Official But Not Prefered

Everyone (perhaps everyone in the world) knows that Malaysia's official language is Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malaysia. But, the most prefered language for communication, especially in a more formal setup) is English. Even my friend in Indonesia was surprised when I told him that we conduct our meeting (internally, no Mat Salleh or expats) in English.

Even in a not so formal setup, English is still a prefered language for people of all walks of life!

Photo courtesy The Star

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Wonder what people from Northern states call a sharpener? It's 'gerumit'... derived from 'groom it'... :-)

Irrelevant Topic of Discussion

First of all, please apologize if this post would offend anyone but it's just my thoughts.

This morning between my sahur and Subuh, I managed to catch a repeat of Al-Kuliyyah, a TV3 islamic talk show (rather a discussion program with two penalists). The topic was 'Tukar'. To my surprise, they talked about sex change and in specific gender reassignment surgery (GRS). The program, however, failed to provide any statistic to qualify this topic for discussion in such an Islamic program. And I don't think the program achieve anything - in terms of educating people or helps reducing/stopping GRS cases.

For me it's clear, and as an Islamic country (we always claimed as such), we know it's forbidden - for any reason. And there are still callers asking about... there's one man whose inner-self is very lady-like, he felt he would be better off to do the GRS... bla bla bla... and the panelists kept on saying whatever the situation is, it's still haram. That's it. Why bother to discuss further? Aren't there anymore interesting topic(s) to be discussed like wastage in the month of Ramadhan, the simplest ways to reap the benefits of Ramadhan, Islam-way of celebrating Eid, bla bla bla...

And the panelists kept on referring to those who're interested in GRS to undergo counseling sessions to overcome their problems. I think there's only one effective solution. As an Islamic country, just forbid all hospitals (government or private) to perform the GRS. Full stop!


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Maybe they're run out of topics. Well, they could generate ideas via sms - make more money! I don't know whether I'll watch the program again if it keeps on discussing/debating on something which clearly forbidden.

1 Ramadhan 1427

Bulan Ramadhan is here again... semoga amalan puasa kita diberkati.

Niat puasa for those who forget...

"Sahaja aku berpuasa esok hari menunaikan fardhu Ramadhan tahun ini kerana Allah ta'ala"

Sunat-sunat puasa:

1. Menyegerakan berbuka puasa apabila telah yakin waktu berbuka.
2. Makan sahur walaupun sedikit.
3. Melambatkan makan sahur iaitu lepas daripada tengah malam dan sebelum waktu imsak.
4. Memperbanyakkan membaca Al-Quran.
5. Memperbanyakkan sedekah.
6. Beriktiqaf siang hari dalam masjid.
7. Menghadiri majlis-majlis ilmu.
8. Menyediakan makanan untuk berbuka untuk orang-orang berpuasa.
9. Jangan bersugi setelah tergelincir matahari ke arah laut barat sehingga terbenamnya matahari kerana boleh memakruhkan puasa.

Other things (this one for me too...) - do solat terawikh as much as possible, don't just do it in the beginning of puasa but also the last 10 days of puasa... another thing, don't be too lavish buying foods to break fast, buy what you can finish eating and eat moderately so that maghrib, isyak and terawikh could be performed...

Selamat Berpuasa Everyone!!

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Kalau terasa nak buat jahat di bulan Ramadhan, tanyalah pada iman tentu iman kata tak boleh... jangan ditanyakan pada AIMAN, nanti dia kata AIMAN TAK KISAH...

The One... In A Million

It was a great night, great performaces not just from the three finalists but also the top 12 plus Norayu and another contestant who were eliminated earlier. I personally like Norayu because of her husky voice. Somehow, she didn't make it to top 20 (probably because of her look, which not comparable to Farah, or even Suki).

Faizal escaped the elimination in the beginning of the final when 8TV announced that all three will be up and running for the RM1 million. 'Kezutan' for the fans or just another gimmick to invite more votes (translated into more profit)? Anyway, the night would be a bit boring if Faizal didn't perform. His performance outshone Suki's and Alif's and he got the biggest cheers and also standing ovation from the fans.

Unfortunately, Suki whose fans were relatively quiet that night walked away with the 'biggest' prize in Malaysia's reality talent show. Fans of Faizal, in the hall, were stunned and it was rather quiet in the hall after the result was announced. He came 5% short from Suki 's 39% votes.

Anyway, there you go. People call it instant millionaire. And, she's just 17!!

Weekend With The Family...

My parents were in town last weekend for my brother's convocation. The last time they were at my place was almost a year ago (or more and I haven't washed my cushion covers since then). The preparation started like a week before, with house chores like cleaning the fan blades (now the fan blows stronger), mopping the floor, washing the cushion covers, etc etc etc... I think I burnt more calories the last one week than the rest of the year.

I woke up at 5.30 on Saturday morning, something that I've not done for the past 364 days. What I usually do is go to bed at 5.30am. :-) My mom was ironing all clothes to be worn that day while I was preparing breakfast. My mom brought ketupat, rendang ayam, kari daging... We went to UiTM, parked at the padang kawad, took the transfer bus to Dewan Sri Budiman for the convo session. Only parents are allowed to enter the hall but I saw not just the parents dressed up but everyone, just to watch the session from under the canopy provided. What a spirit!

Mom and dad were out from the hall early (my brother was the 43rd recipient), so we wandered around the stalls (most selling flowers and souvenirs), took some pictures and took a most-deserving nap somewhere in a building nearby. It's quite a while before we decided to make our move to the convo hall while waiting for my brother to come out. Finally, he came out, grinning from ear to ear. My parents couldn't be more proud of him.

After taking some good pictures, we went straight home, had lunch, and sleeeeeeppp before our next activity... trip to Bagan Lalang for seafood dinner...

We went all the way to Bagan Lalang for our dinner. I haven't been there for exactly one year. So, we had ikan siakap masak 3 rasa, ikan pari bakar, udang masak pedas, pepahat masak halia, sotong goreng tepung, kailan ikan masin, tomyam campur, air kelapa and some juices. Syok nya makan and there goes my diet and my cholesterol level! :-) Somehow my brother's Naza Ria moved so slow on the way back home - reflecting the full stomach of its passengers. We reached home around 11pm.

On Sunday, we had mom-made karipap - our family's favorite. And bapak supplement the menu with his specialty kuah bawang for the dip! My niece and nephews were off to the swimming pool in the middle of breakfast and came back empty stomach.

Save the best for last, it's the last stop for this trip... Mydin!!! Usually they visited the one near Sinar Kota but this time it's the largest Mydin in Malaysia (in USJ). Traffic flow was so bad but that didn't affect my parents' spirit. As usual, they spent a worthy 3 hours in Mydin, shopping mostly the essentials for their Haj trip later this year.

While they're busy shopping I was tasked to take care of the niece and nephews. It's just four of them but it's more than handful for me. And believe me, the smallest is the most difficult to handle...

At around 5.30pm, my parents made their way to Pudu Raya with my brother and I made my way home and slept all the way from 6.30pm to 6.00am.

A tiring, yet a good weekend with the family!!

Bad Quote of the Day

"There are many people who don't understand, they say Pak Lah has lost control. That's my way of doing things. Everybody has his way of doing thing."

- people call him 'Pak Lah', 17th September 2006, Havana

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Yes, you're right, Mr Right... you do it your way - losing control way

#18 Oregon 34, #15 Oklahoma 33

Oregon won for the first time in seven meetings over Oklahoma and avenged their Holiday Bowl 2005 defeat, in front of the record crowd of 59,260 at Autzen Stadium. Dennis Dixon and No. 18 Oregon rallied for two touchdowns in the final 72 seconds and the Ducks blocked a field goal on the final play to seal a wild 34-33 victory over No. 15 Oklahoma on Saturday.

Dixon's 16-yard keeper with 1:12 left brought the Ducks within 33-27 and set up the onside kick attempt. The Ducks (3-0) recovered the kick on their own 48, with 1:02 to go. After a pass interference call on Oklahoma again had Sooners coach Bob Stoops shaking his head on the sideline, Dixon threw a 23-yard TD pass to Brian Paysinger with 46 seconds to give Oregon the lead.

Oklahoma wasn't done, though, as Reggie Smith returned a squib kick 55 yards to the Ducks' 27. With no timeouts the Sooners ran one play, run into the line by Adrian Peterson, then spiked the ball with a second left. Garrett Hartley's 44-yard field-goal attempt wasn't high enough to clear the line and the Ducks celebrated.

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I almost went to sleep when Ducks were trailing by 13 points with only 72 seconds left. I was fortunate enough to stay awake for 4 hours (3.30am to 7.30am) to witness one of the greatest comeback I've ever seen). Go Ducks!!!

Kamu Tak Sayang Dayang...

Remember one of Dayang's famous tune... ooohhh Dayang sayang kamu, Dayang cinta kamu, bilakan dapat bertemu... Will Dayang still love her fans? I dont think so, after her controversial participation in One In A Million (OIAM) ended with her exit at the final four stage. Who said that Dayang will get an easy ride to grab the RM1 million prize money?

I feel it's the right time for Dayang to go (she should be ousted earlier). Despite her being in a different league than the other three finalists, she didn't help much to the show, especially from the sponsors' and 8TV's perspectives. She seldomly appear in OIAM promos or roadshows. So, it's now an open race for the other three finalists, Suki, Alif and Faizal, with Faizal being the favorite to win.

Anyway, I was still touched when Dayang dropped to her tears while singing her last song in the competition, Mencintaimu. Hopefully she still love her fans and loved by her fans.

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Are we going to see another Faizal winning a talent-search compettition?

Quote of the Day

"You can't try to shut my mouth... because I have a big mouth and I am going to use my big mouth to expose the misdeeds of this present government, including their lies."

- Tun Dr Mahathir, 11th September 2006

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I remember Roxette's song Lies: "...lies la-la-la-la-lies, it's all lies la-la-la-la-lies, you're alllies; honeybutt, keep your big mouth shut, baby keep that big mouth shut..."

#20 Oregon 31, Fresno St. 24

Oregon's two biggest plays in the second half came after the Ducks lined up for field goals. And get this; neither time did the ball split the uprights. Kicker Paul Martinez scored on a 4-yard run on a fake field goal with 4:55 left and No. 20 Oregon also scored one play after Fresno State botched a blocked field goal, beating the Bulldogs 31-24 Saturday night.

Holder Brady Leaf then took the snap for the field goal and ran to his left, drawing the outside defender. "The way they lined up I thought we had it," Leaf said. "I had one-on-one on the outside guy and knew I had Paul there. I just had to get him to commit to me and get Paul the ball." Leaf did just that, tossing the ball to Martinez on the option play.

Martinez stumbled in from the 4 for his first touchdown in eight years of playing football. "He's a kicker. He doesn't run the ball," running back Jeremiah Johnson said. "But he got into the end zone and got some points. That's all that matters." Martinez didn't know what Leaf had decided to do until after the ball was snapped. "I started going at the ball to kick it," he said. "Once I saw him stand up and pick up the ball, that's when I took off and ran behind him."

Dennis Dixon was 33-for-36 for 240 yards for the Ducks, adding a few key scrambles as well. Jaison Williams had six catches for 106 yards, but also had some key drops. Johnson ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns and set up two scores with long punt returns as he starred in place of injured starter Jonathan Stewart.

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Next up - repeat of 2005 Holiday Bowl: #18 Oregon vs #15 Oklahoma, 17/9 3.30am, live on ABC

Quote of the Day

"If I speak to UMNO members, they accuse me of splitting the party. If I work with the NGOs, they accuse me of being a traitor"

- Tun Dr Mahathir, 4th September 2006

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I think Tun better speak on Mawi-Ina or Siti-Datuk K (even these issues are controversial!!) to be safe. Maybe Pak Lah and his son-in-law will feel safer if Tun just restrict his role as 'pengkritik' during Akademi Fantasia.

Don't We Have Anything Better?

No doubt sms or phone, in general, is the most single powerful tool to disseminate information, also hoax, rumors, etc etc. What I mean information is important information (of course, unimportant ones are not called information - they're junks, spams) like something related to the country, to the family or friends, or career - you know laa...

Unfortunately, Steve Irwin died on Monday and unfortunately also, from this extract from local newspapers, you may now know that Malaysians actually don't have anything better to sms about or to talk about over the phone.

....and we don't have anything better to read!

Don't have anything better or we're just to arrogant to talk or discuss about more important things or read more useful and important books, and rather leave them to be taken up by our leaders.

Unfortunately, even the leaders are still arguing about the tv rating! Sad sad sad

You've Got Mail

When TV or Astro channels have nothing interesting to offer on Monday night, I managed to do something and avoid oversleeping. What I did was watching a movie called You've Got Mail.

The movie was first screened in 1998 and I remember watching the movie 3 times in a week when I was back in Oregon. And it is the only one of two movies I've watched 3 times or more in a cinema. The other is Braveheart. I don't know why I like it so much, I just find it so cute especially my favorite Hollywood couple, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. They're so lovely together...

Joe Fox: Have you ever become the worst version of yourself? That a pandora's box of all the hate, spite and condencension has sprung open? Someone upsets you and instead of walking away... you zing them. "Hello it's Mr Nasty"

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All my incoming emails come with a sound... "Yooouu've Got Mail!"

Siti's Next Hit: Gigitan Asmara

I think our press are as good as the papparazi. They can even notice a very tiny spot... Hehehe.. it's a new phase of life, according to Siti!

We Love Our Country... But We Love Siti More!!!

This picture appears (in a very proud manner) in Berita Minggu and Harian Metro today. Everyone in Kuala Lipis district (or town?) is busy preparing for the wedding reception of the local-born hero, no other than Siti Nurhaliza.

But, why don't these workers, whom I assume work for Majlis Perbandaran/Daerah Kuala Lipis do all these noble works prior to the Merdeka Day? Doesn't the Dataran Lipis looks nicer and more refreshing in celebrating the 49th Merdeka? After all, Merdeka Day and Siti's reception are just 4 days apart, it'll still look new after 4 days.

Another question - who bears the costs? If it's Majlis, then I think the Yang Dipertua just don't know how to prioritize (probably need to be sent to PLKN to learn how to love the country more) and if it's Siti, I still can accept the act but wouldn't it be good to give back a little to the country or at least, Kuala Lipis.

Do we love our country? Yes, we do but we love our artists more.... that's why we need artists' performance everytime we celebrate our Merdeka Day!

In Other Words, FAM Has Wasted Its Time And Money!

It's just ashame when the Timbalan Presiden made such statement. How could he said we have no young talents in football?!

Then, why are the state FAs and Super League clubs wasting their money to conform to FAM's call - to have a President Cup squad as backup for the senior squad?!!!! FYI, President Cup competition is limited to players u-23 only, and they could get the call up from senior squad to play in the M-League.

Then, why is MOEducation, MSSM, or whoever it is including FAM, wasting time and money by having all the u-15, u-17 competition at school, district, state and national levels?

Wonder why excellent student-athletes who are also bright students rather quit sports they loved to pursue their educational goals? Just imagine this (this is a true story), how could students from Bukit Jalil Sports School were forced to withdraw from a national meet just because the competition date clashed with their internal trial exam?! Then, why do we bother have sports schools?

It's FAM who failed to notice and unearth talents from these age-level tournaments. In other words, FAM simply lazy to go around the country scouting for talents, they are too busy with other things, including stupidly discussing and arguing the national squad's FIFA ranking.

I don't mind if the Timbalan Presiden quit his post, so does his father. You both have done nothing worthy to put in history of local football. And to Khairy, don't act like a hero for pleading these two chaps to not quit their posts. You, yourself don't deserve a post in FAM.

#21 Oregon 48, Stanford 10

In the season opener, Jonathan Stewart rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns before hurting his ankle, and No. 21 Oregon defeated Pac-10 rival Stanford 48-10 on Saturday. Dennis Dixon threw for a score and ran for another for the Ducks in the rare conference matchup to open the season. Dixon, who has the starting job all to himself after rotating with Brady Leaf last year, completed 21 of 30 passes for 236 yards as temperatures at Autzen Stadium zoomed into the 90s.

Jonathan Stewart rushed for a career-high 168 yards after rushing for just 188 in 12 games a year ago. He surpassed 100 yards on his ninth carry of the game, which came in the 2nd quarter. Stewart also had 54 kickoff return yardage, giving the sophomore 222 all-purpose yards today. Stewart's two rushing touchdowns also matches his career best of two (Stanford, 10/1/05).

The Ducks have now won five straight contests against Stanford outscoring the Cardinal 184-57 in those contests. Stanford last won in 2001, winning 49-42 at Autzen Stadium. The 38-point margin of victory represents Oregon's largest ever against Stanford. The previous margin was 35 points twice: 35-0 in 2003 and 63-28 in 1998. Today's crowd of 58,450 marks Oregon's 43rd consecutive sellout at Autzen Stadium, the Ducks' 4th-largest crowd ever and the record for an Oregon home opener.

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I managed to watch the game live on ABC (from 3.30am to almost 7am), thanks to TVU Player! Visit http://www.viidoo.com and you can watch programs from selected tv channels from all over the world, including from ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, etc, etc... Enjoy!!

1 Sen Up Per Cigarette

The Finance Minister 1 cum Internal Security Minister cum Prime Minister (waaahhh so many cum one... errr don't forget the chairmanship of other 24 Cabinet Commitee taskforces) announced the 'Budget for the People' (this has always been the tagline, year in and year out).

One of the highlights, 1 sen price increase per cigarette. Now, a pack of 20s will cost 20 sen more. As usual, for the first few weeks after the announcement, you'll hear some resolutions renewed to quit or at least cut down on smoking. And as usual, those resolutions will last for few weeks, at most. Somehow, I've never came across someone who quit smoking because of the price increase.

So, my beloved friends and families... bawak-bawak lah berhenti merokok or at least switch to a cheaper one like Saat <-- betul tak Cheng? :-)

Jika Kau Fikirkan Kau Tak Boleh...

Last Monday night, and prior to the night, we've heard, we've listened, we've watched what I can call the biggest battle of tv rating in Malaysian history. I take it positively that our tv channels are challenging head-to-head in providing better content everyday (hopefully not just on entertainment).

Suddenly this article came out, from no other than the Information Minister, Zam Maidin said, "it's just coincidence... we have no intention of competing with other tv stations." Oooo... I'm so touch with his remarks and RTM's nobleness... Zam added, "This (the program) is her (Mawi's ex-fiance) chance to to regain her self-esteem after going through the break-up." Oooo... I almost broke down to tears. Since when RTM became marriage or engagement savior or counselor? Anyway, I can conclude that, from what the Minister said, they're doing this for 'charity' and of noble cause.

So, on Monday night, we've made our choice and watched either Mawi-Ina on RTM/Astro or Siti-Datuk K on TV3 - all in peace, despite some negative comments and disappoinments.

However, on the day people are celebrating Merdeka, RTM who I believe waited anxiously for the release of the rating report for their 'noble-cause' tv program, came out with this statement. RTM was puzzled by the rating as they believe "there were more viewers watching Mawi-Ina show than tV3's live telecast of Siti-Datuk K's wedding."

And to everyone in RTM, do you know why you've been outclassed and outnumbered by TV3? Please refer to your Minister's statement before the show, "Don't make comparisons. Come on, how could Ina possibly compete with a pop princess?" And the statement made by the very own Minister of Information reminds me of this song....

Jika kau fikirkan kau boleh, kau hampir boleh melakukan;

Jika kau fikirkan ragu-ragu, usahamu tidak menentu.

Jika kau fikirkan kekalahan, kau hampiri kegagalan;

Jika kau fikirkan kemenangan, kau hampiri kejayaan.

Engkaulah apa kau fikirkan, terkandung dalam pemikiran;

Kau fikir boleh melakukan, fikirkan boleh.

Percaya apa kau lakukan, tabah apa kau usahakan;

Bertindak atas kemampuan, engkau boleh!

Patutlah RTM asyik tak boleh je, belum buat lagi dah fikir negatif. Even the leader also think negatively....