LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

I saw the above article in The Sun yesterday as I was having my capati and sardine at NZ Curry House, Wangsa Maju.

After being listed as the 3rd Rudest City in the world, I guess trying to learn some manners/etiquette is a step in the right direction. After all, there is an ongoing "Budi Bahasa Budaya Kita" campaign isn't it? The fact that a couple of our ministers and MPs are apparently clueless about this campaign does not demean the spirit and noble aim of the campaign. I, for one, would not object to DBKL's top people sitting down to dinner together and try to use the silverware without the clickety-clack of a school hostel's dining hall. The tuxedo is another matter though. I am not sure tux is among the uniform of the civil servants. I know that when I was in the service, I could claim for the ceremonial "monkey suit" that can be seen in the shop window of some tailors.

The above article elicited many responses. If anybody cares, mine was just one word: PRIORITIZE! You see, my apartment's MC (Managing Corporation) is DBKL. I pay a monthly service fee. The fee is for services like security and maintenance. Currently, security is below par. The perimeter fencing is down and last week alone there were 4 cases of robbery reported. At the end of last year I discovered that the ceiling in one of my bathrooms dripped foul-smelling liquid. The bathroom in the unit above me leaks. I could not unilaterally invade other people's toilets. I politely informed DBKL. Nothing was done. I called again and they told me to write a letter. I wrote a polite letter. A few months back, after several phone calls, the problem was surveyed and confirmed. Repair was not done.

Somebody told me that when you want things done, do not talk to the monkeys but talk to the organ-grinder. The top brass that I talked to was nice and caring. Another minion came to look at my bathroom's ceiling. It raised my hope. Many many days later, the bathroom upstairs still was not fixed. I managed to talk to the Tehnician in charge and he told me that he has submitted a request for a budget and was waiting for an approval. How much does a plastic pipe cost? He told me to talk to his boss, an engineer. Before I could get to his boss, the technician called me again and sort of pleaded for me to repair the leaky pipe myself. Maybe it is true what the Americans say about "not fighting City Hall".

Then, a few weeks back, a lady somewhere in the city complained that DBKL pasted a notice on her newly painted door. The notice was warning her to paint her premise. I would like DBKL to paste a notice on any block in Vista Angkasa. The building has not been painted for more than 10 years. If you are from PJ and driving past the Kota Darul Ehsan, look to the right. You can see the scruffiest building this side of Chow Kit Road. I was hoping that it would be painted during the years when major events were held in KL (Commonwealth Games, NAM etc.) Zilch! The excuse given was "No budget".

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? I say, my friend, the electric tariff has gone up. Electric bills not paid so light switched off.

STILL SCARED

The smaller boy is Aiman Naim, one of my grandsons. The other boy is his cousin Adam, my eldest grandson. Naim is going to celebrate his 4th birthday tomorrow (Saturday). While I am praying that all my grandchildren will live to celebrate their own grandchildren's birthdays, I am still scared of what might come. I am still unsettled because "we all live under the twisting nuclear sword of Damocles every second of the day.."

The famous WW2 general, General Omar Bradley said:

"We live in an age of nuclear giants and ethical infants. In a world that has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. We've solved the mystery of the atom and forgotten the Sermon on the Mount. We know more about war than we know about peace; more about dying than we know about living."

I have not forgotten God. I accepted that everything is God's will. My family and I surrender to God. But I have not forgotten the advice "Surrender to God but tie your camels." It is time that we tie our camels. Do your best to get as many people as possible to have peace on earth. If you think that is impossible, just do your best not to let us have wars. You have your own Naims and Adams to think of.

SCARY DAY

Most people fear the unknown. I am one of them. I really do not know Putrajaya. In spite of having friends living or working there, I have never set foot in Malaysia's new capital. My Terengganu friends would call me darat (inlander). Today, I conquered my fear and ventured into Putrajaya to attend the Special Session 2006 of the Perdana Global Forum together with other invited bloggers. I came home more scared than before. I am scared of the Coming Nuclear Wars. I am scared stiff of the fate that might befall my children and my grandchildren. There is another session tomorrow at the Tun Dr.Ismail Hall, PWTC, KL. It is open to the public. Go and listen to the illustrious speakers and then tell me you are not scared.
Dr. Helen Caldicott, Founder and President of the Nuclear Research Institute graphically told us at today's session what can happen in case of a nuclear catastrophe. Do not think that even if the explosion is in Iran, we can remain unscathed. We are downwind and the fallout will contaminate our food and our water with dire consequences. Thus, no matter what political affiliation you have or, what religion you belong to, be very very scared. Whether you are an UMNO member, an MCA member , a Gerakan member or DAP member, you will be affected by WW4. Whether you are a fan of Tun Dr. M or a fan of Pak Lah, whether you support S.Vellu or Subramaniam or you root for Michael Ballack or Steve Gerrard you have to do something to stop the madmen from destroying the Earth as we know it. Go listen. Go read. Go think. Then write and persuade whoever you can to join you in preserving sanity and the Earth.
As a start, copy the logo above and put it on your blog. The Action Plan will be published soon, hopefully and we all can see what we, as a group or as an individual can do.
On my way home I saw a 4WD belonging to JAIS stranded on the highway. It made me think. Praying alone is not enough.

Read: CONPLAN 8022
THE IRAN PLAN
NUCLEAR EFFECTS

BUMI HIJAU AT TAMAN HIJAU

There is nothing strange about vegetable patches like those above. They are the garden variety type. The unusual bit is these vegetable plots are not in someone's backyard or front yard. They are on the shoulder of a feeder road in Taman Hijau, a housing estate in Sitiawan.

Driving around the housing estate, I saw many of these vegetable patches. Some have spinach, some have lettuce and some even have ladysfinger (or okra, if you feel American). My first thought was that the Bumi Hijau (Grow More Vegetables) Campaign finally caught up with the green thumb people of Taman Hijau.

While lauding the effort to grow greens, I could not help but wonder what the Majlis Daerah Manjung think of the vegetable patches on their road shoulders. I suppose if the authorities make noise, the green thumbs would just say "Lettuce alone!"

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Reminder: Please take some time to nominate worthy blogs for the 2006/2007 Asia Blog Award. Click here.

THE NEWS IS PRETTIER THAN THE FACE

I had to make a trip to Sitiawan on Friday. Not wanting to miss the opening game, I had to bring my Astro card with me. The house in Sitiawan does not subscribe to sports channels. It has a very big rear-projection TV though. I know RTM1 and NTV7 carry the matches live but I prefer fiddling buttons at Astro Supersport.
As usual, dinners in Sitiawan mean lots of seafood, especially oysters in crispy omellet. By the time the Germany-Costa Rica match was on, I was already yawning. I was the only football fan in the house and after the score was 2-1, I surrendered and fell asleep.
On Saturday, we abandoned the plan to have ikan bakar in Teluk Batik because I wanted to get home and catch the England-Paraguay match. I should have gone to the seaside because the match was not worth rushing home to. The first 10 minutes was exciting and Beckham lived up to his reputation as the King of The Dead Ball. But the rest of the game was frustrating to watch. Hello friend! This is the World Cup and I expect world-class football. The guy from International Herald Tribune had some fine words for that game.
The Netherland - Serbia Montenegro on Sunday was boring too until Robben scored his goal. Van Nistelrooy was a mere passenger and was replaced. Sir Alex Ferguson could be smirking in his scotch tonight. I snorted on my air nira (bought at the Ulu Dedap junction) and switched to the the French Open.
I noticed that since the UEFA Final the referees were all wired with earphone and mic. Who were they in contact with? Can the tech-savvy spectators eavesdrop and tell the ref "Oii Kayu!!!" whenever they make a wrong decision?
Iran's first goal in this World Cup was by GOLmuhammadi and Mexico's goal was by Omar BRAVO. Heheh.

ASIA BLOG AWARDS

Simon has passed the baton (button?) to Myrick in organising the Asia Blog Awards 2006/2007.
As a past winner many many moons ago, I am helping Myrick in whatever ways I can. You can help too by nominating worthy blogs. Go here to nominate.
This blog has won before and is therefore ineligible. Please do not nominate this blog or other past winning blogs.
UPDATE:
I don't see Best Malaysia Blog in the nomination list. Wait for Myrick to do the correction.
I am also not sure if the previous logo will be used for this round of awards. I am sure though that there will be no monetary rewards for winners, only bragging rights. This, however, shall not stop anyone (or any corporation) with surplus cash to sponsor a trophy - probably modelled after the Batu Bersurat found all over Asia and/or to fund the award presentation ceremony. Hey, one can wish.













(Terengganu's Batu Bersurat)

A BABY'S LIST

You cannot beat a baby's lot. There are a lot of things that adults cannot do but babies can, like:
1. Having a poo or a pee wherever and whenever you like.
2. Being served food on demand without being told "Sorry, the kitchen is closed"
3. Not worrying about bad hair days
4. Not worrying about Income Tax
5. Being oblivious to AF Fever
6. Not having problems with the wife
7. Not worrying about own body weight
8. Not worrying about fashion or what to wear after baths
9. Peeing or vomiting on visitors without getting scolded
10. Not having to juggle sleep or schedules to watch World Cup Matches.

You are free to add your own.