Flood in Aussie

My deepest regard to all my Aussie friends, the flood is a major disaster for a start of the year. Things are tough now, but stay strong and stay safe, things will get better for sure, just believe in yourselves.

Too many disasters lately

Within this week, our neighbour Indonesia has experienced one of the worst part, hellish days. Tsunami and volcano eruption both hit at the same time.

3 meter wave hit Mentawai Island which is just to the west of Sumatera island according to BBC, leaving more than 100 people died and 500 people missing and 4,000 homes destroyed. As for the volcano eruption, it was Mount Merapi volcano which was located at Java island, the death toll recorded is 25 so far according to BBC.

The hardship faced by our neighbours isn't something we can easily comprehend by us who have been living in peaceful days. Still, we should show our concern about their current situation, let's help them in whatever affordable ways we can. Best wishes to our friends in Indonesia there.

Prego - Halal Issue?

I just read an article about a famous spaghetti sauce, Prego in Facebook, written by Tok Wan this afternoon. It piqued my interest as I like eating spaghetti and the pasta paste added in it is always from the Prego brand.

Prego - spaghetti paste

Among the interesting lines quoted from the article:

Anak saya Kamal makan sampai dua pinggan, sedap sangat spegetti Ummi  masak dan kebetulan pula memang favouritenya, saya cuma sepinggan kecil  sekadar nak rasa. Setahu saya sauce speghetti biasanya tomato dan  kadang-kala ada mushrooms tetapi yang ini lain sedikit......

  saya pun bergegas ke dapur, pergi lihat botol sauce yang diberi nama  Italian Sausage for Speghetti keluaran PREGGO made in USA ..

Tiba-tiba terlihat INGREDIENTS: tomato,bla-bla,bla-bla..... ... pork minced meat!

translation (by myself):

My son Kamal ate till 2 plates (of spaghetti), mum's cooking is delicious and spaghetti is so happen to be his favourite, whereas I only ate a plate (of spaghetti). As far as I know, spaghetti paste usually consists of tomato (paste) and sometime got mushroom, but this one (Prego) is a bit different.

I rushed to the kitchen to check on the (Prego) bottle which was named Italian sausage for the spaghetti product of Prego in USA.

Suddenly, saw (the words) INGREDIENTS: tomato, ... minced pork!

side note: pig's meat is called pork, we never call it pork meat. Here, it seems that the writer of the note is a bit suspicious to include the word meat, at least those Westerners would hardly use wrong grammar in a label which is distributed through out the world. I doubt if he really copy it 100% exactly from the label. However, I'm not suggesting if he made it up.

A sudden strange feeling rushed to my head since I ate spaghetti this morning. I quickly raced too the fridge to find out the truth. I check on the label thoroughly and took a few pictures. Here there are:

Prego - front view (click on the pic for a better view)

Prego - side view (click on the pic for a better view)

Prego - side view (click on the pic for a better view)

Prego - Ingredients (note that no pork mentioned)

By comparing the pictures taken by my camera and the note, you'll notice that there's no such thing as minced pork in Prego, at least not the Prego spaghetti paste I bought. It's a really bad habit to spread rumours, however, it's always good to be precautious of whatever we eat. Think twice and check thoroughly for details first before we speak of something, like a Chinese proverb saying, once spoken, it's hard to get back our words.

This reminded me of the recent rumours spread across the internet regarding the Indonesian instant noodle, Indomie containing cosmetic ingredients, which was later proven wrong by the Health Ministry of Malaysia according to the Star Online. 

Too many rumours lately, it makes me wonder how true is this world. Is it so hard to remain being truthful?

33 trapped miners rescued in Chile

miners being rescued using capsules

The men were trapped underground since 5th of August when the tunnel collapsed due to rockfall. The rescue job began on Tuesday (12th October) for about a day. Finally, those 33 survivals were managed to be rescued. The rescued miners have been taken to hospital. All have severe dental infections, and some have eye problems. A few unfortunate ones didn't survive those hardship and passed away underground there, according to BBC News.

在观看了网上的拯救片段后，隐约可以感觉到他们的那份喜悦，终于摆脱了被困在地低下的困境。当中，有一位小男孩很焦急地等待爸爸被拯救的那一刻。看到爸爸后，小男孩立刻冲向爸爸，场面很温馨。

I saw the video of rescuing them with the capsule to carry a person per trip, which takes about half an hour per trip due to long journey.When the men were being rescued one by one, their family waited out there anxiously. There's a boy who cried when seeing his father being successfully rescued. All those applause when the father hugged his child and wife made the scene so much touching.

Accident happens anywhere and usually is uninvited and unplanned. So, we should take precaution and stick to the safety rules based on OSHA. It's like taking flights, having taken more flights doesn't decrease or increase the probability of plane crash. It's all random.

MSN hacked?

Recently someone asked me if I know how to solve problem such as MSN messenger being hacked. The question kind of struck me, I have never thought of this possibility. So, I googled a bit, finally came across a quite reasonable answer.

As quoted from Ambucias posted on 24th March 2010 on kiosko.net:

If your MSN Account has been hacked, go to MSN email support:
https://support.live.com/eform.aspx?productKey=wlid&ct=eformts&scrx=1

You have to give all informations about your problem and about your identity:
*Your e-mail (the "Windows Live ID").
*Your first name and full name.
*Your date of birth (month / day / year).
*Your country.
*The state, province or department in which you reside.
*Your zip code.
*The IP address of each computer used to access your account, or the most commonly used. To find your IP address, visit : http://www.monip.org/
*The answer to your secret question (if you don't remember it, notify it).
*Emergency address email registered for this account (if no emergency address, notify it).
*Your Internet service provider (at work or at home).
*The date and approximate time of your last login.
*The information below:
*For Windows Live Hotmail user :
*Examples of files names which you created in addition to those existing by defect
*Examples of contacts contained in your address book.
*Examples of old email titles contained in your inbox folders or messages.
*For Windows Live Messenger user :
*Examples of contacts contained in your contact list.
*The nickname under which you appear on Windows Live Messenger.


VERY IMPORTANT ! Write your request in a clear and understandable English, avoiding the SMS language, spelling and abbreviations !
Remember and do not forget that this is the only way you can expect to recover your account!

Independence Day 国庆日

Credit to Mezain

This is my all time favourite patriotic song, 31 August by Sudirman Hj Arshad.

The theme for 53rd Independence day is 1Malaysia Menjana Transformasi (source: Harian Metro). We might get buoyed by this theme, but how effective is it so far, especially in our multiracial community? 

With lots of sensitive issues stirred up lately, we should take a good look at ourselves. We can still see quite clear racial discrimination, poking at each others weaknesses from time to time. No one should feel or be made uncomfortable in their own home. We are all Malaysians after all.

I came across a FB note written by the great granddaughter of our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. I really like it as it really suits the current situation. Here's a few lines from the note:

For the concept to succeed, I think the government should stop with the race politics. It's tiring, really. We grew up with application forms asking us to tick our race. We should stop painting a negative image of the other races, stop thinking about 'us' and 'them' and focus on 'we', 'our' and 'Malaysians'.

source: Facebook Note

 Here's a very meaningful video for our multiracial community made by Cempaka Schools:


Let's look back at how much we have done to our beloved country and think about what we can to do to conserve the harmony of our beloved country.

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

Manila Bus Hijack Incident

Few days ago, a bus hijack incident happened in Manila has caused quite an uproar. The hijacker, a disgruntled ex-police officers was too desperate to get back his previous job that he even shot a few Hong Kong tourists who lost their life. The Philippine police claimed that they've shot and killed the hijacker later.

After the incident, quite a lot of people questioned the efficiency of the police force, why didn't the police act faster to gain control of the situation, perhaps they should have shot the hijacker while they were negotiating as the hijacker is clearly seen at the bus door there. Too many blames there, but perhaps it was because of too peaceful days that not much preparation to handle such abrupt incident? Too idle at peaceful time?

Looking back, it is pretty peaceful in our country Malaysia. Are we prepared for any sudden cases or incidents? How fast could we react accordingly? How efficient could it be? Hopefully it would not be disappointing.

Read more:

1. BBC online news, "Hong Kong hostages killed in Manila bus siege"
2. MSN online news, "Philippine bus hijack over but some hostages feared dead"

What happened to Malaysia? 大马怎么啦? (2nd)

Once again, our education was marred by unthoughtful comments from the educators themselves. According to New Straits Times:

"On Aug 12, 17 students from SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra in Kulai Jaya, Johor lodged police reports claiming their headmistress had uttered derogatory remarks during the launch of the school's Merdeka celebrations, taking aim at Chinese and Indian students."

According to Malaysia Today:

"According to the reports, one of the complainant quoted that Siti Inshah had during the school assembly said “Chinese students are not needed here and can return to China or Foon Yew schools. For the Indian students, the prayer string tied around their neck and wrist makes them look like dogs because only dogs are tied like that."

For educator to utter such unthoughtful racist words in public, it's seriously unforgivable. Malaysia is made up of various races, without them, it's no longer Malaysia we know. Together, we achieved lots of wonderful things, like getting independence day in London, the team sent there consisted of Malay, Chinese and Indian. There is no such thing as which race is more superior than the others.

According to my personal experience, while studying in my secondary school in Miri, Sarawak and Matriculation College in Labuan, I witnessed closer relationship between different races. Different races can sit together and do things together. However when I was studying in UTM, Johor, I witness a totally different scenario. The races awareness is too high, each race prefers to sit or talk with their own races. They seldom join other races, unless if they have to do group assignments. I can't comprehend it at all. I felt so much deserted there in west Malaysia. What happen to the One Malaysia slogan?

Just like the story we heard when we're still young, a single match stick is easily broken, but when lots of match sticks are bound together, it's a lot harder to break them all at once. As proud Malaysians, we should work together regardless of differences in skin colour, races, genders and religions. Let's work together  towards our year 2020 Vision.

Read more:

1. New Strait Times
2. New Strait Times
3. Columnist 'PERKASA'
4. Blogger Satu Malaysia

What happened to Malaysia? 大马怎么啦?

While I was surfing the internet, my friend, Adeline gave me a link regarding the recent broadcasting issue. Having known another Malay who can speak fluent Mandarin, I got more interested in this issue.

By the way, I've asked for permission from the Ruby, the blog owner, for me to use a few lines and pics in my blog.

98.8 FM DJ Jamaluddin Ibrahim, source: FMT

Oriental Daily News Headline, source: TalkPower

Well, I am not a 988 FM frequent listener, mainly because the station is out of range in my place. I am not someone who really understand politics either. Politics always give me a shady impression, always play of words and power abuses cases.

This incident really gave a very bad impression of Malaysia. Freedom of talk? Not really, seriously doubt so.

I don't feel like talking more into politics, as a Chinese Proverb says 'Talking too much would lead to trouble'.

Also:
News in Chinese

现在的学生。。。 Students nowadays...

今晚，我与一位朋友去大学内的一间餐厅吃晚餐。正在吃晚餐时，电视播着TV3的八点新闻。新闻头条是关于学生的问题。这件事发生在玻璃市的某间中学。事情是这样的：

一位老师不满意她的学生没把功课做完在物理作业簿上写了一些“脏话”，于是，她便请那两位学生到前面解释。
也许那位学生甲很冲动吧。
当老师伸出右手指向她时，那位学生立刻把老师的手推下。
这立刻引起了老师的不满。于是，老师便追问她。
谁知道，学生乙踢了老师一脚。
哇唠耶，现在的学生未免太野蛮了吧！这样的事情也敢做出来。太没经过大脑了吧！
但是呢，事情还没结束哦。
放学后，学生甲和学生乙找来了别的学校的朋友到她们的学校找老师报仇。
受恐吓的老师，立刻以光束飞到办公室，然后报警。

看了这则新闻后，我的心还不能接受事实，难道大马的学生有这么一小辍的野蛮学生？

还是说现在的学生比以前的我们坏？还是从前的我们比较乖？

到底问题在何处呢？教育制度？学生自己？老师？家长？

谁应该挑起这重担呢？

*************************************************************

Earlier, I had my dinner with a friend of mine at a cafe in my university. I was enjoying my dinner while watching TV3's 8pm news. The headline was about a disciplinary problem in a middle school somewhere in Perlis. The case was like this:

There was a teacher who could not accept the fact that her students failed to finish up their homework. Hence, she called them forward and demanded answers.
Maybe the students were being too reckless.
When their teacher pointed her finger at student A, student A immediately pushed her teacher's hand down.
This annoyed the teacher. She immediately demanded for reasons for doing this.
Surprisingly, student B kicked her teacher.
Wah, that was pretty daring of her. Even dare to do this at school. I wonder if she had really thought wisely at that split moment.
The case was not closed yet.
After school, student A and student B found lots of friends from other schools to have their revenge on their teacher.
The fear stricken teacher immediately rushed to the office in light speed and reported to the police.

After seeing this news, my heart sank. I simply couldn't accept this reality yet. Is it true that secondary schools in Malaysia consist of students as rude as this?

Or should we say that the students of our time were a lot better than students nowadays?

Where is the root of this problem? The students themselves? The teachers? Parents?

Who should be the one responsible for this problem?

一言既出，驷马难追

“做错的人就必须认错，但是，我并没错，为何我须认错呢？” 阿末依斯迈

这是一则令人心寒的评论。前几天，阿末发表了“寄居论”不但闹得满城风雨，而且惹得满身蚁。他不但赖账说星洲日报错报了他的言论，而且还坚持自他的“寄居论”。他简直太荒唐了。难道阿末未曾想过华裔在大马的贡献有多大吗？难道单单马来人就能够建立一个美好的大马吗？未免太幼稚了吧，阿末。虽然我本人是马来人，但是我绝对不赞同阿末的“寄居论”。

阿末，在国家被摧毁之前，请高抬贵手，不要再让不必要的种族问题一再蔓延下去。我们需要的宽容谅解，不是仇恨和对抗。

但是，难道我们只能够坐在这里哀叹难过吗？我们能够采取任何积极行动以做出改变吗？

天灾

近日，报章上屡次见到天灾的新闻。哎，又是闹人命的天灾。上个月，在缅甸发生了大风灾。官方报告了近八万人民死亡和近六万人民失踪。虽然如此，由于缅甸是由军队管理的，他们那不开放的制度不但外来的帮忙难以进入，而且他们还把自己仓库的白米往外卖，只顾自己本身的利益，完完全全忘了人民火灾水深火热的日子中。真是令人喷饭。岂有此理。
本月中，中国的四川发生了地震，据官方的报告，地震有高达7级。事件后也发生了阵阵的余震，最高的余震高达6.8级。真是吓死人。死亡人数至今依然在上升着。有数个地方被夷为平地。最可怜的是地震发生当儿，小学生依然在上着课。结果，有许许多多的可爱的学生白白埋在那儿。庆幸的是中国的政府因用开放制度，视救人为第一。他们不但派了军队立刻展开救人行动，亲自助阵救灾活动，而且也欢迎外头的协助。这引起外界人的赞许。这跟缅甸却是完全相反的。
这几天的报纸都在叙说着四川的救灾活动，真令笔者大开眼界。报章上尽是有关人间地狱及人间的温暖，亲情和老师的伟大。例如，有位男教师为了救自己办的学生，结果自己被击中了头部，当场死亡。另外，有位又二十岁的舞蹈女老师为了救学生，用自己的身体挡住了从天而降的物体，结果自己牺牲小我，成全大我，如愿的救了三位同学。救灾人员也数度见证了母爱的伟大。至今，有至少两位婴儿依旧活在牺牲了自己的母亲的坏里。虽然医生屡次面对了死亡，但有位伟大的母亲在手机上的留言却深深地感动了他们。那则短讯是这样的：亲爱的，你要明白母亲是多么的爱你。
事后感，笔者非常庆幸自己的国家远离灾难。笔者也庆幸人间依然充满着有心人，虽然非常辛苦，但他们依然坚持下去，非常令人鼓舞，你们真行！加油！