MALAYSIA is 5th most friendly!

[Do check out the hyperlinks] I can't believe it! Did you see how these stupid Malaysians acted on Christmas eve? It's true though, that we are the 5th friendliest country in the world - at least according to FORBES.com We're behind Bahrain, Canada, Australia & Thailand (1st to 4th consecutively). Singapore is at 8th and US at 10th. And apparently we got 1st for 'Organizing School for My Children' But how would anyone rate friendliness? Heck, we didn't make it to the top10 list last year. And suddenly we're at top 5! What does it mean? Is it because a Malaysian company has acquired Friendster? Or thanks to 1Malaysia? If we 'don't have politicians', I bet we can even be no.1! Oh it's a Mat-Salleh's conclusion. I reckon it's because of our OneUtama, Midvalley, KLCC etc. But the Kampung folks deserve credits too I think. OR it's all simply because of the Friendster thing. Good job.

And I really hope the 1Malaysia concept to materialise. Shut up and go away racist politicians, their apologists; and stupid Malaysian hooligans!

Hmmm long holidays

Never felt like this since post-SPM This word describes my situation well for now. It means:

•not in action or at work; •baseless: without a basis in reason or fact; •not in active use; •silly or trivial; •lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; •run disconnected; •dead: •not having a job;

Fact or Fiction?

1 - Tun Abdul Razak, Datuk Harun Idris and Tun Mahathir were the architects of May 13, 1969 racial riots

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2 - Morgan Stanley report on Malaysia’s USD100 billion loss

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3 - Hang Tuah and his friends were chinese

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4 - “Soak the keris in chinese blood” Najib
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5 - Tun Mahathir is a mamak disguising himself as a malay
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Find out here. Interesting article.

Fireflies

To ten million fireflies

I'm weird 'cause I hate goodbyes

I got misty eyes as they said farewell

but I know where several are

Mosques without minarets (menara)?

Update (original article below): From BBC: Sunday's referendum has forced the government to declare illegal the building of any new minarets, but Mrs Calmy-Rey (Swiss minister) said Muslims could still build new mosques and continue to worship in the country (Switzerland).

Over in Netherlands: Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders said he would press for a similar ban in Holland. 'If the government is unwilling to hold a referendum, the PVV will present its own bill to parliament. What is possible in Switzerland should also be possible here,' he was reported as saying.

Original article: The Swiss government's call for a vote on banning the building of minarets for mosques (with a majority of 'YES') has predictably lead to an outcry by some quarters like in Al-Jazeera (Switzerland minaret ban condemned). Perhaps this is an important moment for us to ask ourselves why we react in whatever way we do - Anger and frustration? Is that how the muslims should react? Is it because 'our rights' have been denied? Chill guys, it's just a menara masjid. Let me ask you this question if you're angry at the swiss:

"Do you, the one who call yourself a Muslim (submitter), who believes that there is no GOD but GOD, in the Quran and the Hereafter, worship the minarets?"

In fact we should look at this as a non-issue, i think, simply because we don't worship the minarets, the mosques, the leaders, the ulama's, the prophets, the scriptures, the angels and the devil of course. We worship and submit to GOD alone. Unless otherwise. The Swiss have voted and a majority of them wanted the ban on the minarets for whatever reason they have - Islamophobia, worried about the people confused between mosques and churches, etc. They're a democratic country and in such system, the majority have their say. Let's look back at our country, Malaysia. I recall a court case going on about the right to publish the Bible using the Arabic word for GOD, "Allah" and some other Arabic terms too. Hey wait, we're democratic too right? Let's vote, and more importantly, please accept the outcome of such voting system!

Havin' a laugh

Let's take a break my friends. Yea, i know, the final of the final of the final exam is so close. No kiddin'. Here I have a video treat for those AM fans out there - featuring Alex Turner in 'Cornerstone'. What more can I say? For a band with a fastest-selling-record-history producing this kind of official music video, it shows that sometimes we just have to breakaway from the stress of trying too hard. Most of the times we've tried our best to study (or still do as long as there is time). so why do we worry so much if the worry is only going to be counter-productive for the exam itself. Let's have a laugh. Or two. I hope you know Wallace & Gromit. They're just wonderful, innovative, creatively-thought-about cartoon characters! And by the way, do you see 'Google' up there in their photo?

Inkscape-ing a logo (not only) for MSOC

Thanks to Inkscape, I'm now able to explore the world-of-designing without the need to crack or keygen my way to Illustrator or Corel. I could create icons and cool text graphics using this user-friendly vector graphics editing tool to enhance my (Powerpoint) presentation! But the benefits are not for me only. At least our research project group facilitator was quite impressed with how the designs above have enhanced our publishable-research presentation that day. And so did the judging lecturers, impressed, to the extent of saying our research to be (like i've said) publishable. The M207 Malaysian Studies Project last month also benefited from this amazing but simply easy-to-use program. Someone told me that she really liked the logo & poster of this event. "Really?" I replied. Since jyu-bonk has called on "other people to try and create one [logo] or give ideas [on] how the logo [is] going to be [like]." in the official (IMU Muslim Society) MSOC blog (even that blog's logo was created using Inkscape), I thought that I might contribute a little to our little society in creating our logo. First attempts were inspired by IMU colours, crescent and dome - since it'd be a logo for -IMU- (the colours)-MUSLIM-(crescent and dome) society. The first looks like there are just too many crescents. The second looks like something you'd put up on a signboard for a 24-hr restaurant (if you know what I mean). Roti canai satu? Then, I enhanced those early designs and came up with three-sets of logo design options. Now, we're a bit more serious..heh. Hope you like them all. (you have to choose only one though)

Before I end, allow me to wish everyone SELAMAT HARI RAYA! Maaf Zahir (& batin?) I'm very excited since this may be the last raya wish from me in Malaysia (the next one would be half-a-decade from now)

p/s: I really don't mind if MSOC will choose a better logo design for itself...hahaha

Home is where the heart is

Well, it's a few days before balik kampung. I've been very busy - not able to leave KL, even on the weekends. But thank GOD for the 1-week raya holiday, i'll come back home soon! Although I bear in mind that I don't have much time left to be at home - before leaving M'sia!! And with so many reasons to be at home - although not-so-much activities to be done, there is a need for me to seize every moment (carpe diem)when I'm at home next week. Every year we celebrate the festive season with our families, it strengthens our ties and foster our love to each other. Families mean so much to us simply because we live, grow up and and share our lives together. In the Quran GOD has said,

"We enjoined the human being to honor his parents. His mother bore him, and the load got heavier and heavier. It takes two years (of intensive care) until weaning. You shall be appreciative of Me, and of your parents. To Me is the ultimate destiny." [31:14]

In another similar verse,

"We enjoined the human being to honor his parents. His mother bore him arduously, gave birth to him arduously, and took intimate care of him for thirty months. When he reaches maturity, and reaches the age of forty, he should say, "My Lord, direct me to appreciate the blessings You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do the righteous works that please You. Let my children be righteous as well. I have repented to You; I am a muslim."[46:15]

But who else should we be thankful to - for our kind parents and families - if not to GOD Almighty. So always remember GOD and be thankful for this beautiful life, because who else takes care of our family, if not GOD, The Sustainer of life?

"Proclaim: "If your parents, your children, your siblings, your spouses, your family, the money you have earned, a business you worry about, and the homes you cherish are more beloved to you than GOD and His messenger, and the striving in His cause, then just wait until GOD brings His judgment." GOD does not guide the wicked people."[9:24]

Thank GOD for my loveable, loving and caring family!

Hard Times

In these hard times We'll work harder, harder Through these hard times I'll work harder, harder for resolution Show me some revolution This battle will be won!

Let's read the Quran

In this month of Ramadhan, all Muslims are decreed by God to observe fasting, as mentioned in the Quran in chapter 2, verse 183 to 185. What most, especially non-muslims don't realize is that in verse 184 of the same chapter, God has stated,

"...if one is ill or traveling, an equal number of other days may be substituted...".

Although in the same verse,

" ...If one volunteers (more righteous works), it is better. But fasting is the best for you, if you only knew."

Clearly, fasting is not meant to suffer, neither to burden the Muslim community, rather, it's a religious obligation only to benefit the Believers. In the verse 185 of the same chapter, God has mentioned,

"...GOD wishes for you convenience, not hardship, that you may fulfill your obligations, and to glorify GOD for guiding you, and to express your appreciation."

These are just excerpts from the Quran, which are concerning fasting. There are much more subjects of discussion including stories, reminders and warnings etc in this extraordinary superhuman book. Check it out. And do note, the Quran is not a mystery book only for the Muslims to read it. Anyone can read it, including you.

To be responsible

Only a few days ago, I've stumbled into a blog by a close friend-of-mine. It's enough to say that he/she started blogging not long ago, and almost all of his/her posts are long-winded narrations about his/her personal life, and the people around this particular friend-of-mine. Unfortunately for this particular friend-of-mine, maybe out of the ignorance that the internet, particularly the blogosphere is an open world, where everyone (provided you don't put restrictions like passwords, etc., otherwise) can easily access and more importantly google your blog, posted a quite controversial write-up about him/herself, entitled 'about me', mentioning my name and a few other friends of ours. Yes, I respect his/her views and values, and the 'quite controversial' write-up is nothing but a product of a retaliation and clash of his/her values and that of another particular friend-of-mine. But of course, to make it better, even my name was mentioned, somewhere between the lines. For this I don't mind. Perhaps what disturbed me the most was to imagine what if a few of my other friends, especially those whose names were mentioned, were to read this particular friend-of mine's blog. Only for a laugh, I posted a comment, saying I didn't mind, but I doubt the others would feel the same after reading that post. Being me, I sort of teased the person when I met him/her in person at a recent event in my house. The next morning, his/her blog was not found anymore (ie removed by author). The moral of this story is that we must be responsible for all of our actions, and ready to face the consequences, if not the reactions, in due time. Like when thousands of Malaysians marched on the streets of KL protesting for human rights, when other's (also human) rights, like the rights of the small businessmen, were denied by the protest. Now, the protesters are liable for a RM10 million suit. I wonder who’d pay for them. Their boss? Maybe not. After all, he’s got his own trial in the court to deal with first. Someday, we’ll be out of lawyers, when one trial, like his, needs up to 9 lawyers.

Sounds great!

Well, what would you expect from a pair of headphones that costs almost double that of a set of Edifier 2.1 Speakers? And what if these new headphones came from a brand which is very respected in the field of audiophile (those big thousand ringgit costing) headphones, Sennheiser? Ha...the result is an outstanding sound re-production (reproduced from any normal earphones) as witnessed by my very own ears. Yes, much (much) better than any Sony's or even the smaller Sennheiser I have. Just say it, better bass? Better treble? Clearer mid-tones? The answer is yes to all those questions. All the songs I have heard and loved never sound any better than with the PX100! Hahaha I'm so happy! Although I do feel sad for my old earphones because everytime I try to compare them with the PX100, they all seem to be greatly intimidated and become irrelevant with each listen. Huhu, how I would miss them all, buried under my desk until this new set breaks (maybe not in the near future).

And by the way, let's enjoy this moment together with this wonderful track by a band named Friendly Fires, entitled 'Paris'. (May require a sound volume increase and PX100 is recommended for a much better experience)

To be inspired

The last time i was greatly inspired by a reputable person was when the President of IMU, Tan Sri Abu Bakar gave a lecture (more of a discussion actually) in one of the English Selective course classes i attended. That's why i suggest to all junior batches in IMU to opt for English literature for selectives in sem 4. Anyway, today marks another significant moment of my life when i got the chance to meet and listen to, live, the one person i have always admired, the man who needs no introduction, our beloved 4th PM, Tun Dr. Mahathir. And like Akmar as she wrote here, i also came back from the holidays only to see Tun give a speech and later have a student dialogue session in my university. And true to his reputation, Tun gave an outstanding speech, breaking up jokes here and there. It's remarkable to see him standing straight, speaking fluently in English as he talked about how suprised he was about the progress in IMU, the role of doctors and satisfaction in life, despite of his not-so-young age.

Perhaps the quote of the day from him today would be, "Money is important for us, but more importantly is job satisfaction - seeing what you want to do being actually done.." There were at least 8 questions asked during the dialogue and here i have uploaded the one which a student asked about 'doctors leaving the country for a better pay in other countries'

His conscience was clear, as it has always been. And that's what i admire most about Mahathir.

He simply says what he means and he means what he says.

The very kind doctor

It was only last week when I was bugging a GP in a local clinic near my house. Before the posting, I thought that it was going to be awkward, and that the doctor would ignore me at times, busy attending to her patients. But I was wrong. Maybe everyone else was lucky like me, still, I must say that the whole week I spent in that clinic was quite an experience. Despite the fact that there were times when there will be no patients for about an hour, I still learned a lot from the whole time in the posting. The doctor was very kind. Too kind at times I suppose, especially when she ‘belanja’ me burger-daging-special’ and ‘air kotak’. But those were not the reason why I enjoyed the posting (only partly, maybe). More importantly, after each and every patient, she would explain to me what was happening, what she suspects and what were the drugs she prescribed to the patient. Of course, at times she would get those patients who would complain of general illness (diarrhoea, fever, flu etc) only to get an MC for the day. It would be obvious though, especially as the doctor could easily browse through the patient’s previous records. We had a laugh every time these kind of patients come. Like I said, when there were no patients we talked about studying medicine and we compared the conventional method of studying back in her days at medical school and that of mine in IMU. She didn’t believe in IMU’s system by system approach but later on convinced by my explanation. The best part was when she showed me her collection of medical books she used for her studies, as she kept some of them in her clinic. To my surprise she also used Snell’s Anatomy book, the older version of what I’m using now. Overall, my assumption that the doctor would reluctantly accept me as a student in her office is absolutely wrong. Not only did I got to observe and discuss the cases with her, she also gave me the chance to practice some physical examination skills on the patients. The only regret would be when I was not able to see SAKTI brass band perform in Johor Marching Band Competition last week as I was attached to this posting. Nevertheless, the experience I gained during the past one week in that clinic should justify my absence for sure.

Sakti Band in My Heart

Akmal posted here about last Tuesday's Johor State Marching Competition, which I missed! But I've got a good reason why i missed it (will be explained in later posts). Suddenly my heart sank into those unforgettable bittersweet memories of almost 5 years in my school's brass band, which later developed into a wind orchestra. If it's not for my Y gene I would have shattered to tears as I recall the never ending adventurous and amazing journey of my friends and I, as we practised with our instruments till late at night, standing tall against the heavy criticism from some teachers and schoolmates, like how Akmal have put it,

"Go SAKTI band, make us proud! dont let 'the stupid jealous students n teachers of SAKTI' ruin your spirits..

SAKTI BAND forever in my mind~"

It's Hazy - Don't worry

Looking out from the veranda of my apartment I realize KLCC and Menara KL is no longer visible. In fact I could barely see any distant skyscrapers beyond the KL Putrajaya highway. With some burnt smell in the air, like most of my friends, I would agree with what the 8 o'clock news told us, the haze has come back, after about 3 years ago when it last clouded our vision and choked our breath.

So what's with the haze? Looking back, I remember when I was at Shah Alam last time it hit us, it was so awful that we were given an emergency break from our studies. So, are we getting a time off again soon?

No matter how it may progress, better or worse, let's not make the haze a terrible cause to concern too much about. What can we do? Live in a bubble?

Don't worry, I'm pretty sure there's still plenty of oxygen in the air to go around for everyone.

Most Ideal Moment

A lecturer from UKM asked us in our literature class today, "What is the most ideal moment in your life?" I know, it's weird, we're medical students, what were we doing in that literature class in the first place? Well, let's just say we had a few options for our selective course and we picked english literature. Anyway, getting back to the question, when it was actually asked in class, no one readily voluntered to share their answer with everyone else after a minute of contemplation. Until i tried, and i said,

"The current moment - the present." That's when i find my most ideal moment in my life. "Provided that my current moment is a happy one"

Let's think about it, why should our ideal moment be in the past? Are we regretting our current situation? Or why should it be an event in the future? Like one answer from my classmate, "When i get to see Man U play and win at Old Trafford" Then what? After you've watched the match, then what? It's not that we can't dream of anything, If it's going to be the best moment of our life, why limit it to only watching our favourite football team, or even favourite bands live like Coldplay or Arctic Monkeys? I try to be realistic here, as i've always have been. If i have a choice i would pick the best for myself of course! If i could, why can't i live everyday finding every single day special? Like posting this, i'm glad that i'm capable of putting my thoughts into such an organized writing although no one (such as an english teacher) asked me to do this. I simply enjoy doing it!

Purpose

What’s the purpose of our life? Work to gain wealth? Or, spend to gain happiness? Both sound deceivingly the same, or at least, inseparable. But I beg to differ - we can only choose one of the two. First let me be clear that ‘life’ here refers to our mortal life in this earth now. So let us look at the choices again.


Work to gain wealth. We wake up every morning, and then study, or work, because the satisfying exam result slip or a paycheck is all we need to keep us happy. Ah-ha! Here’s the catch - We depend on those exam results and bank account balance to make us happy each day. But what if we fail, despite grueling days of revision or overtime? The problem is that in these situations (when we say that our life’s purpose is to work to gain wealth), we put ‘wealth’ as our main purpose of life (the only thing which can make us feel good). Sadly, we are almost always vulnerable to failure which makes our life difficult at times.

Spend to gain happiness. But where did the money come from? Wait, i didn’t say: spend money. In fact, ’spending’ here implies using whatever resources that we have. Now remember that you can read this, which means you have a vision (eyes) that you can see this, a sound mind (brain) that makes you able to understand this and probably working pair of hands scrolling down with a mouse to get to the next point (or to click ‘close’). These valuable assets we are blessed to have are often taken being for granted! If we imagine these hands, eyes, nose, legs, brains and mouth of ours as assets - why don’t we think about spending these assets instead? This means using them at their best. It’s not hard really, if I rephrase my words into: why don’t we make use of our talents to make ourselves feel happy? No regrets then because these assets are acquired at birth and most of them develop with time. Isn’t this simply a better choice of purpose in life? 

There can be many excellent examples - Bill Gates, JK Rowling, Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, Sudirman, etc. I believe that these successful personals have one purpose of life, which is to feel good about making good use of their talents. But for regular joe’s like us, the same concept applies.

Why do we feel stressful to work hard, and then stressful again when we fail to achieve good exam results or better pay? Why don’t we enjoy exercising our brains with new facts as we study for the exam, or, get a job we enjoy doing? So that when we fail, we’ll say: well, I enjoyed making all the effort, now that i’ve failed, i could do even more work - and I’m really glad about that!

That's enough for me

The cup is not empty It's a-drop-full cup.