TOUCHED

Hiya guys,

Had an email today which really touched me. Though I do not understand a single word that is written in Chinese but it was told that the boy came up to the booth and wanted to donate.

What a heart...

UMNO

A friend just SMS me asking whether I have left UMNO too. Did not think of that earlier. Well from now on I would like to tell the world that right at this moment, I'm leaving UMNO to follow my mentor....Hahahahaha.

AH BENG CHEERS U UP

Ah Beng bought a new mobile.
He sent a message to everyone from his Phone Book & said,
'My Mobile No. Has changed. Earlier it was Nokia 3310. Now it is 6610'


Ah Beng: I am a Proud, coz my son is in Medical College .
Friend: Really, what is he studying.
Ah Beng: No, he is not studying, they are studying him.

Ah Beng: Doctor, in my dreams, I play football every night.
DR: Take this tablet, you will be ok.
Ah Beng: Can I take tomorrow, tonight is final game.


Ah Beng: If I die, will u remarry?
Wife: No! I'll stay with my sister. But if I die will u remarry?
Ah Beng: No, I'll also stay with your sister.


Ah Beng: People consider me as a 'GOD'
Wife: How do you know??
Ah Beng: When I went to the Park today, everybody said,
Oh GOD! U have come again.


Ah Beng complained to the police: 'Sir, all items are missing,
except the TV in my house.'
Police: 'How the thief did not take TV?'
Ah Beng: 'I was watching TV news...'


Ah Beng comes back 2 his car & find a note saying 'Parking Fine'
He Writes a note and sticks it to a pole 'Thanks for compliment.'


How do you recognize Ah Beng in School?
He is the one who erases the notes from the book when the teacher erases
the board.


Once A Beng was walking he had a glove on one hand and not on other.
So the man asked him why he did so. He replied that the weather forecast
announced that on one hand it would be cold and on the other hand it would
be hot.


Ah Beng in a bar and his cellular phone rings. He picks it up and
Says 'Hello, how did you know I was here?'


Ah Beng: Why are all these people running?
Man - This is a race, the winner will get the cup
Ah Beng - If only the winner will get the cup, why others running?


Teacher: 'I killed a person' convert this sentence into future tense
Ah Beng: The future tense is 'u will go to jail'


Ah Beng told his servant: 'Go and water the plants!'
Servant: 'It's already raining.'
Ah Beng: 'So what? Take an umbrella and go.'


A man asked Ah Beng why Ahmad Badawi goes walking in the Evening and not
in the morning. Ah Beng replied Ahmad Badawi is PM not AM

NATIONAL EXCUSE

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR HAIR LOSS:
Maggi Mee.

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR BEING LATE:
Traffic Jam.

NATIONAL CONDOM:
None. Most Malaysians still feel embarrassed buying condoms.

So they rush into a 7-11, hurriedly grab the nearest pack,

any pack, pay and leave before the cashier can even blink an eye.

NATIONAL FRUIT FOR INDUCING MENSTRUATION:
Pineapple

NATIONAL APHRODISIAC DRINK:
Stout. Many swear by it.

But after a few pints they start

swearing at everything...

NATIONAL FAKE ILLNESS FOR GETTING MC (MEN):
Food Poisoning.

NATIONAL FAKE ILLNESS FOR GETTING MC (WOMEN):
Menstrual Pain

NATIONAL EXCUSES GIVEN BY WOMEN WHEN REFUSING SEX:
Headache, kids not asleep, maid not asleep, mother-in-law around, early
appointment, period, haven't removed make-up, haven't had a shower, no water
supply, going to watch 'Desperate Housewives', depressed, no mood, etc...

NATIONAL EXCUSES GIVEN BY MEN WHEN REFUSING SEX:
None. Malaysian men never refuse sex. (oh ya??)

NATIONAL CURE FOR HEADACHES:
Panadol. The 'cure for all'. If it fails we have another secret weapon;
Tiger Balm.

NATIONAL CURE FOR DIZZINESS:

Minyak Angin Cap Kapak.

NATIONAL CAUSE OF DIZZINESS (FOR YUPPIES):
Happy Hours.

NATIONAL INSTANT CURE FOR DIZZINESS (FOR YUPPIES):
The sight of a police roadblock.

NATIONAL RUBBISH DUMP:
Anywhere. As long as it is not your house.

NATIONAL MOST MIS-PRONOUNCED NAME:
Carrefour. Sometimes even pronounced as Carry 4!

On second thought, why bother pronouncing stupid French brands like Peugeot, Renault or Citroen correctly. I think it sounds better,when the local mechanics say 'Pew Jeot'. When I was in school, Milo was always 'MeeLo', now that I'm sophisticated, I say 'My Lo'. So don't be embarassed saying 'Carry 4' when the ! Mat Sallehs shamelessly pronounce orang utan as 'rangootan'.

NATIONAL ROADSIDE DISTRACTION:
The Bra-less Tourist. See how heads turn and traffic slows down when a bra-less Mat Salleh backpacker goes 'bouncing' about on the streets.
haha...

The Day The Music Died

I received an email a couple of days ago about the on goings in the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. It was disturbing and I was undecided whether I should write about it because I was not sure if it was true. Well, I was just told last night that the news has already been reported in the press. Here is an excerpt from my email:-

Much as we like to encourage appreciation of Western Music in Malaysia
why is it that Petronas sees it fit to finance the 'Malaysian

Philharmonic Orchestra' which is a misnomer because 95% of its 105
musicians are foreign and mainly European. Each musician is paid
between Rm 16,000- RM28,000 per month. They are given 2 months paid
holiday and working conditions which are second to none in the world.
They have not one but 3 European conductors ! The Chief Conductor is
paid RM130,000 per month and the Associate Conductor gets paid RM
50,000 per month. The total Monthly budget for this orchestra is RM
3.5 million.

The Malaysian Conductor Ooi Chean See resigned because it was widely
known she was being undermined and not allowed to develop in her
career. During her time with the orchestra, her concert scehdule
decreased gradually to the point she was doing only a couple'Children's Concerts' per year.

The orchestra has been in existence for 10 years now and the total
amount spent on this orchestra has been a staggering RM 500 million.

Yes, Petronas does not have money for bridges for Malaysians but it
has money to splash on foreign musicians. Petronas does not appear to
have real desire to train or give opportunity to locals musicians.

They promised to set up an Academy of Music to train local musicians
with the tutors drawn from the orchestra but this sadly has not
materialised.

Since its inception, the Malaysian Philharmonic orchestra has not
increased its Malaysian participation which still stands at a shameful
4%. They have cosmetic programs like 'outreach' to supposedly
encourage the love of western classical music to local Malaysians but
these are essentially self serving publicity stunts. Even the newly
formed 'Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra' is a publicity stunt
with no serious commitment to develop Malaysian talent. It is poorly
organised and its musicians meet about twice a year only! The previous
founding CEO of the orchestra Mr Hamid Abu Bakar was clueless about
music and left the artistic decisions to IMG, an international music
agency who have successfully milked Petronas for tens of millions of
dollars.

The current CEO Juniwati Hussin is a chemist by training and is a
slight improvement because she does actually attend the concerts and
is not averse to learning to appreciate western classical music. But
the overall artisitc planning and direction in controlled by the
Europeans who have a vested interest telling Petronas that there is no
talent in Malaysia and the ignorant management of Petronas are happy
to maintain the status quo. It would appear that they prefer foreign
participation in this 'Malaysian Orchestra' then to have Malaysians.
What a pathetic mindset.

I hope issues like this will be brought up in parliament. Why can't
Petronas train local musicians, provide scholarships for locals to
study abroad if need be, and then employ them in the orchestra. In a
matter of a few years we can have an orchestra consisting of
Malaysians true to the name Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and good
enough to rival the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.There is an abundance
of talent in Malaysia. The sad fact is, Malaysian talent is usually
recognised overseas.

As if the above was not bad enough, there was a reader's letter in yesterday's "Star" in which, the writer complained about the quality of music studies available locally. I concur with what he/she wrote and I believe the relevant authorities should look into.

The Penang 4 x 4 Adventure Club's "Koh Samui Explorer 2008"

Convoy heading towards pier at Don Sak

I was invited to join an event organized by the Penang 4 x 4 Adventure Club. It was a four-day event from 1^st – 4^th May, 2008. Before I begin writing on the trip, perhaps a short history of the Club is appropriate.

A small group of hardcore 4 x 4 enthusiasts mooted the idea of the Club’s formation about 13 years ago. In the early days, these gentlemen were really doing the serious off-road stuff. Going into the wild for days, camping, opening up trails deep in the jungle, river crossings and most things you could imagine on outings like these. But those were the days!

Today, the Club boasts a membership of a little more than 400, and is touted to be the largest 4 x 4 outfit in the country. They are active, and they organize an average of about 3 – 5 expeditions annually. I have always enjoyed their trips (I have been invited couple of times). They are very well organized and well equipped. Most of their vehicles come with CB radio and there is communication all the way.

We left Penang early morning, arriving at the border checkpoint 9.00 a.m. It was a long weekend and the queue at the checkpoint did not disappoint. The holiday crowd coupled with our 44-vehicle convoy certainly taxed the Immigration authorities of both countries. It took us about an hour to clear the checkpoint and we proceeded to Nakhon Si Thammarat, arriving at about 2 p.m., completing the 1^st leg of the trip.

The food here is superb! We had dinner at a quaint little restaurant by the river where they serve excellent seafood. Dinner was a private affair and some of those who joined us had the presence of mind to bring along a couple bottles of wine!

We left Nakhon Si Thammarat the following morning and proceeded to Don Sak to board the ferry to Koh Samui. You really got to hand it to these guys. Equipped with GPS and all, the journey proceeded without a hitch. Arrived at Don Sak to find the chartered ferry ready and waiting to ferry us across.

An hour later we were on the island, making our way to the hotel. Because it was local in-season, we were unable to land a hotel with a beachfront. Anyway, the place we got was decent; there was a nice stretch of beach just across the street.

Koh Samui has changed tremendously. It is now very commercialized. I would describe it as something like Penang in the 70’s. If you expect to see those sleazy joints with pole dancing and the like, forget it! Somehow, the Thais have learnt to be discreet about stuff like that. Some of the old establishments like Reggae Pub, Aloha, Weekender are still there. Chaweng has become a very up-market place and Lamai too, has changed. In the old days, Lamai was virtually a dead place during the day. It is different now. I still remember those days when there was only one (1) policeman on the island. His home doubles as the Police Station. Today, they have as many Police Stations as there are Buddhist Temples on the island.

The Club organized the grand dinner at a resort by the beach on our last night in Samui. The setting was great, by the sea. Beer was free flowing and the food was simply marvelous. There was a cultural show by a transvestite group, followed by a karaoke session.

We left Samui on 4^th May and reached home the same day. It was a good trip except that I thought it was a bit too short!

Apologies

Just got back from Samui. Originally wanted to do a post on the trip with pictures. Unfortunately, my computer is not co-operating. Hard disk is down. So, pending the warranty claim, I should be out for about a week.

Am doing this from the Club's computer. Hope to be able to resume blogging in about a week's time.

Cheers!

ALLAH

Allah (Arabic: الله, Allāh, IPA: [ʔalˤːɑːh]) is the standard Arabic word for "God".^[1] While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to "God".^[2][1][3] The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.^[4]

From Wikipedia. Put this up due to the hoo hahs of the issue of the word being used to describe god in The Herald.

Let them go to court and fight it out. At least from here you get to see that all Abrahamic faiths believe Allah is the supreme one.

JAZZY THINGY

Well well well.. The Jazzy thingy at New World Park...

Gone were the days when Jazz was reserved only for the elders..These kids groove mannn..

Sunny Side Up.

WILSONnnnnn....You colour your hair or what?

The earlier crowd....

The later crowd...

Look at the crowd man. Such a rare occasion and free somemore, also no crowd meh? What happen to Penangites? Are these the only jazz lovers on the Island. Looking at it, its more of a family outing that come to see their siblings jam.

Maybe Jazz do not have a following yet in Penang. Could it be that the promo was weak? Well its free anyway, how much promo can you do..

Me and twotoner would have been an additional two if we were around. Pix courtesy of koay teow th'ng. KTT was unable to wait till Jeep's band plays. Thank you very much. Love U.