Viva English soccer!

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I know in my post earlier, I had said that I have lost interest in English soccer or something of that sort, due to their lackadaisical performance in the world cup finals. I am swallowing humble pie now, as I am finding myself using my TV remote to always check on the EPL games schedules and the scores! 30 years habit is not that easy to lose. I realize that now. 

 To all those England fans, I just want to say that I regret to have said all those things that I said, in my earlier post. And I just want you know that I am back! Viva, English soccer!

Cambodia on a high

News in The Star Online of September 1, 2010 mentioned that Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen had approved a master plan for the construction of the tallest building in Asia.

Well, good for him. At least people will then know how poor his country is, and also about the atrocious ‘Killing Fields’ where over 2 million people have died!

The skyscraper would be 555 meters high, surpassing the present tallest man-made structure in Asia – the Taipei 101, in Taiwan, which is 508 meters high. The structure in Taiwan is now the second highest in the world, the tallest being the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai of United Arab Emirates, with a height of 828 meters. Our own Petronas Twin Towers is 452 meters high is ranked among the top ten in the world, with the debates going on about the spiral wires, antennas and whatnots.

Coming back to Cambodia, one wonders why, a nation, with a population of just over 14 million and which is one the poorest in Asia, would want to build the tallest building in Asia. Wouldn’t it be better if it could use the money to improve the living conditions of its people?

Well, perhaps, after having his country being looked down on for so many years Hun Sen desires his country to be looked up!

Watch out! Your things can be snatched!

“Ammoi, don’t wear your necklace, here. Wear it when you reach the hall. You too, Bathma, don’t wear that gold chain, now,” the grandmother was giving instructions to her grandchild and daughter-in-law. “And keep all your things in one bag and give to appa,” she added, “let him carry it.”

“Aw, come on ma, don’t let me carry a woman’s bag,” grumbled dad, but he carried it, anyway.

This has been the norm now, whenever the family wanted to go to some occasions or festivals. Today, they are going to their friend’s wedding ceremony, being held in the town hall.

I am sure banters of similar kind occur in many houses in Malaysia, what with the rampant cases of bag and chain snatchings being carried on, by the scoundrels of Malaysia, simply termed as ‘snatch-thieves'.

Gone are the days when ladies can, bravely, venture out of their houses, holding bags or wearing their normal gold jewelry. They can no longer show off their stylish bags, or proudly display their eye catching valuables. No, this is not an exaggeration. My own family had the nasty experience of two such cases. My wife had her gold chain snatched from her, right in front of the neighbour’s house (we are staying in terrace house), while she was walking back from the shop nearby. Not that she was exhibiting it. It was just a small chain, to sling around her neck to accompany her thali (the sacred string that all Hindu women have after marriage, around their necks). She had screamed but no one was in sight at that inopportune time. The culprits were two helmet-wearing youngsters on a motorbike. About two months later, my unfortunate elderly mother had her shopping bag snatched in front of a shop in town (Taiping), by another rascal on a motorbike. It just had about eight ringgit and some betel leaves for chewing.

Of course, police reports had been made duly, and assurance of frequent patrols had been received. But the snatch-thefts still do occur. Looks like the thieves are always one step ahead of the police.

It is certain that looking at the frequent, if not daily, reports of snatch-thefts, almost all the Malaysian readers of this post, would surely, at one time or another, had themselves or someone in their family or friends been affected by such snatch-thefts.

I wonder whether such bag and chain snatching goes on in other parts of the world. I hope not. Or is it just wishful thinking?

Leptospirosis in Malaysia

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“Leptospirosis”. I am memorizing this word so that I can spread this word to my friends and acquaintances. I hope our government does something similar, of course, on a larger scale. No, not the memorizing part but the spreading of the word. This word is the name given to the disease caused by the leptospirosis bacteria, which is found in rat urine. When a person, especially with wounds, came into contact with water contaminated with these bacteria, he is in serious danger of getting this disease. 

The symptoms are fever with flu, kidney problems, lung-bleeds due to infection, as well as, meningitis and jaundice. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache and vomiting. 

This disease has been with us for all these years, looking at the data given to the media by the Health Ministry ; 263 cases in 2004 with 20 dead, and had been steadily increasing yearly. Last year it was 1418 cases with 62 deaths! However, our government seems to have not given enough attention to the eradication or suppression of the disease. Rats are still being spotted roving the drains, near unkempt eateries. Rubbish heaps are still being found near rivers and other bathing spots. And, only recently, leptospirosis has been made a ‘notifiable’ disease, where doctors coming across suspected cases, should immediately, notify the health authorities. 

The disease of leptospirosis was only widely mentioned in the papers when 8 people, from a rescue team of 83, died from coming into contact with the bacteria, leptospirosis, in June 2010. The team was searching for a missing person in the waterfalls of Lubuk Yu Recreational Forest near Maran, Pahang. Another close-knitted bacterium, the melioidosis was also mentioned as the cause of so many fatalities. 

Only lately, the deaths caught the public’s attention, as, initially, the cause of the deaths was not known, and the deaths were termed as ‘mysterious’. The cause and source of the disease have now been clearly defined – people coming into contact with rat urine-contaminated water get it. The next step for the government is to disseminate the information to the whole nation, and emphasize on the eradication of the rodents. Accentuate on the cleanliness of rivers, drains, eateries, as well as, on the hygiene of the living quarters of the populace. Now is the time, on the heels of the tragic deaths, to use the momentum, to get the people to know and realize the real importance of surroundings with good sanitation, of cleanliness. 

The Health authorities and the government, as a whole, should immediately take various actions to get the nation clean and disease-free. We, the public, who are already aware of leptospirosis, should clean up our backyard first! Let's go! Let's win the rat-race! Not only here in Malaysia but throughout the whole wide world!

The business of flags

Just last week, I said that an important member of the opposition party, PAS, had ingeniously discovered the reason for baby dumping (check my earlier post). 

Good, now a member of the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, has, cleverly, discovered a way to see the national and state flags flying all over the Malaysian city of Ipoh, during National Day celebrations on 31st August, and the birthday celebrations of His Royal Highness, the Sultan of Perak on 19th April. His plan is not renewing the licenses of those businesses not flying the flags in their premises. What a way to get people flying the flags! 

What a way to get patriotism out of people! So this is thinking out of the box……eh?

Baby Dumping in Malaysia

In Malaysia, baby dumping in all the unimaginable places, is becoming quite regular. 

According to police-data, there has been 65 cases of baby dumping so far, this year. Newly born babies have been found in dump sites, in front of houses, near places of worship and more tragically, even in rivers. 

Finally, an important member of Malaysian opposition party, the Islam based PAS, had ingeniously discovered the reason for this sad state of affairs. He said the baby dumping was the side-results of celebrations, like New Year, Valentine’s Day, or even the Merdeka Day (Independence or National Day). He held that young, unwed couples got carried away during the celebrations, when they drank booze and socialized. The result? Unplanned mating and later on, the babies. To avoid the social stigma and the fear of an unforeseen responsibility, the babies are quickly got rid of, in whatever way. 

There is good news and bad news, when this opposition party comes into power after the elections. The good news is, there won’t be any baby dumping! The bad news is, there won’t be any celebrations….sob!

Thank God, I am not a flood victim!

It is raining cats and dogs outside my house in the small town of Taiping in Malaysia. I can afford to whistle a tune while sitting in front of my computer. I can even afford to sing out “Rain drops keep falling on my head”. It is not that I am insensitive to the plight of the people affected by the floods. It is just that I just want to say how lucky I am to be able to do the things that I want to do. I very well know that the rain is not going to bring about devastation to me or to the people in Taiping, in the form of destructive floods. Anyway the government is there to bring quick relief to the flood victims.

It is the same case with most parts of Malaysia. Floods do occur almost recurrently at certain places and people do suffer but the damage and desolation cannot be compared with that which occurs in other countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or China. Whole villages are washed ashore, hundreds of people killed and thousands made homeless. Of all the nations in the world, Bangladesh and China are two countries where floods occur frequently and with devastating effects, with thousands being killed. 

Other countries do have their destructive floods; only less frequently. Just as I am writing this, floods, catastrophical in nature, are occurring in Pakistan and China causing untold hardships and difficulties to both animals and human beings. Tragedy indeed, for these God's creations. 

We are actually very fortunate that there is no massive natural catastrophe here. We should be thankful to the God in the heaven for the relatively safe life that we enjoy today in Malaysia. We can show our gratitude to God by donating to the natural disaster relief funds established in the country. Often we can see donation boxes placed at the counters of post offices and banks. Those are placed there for us to do our part. Let us do it!

English Football

To the soccer fans of England, I wish to say sorry that I am not enthusiastic about their soccer, anymore. 

 I used to be very ardent about the English clubs, before the World Cup Final. Once England went out, at the earlier stage, without a whimper, I lost interest in the Final, and the team from England, in particular. I began to think that the English players will be always the great pretenders to win the world cup as had always been, since their win of 1966. 

Even the mention of their great players doesn’t excite me anymore. Why, it even irritates me sometimes! News about Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andy Johnson, to mention a few, had always attracted my attention. Not anymore! Even when their favorite clubs win in their friendlies with other clubs by big margins, as in the recent cases of Arsenal and Manchester United or even Manchester City winning over their opponents, my mind starts to say that for all they want they can win by 20 to 0 and they will still be no contenders to the World Cup. Only pretenders! 

Well, having getting that off my chest, I want to say that I have not lost interest in football, totally. My eyes always seek out for news on my favorite coach Jose Mourinho!

Tun Dr Ling in the Palace of Justice

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Former president of MCA (the main Chinese-wing party of the ruling coalition BN), Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, 67, was charged at the Putrajaya Sessions Court of Palace of Justice, on July 29, with cheating the Malaysian Government. That is, he was said to be involved in the Port Klang Free Zone (PFKZ) scandal. The ever calm and smiling Tun pleaded not guilty. He was granted bail of RM1 million by Judge Suzana Hussin. Tun posted the bail.

The offence was allegedly committed at the Prime Minister’s office in Putrajaya between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002. The basic charge is that he had knowingly deceived the cabinet in approving the purchase of a land for a major project, the cost of which had escalated tremendously.

Following the prosecution, the ever all knowing former Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Muhammad who was at the helm when Tun Dr Ling was the Transport Minister, commented that this was just an accusation and Tun Dr Ling is innocent until proven guilty.

Wow! RM1 million bail just for an accusation!