Amazing act

The face changing, or "bian lian" in Chinese, is an important aspect of Chinese Sichuan opera. Performers wave their arms and twist their heads, and their painted masks change again and again and again. The sheer speed it is done will leaves you in awe.

Face-changing was first used in a story about a hero who stole from the rich to help the poor.
When he was caught by feudal officials, he changed his face to puzzle them and escaped as a result.

By the 1920s, opera masters began using layers of masks made of oiled paper or dried pig bladder. Skilled performers could peel off one mask after another in less than a second. Modern-day masters use full-face painted silk masks, which can be worn in layers of as many as twenty-four, and be pulled off one by one. How it is prepared and done is a highly kept secret.

Face changing is a highly protected skill and is only passed down to the male of the family as the female is considered a non-family member once she gets married.

Does anyone knows the secrets of "bian lian"?

Beware of the moles !

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The revelation by PKR adviser in Sarawak that there are moles in the party and a possibility of PKR facing a Trojan attack sounds interesting enough to capture our attention.(the Sun Aug 27 09)

Moles have been used frequently in triad societies when one society wants to seize territories of the other to control drug trafficking, prostitution, bootlegging and many other illegal trades. To do this, the triad boss will choose a trusted lieutenant to become a mole to infiltrate into his enemy’s society. In the beginning, it is extremely important for the mole to gain the trust of his ‘boss’ lest his identity being expose and that will be the end of his life. Once this is achieved, he will then be able to provide important information, like the time and place of the illegal transactions and the movement of his ‘boss’. When enough of information has been gathered, the triad will strike to eliminate his enemy which usually ends in violence.

Now, political moles, although are not violent, are extremely dangerous. Because they are paid to sabotage and are saboteurs, the modus operanti is quite similar to the triads and can destroy a party by infiltration to provide vital information. Although the triads are violent in nature, there is a code of ethic which the Italian mafiaso call ormeta. However, in Malaysia, everything goes for the political moles, especially during elections. If they have uncovered that the politician's wife had a miscarriage before, it will be exposed. If the politician has forgotten to pay some bills, it will be exposed. If the politician has visited a prostitute 50 years ago, it will also be exposed, with the prostitute as a witness no matter how fragile she is.The end result is to sabotage.

I think by now, the leaders in PR must have realize how dangerous these political moles are and they must be identified at all costs before it is too late. In the triad society, the moles will either be mutilated or executed. So, for the political moles, they must be sacked, shamed and must never be given a second chance to serve the party.

Can we identify the moles in Pakatan Rakyat?

What a speed demon !

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It is just unbelievable and needs to be seen and seen again on TV to witness the sheer speed of Usain Bolt to break his own world records of the 100m and 200m race with a time of 9.58 sec. and 19.19 sec. respectively.

When I saw him won the Beijing Olympic 100m race on TV with a world record, I knew this man can go much faster if not for his ‘relaxing’ run at the near finish. At that race, when he knew that nobody came close to him near the finish line, he relaxed by swinging his hands like a stroll in the park which could had cost him maybe hundredths of a second slower.

Now this man is talking of a possibility of achieving 9.4 sec. for the 100m race and I believe in him. Since the car accident in Jamaica which luckily caused only a minor injury to his legs, he has been very focused in his training. He trained hard on his start without undue pressure and believes in himself to achieve the impossible.

Looking at our local sports scene, there have been hardly any credible achievements, beside squash and badminton which we have depended on for glory for umpteenth years. I certainly hope that our sportsmen and sportswomen can learn from the achievements of Usain Bolt. When we have failed to shine in the sporting arenas even in Asean, then how on earth are we to succeed in Asia, let alone the world. While others have achieved much in sports and are consistent in their successes, we seemed to achieve the opposite, with millions of ringgit thrown in.

For those who try to seek short-cuts to glory, they will surely end in agony.

At 23 years of age today, the world is certain to have a legend in the race track who is set to rule for a long time and most probably there will not be another human being in this planet to match the lightning speed of Usain Bolt.

After all, his name is Bolt, Thunderbolt.

Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka

Every year, the Ministry of Tourism launches the Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival in July which ends on 31^st August, Merdeka Day. During this period, major shopping complexes and shops will be having sales promotions with special discounts and many bargains galore. There will also be a smorgasbord of promotional activities to attract both local customers and foreign tourists.

So, what has the Mega Sale Carnival got to do with Merdeka?

Well, just like the annual sale carnival, Merdeka is also celebrated with a smorgasbord of activities and a beautiful slogan that calls for unity each year. Like the businessmen who will sweet-talk the customers, some politicians will toned down their racial slurs and are extremely 'well-behaved'. Like the amazing 70% discounts on offer, those politicians who have stirred racial hatreds will amazingly call for unity and harmony among the people. Oh, it feels so good when everyone is calling for racial unity and harmony. Such a fantastic 'sales offer' is definitely hard to resist and able to attract a lot of votes for the next GE.

But then, these ‘bargains galore’ happens only once in a year.

Just like when the mega sale carnival is over, when the prices of goods have revert to its original price, the politicians will revert to their original selves of racial destruction. And the theme of the Merdeka celebration becomes meaningless, the glamor speeches of the politicians during the celebration will also soon be forgotten.

As a middle-age Malaysian and I believe many other senior Malaysians too, who have seen the many early Merdeka celebrations, where the spirit of Malaysianess was high, we can see that such spirit is slowly but surely disappearing due to the many unpleasant political happenings that we have witnessed. Unless the government takes great steps to instill a sense of unity to the young generation, those beautiful slogans are meaningless. Unless the government walks the talk to show the true meaning of muhibbah, the Merdeka celebration is just pure display and nothing else. And unless the government do it now, the spirit of Merdeka will be gone forever.

I am not too sure how the current and those surviving ex-PMs feel, but what I am sure is, with the present political happenings in the country, those ex-PMS who have passed away are already crying in their graves.

Malaysia's Top Ten

One Malaysia
Two sets of laws

Three major races

Four losses in by-elections by BN

Five Prime Ministers

Sixth is on the way

Seven Habits mantra of good governance

Eight out of ten do not give a damn

Ninety percent will vote against the politically corrupt evils

Ten and more abuses will continue to be committed

America, Oh America

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The jubilant return of the two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling who were arrested five months ago and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in North Korea has touched the hearts of many.

The release, which has been made possible through the diplomatic efforts of former president Bill Clinton, is not only significant in terms of forging greater relationship among the two countries but also as a unifying factor of the American people. Just like the government has vowed to bring each and every American soldier back from war whether dead or alive, every ordinary American citizen, whether black or white, will be given equal attention and assistance.

In the words of Al Gore, former vice-president: "It speaks well of our country that when two American citizens are in harm’s way, that so many people will just put things aside and just go to work to make sure that this has had a happy ending".

Wouldn’t these words make every American proud?

Ok, I know what someone will say: If you think the other side is better, then migrate over there. Well, let me give you some of my national pride. I am a true blooded Malaysian as I am born here and will most probably die here. This is a land of plenty for all to make a living. And with the peace and harmony currently still intact, it makes me proud to be a Malaysian. In fact, our cultural diversities should make all of us proud.

However, the current trend of excessive racial politicking is truly a test to one’s patience which I am afraid can be explosive. When racial hatreds are allowed to be stirred in a local media by the racists with impunity, then it simply makes a mockery of the One Malaysia concept advocated by the PM which calls for fairness, respect and equality for all. The racists are getting bolder now and with the backing of those in power, they do not fear and give a damn about the feelings of the other races. They simply act supreme above all else.

If you are in my shoes now, will you still be a proud Malaysian?

We have made a costly mistake

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The headline in today’s Star paper which claimed that millions of businesses have been lost and further add that investors may shy away due to the recent anti-ISA protest on Saturday has made me and many right thinking Malaysians of the real truths in the report.

Instead of allowing the protesters to march peacefully, the police used tear gas and water cannon blatantly to disperse the crowd. Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang of the DAP, in his blog, has rightfully accused the police as the aggressor rather than the protector. Had the government allowed the protesters to march peacefully, it could have scored a major political point.

The PM had asked: Why march?

To answer this question, I would like to direct all right thinking Malaysians to read this article by Yeo Yang Poh, a former Bar Council President.

To add on, the used of ISA to arrest Teresa Kok and the reporter in Penang during the height of PR's popularity has clearly demonstrated the urgency to remove this draconian law of threatening and silencing the minority by those in power.

If the estimated loss of RM100 to RM 200 million in businesses by the FT Minister is indeed true, then the economy of Malaysia must be performing extremely well in this current worldwide economic slowdown, taking into consideration that the protest was held on a Saturday, when banks and the stock exchange were closed. The truth is, many businesses are been badly affected by this financial meltdown and God knows when it is going to recover.

To the investors, such a seemingly peaceful protest is only a fraction of concern for them. The investors are more concern of the CAT concept of good governance above all else. Instead of asking why march, the PM should have asked: Why are the investors shying away from Malaysia?

How can the investors have confidence here when the anti-corruption agency is playing the political game of the government? When the warlords and those in the corridor of power are involved in scandalous projects, such cases are either not pursue with earnest or are pursued with no conclusion. The PKFZ fiasco and the Lingam tape are just two examples.

Who would like to invest in a country when bureaucratic red tapes are such a hindrance to business friendliness? With those Little Napoleons in almost every government department, the real pain in the arse of doing business begins here.

Who would dare to invest in the GLCs of Malaysia when such investments can cause so much of brouhaha from the people of a political party? Remember the purchased of Pantai Hospitals by Parkway of Singapore? When so many concerns have been expressed by the political elites, the government had to buy back the shares from Parkway, at a much higher price of course.

Now we have a similar issue with Bernas. The ownership of 31% by Wang Tak Co. of Hong Kong has been played up as a concern to the bumiputras. The government has assured that with the ‘golden share’, it has the absolute power to run Bernas. I believe Malaysia is the only country in the world which has this so called ‘golden share’ rule when dealing with foreign investors. It has been reported that Wang Tak Co, has agreed to sell its shares to a bumiputra company, at a higher price of course.

So, who is ‘chasing’ the investors away?

Who is making the country losing millions?

It is indeed very costly for us to have the same government ruling this country.