Hall of Fame

Children of Adam and Eve,

One of the reasons why I listened to Mix FM is because some of the songs played are really nice songs: songs that connects well with my feeling and synced well with my life.

The song that I wany to introduce you today is called "Hall of Fame". The lyrics are simply beautiful. Meaningful. And encouraging.

The song encourages you to be anyone, and do anything that you want in your life; and if ever you succeed, you can make your name well to the Hall of Fame.

And in whatever you do, do it with pride. Make your parents, friends and country proud. Make yourself proud too!

The music and the beat is superb, and like I said; it connects well with me. Which is why I guess Mix FM plays this song non-stop on the radio.

Such a beautiful song with meaningful lyrics. I don't mind listening to this song over and over again.

Today's Friday Sermon

Salam 'Alaik to All Muslims,

Today is Friday, a holy day for Muslims. Just like what Sunday is to Christians.

On Fridays, Muslims will gather for an afternoon prayer at mosques. The prayer lasts around 5 minutes, but the sermon (khutbah) can last as long as 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the speed at which the Imam (the Congregation Leader) read and the length of the Sermon Paper.

Today's Friday sermon in the mosque at where I am praying talks about the concept of "waqf"; that of charity. That of setting aside some of your wealth for some good use.

This topic is close to the heart of all Muslims, and it is also a timely reminder to stingy Muslims on the need, importance, advantages and benefits of "waqf". By setting aside some of your wealth for charitable use e.g. a plot of land where Islamic school will be built on it, then you will be rewarded by Allah the Almighty God.

But the Friday sermon in one of the mosque in Kuala Lumpur which is aired live at the radio with a frequency FM 91.5 talks about the monarchy institutions: the election of Malaysian kings, and the importance of the Conference of Rulers.

This topic is also equally interesting as it touches on the legal issues of the country; and how our Malaysian king has been tasked to safeguard the sanctity of Islam in this country.

That's how interesting the topic of Friday sermon can be in Malaysia. It can slightly or totally differ from mosques to mosques; or even states.

That said, no mater what the topic of Friday sermon is in your mosque, try to enjoy and make the most out of it.

Juma'ah Mubarak!
(English: have a blessed Friday!)

The Rainmaker

Friends,

I bought this novel on Labour Day, May 1st 2013, at KL International Book Fair.

First published in 1995, this 568-page novel was written by an award-winning author, John Grisham.

I started reading this boom two weeks ago and tonight at 3:10 am, I managed to complete it with success.

According to some dictionaries which I checked online, the word "rainmaker" means bringing luck. So, if you could "make it rain" or "make a rain", then you are really a lucky person. Google it if you want a more exact and precise definition.

I can see it so in this novel - where the main character is the "rainmaker".

This story is about a fresh young lawyer named Rudy Baylor acting as a lead counsel for the plaintiff in the case of Black vs. Great Benefit Life Insurance.

The story starts of with Rudy's life, his universitt studies, the bar exam, and his legal career.

The starting point of his legal career began when he took the course "Legal Problems of the Elderly" in his last semeater of his university studies. In this course, the students was required to attend and provide free legal advice and possible remedy to the elderly in the local community.

His first two cases were:-

* preparing a will for an old lady, and
* recommending a poor family to take legal action on an insurance company for refusal to pay claim to the customer

The main characters in this novel are:-

* Rudy Baylor - the main character
* Booker Kane & Charlene Kane - Rudy's best friend
* Deck Shifflet - Rudy's paralegal (he called himself para-lawyer)
* Miss Birdie - Rudy's client & landlady
* Kelly Riker - Rudy's crush
* Cliff Riker - Kelly's husband
* Leo F. Drummond - lead counsel for the defendant
* Dot Black - the mother of the plaintiff
* Buddy Black - the father of the plaintiff
* Donny Ray Black - the deceased suffering from acute leukemia, son of Dot & Buddy
* Ron Black - Donny's identical twin
* Dr Kord - Donny's doctor (oncologist)
* Max Leuberg - Rudy's professor
* Judge Tyrone Kipler - presiding judge in the case of Black vs Great Benefit
* J. Lyman Stone aka Bruiser Stone - Rudy's former employer
* Prince Thomas - Rudy's former employer & owner of Yogi's

The above names are not meant to be exhaustive, but they are the major characters in this novel.

The first part of the novel is rather slow and somewhat length - I was bored with all the preliminary stories; but halfway through the novel, it gets exciting because of the court-room drama and the trial process.

I particularly enjoyed reading the behaviour of Judge Kipler - a former black lawyer with deep hatred for insurance company - in presiding this case. He is stern, tough and no-nonsense. Although he seems to be a bit biased in his judicial conduct, but nevertheless, he is acting in the best interest of the plaintiff, who by the way, is just a rookie kid.

There were also times when the judge did not side with Rudy. This is evident when the judge overruled Rudy in some instances during the trial process.

Oh, there are few other small stories too in this novel which I summarized as follow:-

* the story of Miss Birdie's will
* the story of Kelly & Cliff Riker
* the story of Bruiser & Prince running away from the federal authorities

Concluding this litigation, the verdict returned by the jury for this case is surprisingly shocking - the jury awarded $200,000 in actual damages (the amount suitable for the leukemia treatment for Donny Ray) to the Black family, and a whopping $50 million as an award for punitive damages.

Anyway, the novel is really thick: thankfully and finally, I managed to complete it in two weeks.

If you have all the time in this world, then do read this novel. It's worth it.

A Night With Two Leng Chai-s

Hello Peeps,

Tonight I want to talk about my two former students who are now considered friends.

I taught these two students when I was teaching at UCSI University, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.

Their names are Ee Kai Shen (to my right) and Tan Ewe Gin (to my left). They were my former students: they were hardworking students with extremely polite attitude and manners, which is a reflective of the good upbringing by their parents.

And they are Chinese students. Oh what the heck: Chinese, Malay, Indians.

And I for once do not have any problems to mingle around with persons of different race, background and religion; for they too are human beings created by the Supreme Being.

Anyway, I went out with them at Leisure Mall, Cheras; and they treated me some nice Subway sandwich. What a nice lad, they are!

After munching the yummy Subway sandwich, we talked about many things: education and surprisingly, politics.

Ee Kai Shen talked about his experiences being an exchange student at a university in Illinois, United States of America: he talked about how nice the university campus is, how friendly the lecturers are and how interesting the courses offered there.

Kai Shen is a very bright and smart student. And I am sure that the student exchange experience was a meaningful event for him.

On the other hand, Ewe Gin talked about the challenges faced in studying some courses at UCSI University. Ewe Gin is a very hardworking student: he will endeavour and strive hard to understand the subject well. Of course, some courses can be tough, but I have every reason to believe that with his attitude and hard efforts will definitely be fruitful.

We also talked about how interesting engineering is, and how different UCSI University is, after I left in August 2010. According to them, the university is doing fine and many changes had taken place. And that too include the fact that many of my colleagues have also resigned: I guess they are finding a new place to settle. Maybe the grass is greener in other places.

Anyway, we also talked about political issues, particularly about the recent general elections held on May 5th, 2013. We also talked about this sensitive issues that are now hitting Malaysia: racism.

Of being a Malay. Of being a Chinese. Of being labeled "Pendatang". Of being racially divided. And many other sensitive issues which I am sure many Malays will find it hard to digest and understand.

I have to be honest: that I hate being racist, and that I am a liberal Malay. I told them clearly that I like mixing with people of other races; and that I befriend anyone - Asian, Americans, transexuals, lesbians, punks, beggars etc.

I have no qualms sitting in a Chinese restaurant sipping some nice coffee made by a cheerful uncle. I may not eat the foods there, such as "Bak Kut Teh"; but I don't mind being there and seeing them indulge their foods.

Despite the sensitive issues which were the topics of our discussion; I enjoyed going out with them, discussing many things. It was a fun night, with so many things shared: experiences, ideologies, views and perspectives.

I am looking forward to spending quality time with them again, in the future.

I believe that we Malays, should have more friends of other races; so that our we can broaden our mind, expand our horizons and discover more interesting things.

We are, after all Malaysians; and now is a crucial time to embrace differences and respect one another. For we are Malaysians; and we are truly Asians. And we are afer all, 1-Malaysia.

The Ups and Downs

Hello Peeps,

Tonight I want to share with you about the ups and downs of life and how to deal with it. Well, how I deal with it.

Disclaimer: this is an un-scientific posting about dealing with stress.

Life is full of surprises: those surprises that can bring you up, and those that can bring you down.

Well, I am no counsellor -- I myself am ladened with so many problems that I dont think I want to share here in this blog.

But, how do I deal with my problem? Simple. Go to sleep. Get a bed and sleep.

Yes, sleeping will actually reduce the enormous amount of stress in your mind. I've done that countless of times.

Well, if I am at work, then it is ovbious to go to sleep when in sorrow; but I guess I just have to chew it: swallow all those misery and as soon as the time to clock out arrive, then leave and find a bed.

And that's life. You have to chew all misery.

Life is harsh, yes. You don't get to choose your parents. Likewise, you don't always get to drink a posh coffee every morning, and you don't get to sleep on some comfy bed every night.

But you can always sleep on those miseries and sorrows.

Sleeping is a good way to relieve stress. Laughing, you say? I highly doubt that.

Tell me, son and daughter, how can you actually laugh when you are in misery? As an example, can you actually laugh when you are terminated from your job? Well, technically you can laugh, but I would term that as fake laugh.

That kind of laugh is an empty laugh that precisely has no meaning. It is done so by accident.

In problematic situation, I can't laugh. You can't either. Well, no sane person can. That is so not the way to solve a problem.

In those instances, I definitely need a hug; yeah. I need that. A hug to protect me from all those misery. A warm hug to give me all the strength and courage in the world to live on. A comfy hug to give me every reason to be strong in facing hardships. Yeah. Yeah, I need a hug. Not some fake and silly laugh.

Anyway, the point is; if you are in misery, go find a bed. You'll be amazed at how it can do to soothe all horrible things down.

Okay, time for bed now. It's 1:31 am. And I need to put all misery in this world away. And no, I can't laugh now. It will be weird to do so at this unearthly hour.

Good night!

Of Faith and Problems

Everyone,

I find this quote to be exactly nice and true. I like how faith is likened to wi-fi: invisible, yet reachable.

Of having faith when all hopes are fading. Of having faith when we are ladened with never-ending problems.

Faith to me, is not about religion. Having a faith means believing in something: supreme being, God and even science.

Faith is a silent prayer that we utter in our heart when we can't seem to even open our eyes.

Faith is a loud prayer that we subconsciously utter in extreme situations when no one can help is. Saying "Oh My God" subconsciously is a sign of having faith.

Faith is trust when all hopes are lost, and when all happiness in this world fades.

Faith is a light however small that maybe when all else seems dark.

Faith is a compas showing us the way out of the problem.

Faith is what connects us to an unseen supreme being.

Faith is what makes you stronger and have something to hold on to when everyone else is busy with other things.

And right now, when all hopes in this world are fading, faith is something that I will cling to; for I believe that faith will salvage us all.

And having faith means having a strong creed; believing in an entity that could save us all from trouble.

As for me, faith is about believing in one God.

And in faith shall we trust when all else seems impossible.

What is your faith?

Careless During Exam

People,

This is one of the many reasons why students failed in their exam - they only read one side of the whole question paper that they missed out that one last question, commonly dubbed as "Question 6".

Why "6", yo asked?

Good question. Well, it is thought that one side of a sheet of question paper can accomodate five (5) questions. Thus, if the sixth question is to be added, then it is usually in the next page. Of course, this is only a thought -- there is no concrete proof to justify this argument, but it is good enough.

Students, read, scan and skim the exam question in its entirety. Look at every corner and nook of the exam question papers, and ensure that you do not miss anything.

And please, do not repeat this mistake!
Otherwise, you are a fool of the exam fools! ;)

*I was a lecturer, and yeah, this is an advice to all students. The lecturer spirit inside me still lives!*

Sweet Team of Corporate Planning & Strategy

Hi everyone,

I browsed through my phone and see what I found: an old (not really, but considering what had happened to the organization; it feels 'old') picture of my former department.

The department was called Corporate Planning & Strategy, and was headed by a very nice boss, Mr. Zolkefli Che Mat. He is an experienced person in the insurance and Takaful (Islamic insurance) industry, having worked both locally and abroad.

Under his helm was two managers, namely myself and Don (full name: Mahidon Promwichit). I took care of corporate communications while Don devised necessary plans and strategy. Both of us reported to Mr. Zolkefli, and in turn, he is a direct report to the CEO.

And of course, there was one other beautiful lady who does all the number crunching rask: her name is Nik Madeeha, who now works as a yniversity lecturer at tge State of Kelantan. She holds a master's degree in economics from the University of Malaya. A very nice lady she was.

Well, ever since ING merged with AIA, everyone went separate ways; and the thing that remain was memory. Good memories of working together, sharing all the laugh and the burden.

So, before this photo go unnoticed or accidentally deleted from my phone, let this short column be a dedication of the cheerful past of the Corporate Planning & Strategy Department of the former ING PUBLIC Takaful Ehsan Berhad.

Talking To The Moon

Friends,

It is 3:18 am and I am halfway reading 568 pages of John Grisham's "The Rainmaker" novel, accompanied with songs aired on Mix FM.

And I am about to retire to bed very very soon. But this picture makes me wonder and ponder for a while: that being alone sometimes is good for you.

So tonight, I am all alone in darkness. With a moon outside on my window, and I am talking to it to relieve all my problems in a hope that tomorrow will be a better day than today.

Oh, to you lovebirds out there: listen to the song "Talking To Thr Moon" by Bruno Mars.

The picture here really suits the song.

Good night, friends!

Whither Mainstream Media

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is an interesting thought by Kam Raslan, published in his The Edge Weekly's column "Talking Edge", on May 20th, 2013.

His views are implicit and critical. And there are truth too in his view: that many Malaysians have renegaded from the mainstream media and switched to the popular social media to source for news, events, courses, and even jobs.

No doubt that some of the facts and news in the social media are questionable and some of them are not even credible to cited in scholarly publications. The authenticity of news in social media is highly questionable, but alas, it seems to improve bit by bit.

But you see, the good things about social media is that everyone can spread news from all angles and sources. Some news are even first-account news that is updated live from the location of the event or incident; and these type of news are what mainstream media would not publish even if it is supported by credible evidence, authentic photos and/or live recording of videos.

News in social media is not really a bias news; for anyone from any side of the political divide or beliefs can create, publish, disseminate and heck, even make news and headlines.

News in social media have already begun to garner popularity among the youths and internet-savvy individuals.

And what's best is that the news are available at their fingertip and can be accessed within a split of seconds, compared to mainstream media: we have to wait for 8:00 pm for TV news, and every morning for news in papers.

And the news on the social media too is consistently updated almost every hour or two hours, hence eliminating the need to wait for hours and hours.

On the other hand, the mainstream news are gathered, compiled and segregated; but the news in social media are open to all, and for all. There is no need for the news in social media to be gathered or compiled by (un)qualified journalists for everyone in social media are an alert and caring lot: they spread news from all sources.

And that is the good thing about news in social media.

Furthermore, another reason for most rakyat not interested in mainstream news is the fact that they are biased and controlled by political parties; or invidividal having good relationship with certain politicians.

Take for example, Utusan Malaysia. It is controlled by UMNO friendly organizations. The Star is controlled by MCA friendly company while Harakah is owned by PAS, a Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party.

The news published in mainstream media are often altered and manipulated to suit the objective and common belief of the higger echelons in the organization. And this is definitely part of selective journalism that is done for the benefit of certain quarters.

And the people are getting bored with selective journalism, and therefore turn to alternative media for more news ti feed their hunger

Let's admit it: mainstream news are getting more and more obsolete. These days, not many people are watching TVs due to the demand of work and busy nature of life.

Even if some people have all the time in the world to watch TVs, they make get sick and tired of all the hyped political bashings in the mainstream media.

Some attacks are personal, baseless, and also contain elements of racism and stereotype.

And Malaysians too are getting smarter and cleverer. Malaysians cannot be easily fooled like the time of before. Malaysians these days can think, critically analyse and differentiate the truth, the manipulatrd truth, the lies, the damned lies and the orchestrated statistics.

It is for these reasons that most Malaysians have lost some interest in mainstream media. Some of the Malaysians probably buy the maisntream media to look for certain scholarship opportunities or jobs posted in there. But even that is not all popular for we have Jobstreet whose classifications and target audience are much more wider than the newspaper.

And I thus agree with this particular view of Kam Raslan.

Talking Edge with Kam Raslan

Peeps,

Every weekend when I bought The Edge Weekly, one of the many business newspapers in Malaysia, I actually look forward to readingw commentaries and analysis by Kam Raslan, a Malaysian guru.

He is a guru and an expert on Malaysian lifestyles, Malaysian politics, Malaysian jokes and Malaysian quirks and behaviours. He is the guru of all things Malaysians; never mind that he grew up in the Great Britain.

There is actually a special page dedicated for him every week in this weekly newspaper, called "Talking Edge" where he answers all sorts of queries, from politics to social etiquette.

And the truth is this: I enjoy reading all the questions thrown at him, and the responses that he throws back at you.

Some of his responses are witty, cynical, comical, sarcastic and at times, it can be plain silly. It can also be sadistic too, you know.

At other edition of the newspapers, his responses are right-to-the-point, sharp, critical and simply excellent.

Oh, his comments can also be mysterious: for example, in this week's edition of the newspaper (The Edge Weekly, Issue 964, May 27th, 2013), he was asked "why everything is so political these days"; and his response was:-

"It's as if everybody has been awakened and there's no turning back".

To me, such a response would conjure that he is pro-Pakatan Rakyat (People's Pact); but of course that is too much an accusation. I mean, I wouldn't know for a fact which political side is he inclined to. He can be the all-out and die-hard BN fan; or the staunch and loyal Pakatan supporters; and that peeps, is his person choice.

Reading through his responses, it then show us that he can be mysterious -- concealed behind those words that can only be deciphered by those see-through minds.

Regardless of his political inclination, I enjoy reading the specially dedicated section for him in this newspaper; and I look forward to reading many more of his responses in the coming edition.

Keep up the good work, Kam Raslan. We Malaysians (at least, I do) enjoy reading your piece!

30 Overpaid Directors

Everyone,

Today is Sunday. My paper day. And also my clothes-washing day. Well, that would be later -- i've got loads of clothes to wash.

This week's 25th edition of Focus Malaysia, one of the emerging business newspapers with the tagline "business analysed" talks about 30 overpaid directors of public listed companies.

In a way, this edition is a name-and-shame issue, where famous highest corporate executives are being publicly scrutinized for getting lion's share of director remunerations.

Some of the directors took home no.less than RM 1 million a year. And these are directors of the public listed companies.

Logic had it that since they sit in the public listed companies, then their remunerations should also be made public.

Get the issue yourself and read on!

Getcha Good!

Peeps,

Mix FM really does play good music and songs, I tell you that. If you are in Malaysia and within KL area, tune in to 94.5 FM.

The song that I want to introduce you today is called "I'm Getcha Good" by Shania Twain.

I've been listening to this song over and over again on the radio while doing work in my office; and upon confirming with my smartphone app "Soundhound"; I learnt that this song was sung my none other than the good voice belonging to Shania Twain.

Shania is famous for many good songs - among them is Ka-Ching!

This song is really a good song especially in accompanying you driving around the busy street of KL.

The song is about getting a guy, I suppose ;p

Look the song up in YouTube; watch and listen to it.

A really nice song, this is!

Grammar Joke

Folks,

Here's another grammar jokes for you.

Too Much Heaven & Too Much Love

Folks,

I am about to doze off. It is 2:10 am.

And listening to this song at ungodly wee hour of the earth is just nice. A nice love song.

Oh, I got to know this song while working on my computer with my ever faithful radio tuned-in to Mix FM.

Nobody gets too much heaven, as it is much harder to come by.

And nobody gets too much love anymore, it's as high as a mountain, and harder to climb.

So cried Jordan Hill in her "Too Much Heaven" song.

Good night, folks!

New Vehicle Registration Number

Friends,

In the news today: the relevant authority has announced that the new vehicle rgistration number will begin with W1A.

Whoa, a new numbering system!

The current registration number is expected to end at "WYY 9999", by end of June of this year.

The vehicle number plate in Malaysia begins with W1. My car registration number is WSV ***5. And I bought it in August 2009. It is now WYH in May 2013. The change is absolutely rapid!

Oh, car registration number is Malaysia is sorted according to the state at where it is registered. The fastest selling registration number is the Kuala Lumpur area which begins with "W". It is sold like a hot cake. You can see that the letter of the registration number changes "like a girl changing her clothes" on the road.

The slowest change of registration number is "R", whose letter was assigned to represent the small State of Perlis.

The following is the meaning of the representation of the alphabet letter in the vehicle registration number that is used to repsent each states:-

*A - Perak
*B - Selangor
*C - Pahang
*D - Kelantan
*H - reserved only for taxis
*J - Johor
*K - Kedah
*L - Labuan (in the state of Sabah)
*M - Malacca
*N - Negri Sembilan
*Q - Sarawak
*R - Perlis
*S - Sabah
*T - Terengganu
*W - Kuala Lumpur
*Z - reserved for military vehicle

*KV - Langkawi (a small Island which belongs to the State of Kedah)

Anyway, that said; I wonder who will bid for W1A, and at what price will the vehicle registration number be sold?

Let's wait and see.

Bizarre Pronounciation

Friends,

It is 4:59 am and I am still wide awake. Probably the good dose of delicious nescafè that I drank earlier has taken its toll on my sleep. My eyes are wide awake since the moment the sun sets its course down 10 hours ago, at 7:00 pm.

As I was reading BBC news on my phone, I came across this interesting article about pronouncing the acronym of Graphical Interchange Format, "GIF".

GIF is one of the popular computer image file format for pictorial animation. All "GIF" file extensions are of the format "*.gif".

Anyway, the issue here is about bizarre pronounciation of "GIF". And apparently, the prominent Oxford English Dictionary (OED) dragged in this quarrel of pronounciation.

The OED was accused by the inventor of this computer image file format to wrongly publish a guide to pronounce the acronym "GIF". Apparently, OED says that "GIF" can be pronounced both ways: either with the hard "g" or the soft "j".

But, the inventor of this computer image file format wants the acronym "GIF" to be pronounced as "JIF".

My god.

Why do we need to drag the good old OED in this simple argument of pronouncing "GIF"? I don't simply understand.

To me, whether you pronounce the acronym "GIF" with a hard "g" or soft "j" makes no difference for both pronounciations are acceptable to my ears. As long as I can understand them, that should be okay.

In addition to this issue of pronouncing the acronym "GIF", let me extend it to a much more common abbreviation found everywhere. How would you pronounce the following abbreviations (or words):-

*resumè , as opposed to "resume"
*Adobe
*Tucson
*Yves
*Yvette
*sundry
*par excellence
*quay
*lychee
*Simon
*Perth

As always the case, whenever I flip through online dictionaries (or even Wikipedia), two forms of pronounciation will be given: American way of pronouncing the vocabularies of the English language, or the UK style of pronouncing the English words.

Oh, I must also tell you that there is a dedicated YouTube channel for pronouncing complex words.

And the channel apparently insists that there is one correct way of pronouncing some difficult words.

I don't know which version they are using in teaching the public, but I have a strong feeling that the UK style of pronounciation is advocated in this YouTube channel.

Jeez meez.

So much so for pronounciation of simple words.

How about pronouncing complex names? Especially Asian and Africa  names which can be tongue-twisting? Consider pronouncing the following names. How would you pronounce them?

*Ng
*Chng
*Sng
*Mba
*Kulube
*Bothasithe
*Koay

Okay. I'm gonna start enrolling in a phonetics course, now. Help!

Imagine Dragon - Radioactive

All,

I have this one song that gives me goosebump everytime I listened to its opening music.

I first learned about this song when doing my office work while listening to Mix FM, Malaysia's Best Music on FM frequency of 94.5.

And I am listening to it now while writing this entry on my Samsung Galaxy S3 phone at 2:32 am.

The song is titled "Radioactive", by a US band called Imagine Dragons.

The opening of the song is a music composed of several instruments, mainly played on guitars.

The opening music makes me feel that I am about to enter a new age. A new age and a new era that is uncertain, dark and dirty. Maybe some new age that is blank and empty. And sad. And mysterious. And full of misery.

Well, the earlier parts of the lyrics just confirmed that. Have a read:-

I'm waking up, To ash and dust;
I wipe my brow, And I sweat my rust;
I'm breathing in the chemicals;

That lyrics mentioned above sounds just so sad. Who would want to wake-up in dust and ash? Unless if your house is burning, then yeah, you may experiece it. But, no. I don't even wanna inhale and smell ash and dust!

Anyway, the song also contain few elements that are reflective of the current environmental situation of this planet earth: that it is contaminated  until "you can feel it in my bones" ; so goes the lyrics.

Yeah. "This is it. The apocalypse". So too goes another part of the overall lyrics.Wow, the apocalypse is near, eh?

Oh, wait until you watch its music video in their official Vevo channel on YouTube- a video showing a quest of a woman and her "pinky" toy of teddy-bear in eliminating and eradicating one of the many evils in this world.

Now, is that the sign of apocalypse? Where justice triumphs over evils?

Regardless, it is a moving video, I must say. One that is suitable for the new generation, and one that teaches an important lesson in this world: that Karma will take its due course and all evils will soon be eliminated.

And the pinky bear in the music video is cute too, you know. The bear, apparently, has a power to kill the enemies by radiating red lasers from its eyes, despite its small built and girly looks. Superb, ha?

The pinky bear's power reminds me of Dragon Ball's Goku's "Kame Hame Ha" power! Ermm, not quite. It reminds me too of the X-Men's Cyclop's power. Yeah, that seems to be quite right of a comparison.

This song by Indie band is no doubt catchy and music to my ears. Heck, it is even ranked highly in many music billboards and charts all over the world.

I know for a fact that this song is played no less than five times daily on Malaysian radio stations, particularly on my current station, Mix FM. I've listened to this song in the morning while driving to work, in midday just before I go out for lunch, after lunch hour, a few minutes before twilight and in the midnight.

And when there is a change of DJs, this song seems to be the first song chosed the each incoming DJs. And I can attest to this fact too, you know.

Moving on, I'm sure that the lyrics will definitely be meaningful for the inquisitive minds to decipher.

I very much enjoy listening to this song, and everyrtime it is played on the radio, the opening music always give me a helluva goosebump!

Died Working Hard

Peoples,

Ooh, this is a hot story in Kosmo!, a Malay daily newspaper, dated May 17th, 2013.

The translation of the headline can be approximated in English as:-

"Worker Died After Working Long Hours".

Imagine that. An employee in China is reported to be dead after working long hours. The cause of death: heart attack.

In simple and plain logic:-

Work long hours = heart attack
heart attack = death

Wow, what a horrible cause for death. Is this kind of death covered in an insurance?

So for those out there who is a workaholic and love to stay back, there is now a reason for you to mumble to your boss on the consequence of working long hours.

And it is reported in a newspaper. Isn't that credible enough? ;p

I Want This

Friends,

Recently, this special friend of mine sent me this picture through Whatsapp.

I think that this picture is absolutely brilliant and amazing. It is a rocking chair with bookshelfs padded in it.

Wow! Imagine rocking in this chair in the windy evening with John Grisham's novel at hands. Absolutely fabulous!

And I want this rocking chair!

Toilet in Scotland

Hello Peeps,

As I was browsing my facebook, I came across this diagram. A diagram showing grammar joke.

Well, grammar jokes can either (a) be easy to understand, or (b) makes no sense at all.

Sometimes, even a native speaker do not really understand grammar jokes. Oh well, the point is, you need to understand grammar jokes because it is mostly and widely used by educated people. And by that, I don't mean to stereotype anyone; it is from my observation.

Anyway, I like this joke. This joke is about toilet signs in Scotland.

Some men in Scotland wears a "traditional skirt". And therefore, this pictorial joke is trying to poke fun (in a humorous way, I reasoned) at Scottish men wearing the "traditional skirt" that even the toilet signs make use of them, hence making it hard for the public to recognise which toilet is for which gender, as both signs seem identical!

I don't think that the toilet sign shown in the pictorial joke reflects an actual toilet sign in Scotland. I highly doubt that.

Anyway, it is one of those grammar jokes that I admire ;)

Harry Potter

Dear Bloggers,

I watched two episodes of Harry Potter tonight: the Deathly Hollow, parts I and II.

It is quite an old movie, nevertheless, it is one of my favourites and I do not mind watching them over and over again. Like tonight.

And the very reasons why I love watching this movie is because of the fact that I enjoy watching epic, fantasy and wizardry movies.

I love magic. Even though it is illogical, but it fascinates me. I love how magic is used to set-up a tent; how spells are used to charm peoples and how magic is used in fighting enemies. Especially with thunder-like power; those really fascinates me.

Oh well, that's the kind of movies that I love to watch. What's yours?

Inferno!

Dear Book Nooks,

I went to Alamanda shopping center at Putrajaya a few days ago, and I saw this on the latest book shelf: a book titled Inferno!

Written by no other that the superstar writer, Dan Brown.

His book is so fabulous. In fact, I bought all five of his previous books:-

*The Da Vinci Code
*Angels & Demons
*Deception Point
*Digital Fortress
*The Lost Symbol

Why do I like Dan's novel? Well, his thick novels are all set in the duration of 24-hour. Meaning to say, from page one till the one, every story lines and plot are set within the duration of one day.

And that's the most thrilling part. It makes me to always read and read, even though it is late at night.

Anyway, I've gotta get this book now. Wait, I can't get it now. The book is mot sold in papeback edition yet. It hasn't arrived from wherever it is published at.

I've gotta wait, and wait.

I won't read the bool review though because it will just spoil the reading mood.

I guess it will have to wait, then! ;)

Friends for Life

Peeps,

We don't live in this world alone. We live along with other beings: humans, animals and plants.

We live with neighbours who we call them friends. We go to school and call our classmates friends. Heck, we also make friends in facebook by sending them a "friend request", and some of them we have no idea who they really are.

In fact, if we like talking to someone, and know them for quite sometimes, we call them friends.

We also have special-purpose friends: we have friends for lunch, friends for facebook, friends for shopping, friends for gymming and even friends for hiking. And these friends are different friends.

But rarely do we have friends for everything. But that being said, we don't need friends everything, but we do need friends that doesn't cost you anything.

And friends can become "true friends" when they help us during needy time. Say for example, you needed to borrow money (which is the most embarrasing things to do), you will turn to your family members first, or in some cases, friends.

A true friend will lend you monies without the slightest trace of showing stingy-ness. A true friend will lend you monies with a lot of empathy and care; and without asking you to pay-back back in such a hurry.

Oh, I must add that "damned friends" are those that charges interest when lending monies, and please avoid these kind of friends.

True friends are those who will come to your rescue at ungodly hours and at unearthly places.

True friends will visit you at hospitals when you are sick, and true friends will stay in touch with you for years and years.

And true friends will usually become old friends: those friendship bonds that are maintained for years and years.

And old friends are the best kind of friends that you can have. Old friends are friends whom you can reminisce about your past: those that can talk about your glory past at school, or your uncanny behaviour at office, once upon a time ago.

Peeps, be careful of choosing your friends. Not all friends are true friends, and not all friendship can last for years. Some gets dissolved after a number of years due to several reasons.

And be careful too that not all true friends can be friends for life. Thus, choose your friends wisely.

My words of advice:-

Fear not your enemies for they have always hate you; but fear yes friends who hug you and stab you behind your back, for they will only wish to gain from you.

This Thing About Engineering

Friends,

Admit it. Almost everyone that we know who studied or studies engineering all over facebooks talking about engineering and how hard the course is.

Let's get real. Engineering is equally hard as medical studies, physics, neuroscience etc. I don't understand why engineering people are making such a big fuss about their studies.

I myself an engineering graduate. I understand that engineering can be hard and tough. But so too ar, say, medical studies and accounting. Not everyone can study medical sciences even if they are the smartest kid on the world.

What I am saying is, stop all this trolling about how hard engineering is. It is hard, I admit; so deal with it. It is tough, I admit. Work hard to understand it!

Let's get real: everything is hard and tough. Deal with it, and you will soon get over it.

Relatable Quote

Dude & Gal,

Today's post is so relatable to us humans, and to me in particular. We humans are an ignorant lot. We take things for granted, and sometimes do not see the beauty of small things.

We sometimes failed to see the other side of the coin. Or the other side of the grass. Or the other side of the paper. What we normally is just one side, and we are strongly judgmental about the one thing that we see.

When asked why, a usual reply would be "first impression is lasting impression". While the proverb may be true to some extent, it does not always apply in all cases.

And I am talking about humans who always look at the negative things about another human that they sometimes forgot that the positives outweigh the negatives.

A famous saying in Malay goes like this:

Kuman diseberang sana nan tampak,
Gajah didepan mata tidak terlihat.

Which in English would roughly translated as:-

Bacteria in the opposite is clearly seen,
But elephant in front is so ignored.

And the analogy is that small bacterias representing the negatives are easily seen, but a big elephant representing the positives is as if it cannot be seen.

Say for example, if I do something wrong today, then everyone will remember that for the rest of their life. Well, that's an exaggeration, but you get what I mean. It will stuck in their mind for a long term.

But if let's say I treat someone for a nice dinner, now that's hard to remember. We always look at it for granted; and guess what, sometimes another human being feels that buying them a nice dinner is an obligation rather than a present. My God!

The point here is, we gotta stop this attitude. It should end now. If you see the weakness of that person, then ignore it for he has more strengths and courage than the weaknesses.

Always look at the positive things about that person. Try to find happiness in simple things: such as be thankful that somebody actually hold a door for us, be grateful that somebody actually is kind enough to show us directions and be humble that some stranger is good enough to say to our face that we are handsome -- even though the stranger may fake it for some other reason.

And that advice is not meant for everyone; but it is for me and myself.

After all, we the homo sapiens prone to being easily forgetful.

Happy Belated Mother's Day

Peeps,

Today I wanted to dedicate this posting to my mother.

This posting is very much related to Mother's Day. Though I don't celebrate mother's day, I still want to dedicate this post to my mother. And hope that she is not reading this. Well, if she did, then too bad. It's hard to keep secrets these days, anyway.

And to those extremist Muslims out there who says that celebrating Mother's Day is like celebrating Jesus' Mother; get a grip of yourself. It is perfectly okay if you do not celebrate mother's day; but if others are celebrating it for a full reason of celberating mothers, please understand that the very reason why we have Mother's Day is so that every child on this planet earth can take a day off their busy schedule to actually attend to their mother.

Of course, it should not just be a day off; instead, it should many days, for mothers don't count the number of days they spent for their loved ones.

And every mothers deserve to be celebrated by their own children.

I am the eldest of nine. I am very serious with my family members and I don't talk a lot with them. Not that I am a bad son or bad big brother, but that is just the way I am. I talk more to my friends than my family member. But that doesn't mean that I love them any less.

And I don't show physical affection and love to my siblings, and also to my mother. Being the prodigal son that I am, I am more comfortable talking to my mother the way I always do.

And of course, she knows that I love her  very much. But that I don't show it to her.

I wanted to thank her for raising me with tender love and care; for nurturing me to become what I am today.

And I wanted to thank her for being there when no one else does; for understanding my complex mind; for appreciating what I am - mt temper, my emotions and my traits.

And thanks to you also Ummi for passing me certain traits that I have inherited from you until this very day:-

(1) That I love nescafe and coffee;
(2) That I love reading books, newspapers and magazines; and
(3) That I love to chew and bite ice.

Those are the three main things that I have inherited from her. I don't think I inherited much trait from my dad, but I will talk more about him in a special column about father's day.

Thank you for every single thing, Ummi; and to me, every single day in my life is a Mother's Day.

Sleeping Quirk

Pal,

I saw this in my facebook home, and this is so me. The very picture is a good description of my sleeping quirk.Sometimes, I sleep with one leg inside the blanket and the other leg outside.

It's like the leg inside represents the cold weather while the leg outside represents the hot weather.

A combination of both weather during sleeping time. It's like the concept of duality: yin and yang, hot and cold, black and white, yes and no etc.

Sounds rather weird, but it is true.

Bet you also do the same too!

Allah Is Enough For Us

Friends,

Today, my post is about rintihan, or in English, it is known as reflection. It is a reflection of my life: what I have done with it and where I am going to take it.

A lot has happened in my life. Some would say that it a colourful life, while others would say that it is a picture painted with too much of colours that it is hard to see what the real picture is.

People will describe that life is such as such. Some would say that life is a wheel, rolling up and down; while others would say that life is a highway with many exits to choose from.

Life can be described by many adjectives. You can say that it is good, bad, challenging and yada, yada, yada.

And in life, truth be told, it is not easy to make a certain choice. Let alone making decision of an important choice that could potentially impact the future of your life.

Sometimes, the decision that you make is hard to be reversed, because there are too many factors to be considered before a reversal of a decision can be taken e.g. money, time, family, and the future outlook of your life. All these things have to be taken into account, along with thorough scrutiny of your life.

The future is bleak and unpredictable; but it is good to prepare for it. Financially, it may be possible to plan your future by saving your money and purchasing life insurance; but really, the future is simply an unknown territory to you. It is an uncertain path and uncharted road that you must walk on, for the future rides well with time; and time and tide wait for no man.

When life starts to become hard on you, with so many tests and hurdles; you will sometimes feel so lonely. And this, I am not kidding. Nor overly exaggerating.

Yes, you have your family and friends, but to what extend can they really help? They can only help you with providing advice (sometimes a contradicting one); but ultimately it is you who have to make the ultimate decision to choose to travel in the bleak road of the future.

I am not saying that we should abandoned them; heavens! No, no, no. You should always consult them, but then again, as yourself if you are a believer of God. Have you consulted the Merciful Lord who have created you years ago?

Whatever it is, always remember that you always have the merciful Lord with you. No matter how atheist you are; how unbecoming of an unbeliever you might be; in times of great need, you will call out your help to God. Don't we always unconsciously use the expression "Oh My God?". Oh wait, the kids of the present don't say that anymore; they say "OMG".

Whatever. The crux of the matter is, God is the one you turn to whether you like it or not.

And this question of God is really interesting. Because sometimes, when you are embarking on a certain mission in your life, you accidentally (or shall I say deliberately?) forgot to place the spiritual power of God somewhere in your life equation.

Ahh, and you wonder why your life equation is not balanced. Or worst, you might wonder why the yield in the right side of the equation is such a messy outcome.

I myself have more often than not, leave God out of the equation of life. But when I have no one to turn to, I will turn to God -- Allah, the Most Forgiving Lord. I will cry like a baby, with tears flowing non-stop on my cheek; and would ask for so many things from him.

In times of desperate situation, I will ask God with so many ambitious wishes like a good job, fat salary, good health etc. Sometimes, I wonder if God -- Allah the Lord of the Al-Ameen (Arabic for universe) -- would actually want to entertain my request.

Despite my conscious will of unknowingly (or again, deliberately?) excluding God in the planning of my future; Allah the Great actually approved my prayer and granted 96.5% of my wishes. In stages, that is.

I am not sure if Allah the Best held the other 3.5% wishes (which really, is A LOT of wishes); but Allah has His own plan and reasons for doing so. It is not for us, the creature of Lord to question why our Merciful Lord did and does so, and so.

Neither should we accept his wishes blindly; for we must also at all time try to understand the reasons behind them. In fact, there is always a reason for every wish granted and it is only a matter of time until we find out why.

That's how great my Lord is. No, that's how great our Lord is. No matter what you did to him in the past; if you have a sense of repentance and turn to him at any event of your finite life, the Bountiful Lord will always be there for you.

And now that I am in trouble with my life, and mounting problems of my own; it is to you, my lord, that I am now turning to.

Punish me not, my Lord, for I am your lowly servant and peasant.

Have mercy one, my Merciful Lord, for I am a man with many a sin to be atoned.

Forgive me, my Forgiving Lord, for I am a man of many sin.

Lead me, Lord, to the path of glory, success and happiness.

For you Allah the All Seeing and the All Hearing, is enough and sufficient for us.

A Short Note About The Unfortunate Ones

Kawan-Kawan,

I just got back from Alamanda shopping center after sending my parents and my siblings off for a good short holiday at Langkawi at LCCT. I wanted to go with them to the nice island of Langkawi, but decided that I could make good use of time being left alone for the weekend. Maybe I'll go there alone, in the near future. Hopefully when I have enough savings of my own ;)

Okay. As I walked inside the only modern shopping center in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya early this evening, I felt really sorry, sad and touched to those unfortunate ones. What I really mean by those unfortunate ones are mentally-challenged children, especially the ones suffering from Down Syndrome disease.

I felt sorry because they, the mentally-challenged kids, have different facial features than us. I felt sad because they were born this way. I felt touched because despite how different they appearance are from another human being, there are still loving parents willing to take them out to see and enjoy the world.

Despite how sorry and sad and touched I felt back then, I still feel it until now. The feeling is continuous.

I wonder if the child can really understand and appreciate the beauty of this world, the modernity of the shopping complex and the joy that this unforgiving world can offer.

My heart is really all out to this unfortunate child. The parents must be really-really patient in attending to the child's need. I can imagine that it is not easy to take care of this child as they can very difficult to be handled.

I don't know. I leave that to the loving parents to deal with.

Everytime I see mentally-challenged child in the shopping center, my heart really feels heavy. My thoughts are with them. I always wonder how they would feel about their surrounding. I always wonder how they would respond to the person talking to them.

My good mentor, Lynn, once told me that I am a sensitive guy. Yes, Ms Lynn, I am a sensitive guy; I have a soft spot for another (dis)abled human beings.

I feel really happy seeing this people smile and laugh at the simplest of staring at a blinking Famous Amos store. I feel happy when I see joy in their face, even if they are not able to fathom the reasoning behind joy.

And what more, I feel happy whenever I see parents walking with this kids with their hands holding to one another, unaffected by the staring of strangers.

Back to the central topic of mentally-challenged kids: I always wonder what their future would be like. I mean, if let's say their parents died before them, who will take care of them?

Who will bring them out to the shopping center and do some window shopping? Who will bring them out to some nice restaurants like Nando's where they can taste the juicy and tender meat of chicken with Peri-Peri sauce?

Who will bring them to Parkson and choose nice clothes for them to wear? Who will ensure that these kids will be equally treated with some other sane kids? Who will take them to the doctor should they feel ill and sick?

Who will entertain them? Who will look after them? Who will be there for them when no one else would? Who? Who?

And the questions keep going on one after the other.

These are the questions playing around my faculty of mind whenever I see these children in the shopping mall.

Though I should not be affected (like, they are not my relatves; so why should I care), but it is the humanity inside me that make me feels like this. Although I am not responsible for these kids, but somehow, I am spiritually connected to them. Funny how humans can have 1,001 emotions about others.

Anyway. Moving on.

You see, the way parents care for their child is very different from the way the eldest child care for their siblings. Their love, affection and patience are just not the same.

Of course I am being emotional; and I am not surprised if others will lavel me as overly emotional to the point of exaggeration. But this is me, myself and I. This is the other side of Sulhi. No, this is the inner side of Sulhi. The silent side of myself which is rarely displayed on the outside.

Sometimes, I really wonder why God created this people? Sorry God, I don't mean to be rude, but I just wonder why?

Maybe it's just me who cannot accept it, for now. Maybe I needed to be educated about embracing differences in this world. Maybe I needed to be taught a good lesson that these people are loved more by God, of all the people who can think and form judgments.

If you have the answer to this really burning question as to why God created these lovely soul, please do not hesitate to explain it to me via email at msulhi@gmail.com.

You know what, maybe you and I can have this conversation over some nicely brewed coffee. But don't bring these mentally-challenged along for tears may come running down my cheek without me knowing it. And of course, I cannot be seen as emotional in the public as men are expected to be strong and not supposed to let tears to easily burst without acceptable reasons.

Dear Allah, the God that I believe in; as for now, I will accept whatever it is that you have created. Please guide me so that I do not go astray, and please take care of the mentally-challenged children.

I am thankful, O Allah the merciful Lord, that you have bestowed upon me the nikmat (gift) of the ability to think, the ability to feel, the ability to see and above all, the ability to appreciate what you have created.

Forgive all my sins, and take care of all the mentally-challenged children in this world.

Good night, kawan-kawan!

#SaySomethingNice

Pals,

We Malaysians (at least true for the Malays, donno about other races), are taught by our elders to be nice when we say things. Being too direct is considered rude and simple unheard of in yester-time. Thus, if we have something bad to say, we say it nicely with flowery words so as not to directly offend the other party. And that is the Malaysian way of diplomacy.

For example, if someone calls you and ask you whether or not you are busy and occupied with lotsa work, then you will nicely reply that you are not busy and you will have time for that person. That's a white lie, but it is done for the sake of maintaining good relationship with the other party.

And Malaysians too are very generous with the phrase "tak apa" (English: it's okay). Let's say someone calls you at 3:00 am, and if you are a true blue Malaysian, you wouldn't shout "do you know what time it is?"; instead you would put a fake smile and say "tak apa, what can I help you with".

And that's how polite Malaysians can be. Seriously.

But that was in the past, and partially true now. Being nice nowadays are considered luxury, for people these days are not afraid to show their rudeness, display their remorse and show their anger at even the tiniest bit of things. And I am also not excluded, for I too am a human and prone to make millions of mistakes.

Thus, if let's say the waiter sends us the wrong drink than what we ordered, we, the Malaysians of the present, are more likely to shout "I didn't order this. Take it back", with harsh voice. I hear this too often many a time, and sometimes, it is hard to find traces of diplomacy and empathy in the screaming voices.

What have Malaysians become? Are we too stressed by the pressure at the office that we bring it with us everywhere we go?

And which is why, I find the campaign "#SaySomethingNice" to be a good campaign. It is timely for all Malaysians to say something nice to other fellow Malaysians.

This campaign was started by Anas Zubedy in his facebook wherein he directed this campaign at Malaysians to say something nice to other Malaysians despite their difference in political beliefs.

After Malaysia's 13th General Election (GE 13), many of us seems to not recognuze positive adjectives; rather we opt to use negative adjectives directed at those having different political beliefs. And I am aslo not excluded for I have said many bad things about the opposite political party.

I, along with other Malaysians needed to be reminded time and again, that we must say something nice (or neutral) about the other party. At least in the public sphere.

Therefore people, let's join this noble campaign and start saying nice things about people, places and politicians, no matter how dumb they can be. Okey, probably not the adjective "dumb", but let's choose a much lesser evil of all the negative adjectives there are in the English language: "silly".

Let us be more loving and caring towards each other. Put behind our differences and start embracing one another like a family.

Alright, time to #SaySomethingNice, Malaysians!

True Love Lasts Longer

Hey Everyone,

It is 12:32 midnight, and I can't seem to be sleeping. As I browsed through my facebook at this hour of the Earth, I came across two interesting "picbook" - the nane I gave for interesting pictures posted in facebook.

These picbooks are very interesting. It is about true love. It is about love between two people, and how the managed to stayed-on for years. It is about the orthodox and conservative way of maintaining long-lasting relationship.

It is also a very good "old-fashioned" lesson for young love-birds: that of maintaining relationship between two loving souls.

The lesson is simple: it is about fixing the broken parts, and not simply throw them away.

I am no guru in relationship: I myself failed in numerous attempts at scoring a long-lasting relationship with my ex(es); but I have to agree with this quote.

In the past, I sometimes easily call-off the relationships because I feel that I can find a new person who is much-much better than the current person. True enough, that is. After all, the United Nations have announced that human population have reached seven billion.

Well, of course there are seven billion humans inhibiting this planet Earth, but among the seven billions, can you find the right fit which is exactly the same as the current person that you are loving? It is like finding a needle in a haystack. No,it is like finding a grain of salt in a pool of sugar!

It is difficult to come-by with the person that fits the criteria that you have drawn-up. The current person is the best; otherwise, you wouldn't fall in love with the person, right? Finding another person to love is a hard task. It may take one hour to find a new person; and it may also take another 10 years of your lifetime to find the next other half!

To save a relationship, sometimes, you just have to give-and-take. You have to be understanding, even though you can't  understand a damn thing. Even if the other half is offering some lame excuses and gibberish reasons; swallow it. Digest it, for if you think too much, it will just hurt the relationship.

Unless, if you are inquisitive like me, then you can start asking loads of questions. But then again, to what extend will these barrage of questions fix the relationship problem? Best solution is, and I've learnt this the hard way throughout my years of having a sinusoidal graph-like relationship is that; if it can be ignored, then let it so.

You have to ignore certain things, and start digesting certain hard feelings, for if you don't, and if it is kept too long and erupted like the Krakatoa, you will never be able to save the relationship. And that is the beginning of the end if your relationshil with that person.

So, swallow it like how you swallow the chocolate moist cake, but don't swallow too much, for if you do, you will hurt yourself through stomachache. Swallow what you are able to swallow.

Above all, I agree with the quote: fix all problems, and run not away for it. Throw not away the precious relationship that you have and cherish every moment spent with the person.

And above all, try to fix any broken parts. Always, and everytime.

May you and I find a long-lasting relationship in the near future! No, not in the near future; maybe next week?

And it is 1:04 am. Oh, I'm sleepy. Nite, everyone!

^_^

News in Malaysia

Friends,

Tonight I want to talk about Malaysia's news, newspapers and news channels. Believe it or not, we have so many channels for the news to be published and broadcast, either through the television, papers, radio and even the internet.

OFFICIAL NEWS AGENCY

The official news agency in Malaysia is Bernama, which is an abbreviation of BERita NAsional MAlaysia. Bernama does not publish its news on a newspaper; rather, they broadcast it through newswire, its television section and its radio section.

Most news publishers in Malaysia will either pick-up the local news from Bernama or run their own stories, with news coming from their own journalists. In a way, you can think of Bernama as a newa agency like AFP.

Bernama has its own TV called Bernama TV, which is full of news and info-tainment. You can view the TV section in Astro or stream it on the internet.

Bernama also has its own 24-hour radio station branded as Bernama Radio 24. Most of the news are broadcasted in Malay, especially from 6:00 AM until 8:00 PM. The English segment of Bernama Radio 24 is from 8:00 PM to 12:00 PM, hosted by Gerard Ratnam. Currently, this station is available in the Klang Valley area with the frequency of 93.9 FM, and also in Johor Bahru. You can also listen to the radio live on the internet through Bernama Radio 24's website.

STATE NEWS

The government also have their news arm, which is incorporated as Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). The RTM work closely with the Ministry of Information and it is the most important tongue of the Government organ.

RTM controls two TV sections/stationsa, namely TV 1 and TV 2. Of course, the news and views presented in these stations will reflect the views, opinions and the perspective of the ruling government.

RTM also control many radio stations throughout Malaysia. Some of the stations that are under the purview of RTM include, but not limited to:-

*KL fm - 97.2 FM
*Nasional fm
*Klasik fm
*Traxx fm, and others.

NEWSPAPERS

Even in this digital age of the 21st Century, newspapers still play a large role in our society. To say that newspapers are on the verge of facing extinction like dinasours are a bit too exaggerated with weak argument. That said, I do not foresee that newspapers are facing extinction for we still rely on the newspaper on every single morning.

In Malaysia, newspapers can be categorized into its languages. We have newspapers written in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Tamil and Chinese.

Let us examine the paper in more detail.

Malay Newspapers

Some of the common Malay newspapers include (in no particular order):-

*Utusan Malaysia - daily political newspaper, linked to UMNO and BN. Some headlines are quite controversial, the latest being "Apa Lagi Cina Mahu" (What do the Chinese Want). Some would say that this paper is a racist paper, while others say that this paper is the mouth that speaks the interest of the Malay community. You be the judge, dear readdrs. This paper is published by Kumpulan Utusan.

*Berita Harian - daily newspaper owned by The NSTP Group and with steong inclination towards UMNO and BN. Published by The NSTP Group. One good thing about this paper is the fact that they highlight numerical figures in their news via "Fakta Nombor" box.

*Harian Metro - daily tabloid with catchy headlines and seductive bylines. This is the highest-selling and leasing Malay newspapers. Some headlines are just so catchy and damn creative, aimed at seducing the public to read more of its contents. You can also find bizarre news that are rarely heard of in this paper. Well, it's a tabloid. The paper is published by The NSTP Group.

*Kosmo! - daily tabloid and rival to Harian Metro. Headlines are not that catchy, but the news are quite okay. Published by Kumpulan Utusan.

*Sinar Harian - daily neutral and balanced newspaper, though it doesn't have wide circulations compared to the above papers. I rarely buy Sinar Harian, because I tend to judge a paper by its look. The paper doesn't have an appealing look to me, but the content is really good. Published by Kumpulan Karangkraf.

*Harakah - weekly political and Islamic newspaper whose main audience are members of the opposition political party, PAS. The newspaper is mainly written in Malay, and embedded in it are Islamic agendas. This paper also has its English segment. The news presented in here focuses on politics, current isssues and public affairs. The paper is published by the Islamic political party PAS.

English Newspapers

Some of English newspapers are (in no particular order):-

*The Star - Malaysia's leading English dailies with high circulations and readerships. Published by The Star Media Group, linked to the Chinese political party, MCA. The paper is priced at RM 1.20 on weekdays and RM 1.50 on weekends. Oh, the Saturday paper is very popular among:-

(a) the jobseekers, as they have a dedicated section on job listing, and,

(b) business analysts, as they have a dedicated section (pull-out) called Star Biz which sumarizes business news for the whole week.

*The Sun - daily English newspaper and published by The Sun Media Group, a company linked to Berjaya Holdings controlled by Tan Sri Vincent Tan. This paper is given out free at some locations and if you want to subsribe it, it will cost you only 30 sen. The paper is published on a very thin paper that is presumably eco friendly.

*The Malay Mail - published on weekdays. The news coverage is quite okay, and some headlines scream loudly and hit at anyone. The paper is priced at RM 1.00 per copy.

*New Straits Times - daily newspaper and rival to The Star. Published by The NSTP Group, and inclined toward UMNO and BN. This paper is priced at RM 1.20 every weekdays and RM 1.50 every weekends.

*The Malaysian Reserve - business newspaper published on weekdays and priced at RM 7.50 per copy. If you subsribe it online, it will cost you RM 3.60 per copy. The news analysis is very detail, with wide business and corporate coverage. Highly suitable for business analysts and corporate figures. And it is published together with The International Herald Tribune, the international arm of New York Times. Due to its rather pricey price tag, it is a bit difficult to get this paper as it is not sold at 7-Eleven, even within Klang Valley. Only selected stores in the KL City Center have the courage to sell this paper ;)

*The Edge Financial Daily - business newspaper published on weekdays, by The Edge Media Group. Priced at RM 1.50 and you can always get it at selevted 7-Eleven stores in the Klang Valley.

*The Edge Weekly - weekly busines newspaper, and usually published on Saturdays, by The Edge Media Group. Priced at RM 5.00 and you can always get it at 7-Eleven in Klang Valley starting on Sunday. The news in the paper is very comprehensive, ranging from corporate move, capital market and fund performance. There is a dedicated section towards the back of the news, written by reputable local columnists and international commenrators.

*Focus Malaysia - weekly business newspaper, and published every Fridays by HCK Media, a company controlled by Dato' Clement Hii. A rival to The Edge Weekly. Priced at RM 4.50, and you can also get it at 7-Eleven or MyNews.com on Friday afternoon.

Online English News

Some of good online news portals for reading are:-

*The Malaysian Insider - a news portal containing news from both sides of the political divide: the coalition (alliance) and the opposition. The news published are sometimes controversial, but then again, I guess theybare trying to balabce the news. One good thing about this portal is that they publish views from all sides. I love this portal because of their brave stand in publishing news without fear or favour.

*FZ (www.fz.com) - I think this news portal is part of The Edge Media Group, targeting at Gen-Y and the new millenials. Until now, I cannot figure out what FZ really stands for, but if you go to their website, they will say the "F" stands for "Free", "Fun" and "Fair". Some articles published are really good, but I have yet to show full liking of this portal.

*Malaysia-Today - this is a very controversial news portal owned and managed by controversial journalist, who happens to be the cousin (twice removed) of the current Sultan of Selangor. I have yet to verify the credibility of the news published in this portal, but I always read it with a pinch of salt, and a bit of sugar too, in case it gets really salty.

*MalaysiaKini - this is a really good news portal, whose inclination tends to be with the opposition. The news is quite credible as most news come with videos to prove their credibility. This news portal also have their own TV channel called MalaysiaKini TV which you can also accessit from YouTube. There is also a new division of the news, which focuses on business news, namely called "BizKini". Again, read this news portal with a cup of coffee and sugar by the side, just in case the news get bitter.

And that ends my analysis of Malaysian news. Well, Malaysia is ladened with so many newspapers and news channels. There are so many tabloids and news channels that I can write about, and it will never end for Malaysia is truly a blessed news haven. That exclude personal news published in independent blog or website.

But anyway, above are the mainstream  news for your own knowledge. I think that reading some of the above news are sufficient for you to keep abreast of Malaysian news, politics and current affairs.

Choosing the right channel for the news to be digested is the right thing to do, for if you choose the wrong channel, the  you may either puke or lose your eating appetite.

You might also have eating disorder, or probably a bad diarrhea should the morning paper contain news that are hard to digest together with the breakfast!

My hope is that the news published through the many platforms mentioned above will be more balanced, and reported and published without fear of being politically silenced.