Saying Tak Nak to The Star

My blog has been gathering cobwebs recently, but something has been getting my goat for the last few weeks that I cannot resist putting in an entry about it.

I have been reading The Star for almost 25 years now (since 1986), and in all those years, while there has been a slight bias in their news, it was definitely not as bad as NST.

But the since late 2010 till present, I couldn't help but notice the way their op-eds have been bashing/running down certain political parties, and making certain other parties look good instead.  Not only that, I also began to notice the way they filter/place their news to make certain folks look good/bad.

Take the news on Jan 27 2011 that a Commission of Inquiry will be set up about Teoh Beng Hock's case, for example.  On page 2, there was an article about how MCA has been lobbying the PM to get the commission set up.  My foot!!  This totally ignores the selfless efforts and countless hours that have been put in by folks like Gobind Singh Deo and countless others in helping Beng Hock's sister gather support to find out the truth.  Its as if MCA is the only one who has been helping.

So, since a few weeks ago, I have been thinking a lot about quitting my daily habit of reading The Star every morning together with my morning coffee.

And the more I think about it, the more I realize that I don't need it any more.  I mean, news wise, I am a subscriber to Malaysiakini, and there are countless other portals such as The Edge Daily, Malaysia Today, etc, etc where I can get news.  For classifieds, I realized that I have been buying stuff from lowyat.net forums for more than two years now.   Heck, mudah.com.my and carlist.my has much more Car for Sale listings than The Star!  Even buying/renting property, there are countless portals you can go to.  The Sun even offers their paper online for free, if you can't pick up a copy from your office building.

So, I guess the only person who will be unhappy is my "paper lama" man.  So, The Star, goodbye to you and your self serving articles and op-eds, goodbye to your selling out of your integrity to serve your political owners. It has been a great 25 years, but sorry to say, you have lost your soul.  Adieu.

Visit to Anfield

One of the highlights of our recent UK trip was definitely the visit to Anfield, the home of the Liverpool football club.  Despite being an Arsenal fan (!), its hard not to be moved by the rich history and heritage of LFC.  My friend Siva and his wife kindly treated us to a tour of the stadium :)

Outside the impressive entrance to the Museum and Tour Centre

At the main stand of the stadium, with the Kop visible at the back

The team dressing room - imagine the words of the famous managers that used to echo around here :)

Sitting in Rafa's spot, now occupied by Roy Hodgson

The tin in front definitely reserved for Fergie when he comes visiting!

The famous sign that visiting teams see when they come out to the pitch

Breakdown

In 12 years of driving, I've had my fair share of breakdowns, but they are often few and far in between.

But in a period of 4 months this year, I had three car breakdowns, which should count as a record of some sort.

The first was in April, when my car battery went dead near a friend's house in Serdang.  AAM, which was usually fast and reliable, came after 4 hours.

Then our rental car suffered a snapped fan belt somewhere in Donegal, Ireland during our recent UK trip.  It was a surreal experience, being towed back to Belfast on the night England played their most dire World Cup match ever (no prizes for guessing which one :) )

Last Saturday seemed like the usual, albeit slightly packed weekend.  Fetched the wife to see a lawyer, then a doctor (!).  Met an old friend at Sunway Pyramid.  Then down to KL Pavilion to meet my classmate to discuss a class assignment.  This was followed by a productive trip to PC Fair at KLCC :)

I decided to go back via the Maju Expressway, exiting at Putrajaya then heading towards the Nusaputra Interchange.  About 2 km from the interchange, I suddenly heard a pop.  Then I felt the car wobble.  Then the dreaded klunk klunk sound.  I had blown out my left rear tyre.

No problem, I thought.  I called my wife to let her know I had a puncture. Took out the spare tyre and the jack.  Getting the car jacked up was easy enough, but trying to take off the wheel nuts was another matter.  As I put both feet on the wheel brace to turn the nuts, self doubt began to creep in.  They were not even budging, let alone turn!

10 minutes later and drenched in sweat, I weighed my options.  My phone battery had died, so I couldn't call anyone.  Suddenly I felt alone and isolated, despite the vehicles zooming past me.

For some reason, I thought running back home via the Nusaputra Interchange was the best option and set out.  But a short distance later, a car stopped and the guy asked me where I was going.  After explaining matters, he offered to change the tyre for me.  Halleluiah!  But then came another twist.  After loosening three of the nuts, the last one just wouldn't budge.  The guy took out a walkie talkie and explained that he was speaking to someone at the Putrajaya toll, about 3 km away.  Then he said help was on the way and I should stay put in the car.

And so I waited.  And waited.

Finally, I decided help wasn't coming.  The thought of trying to wave someone down never crossed my mind.  I just thought Malaysians would be too suspicious to stop.

So I ran to the Putrajaya toll.  I knew they had a PLUS Ronda that can help.  An old man met me at the toll office, and agreed to send the PLUS Ronda, but warned that it could take a while.  I ran back to the car.

As I waited in the car for PLUS Ronda to come, I suddenly realized that its been a long while since I really had nothing to do.  I mean really nothing.  Nothing to read, nothing to watch, no one to call, nothing to surf.  Just me and nothing.

As I sat there taking in this unfamiliar sensation, I realized its been a long while since I prayed without any distractions.  And so as the words tumbled out, my thoughts began to gain exceptional clarity.

PLUS Ronda came 45 minutes later, and two nice gentlemen worked together to undo the stubborn nut.

As I sat in my living room after some food and a cold drink later, I reflected on the experience in the car.  To be helpless before the Lord and without any distractions is indeed a rare experience, and something that we seldom voluntarily create for ourselves.

I've Got HSBB!

It all started when my phone line went down due to lightning, and TM took ages to fix it.  Strangely enough, my Streamyx was still running.

So, when TM announced that Unifi is now available in Puchong, I bit the bullet and rushed to the nearest TM shop to apply for it.

The turnaround was very fast - they called back within 3 days to make an appointment, and the installation was done within one week of application.

But be warned - the installation is quite lengthy, so be prepared to apply for leave.  Four guys came to my house at 9.30 am and got to work.  First, they pulled a fibre optic cable from the telephone pole to the back of my house.

Next, they installed the fibre termination box.  Due to the delicate nature of fibre optic cables, up to this point the installation had taken 3 hours.

After that, they drilled a hole in the wall and pulled through the cable into my study room.  They then set up the Broadband Termination Unit, the Wireless Router and the IPTV Set Top Box.  Since this is during a promotion period, the BTU, Wireless Router, DECT Phone and IPTV Box are all FOC.  A good deal!

And I have HSBB!  So, now I have - a 5 Mbps line, a new phone line (I get a new number), and extra channels to watch on TV.  They also have Video on Demand, although the selection is limited at the moment.  For now, you get 100 points per month free to spend on VOD - a movie is 10 points for 24 hours.

How fast is the line?  I got the entire season of Glee in 4.5 hours :)

London Trip - 1

Those of you who follow Simon's blog must by now heard the full account of our trip to London and gay Paree. Here are the links if you haven't: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

So, just a few extra thoughts and pics from our end :)

Day 1, we headed out from Hounslow during rush hour, so it was a bit cramped during the journey. But as I pointed out to Mei Yan, in London folks have an unspoken understanding of how they need to behave, from letting people get out to moving to the centre of the carriage to accommodate more passengers to standing on the right on escalators (ok, that one is a written rule), so on the whole, it was still pleasant enough for us.

We had been praying hard for clear weather, as I pointed out to Simon that British weather is two third grey skies and one third sunny. I took everyone on the route I went myself back in 2005, i.e. from Waterloo station towards Westminster Bridge, then northwards to St James Park and Buckingham Palace. It was cloudy when we came out of Waterloo, but lo and behold, the sky became more blue!

Simon and Wai Yin relaxing by the Thames!

Our first dinner at a pub in central London

Crossing Westminster Bridge

Big Ben on a clear day

Cheeky squirrel at St James Park

En route to the changing of the guard

Sibu - Stand Up and Be Counted

Caution - long rambling post ahead :)


For as long as I can recall, the people I share a place called home with had always had an independent streak. Coming to Sibu out from the famine and poverty in China, the first generation of Sibu folks knew they had to rely on themselves to build new lives in a remote jungle in the middle of Borneo island.


And build they did. From barbers to tailors to farmers, each one toiled patiently and ceaselessly, was thrifty with their money and gradually accumulated wealth for their next generation. They ensured their children have the best education, and any old folk you meet in town today will probably have at least one child who went to university, some even to overseas.


Most of them were also God fearing, the pioneers of the town having been in contact with Christianity.

And so, they owed no one for their lives, and apparently someone forgot to tell BN that in the last few weeks. Gifts and grants are all well and fine, but to tell Sibu folks to be grateful (?!) and to return the favour was just laughable politics.

Sure, there were issues that needed the government's intervention, such as flooding and land lease renewal premiums, but they had been disappointed by the government so many times in the past few decades that when the goodies finally came, there was just a muted response.

In the recent vote, they had been given an opportunity to say something, and I have to say that unlike many of the Semenanjung folks, they did.

As I looked at the results streaming in on the Malaysiakini website last night, my thoughts turned to those hardworking folks of Sibu, recalling the faces that I saw whenever I wandered around town. In their wisdom, they had looked beyond the cynical and destructive politics of West Malaysia, and sent a loud and clear message - we are standing up to be counted.

Sponge

My three year old is a sponge.

The other day while watching tv, when the adverts came on, she casually rattled off the names of the tv series being promoted - "Pao Tai Yan" (Justice Pao), "Ah Sien", "Jiat Pa Pa".

That got my attention, and I began to notice what she's saying. It seems like she's been absorbing everything that she sees and hears. After my wife's car accident earlier this year, Cynthia gets scared whenever I do any sudden braking. "Daddy, 撞车“ (Daddy, car colliding), she would say.

She would pretend her toy's a handphone and repeat verbatim phone conversations that she overheard.

I now no longer watch violent or scary shows like CSI in front of her - she gets disturbed and starts asking awkward questions.

All these made me realize the heavy responsibilities that parents carry - who your kids become do depend, to a large extent, to what you fill them with.