one because in Moscow "Setan Merah" will be off colour. What ever it is lets enjoy life and deal with tomorrow after the match. If we are lucky the government will declare a public holiday....
Jebat_Siber
What makes this match special is that both finalist are from the English Premier League that has strong followings in Malaysia and in the Asian region. Most Malaysian footbal fanatics knows these 2 teams by hard, from managers, players, substitues, jerseys, track records, goals scored, goals against, injury list,players diet, last medical check up, marital status, size of underpants, last parking fines not paid, favorite food, etc etc. Most of us will be watching this match from our living room but for added thrill some will watch this games at cafes, "mamak" stalls, complete with jersey of their team and all.
Well quite normal you say, but its gonna be 230 am in the morning in Malaysia when this game is played in Moscow. Expect the day after that most Malaysian men will be at work with bleary eyes, mis-button shirt, fly undone,wear underpants wrong way round,different coloured socks, hairs combed the wrong way, brought wife's briefcase to office, wallet accidently left on the breakfast table etc etc. For should the match goes to penalty kicks it will only be done by almost 6 in the morning, what with the medal presentation, interviews, replays etc. So there will be only enough time to shower, do the subuh prayer, have breakfast, send kids to school(hopefully the right school) and off to office praying very hard that there will not be a traffic jam. If there is one, then pray that you dont fall asleep and knock into the bumper of the car in front of you or worst still the bumper of a fan of the losing team.
So why do we keep doing this, year in-year out between May to July every year???
Do drop me something to share...
For the final, I think "Yang Biru" will win this one because in Moscow "Setan Merah" will be off colour. What ever it is lets enjoy life and deal with tomorrow after the match. If we are lucky the government will declare a public holiday....
Jebat_Siber
May 20, 2008
David vs David - American Idol Season 7
So, as we Malaysian faced another season of bored to death Akademi Fantasia, season 7 of American Idol will draw to conclusion this week. So its gonna be a David vs David finale much to the delights of the fans of the show. I only recently started to focus on the shows, thanks to Star-World marathon of Idol last weekend over Astro.So what is so special about American Idol that we Malaysian thousands of miles away are glued to our TV screens following up on the fate of David Archuleta and David Cook? American really knows how to market for one, and the tremendous talents of the contestants is another, not to mention the stinging comments of Simon Cowell, the always professional Randy Jackson and the big sister attitude of Paula Abdul and lastly the ever enthusiastic fans of the show, cheering, clapping and ever supportive of all the talented singers. For a country of more than 200 Million people, USA is blessed with talents of all sorts including in music and singing.So who will win?? I will put my money on Archie who at 17 is very talented and has carried himself well over the whole shows. He has a great voice of honesty in it when he sings and sounded so good in all the ballads that he belted out in the competition. I am looking forward to him rendering more ballads in the final. As for the other David, he is also good, talented rocker and a potent match for Archie, however where Archie will win over will be his ever smiling boyish face that will attract all the grandmas and grandpas, moms and dads and young boys and girls to vote for him.So good luck to both Davids and may the better David win.......I am looking forward to the final, how about you??
A Note to Tun Mahathir
Tun,
In the wake of your resignation from Umno, there are many speculations and theories as to what prompted your decision to quit Umno. However being Umno’s and the country’s once nomuro uno, your action can lead Umno and the Malays into further factions and may just back fire in your desire to resurrect the fledgling credibility of the present Umno’s leadership.
Tun,
You have been the biggest leader seen by this country. Your contribution has been immense and beyond expectation. We are indebted to you for leading the country from the 80’s into the millennium transcending economic barriers and political upheavals. You have carried the country through numerous crisis and has always came out tops, thus saving Malays, Umno and Malaysia from catastrophes. We are proud to be Malaysian and were having the best time of our lives during your leadership. You deserve to be in the all-time "Malaysian Hall of Fame" and be remembered for all the excellent things that you have achieved for yourself and the country. We were all glad when you retired for here is a gentleman, a leader, a statesman who has fulfilled his life to the fullest and deservedly retire to spend quality time with the loved ones that he has sorely missed when he was in office.
So why are you doing this Tun? Resignation from Umno will not solve the Malay crisis overnight. I have pondered and can’t rationalize what made you do it??
When you handed the baton to Pak Lah (AAB), many people (in fact it’s the majority’s opinion) were concerns because we didn’t see him as the first choice candidate to succeed you. However we thought through it and concluded that there were always smooth transition of powers in Malaysian politics and somehow the outgoing PM had what it takes in them to analyze the candidate’s capabilities and to successfully handed over the baton to their successors. It was the case from TgAR to TAR, TAR to THO, THO to You. Alas we thought leave it to Dr M, coz he knew what he was doing. He was closer to the politicians and knew them well for him to make his choice. So why Tun are you now creating all this issues to get back at somebody you put into PM’s office and in the process is threatening the political stability of the Malays??
You have to isolate the issue of Umno and AAB. Yes! its connected but still it’s a separate issue. Maybe it escaped you but the leadership of Umno has always been continuously challenged before, what with Umno-46, Tg Razaleigh, Musa Hitam and all. Umno and Malays today are facing similar challenges to that when it was under your leadership. Not all Malays are supporters of Umno, same when Tun was leading Umno then. Therefore what is new? What is it this time that require us to react differently? Umno/ BN may have lost ground in the last election but it was much due to MIC and MCA as well. Therefore that being the case, Umno being status quo its must be something to do with the leadership of Umno. But then the leadership of the present Umno was handed over by Tun !! So does that means that Tun will have to interfere to make good the short-coming?? What will it cost to rectify the mistake?? Will a permanent Malay disunity pay for this mistake??
AAB is not the greatest leader but if that is what we have then that’s what we have!! until democracy remove him from office or another great leader turns up in Umno to lead this country to another height. What good are we for condemning each other over an issue that we cant resolve democratically??
The Malays are weak because we are not united. You remove the word united from Umno and it reads Mno. ( In Negri slang “mano?” or “di-mana?” or “where?”) People don’t even know we exist….and Tun what you did is contrary to being “united” and again we don’t understand your action in destabilizing the already weakened Umno and the Malays. Therefore in the show of the highest order in you Tun, you have actually shown the world the disunity amongst Malays. We are sorry but that’s how we see it……
We are all sad at this turns of event and sincerely hope that you will not further aggravate the situation that is already bad as it is. We still need your leadership Tun but please see the issues from the perspective of others. Others that are not great leader like you or politician like you or veteran Umno members like you…others as in farmers, teachers, workers, professionals, children etc etc, i.e Malays that have elected our leaders through a democratic election process to be our voices in parliament and the government. We have exercised our rights in all the elections and the recent election and we deserve the right to be represented and our voices heard through the democratic windows.
We wish you the best and we hope that you will think the issues over and react wisely!!!
regards
jebat_siber
.
In the wake of your resignation from Umno, there are many speculations and theories as to what prompted your decision to quit Umno. However being Umno’s and the country’s once nomuro uno, your action can lead Umno and the Malays into further factions and may just back fire in your desire to resurrect the fledgling credibility of the present Umno’s leadership.
Tun,
You have been the biggest leader seen by this country. Your contribution has been immense and beyond expectation. We are indebted to you for leading the country from the 80’s into the millennium transcending economic barriers and political upheavals. You have carried the country through numerous crisis and has always came out tops, thus saving Malays, Umno and Malaysia from catastrophes. We are proud to be Malaysian and were having the best time of our lives during your leadership. You deserve to be in the all-time "Malaysian Hall of Fame" and be remembered for all the excellent things that you have achieved for yourself and the country. We were all glad when you retired for here is a gentleman, a leader, a statesman who has fulfilled his life to the fullest and deservedly retire to spend quality time with the loved ones that he has sorely missed when he was in office.
So why are you doing this Tun? Resignation from Umno will not solve the Malay crisis overnight. I have pondered and can’t rationalize what made you do it??
When you handed the baton to Pak Lah (AAB), many people (in fact it’s the majority’s opinion) were concerns because we didn’t see him as the first choice candidate to succeed you. However we thought through it and concluded that there were always smooth transition of powers in Malaysian politics and somehow the outgoing PM had what it takes in them to analyze the candidate’s capabilities and to successfully handed over the baton to their successors. It was the case from TgAR to TAR, TAR to THO, THO to You. Alas we thought leave it to Dr M, coz he knew what he was doing. He was closer to the politicians and knew them well for him to make his choice. So why Tun are you now creating all this issues to get back at somebody you put into PM’s office and in the process is threatening the political stability of the Malays??
You have to isolate the issue of Umno and AAB. Yes! its connected but still it’s a separate issue. Maybe it escaped you but the leadership of Umno has always been continuously challenged before, what with Umno-46, Tg Razaleigh, Musa Hitam and all. Umno and Malays today are facing similar challenges to that when it was under your leadership. Not all Malays are supporters of Umno, same when Tun was leading Umno then. Therefore what is new? What is it this time that require us to react differently? Umno/ BN may have lost ground in the last election but it was much due to MIC and MCA as well. Therefore that being the case, Umno being status quo its must be something to do with the leadership of Umno. But then the leadership of the present Umno was handed over by Tun !! So does that means that Tun will have to interfere to make good the short-coming?? What will it cost to rectify the mistake?? Will a permanent Malay disunity pay for this mistake??
AAB is not the greatest leader but if that is what we have then that’s what we have!! until democracy remove him from office or another great leader turns up in Umno to lead this country to another height. What good are we for condemning each other over an issue that we cant resolve democratically??
The Malays are weak because we are not united. You remove the word united from Umno and it reads Mno. ( In Negri slang “mano?” or “di-mana?” or “where?”) People don’t even know we exist….and Tun what you did is contrary to being “united” and again we don’t understand your action in destabilizing the already weakened Umno and the Malays. Therefore in the show of the highest order in you Tun, you have actually shown the world the disunity amongst Malays. We are sorry but that’s how we see it……
We are all sad at this turns of event and sincerely hope that you will not further aggravate the situation that is already bad as it is. We still need your leadership Tun but please see the issues from the perspective of others. Others that are not great leader like you or politician like you or veteran Umno members like you…others as in farmers, teachers, workers, professionals, children etc etc, i.e Malays that have elected our leaders through a democratic election process to be our voices in parliament and the government. We have exercised our rights in all the elections and the recent election and we deserve the right to be represented and our voices heard through the democratic windows.
We wish you the best and we hope that you will think the issues over and react wisely!!!
regards
jebat_siber
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