First YouTube Embed

Hi All,

Below is the first YouTube clip that I embed... It's my A cappella group and I performing live / unplugged in INTI College Malaysia (now known as INTI International University College)

Enjoy! (56K Beware)

Bloggers inundate cyberspace with flood updates

I tell you... these people are the coolest people ever....

You know the flood in Johor? Yeah... unless you are not from Malaysia then you might not know. Many bloggers actually posted the flood situation news, photographs and even video clips on their blog~!

See this...
http://myareaflood.blogspot.com/

Oh.. by the way, I'm going back to BM, Penang today to celebrate Xmas with my parents.

My Christmas present you asked? I got myself a O2 XDAII Mini... Muahaha....

PAS-Style Dance Club

Well, I had 2 events in one week... One on Wednesday (Setup on Tuesday) and one on Friday...

On Friday, we had a dinner party over at Izzi KL (www.izzikl.com). It is located in the heart of Bukit Bintang (but its address is Jalan Sultan Ismail...). The pizza there is nice and not to mention their pasta and other dishes like Ju Hu Char (a type of hokkien dish) and many more...

The party ended with karaoke by our crew members. That time was about 10.00pm.

Then on Saturday (yesterday), my band members and I had a performance in Holiday Villa Apartments (Jalan Ampang) for 3rd MIMS Annual Awards Night. It was fun as we are all from different background and for the first time, we come together as a band and performed more than 10 songs altogether. Although the audience was a bit "old" for our songs, the melody and tempo of the songs we played actually moved them and believe it or not, they actually stood up and danced.

After that, the organizer of the night asked me (yes, only me as my other band members have to go back to college located in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan) to join them for clubbing, in which I am not very interested...

Ah, talking about clubbing, I read this article this morning over at www.thestar.com.my. It is about a "new" type of Dance Club, namely PAS-Style Dance Club.

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BY IAN MCINTYRE

KOTA BARU: Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has given his blessings to an Islamic form of dance clubs to serve as entertainment outlets here.

He said, however, no liquor would be served and there must be a segregation of the male and female patrons.

There must also be proper attire for women such as clothes that do not reveal the navel, Nik Abdul Aziz told reporters here yesterday.

His remarks came after state local government committee chairman Takiyuddin Hassan said the state government could consider applications for entertainment outlets under the proposed tourism zone in Kuala Besar, near the Pantai Cahaya Bulan stretch.

The zone will have tourism attractions like a state-of-the-art cultural centre, a marina, local cuisine speciality restaurants, handicrafts and souvenir outlets.

He said a discotheque or nightclub would not be allowed since it was against the spirit of its entertainment laws.

Nik Abdul Aziz said he was not opposed to dancing but that couples should not do it and most importantly, that the women's navel was covered.

He said that entertainment was allowed in Islam but with certain conditions so that it did not lead to social ills, he said.

He added that Muslim women must be covered from head to toe except for their face and hands while Muslim men must be decently dressed when in public.

State PAS Youth head Salahuddin Ayub said the party was trying to demonstrate a healthy form of entertainment in the Islamic context.

He said PAS leaders should not give up on their quest despite criticisms from certain quarters and attempts by Umno to politicise it.

Salahuddin said the wing will also meet with foreign tourists to find out what kind of entertainment activities they like in the country.

He said this was important for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 and the Visit Kelantan 2008 campaigns.

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No offence, but could it be more ridiculous that this?!

Mat Rempit

Let's see what I can find from Wikipedia about the definition of "Mat Rempit"

According to wikipedia.org, A Mat Rempit is a Malaysian term for 'illegal street racer/racing' who rides a underbone motorcycle (Kapcai) or scooter. Mat Rempits usually race in a bustling city centre during weekend nights until wee hours in the morning. They are usually Malay age from 16 to 30 years old. But there also small number of Chinese & Indian also involve in this illegal street racing. Most of them in groups and usually no rewards waiting them.

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Well, usually I do not want to be called a racist (cos I am not). But what has the society done to the country? Now wikipedia is labelling our biggest population as the largest fleet of Mat Rempit 'racers'?

Let's see below the government has done to tackle the problem. They called it "Smart Community"

=========================================
Adapted from The Star
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/12/12/nation/20061212172504&sec=nation

Ministry hopes smart community programme will tame mat rempit

KUCHING: The Information Ministry wants its komuniti bestari (smart community) programme to reach out to the mat rempit (street racers) and engage them in more useful activities.

“All this while we have seen the mat rempit in a negative light. I hope the komuniti bestari can look at their positive side and come up with activities for them,” said deputy Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said the programme, started by the Information department to touch base with rural communities, could provide an opportunity to young street racers to take part in more positive activities.

Ahmad Zahid was speaking to reporters after a meeting with Information department officers here yesterday.

“If there are any mat rempit in any area, the komuniti bestari organisers must make efforts to bring them in so that they won’t be neglected by society,” he said, suggesting that they could hold legal motorcycle races for local youths albeit in the daytime.

“Then they won’t have to do it illegally at night,” he added.

Ahmad Zahid said he had directed the state Information department to set up three komuniti bestari projects in each of Sarawak’s 71 state constituencies to create a total of 213 such communities. There are 30 such communities at present.

He added that the ministry intends to have a total of 1,153 komuniti bestari programmes throughout the country by the end of next year. Currently, there are 457.

=========================================

Let's see what is the outcome from this project lah...
 

Malaysia - Clean Enough?

I was very busy with all the paperwork and phone calls + email for my events next week. One in Penang and two in KL. It was a hectic week.

I went to Atrium (Behind Sheraton Imperial) last Friday with my colleagues for a Partner Dinner organized by us for Microsoft. It was kinda empty because of the down pour and traffic jam around Bukit Bintang and Jalan Sultan Ismail area. However, it was a nice place!

The place is cosy and comfortable. Not much of loud music (they play house music)... not much of smoke around... and the most important is, NO drunk patrons... haha... I reached there at about 8 something at night and we left at about 1.30am the next day.

Ok, about the title...

I was on my way to INTI International University College, Nilai to meet up with my friends for a band practice. I took the commuter at KL Sentral. I thought of going to the washroom before i head on the a near-to-one-hour journey. To my surprise, the washroom is so dirty. There are stains on the floor and the basin was not cleaned. The toilet seats were awful and no tissue in the washroom~!

KL Sentral is the main (central) place for most of the transportation methods. A lot of foreigners visited KL Sentral everyday and what they least expect is a washroom that is not clean. What on earth the management of KL Sentral (KTM - Keretapi Tanah Melayu Sdb Bhd) is thinking? Get the most out from us and do nothing as apprieciation?

Feel free to comment, I would like to hear from you guys...

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10 things you didn't know about... KARAM SINGH WALIA

Environment journalist Karam Singh Walia tells RACHAEL PHILIP why he ends all his reports with a peribahasa.

IF Michael Chong is seen as a saviour of sorts to battered wives and loan shark victims, then journalist Karam Singh Walia is nature's knight.

Known to have made cabinet ministers squirm in their seats with his intense grilling on environmental issues, 46-year-old Karam is often seen on TV3’s Buletin Utama atop a hill, down a drain or in a back alley of some dubious factory in full gear – vest, gloves, hard hat, boots and a see-through plastic bottle for an instant albeit elementary water clarity test.

Besides the eccentric hand gesture punctuating every sentence, this dedicated journalist ends every news report with a suitable peribahasa or bidalan (Malay expression).

1 Is he single-handedly trying to popularise Malay adages and proverbs? “No, it is a way to catch people’s attention. Sometimes I use bahasa kiasan (decorative language) as a way to make a point without hurting people’s feelings. That’s Malay culture actually. Some people take the trouble to e-mail or SMS me if they do not understand the saying. I, of course, oblige them. It goes to show that people are curious. Most of us don’t use or even hear these expressions once we leave school.”

2 He carries a photocopy of a book listing some 4,300 Malay sayings with him everywhere he goes. He found this copy by chance, when his neighbour’s dustbin was knocked over by a stray hockey ball. The book never meant much to him until some 10 years later when he joined TV3. “Recently, a local publishing company sent me two of their newly-launched books, one entitled Kamus Peribahasa Kontemporari, the other on pantun and gurindam. It’s smaller and easier to carry around but I still prefer the old book.”

3 His favourite saying is “Terbakar kampung nampak asap, terbakar hati siapa yang tahu”. “Our former prime minister used it as a warning to grassroots leaders. He advised them to go down and serve the people, they may be smiling and all but you can never know their true feelings or how they would vote, for that matter.” Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad, apparently mentioned “wartawan Singh dari TV3” during that speech.

4 Prior to being a TV news journalist, Karam was a secondary school teacher. His first degree from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM) is in teaching English as a second language. Besides English, he also taught physical education. Subsequently he gained a master’s in TV journalism from the University of London.

5 Until 10 years ago, Karam rode a motorcycle to work. It was the only mode of transportation for his family of five. Often he had to make two trips to transport his family, sometimes ferrying two children at a time – one behind him, one in the front basket. His reason? “Getting my house paid for in full was my first priority.”

6 Being a good hockey player, Karam volunteered to coach hockey to schoolchildren during his four years at (UPM). He went to the nearest school in Serdang and asked the headmaster if he could train the boys. “Within a year, we had a championship team. And we won the national championship three years in a row.” From this team of humble beginnings, six national players were born, including Maninderjit Singh, Abdul Rahman, Saiful and Madzlee.

7 These days Karam’s hockey stick hardly sees the light of day. He is too busy with work. A passionate environmentalist, he pursues every case of environment degradation with such zeal; receiving threats and even risking his life is a norm. He recalls being chased by parang-wielding illegal farmers from Cameron Highlands once. “Some even offered me cars and RM150,000 in cash to buy me off. I have never seen so much money in my life. It shakes you to your foundation, your belief in what’s right.” The temptation was strong but Karam knew he would never be able to look his children in the eye if he gave in.

8 His most embarrassing situation while on air turned out to be a personal ‘expose’. His pants tore at the back while he was climbing up a steep slope to get a bird’s eye view of illegal logging activities. Luckily the cameraman at that time was the only witness, so Karam was “safe”.

9 If there is one thing he absolutely cannot tolerate, it is litterbugs. “Once, a man threw a soft drink can out of his car window. I chased him and made him turn around to pick up his rubbish.” Karam and his family also avoid carrying plastic carrier bags as much as they can.

10 On a larger scale, he has a bone to pick with some government departments and state governments. He wishes that they would be more transparent and accountable when planning development, especially in sensitive areas. “This really angers me – people with a string of degrees and titles to their names but when planning for development, they do not look at the bigger picture, on a macro level.” What would he do, if he were in their seats?

“If I were the Environment Minister, some people would have hell to pay. I am not saying that I will stop all development projects. I will instead encourage responsible development and environmental governance. We have all the necessary laws but what’s sad is the attitude of the people entrusted to enforce them. Look at yourself in the mirror, “tepuk dada tanya selera”.

Taken from http://www.reach.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=364&Itemid=68

Back from Event

Hi everyone, I am back from my event over at PWTC. It was the "Konvensyen Kebangsaan Guru dalam ICT 2006"

It was tiring but exciting as I get to deal with people that are with different character, attitude and mindset. I had fun throughout the event because I get to meet the "temps" (temporary staff - part timers) that I have known in previous events. We work together well and it was hell of an experience worknig as "Banquet Boys".

I still have lots of things to follow up, especially on events that are on next week. Phew~ I think I have to go to the office tomorrow although my boss asked me to rest for the day...