Will it erupt ?

In 1883,one of the largest volcano eruptions,Krakatua,erupted in one of the islands in Indonesia.
The eruption was so great that it blew up most of the island and the water level rose to 2667ft. which caused great destruction and 36417 people were reported killed.
The outpouring of lava was so great that new islands were formed.

In 1991,Mount Pinatubo in the island of Luzon ,Philippines,erupted after being dormant for sometime.The island was buried with over 3oo sq.m of volcanic ash and 800 people were reported killed

One of the causes of volcanic eruptions are the pulling apart of the tectonic plate of the earth and the presence of hotspots.

Will it erupt again?
Well,it has 'erupted' in May 13th 1969.
Obviously,the 'it' I am referring to is our beloved country,Malaysia.

We are bless that we do not have a natural volcano in Malaysia but will be having one soon, albeit with our own doing.
Indeed, our country is truly bless that we have so many natural resources with the main one being,oil and gas.

The current happenings in the country do not augur well for us.
I would not like to delve into the many ills that plaque the country currently.
Many intellects like,Dr.Azly Rahman,Bakri Musa,Lim Kit Siang,Nathaniel Tan,Raja Petra,Farish Noor and others have already written time and again on the unhappiness,displeasures,frustrations and disappointments of the people.To write again will add more fuel to the fire.

The demonstration by Hindraf has certainly created an uneasy feeling among the people and it certainly is a major hotspot for the ignition of fire.
As mentioned by Dr.Azly Rahman,it is not an Indian problem as other races would also like to fight for their rights.

When the weak is pushed against the wall,the only way out is to fight back.

As I have mentioned, Malaysia is truly a bless country with many natural resources.
If only the country had been governed efficiently thirty years ago,we would have put Singapore in our pocket,so to speak.
Now,the vast differences in all major aspects of the two countries are for the world to see.

To govern a blessed country without success is a sin.
At this point of time,I sincerely hope our PM can already hear,see and feel the outcry of the people and tackle them immediately.

I remember seeing our DPM holding a copy of the Blue Ocean Strategy some time ago.

Lets move the various corridors of development at a fast and furious pace.
Projects should be awarded to companies that are of muhhibah partnership instead of to a single race.
Lets maximize our resources and energy and move the economy ahead so that the economic cake is big enough to be shared by all and no race shall be left behind.
The various races should interact in the economic field so that competition is irrelevant among them and join forces to face the onslaught of economic globalization.

Instead of creating a baptism of fire for demonstration,the government should stimulate a baptism of fire for the people to have a sense of belonging.
And what better way do to this than to offer equal opportunities for all,from the government to the private sector.
The government must be seen to be doing it!

There is no country in the world whereby the people are so divided by race through the ingenuity policies of the government as in Malaysia.
Very often we hear and read of racial slurs,from the parliament to the school and from the street to the house.
Another major hotspot.

When a volcano erupts,it will leaves a trail of destructions of properties and deaths.
In the case of Malaysia,it will be the destruction of the economy and will cause immeasurable losses of livelihood to the people.
Can we afford to have our economy destroyed?
Who will suffer more?
Is that what we want?

I always believe Malaysia is a heaven to live in.It is the politicians who are making it hell.

I am not a volcanologist and so I do not know how much of megaforce and how many hotspots to make a volcano erupt.
Whatever it is,I pray to Allah,Jesus Christ,Goddess of Mercy,Lord Muruga and all other immortals, please never let this 'volcano' in Malaysia erupt.

Never again.

Welcome to The Wild,Wild West !

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With guns blazing,the robbers shoot their way out of the bank.With their loots on the shoulders,guns and rifles on their hands,they mounted on their horses and rode away from the cowboy town to their hideaway in the desert.

Shops,saloons and bars were closed.It was eerily quiet and one can hear the wind whistling away clearly.The people were fearful the robbers will come back to rob and kill again.

Having enough of living in constant fear,they marched to demand the sheriffs to bring the robbers to justice.
"But we do not have enough sheriffs and also we have not enough guns and ammos.We will be killed by them.We are simply outnumbered!"exclaimed the chief sheriff.

The people were disappointed again.

One sunny dusty afternoon,against a backdrop of hills,a lone rugged looking cowboy was approaching town.
As the story goes,he was the hero and savior of the town who single handedly killed all the baddies.

Well,this scenario is in a typical John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies and the story lines are usually set in the 17th or 18th century during the eras of the cowboys in Mexico.

We are now living in the 21st century and are reliving the era of the wild,wild west of the 18th century.

Every day in the newspapers, crimes are being reported.There are rapes,murders,snatch thefts,robberies and house break-ins.

Last week,a woman and her three year old son were brutally murdered.
Even a three year old child is not spared.A week before this, a Singaporean woman was also brutally murdered in her apartment.We have also read about snatch theft victims who have succumbed to their injuries.The houses of the Datuks have being burgled and even the angkasawan is the latest victim of a roadside robbery.

Aren't there any laws and orders in the country?

It's the incompetence !!!

The very people to protect us,that is the police force, seems unable to control the situation.
As the sheriff said,"We are outnumbered." This means, there is not enough police personnel to combat crimes.This reason is an old one and has to government done enough to recruit and train the police force to be effective to combat crimes?

The Auditor-General's report has shown blatant wastage of public funds.I believe there are many,many millions more which are not being reported.If only these money are channeled to the police force to improve the pay structure and recruitments,the old reasoning of not enough police personnel will be a thing of the past.

What is even alarming and discouraging,is the fact that IGP ,CID and other ranking officers are being investigated for corruptions.
Whom shall we depend for protection now?

The other equally important people to protect us are the judges.
Very often we have read that criminal suspects are freed due to lack of evidence by the prosecutors.And there are many such cases.
What if they are truly criminals?If they truly are,then the chances of them committing crimes again,brutal or otherwise are indeed very high.Can I say,if committed cleverly so that evidences cannot be traced,they will be freed again?
And thus,the vicious cycle of crimes continue.

Have the judges and prosecutors re-examined the cases so that criminals do not escape the law of judgment?

The country is currently being 'invaded' by foreigners.
The potpourri of these foreigners can be found almost everywhere throughout the country- Indonesians,Myanmar,Bangladeshis,Indians,Pakistanis,Africans,Chinese,Thais,Nepalese and Vietnamese.

Many of them are from poor countries and to come here to seek their fortune,they have to borrow and sell their houses or land.
With the meager income they are earning,they are under tremendous pressure to remit money back home.When this cannot be achieved,there is a high tendency to commit crime.
And there are also many illegals,who have nothing to lose,will just rob and steal !

We are simply over dependence on these foreign labor.

I shudder to think what will happen when the economy pie is not big enough to be shared.

Our immigration department does not seems to be effective in controlling this 'invasion.'There are currently more than one million foreign workers in the country,excluding the illegals
And many of them have managed to obtain the Mycard.
How they managed to get it,is any body's guess.

It's the enforcement !!!

To strike fear,the police,FRU and rela members must show their presence in public very often.
Rules of law must be strictly enforced and should not be compromised.
The people must cooperate with the police and the relevant authorities by providing crucial information.
The immigration department must work together with the police force to flush out the illegals on a regular basis.The end result will be deportation and not another amnesty.

It's the system !!!

Currently,the system of our police force has failed us-the corruption charges against high ranking officers are testimonial to this.

The judiciary system has failed us-the Lingam tape controversy is testimonial to this.

The immigration system has failed us-the immense influx of illegal immigrants is testimonial to this.

In short,our security system has failed.
What a perfect opportunity for the criminals to strike !

The murder of the three year old child last week still make me angry and sad and it really pains my heart.
How much fear do we have to endure?
And for how much longer?

Hopefully,as the story of the wild,wild west goes- One sunny day,against the backdrop of the Petronas Twin Tower,a young,well respected and intelligent man is declared the new PM of Malaysia and becomes the hero of the country!

And the people can live happily ever after.

In Loving Memory Of My Brother,James Liew (1950-2007)

Sometimes life can mean different things to different people.

There are those who treasure life and those who don't care a damn thing about life.

Well, my brother has just passed away on the 30th Oct,2007.You see,it is not that he does not care about his life,it is that he cares more about his brothers and sisters than himself.

Why must life be so cruel to take away a good soul,that is my brother James?

My brother owns a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur and specializes in Chinese and Thai cuisine.It is popular among the locals and even the expatriates who would come for dinner with friends and family members.After having worked in Australia for almost twenty years,it was his dream to operate a restaurant back home.

Now he is a successful restaurateur and fate had decided otherwise.

Oh God,what has he done for you to take him away so early?

From his last breath to cremation

28th Oct.2007,Sunday:

It was 2.40pm when I received a call from James.The call was frantic and I could hear that he was gasping for breath.I thought that was normal for an asthmatic. He asked to be sent to Tung Shin Hospital immediately.While in the car,I could see that he had great difficulties in breathing and kept pumping his Ventolin inhaler.

Whilst in the hospital,he was checked by an MO and was referred to Dr.Yap who is a lung specialist. Immediately James was admitted and put on drips and oxygen and an X-ray was taken.

When the X-ray result was interpreted by Dr.Yap,I was taken aback. James had acute pneumonia and the right lung was almost totally blackened.

In fact Dr.Yap showed me the record that James had seen him in 1999 and his right lung had already shown a minor scar and was given some medications. Unfortunately,he did not follow-up when he went back to Australia.

I informed my other brothers to visit James as soon as possible.

29th Oct.2007,Monday:I went to see him during my lunch break.My younger brother,Frankie came later.James was still having great difficulties in talking as he was gasping for breath.I told my brother that the prognosis will not be good and be prepared for the worst.

Although he was put on neubelizer,he still demanded to have two units of Ventolin inhaler which I duly gave to him as my pharmacy is nearby.

30th Oct.2007,Tuesday:I received call at about 5.30am and expected some bad news.No,it was James and he demanded to be discharged from the hospital !Subsequently,he called me again and again to speak to Dr.Yap to discharge him.He even told me that the suppliers are seeing him to collect payment and is worried about his business.

To please him,I told him I will do that and immediately informed Frankie to see him and Dr.Yap at 9.00am as I was on afternoon shift.

I dropped by at 1.00pm and saw Frankie and James's partner were already there.My other brother,Michael came later.

I was told that he had been shouting to be discharged.Dr.Yap challenged him to walk ten steps before he can be discharged.Knowing his condition,he was subdue a bit.Following this,he was given further medicine to expectorate the phlegm from the lungs.

It was during this that he began to cough badly.Before I went back to work,I gave him another look.It was my last view of him being alive.

James collapsed into a coma at about 2.15pm.Doctors and nurses were trying frantically to revive him through resuscitation.After more than half an hour,there was still no sign of any heartbeat.

James was pronounced dead at 2.50pm.

We all cried in his room.

Funeral was arranged and his body was brought to the Kwang Tung funeral parlour at about 7.00pm for Buddhist prayers.

Later in the night,my sisters,his close friends,girlfriends and some staff came to pay their respects.

Seeing his photo and thinking of him when he was alive,I cried.

31st Oct.2007,Wednesday:It was the second day of the wake.Business associates,friends and even his regular customers came to give their respects.

Seeing his best friend,Liew's wife cried(she is my regular customer),I cried again.

My sixth brother from Singapore arrived in the afternoon.More prayers and Buddhist chantings were performed to pave a smooth journey for James to heaven.

1st.Nov.2007,Thursday:It was the last day of James to be with us. Further prayers were performed and with that,his coffin was nailed at about 1.00pm to be brought for cremation.

We all cried.

Knowing that his restaurant meant so much to him,his hearse was arranged to arrive at the shop as a respect and to conduct prayers.

It was indeed very touching to see his partner and Michael speaking and comforting James not to worry about his restaurant's business.
His Indonesian lady worker cried too.
Don't worry brother,go peacefully.

The hearse arrived at the crematorium at about 2.30pm.

After some prayers,James's coffin was brought inside the furnace for cremation.
Seeing the fire burning the coffin really pains my heart.

I cried and we all cried.

Go James go.Have a smooth journey as you have suffered enough.

2nd.Nov.2007,Friday:It was the final part of James's journey to his resting place.

Michael and Frankie were at the crematorium to collect James's ashes.

Special prayers were conducted and James was brought to his final resting place at the Nilai Memorial Park to be together with mother,father and grandparents.

James,for heaven's sake......

James,we all know that you are a filial son.When you came back from Australia,you bought a burial lot for our parents at the Nilai Memorial Park with your hard earned money.You even suggested that each brother contribute RM100 monthly as a family account which is for emergency use among our family members.Even this is a failure.We have failed you,James.It was a great shame,me included.

I know you are very disappointed with our brothers especially two of them.In fact words failed to describe your disappointment and frustration with them.
Despite of you giving them monetary support,it was never appreciated or returned.
One almost ruin your business and the other one even despise you !
Oh my god! What have you done to deserve this?

You see James,you are too ever ready to help.I still remember when I left school and was jobless,I used to dropped by your working place to asked for money and you duly gave it to me.You never say no.I will never forget your brotherly deeds.
Maybe being a bachelor,you thought you can afford to offer monetary assistance to your siblings and relatives.

It is because of this that you have been cheated by one of your nephew to refinance your house in Raub.The legal implication is in a mess now.
Oh James,this really hurts you.I can see your disappointment,sadness and frustration each time I visit you at your restaurant.

Come on James,you have suffered enough.
You failed to look after yourself when you are here.Now that you are up there and for heaven's sake please take care of yourself.

James,your sudden demise leaves everyone in a state of shock.Without warning and without a word,you left us.Maybe God needs you more than us.Please go and seek solace with Him to ease your pain.

My son is going to miss your Thai steam fish,my wife your homemade taufu.
My family will miss you.
We will all miss you.

So long brother James,you will be forever in our heart.

Wise man says,only fools don't follow

Wise man says,only fools rush in.
Remember this Elvis Presley song?
During the sixties when English was the medium of teachings,it was of Cambridge standard.A Form 5 certificate would have placed you in good deed to find a good job.

From the seventies onwards,our smart alecs in the government started to change the education system for the sake of ketuanan Melayu.It was a rushed implementation without serious due consideration for the future of this country.Or should I say,they do not have the foresight of our neighbour Singapore.

Look at the differences of these two countries.
One is already a developed country while the other is struggling to be one.
Why is this so?

To paraphrase what Lee Kuan Yew said,"If Singapore has used any of the indigenous language ie.Malay,Chinese or Indian as a medium of teaching,Singapore will not be what it is today.It was English that made Singapore home to the world."
And to further quote,"There is nothing that we can do,which given time that they cannot do.So we must always move one step ahead."
Now isn't that a good foresight of a great leader who think and guide the country to greater heights?

Instead of following his good leadership,we are full of animosities.Remember we used to 'bash' Singapore over minor issues. Our idiotic politicians do not know that we need good neighbours to prosper together.

Now we are talking of changing the teaching of Science and Maths in English.And look at the mess our education system is in.We have the Vision School,Smart School and what nots.

For the sake of our childrens' education,I strongly urge the Education Ministry not to rush anymore implementations and do follow some tried and tested systems of other countries.

Many of you might not realize it,the world is already laughing at us.
Please wake-up as globalisation waits for no one.

Law my arse!Justice my foot!

My usual morning starts with a copy of Star paper over a cuppa of coffee.
Today's paper sort of brighten my day.Russian spaceship preparing to launch our first Angkasawan and heart transplant patient Tee Hui Yi showing signs of recovery on the front page.
What good news!

As most of my friends said, seldom do we have many good news.Sure enough,on page 3 it was reported that some joggers managed to save a battered and sexually molested woman from death.
Sigh,another figure to add to our increasingly crime rate record.
On the same page,it was reported that Bangladeshis took their employment plight by hiring 27 buses from Batu Pahat to KL.
Another foreign workers problem.

It is being said that if you throw a stone, the chances of it hitting a foreigner is higher than a local.
Don't believe?Take a look at KL city and you will see lots of foreign workers hanging around.You can see Indonesians,Bangladeshis,Nepalese,Myanmar,Vietnamese,Chinese,Middle Easterners and lately many Africans.Wow! That makes Malaysia truly Asia and macam-macam pun ada diMalaysia.
This potpourri of foreigners is waiting to be out of control.What measures has the government done to control the situation?
It is a well known fact that a majority of illegal foreigners even managed to have Mykad.God knows how they managed to get it.

On page 28 in today's Star paper it was reported that a Malay carpenter who is an Umno deputy chairman in Kg.Chempedak killed an African over a black money scam and he was fined RM2000!
Whoa! African life is so cheap!How much fine for a Malay life,Chinese life or Indian life?There is no jail sentence and his lawyer has the audacity to plead for leniency for his client to turn over a new lease of life.Of course he will get a new lease of life,after all killing is so cheap.
The fact that this carpenter is involved in the black money scam is equally guilty.
You see,it is who you are that makes the difference.
Part of Lingamgate legacy?

Tell you a real life story.
I was having supper with my family in a coffee shop one night when the MPSJ officers came. Two of them approached the owner while another was taking photos outside the shop.
Later the owner told me that he was issued 2 summons-one for placing tables and chairs outside and the other for being dirty and no matter how,they will find fault with you.
The irony of this all was that,just behind this shop was a Malay restaurant which places more tables and chairs than the Chinese owner.
Most probably you would have guessed the answer.No action and summons.
You see,it is who you are that makes the difference.

You know why KL is always jam?
Take a drive to Jalan Cheng Lok near Dayabumi,Jalan Tun Perak near Maybank and Puduraya and you will see many buses parking along the road as if the road belongs to them.
Many do not give a damn to the police and summonses.

By now many of us must have given up on following the Altantuya murder case.Who won't ?
The trial is already being so diluted that we do not who is right or wrong , good or bad and who to believe and trust.
Ang Lee should be able to make this a blockbuster film!

Tomorrow,our first Angkasawan will be launched in space.
Will I feel proud?I try to.Looking at all the happenings in Bolehland,there is hardly any space in my heart for pride.

Unite or sink together !

Many of us are really touched by the news of heart transplant patient Tee Hui Yi which is made possible through the consent of the parents of a Malay boy who died in an accident.My condolences and salutations to the boy's family for this noble deed.
Two years ago Muhammad Fikri Nor Azmi had a heart transplant through the donation of a Chinese boy.

These two acts have indeed transcend all races and religion.And it makes one wonder whether it is not possible to have a truly Malaysian race?What makes it so difficult?
My answer is,politics.

During the Gerakan general assembly.it was proposed that all 14 BN component parties be merged to formed a single party.The politicians of power to be all already against the proposal.
Our PM even mentioned that it brings no benefits !

Hello there Mr.Politicians,don't you realize that a truly united country can make us a withstand the threats of globalization and a truly peaceful country can bring happiness and prosperity to the people.

It is difficult but it has to start somewhere .Please do not shoot it down without being given serious thoughts.

The economic pie of the country as we all know is not being fairly distributed. The pie is shrinking and if there is no expansion of the pie,chaos will prevail.Can all the races then unite together to topple the government or will there be bloodshed ?

Lets look at sporting event in relations to unity.
During the Japan Badminton Open,Lee Chong Wei who won the single event,immediately hugged his coach,Misbun Sidek.It was touching as it showed us that we can be one race,that is,being Malaysian.

In any news,big or small,good or bad,the media plays a major role in bringing the news to the people.Wouldn't it be wonderful,if all the newspaper in the country published the picture of Lee Chong Wei hugging Misbun front page?Wouldn't we all feel proud if being Malaysian?
The political arena is a diversity of challenges.How we challenge these issues depends on the politicians.

Can our future generations depend on the politicians?

New blogger on the blog

Hi, I am a new blogger on the blog.
I have been reading blogs for quite a while and it really interest me on the ability to share information from so many people.There are many info that we can read from Malaysia Today that are not published.I am an avid reader of Malaysia Today and the comments from the bloggers can really push your BP up!
As a new blogger I really do not know where to start and what subjects to focus on. Can someone guide me?
I have the following few in mind:

Politics:This subject certainly creates a lot of interest among the bloggers.Looking at the comments from the bloggers in Malaysia Today,the picture of this country is very murky.
Are we really going backward and is the country going to the dog?
As I am understand, once your are a Social Blogger(SOPO),your name and identity will be recorded in Bukit Aman.Is this true?
Why threaten the bloggers when we are righting the wrongs from the sinners?
Where is the freedom to express one's views?

Humour: The world is bleeding so much I doubt people know how to smile anymore.
Iraq is bleeding.Burma is bleeding.Many third world countries are bleeding.And Malaysia is bleeding too!
I might like to source as humour as possible jokes and pictures for everyone to have a good day to start with.

Food and travel: There are already many websites on this and I am no gourmet specialist which makes me difficult to write.

Unity:We are being divided by the Umnoputras(oh boy, I am already into politics) and I thought it might be good for me to bring the people together for a harmonious Malaysia.Many countries have shown us how civil wars have destroyed them and how the people have suffered.Do we want to join them?Can't we live together peacefully without the evil influence of politics?

I have a problem though.
I am not IT savvy.Can someone guide as to how to upload pictures from the newspaper,magazines or internet?

In the meantime,bye bye and looking forward for your guidance.