This scene has been in my mind since  I was in Singapore more than 14 years ago. My first impression was: Gosh! How could this parent treat the kid like an animal? After my kindergarten teaching experience in Singapore, I began to realise that it’s love to leash your kid in public so that you won’t lose her/him. Especially when all means of educating the kid not to wander off have failed.

Of course I have never used a leash on Cher even though she was a wanderer too when she was a toddler! There was once when we brought her for shopping at Malacca Mahkota Parade Shopping Mall, she was trotting about curiously & freely… so cute in her diaper & tweet tweet shoes. Then I told her dad, “let’s hide ourselves!”

We stood in a corner keeping our eyes on her, she turned around & couldn’t see us. There in the crowd, she stood still. No crying. A Malay lady walked over & checked on her but didn’t do much. She didn’t make a fuss. After a while, we went over to her & cuddled her & kissed her. I warned her not to wander off again, otherwise she would never see us anymore. Since then, she sticks to me like a leech in public areas!

I came across this poem on the newspaper yesterday so I asked Cher to text it to her dad:

Took a day off today, 20 June 2009, from work to attend this Pap Smear Screening Awareness Talk organized by The Laila Taib Cancer Charitable Trust & Normah Medical Specialist Centre at Normah. Invited mom & sis-in-law to come along. Unfortunately, sis is away for travelling.

It has been years since I last did my PS screening when Cher was still a toddler. Without procrastination, I grabbed this opportune free PS talk & screening when I read it in the newspaper. This was the 5th talk by them so far & I believe their response should be improving as more Asian women are becoming more open-minded in such screening & health conscious. We were greeted by the friendly staff & some pre-packed refreshments & water upon arrival at the auditorium. Each attendant gets a free PS screening voucher which is valid for 6 months, free BP & pulse rate check-up service(thank God my readings were normal, but mom starts to worry about her high BP reading) & a complimentary one session of Venus Tummy Trim voucher(of course one laser treatment will not show any result! Hah!) which is valid for 3 months. The multi-racial audience were also quite active during the Q&A session.

Right after the PS talk, an American doctor came by to promote his Thermage treatment to bring youthfulness back to aging women. Interesting but………. the cost is a bomb! Sigh….. I can only afford to learn to age gracefully!

Since we were there, I went to the blood bank to check if I’m fit enough to donate blood….. This is also one way to check if my hemoglobin level is normal. Aiks! What a shame, a “healthy” looking person like me is not fit enough to donate blood!! If only I could donate fat…….. hahaha…….

When Dan asked me this afternoon if I had told anyone of his whereabouts, I lied. I’ve learnt this surviving skill ~ “buat bodoh” (acting innocent) from him & Fred. So much to learn from men ~ to tackle them is to think like them, be like them!

After months of chasing, one of our KL supplier’s representative, Karen, has finally managed to recover from Dan’s long overdue owing to them. Unfortunately, Mr & Mrs Teng, our agitated clients, were not as lucky as her. They didn’t get hold of him.

I’m not sure if he believes me but I do not feel guilty at all for lying to him. I suggested to Fred earlier to confront him personally but he refused. Not sure what his actual reasons are but the urge was just too great for me not to do “anything” when I’m the one being “threatened” as the legal boss! What a shame! Hate this name ~ towkay nio! 老扳娘? Yucks! It’s really no fun being a boss! Pressured! Sigh…

It has been a long while since we last saw Auguste Kwan De Hui 關德輝 in the limelight, now he plays the character of Mr Siao, the Mandarin teacher in "Mr Siao's Mandarin Class" on NTV7 at 9pm every Wednesday, from the 15th of April. Glad to see him back on the screen!

I love this guy! Lol!!! Click here to practise fly swatting.

It was really a nice dinner at Tom’s last night (I hardly dine out with friends nowadays) with Sue who was on duty for her 2nd trip to Kuching. To me, she’s one iron woman, a divorcee like myself with a young daughter living with her. I remember someone once told me, befriend with those whom we can absorb their wisdom & learn from their experiences. There were times when our ideals crashed but true friendships withstand all differences. We are learning from each other’s strength to better ourselves. I love you, girlfriend!

Time for waking up at 5.05am (“oh! c’mon, another 5 mins ya??”) again after 2 weeks of school holidays. We usually have breakfast at home, so I don’t have to “lepak” at kopitiam gossiping with some uncles or aunties to spend 2 hours before my official working hour begins at 9am. Cher’s school starts at 7.10am. So we have to hit the road by 6.30am to avoid the congestive traffic. Yup, we tend to become experienced traffic rangers after all these years driving on the same routes. Not sure for how long more I have this privilege to come in to the office as early as 7am ~ as we are winding up this business?? Sigh…. missing this routine already.

  4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!

  8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.

14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.

16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.

18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

May 29, 09 4:18pm
Most Malaysians expect former strongman Dr Mahathir Mohamad - still alert and sharp at 84 - to rise to the occasion in any speaking engagements.

The 200-strong crowd at the Bloggers Universe Malaysia 2009, packed inside a bar-cum-conference hall in Subang Jaya’s Lakeview Club on May 16, was not disappointed.

The former prime minister, a person who has little time for self-reflection, was however unusually candid in his one-hour speech.
Speaking off the cuff, he lamented his pledge not to censor the Internet. He believes certain parts of the cyberspace should be declared off limits, in particular pornography.

Mahathir confessed, with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, that he had surf porn sites just “to see how easy it is for a child” to do so.

“My God, it was so easy,” he exclaimed. “All you’ve got to do is to put ‘SEX’ and you get everything, all the filth in the world would be shown to you - in motion.

“Now, I think this is very bad. I mean, adults like me who is 80 years old and quite incapable - that’s all right,” he said, leaving the floor in stitches.

“I’m not confessing anything,” he smiled. “Wait until you reach 80, then you will know.”

More laughter from the crowd.

“You know, we are born together, we grow up together, we play together, we enjoy life together, we grow old together,” he paused and then came the clincher.

“But why must that thing die before me,” he said, bringing down the house.

Mahathir, who obviously enjoyed telling the joke, was grinning from ear to ear.

“Anyway, for me it’s quite harmless (to view porn). Looking at these things, you really have nostalgia ... nothing wakes up at all, everything is dead,” he said, referring to his inability to ‘rise to occasion’ in this case.

But he readily conceded that government censorship of the Internet is “impossible”.

“I wish we can control... When we started the Multimedia Super Corridor, we promise the people that we will not censor the Internet. But at times, I regretted this.”

Tale of an excitable 12-year-old boy

Mahathir then went on to give the example of a 12-year-old having access to Internet porn.

“He gets very excited. It’s alright for him to get excited and maybe get rid of his excitement in some easy way. But we are seeing a lot...,” he screeched to a halt when he heard nervous giggles from the audience.

Then in his grandfatherly way, he admonished, “You must have done it yourself.”

Again, the crowd roared. He continued with his tale of the ‘excited’ teen.

“He may assuage his feelings by raping the nearest person that he comes across. And sometimes, there have been cases of killings, of child molestations, babies being molested and killed after that. I think it has a lot to do with the access to pornography.

“This becomes worse because a lot people in Malaysia are addicted to drugs. A combination of drugs plus Internet pornography is a sure formula for crime unlimited.

"We should ban this thing. We should ban pornographic material from getting into Internet.”

He also advised the crowd to stick to the facts and not to fabricate news. “Not all bloggers are good like me,” he said tongue in cheek.

But Internet censorship is out, he added.

“While in the past, we can close down the printing shops, we can seize their papers, we can do a lot of things. Today it is just impossible.

“The only thing I am glad is that I’m no longer the prime minister. So this is not my problem. It is the problem of the government of today, the prime minister of today. I wish them good luck.”

I got this from a friend and decided to post it as it explains in great detail what a Melayu really is. It is time we stopped those who corrupt the original meaning in order to use it to divide Malaysian.

Mahathir should know this since he registered himself as an Indian in Singapore where he studied medicine. Inside him, he knows the real reason why he now considers himself a Malay and refuses to acknowledge his Indian roots. There are opportunists everywhere and UMNO has become the platform for them to satisfy their greed. It will also be the platform on which they destroy themselves.

The Deputy PM expressed disappointment with the Chinese for not voting UMNO but when you look back at recent history, did he thank the Chinese for their role in getting independence for Malaya? The Chinese, Indians and Malays were supposed to be equal partners as a condition for obtaining Merdeka. Then, the Malays asked for 25 years of "Special Privileges" so that they could catch up with the other races. Along the way, they changed the Constitution and it is now an unquestionable "Malay Right" for perpetuity. Look at your genuine history books (not the ones they distorted) to see if I am telling the truth. Or go to the newspaper archives in the Straits Times and in London to get to the truth.

Because of this, the UMNOputras own the banks, the plantations, petroleum. The Malays are encouraged to start and own their businesses entirely on their own (100%). The non-Malays start their own businesses but when they get big, 30% must be given to bumiputras. Who are these bumiputras? They are selected UMNOputras ( not ordinary Malays)  - those who use politics to get what is not rightfully theirs. They use the law to rob others of their wealth. Yet, they will not give a single share to the ordinary Malays in the streets - it is all theirs to keep. They will not do what they ask the non-Malays to do - sharing their wealth.

Not only that, they rob the ordinary Malays daily with the Water Concessions, the Tolls, etc.

CH

Melayu By a Malay-Syed Imran

You may have already read this article I published more than a year ago, below this is another article written by a "Malay" who I salute, that reinforces what I have said.

I'd like to challenge your article on the origins of the word Melayu.

(I hope you will not be emotional about this email and create an issue about it, but rather treat this as an intellectual  argument between two matured individuals. I have presented facts here for you to review, and if you disagree please substantiate it. Since you have come out with a blog to attempt to tell us the origins of the word Melayu, and as a Malay, if you are really and truly keen in your own heritage and roots, I am writing to you with the facts of the origins of the word Melayu, in fact there are many scholars of yesteryear's, Malays, who will tell you that the only original words in the Malay language are "Tanah" and "Melayu")

Melayu is derived from the Javanese word Melayu, there are many other words in the Malay vocabulary that actually come from the various Asian languages mostly those of Sanskrit Origin.

The Sanskrit in Malay is derived from the Indian influence of the Majapahit, Srivijaya and other Indian influences in South East Asia. This particular word in Bahasa Malaysia is derived from the word Melayu from Javanese.  Javanese was the lingua franca of the people in the region having had its own script, which was actually taken from the Arabic script, the bugis and the rest have dialects close to Javanese.

The Malay language in its romanised context only evolved in the early part of the 20th century.

In Javanese the word Melayu means running  away, or a runaway, that is why if you go to Java and ask a Javanese if he is Melayu he will feel very insulted. The word Melayu found on  the statue as claimed in your URL;   http://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/malays4.htm thus denotes that this person was a Melayu, a "Runaway."

These people, the runaways whether in Sumatra or in the Malay Peninsula referred  to themselves as orang Melayu, it is therefore no coincidence that the word orang is placed before Melayu, people who ran away so to speak.

In the Malay Peninsular, it was gradually accepted as the word to describe the Javanese, the Bugis, the Menang, the Achinese etc. and even the Kelantanese who are actually Yunanese and have their origins in China, because they recognized the fact that at the end of the day they were all Melayu, or Run Aways from their respective homelands the word was accepted by all these communities to describe themselves.

In fact, before the formation of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), it is a fact that all the people in the country had referred to themselves as Menang, Achinese, Bugis, Javanese etc. etc. and we all know that the Kelantanese used to treat the other Melayu, that is the Menang, Javanese, the Bugis etc. as foreigners.

Well for that matter, even Mahathir Mohammed was registered as Indian in King Edwards College where he studied medicine.

The Malay therefore very much like the Indians, and later the Chinese are Melayu in the very true sense of the word because they all left their respective countries to come to this location in South East Asia called Malaysia today.

The real natives of the country are the Orang Laut, the Jakun, the Kadazaan, the Iban, the Senoi and the rest, and not the so called Orang Melayu, because these people are actually Javanese, Achinese, Bugis, people from the Mollucas islands, and other parts of neighbouring Indonesia, including those from Cambodia and even China (Yunanese). That explains the word Melayu in various parts of Sumatra too.

The Javanese people in particular were referred to as Java Kontra a term they despised and today in Sumatra they are referred to as Orang Transmigrasi which is more acceptable to the Javanese in Indonesia then the term Melayu.

For Malay citizenship and for permanent residence reasons, the Orang Java, be they Sundanese, Orang Java Barat, Orang Java Tengah or Orang Java Timor, or any other Indonesian for that matter recognises the fact that the day he becomes a Malaysian citizen, he is now an Orang Melayu that is a new word coined by Malaysians of these origins to legitimise their Bumiputraism.

And to become Bumiputra this way, that is by becoming a Melayu, he has to profess the Islamic faith. This privilege is not extended to Dayaks, from Kalimantan, or Christian Filipinos, or for that matter Christians from among the peoples of Sumatra, Java or any other Indonesian Islands.

The  irony of all this is the fact that if you look at the real Orang Asli of Malaysia as a whole you'll find out that the majority of them are not from the Islamic faith, and that is one of the reasons why in Sabah the registration department of the Federal Government legitimised and gave citizenship and permanent residence status to hundreds and  thousands of illegal Fillipina immigrants from the Southern part of the Philippines.

I therefore disagree with your attempt to legitimize the term Orang Melayu as a race, it is not and never will be. The so-called Melayu must own up to their own heritage the way the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia proudly do.

And if we are to use this word called Melayu, it should be a term used to refer to all Malaysians except the ethnic Malaysians who are orang Asli.

The term Bumiputera was coined and the Malay placed in that category to legitimize the fact that he is ethnic when he is not.

It is a shame, and in fact a disgrace that they are the only group of people who by this very act, show the world that they are ashamed of their own heritage.

And who else can be so? Only those who run away or are banished from their own lands, for it is only such people who are ashamed of their own heritage.

Even the customs, the traditions, the dressings, the architecture etc. point to the fact that the so called Orang Melayu of  Peninsular Malaysia are actually not one and the same people.

Scroll below and read the next article by Syed Imran a Melayu and an ex Bernama Journalist from Penang.

Some time ago I wrote about the Melayu and the origins of the name Melayu, which means runaway.
Today another "Melayu has written" totally unconnected this man, yes he is a man he stands up for the truth has written a similar article.
I am sending both these articles to you for your reading and circulation.

All immigrants

Syed Imran, an Arab-Malaysian born in Penang, Malaysia, an ex-Bernama journalist (1971-1998) and former press secretary to the Minister in PM's Department, posted a great blog days ago, which was translated into English.

Please circulate it and let all Malaysians understand the facts.

*Antara pendatang dan penumpang (English Translation) *

To begin with, I was quite reluctant to comment on the mess created by the statement made by Ahmad bin Ismail, the head of the Bukit Bendera, Pulau Pinang UMNO Division.. Whether he made the statement in reference to Chinese Malaysians is no longer the question, as the issue has spread and has been hotly debated.

If it is not handled carefully and smartly, this issue could make clear water murky, giving opportunity to parties who are keen on seeing this country crash, not to mention falling into the hands of foreigners. In today's borderless world, international electronic media coverage makes it difficult for any country to hide or deny any given event.

The main issue brought up by Ahmad Ismail revolves around the question of "squatters", that is, that Chinese Malaysians are squatters in this country. He explained that he was referring to pre-independence days. However, it had hurt the sensitivity of the Chinese Malaysian community.

I don't know Ahmad Ismail personally, but I was quite close to his late elder brother, Abdul Rahim Ismail, the owner of Rahim Construction Company that was once famous as an "Earth-Prince" (Bumiputra) construction firm in Pulau Pinang.  I don't know what has happened to the company after Abdul Rahim passed away.

Personally, I don't agree with what Ahmad Ismail said for the following reasons.

To me, nearly 90 percent of Malaysians, especially those in the Peninsula, are immigrants, and all of us are actually squatters in the land of Allah anyways. We are anything but permanent owners, we are merely squatters.

For example, I come from a family that squatted in this blessed land. My paternal grandfather and grandmother migrated from Mecca and Brunei, while my maternal grandmother came from Hadramut, Yaman. We are immigrants and squatters, as are almost everyone else in this country.

As for Ahmad Ismail, he is also an immigrant having descended from an immigrant's family who squatted in this country. Ahmad Ismail cannot deny the fact that his grandfather and grandmother moved from India to this country in search of a better life in this blessed land.

It is also the case with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi whose maternal grandfather hailed from Guangdong in southern China. In short, Pak Lah's grandfather, Allahyarhamah Kailan, whose name was Hasson Salleh or Hah Su Chiang, was an immigrant. He moved to Tanah Melayu from Guangdong in the mid-19th century. He stayed in Bayan Lepas as a rubber estate worker, a padi farmer and later became a diamond trader.

Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister, is also a descendant of an immigrant Bugis family that came from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Hishammudin Hussein cannot escape the fact that there is Turkish blood running through his veins.

The Malacca Malay Sultanate was founded by an immigrant coming from Sumatra -- Parameswara, a prince who practised Hinduism.

A reading of the history of Malay Sultanates would reveal that some of them were founded by Bugis immigrants, while others were of Hadramut and Minangkabau parentage.

Almost all Malays living in this country are from outside Tanah Melayu, but are defined as "Malay Race" by the Federal Constitution. We are "Malay" in definition by the Constitution, that is, we are Muslims; we practise Malay customs and speak the Malay language. Unfortunately, the Malay language itself seems> to have been killed by the Malays in UMNO when they named it the Malaysian language (Bahasa Malaysia).

Therefore, Arabs like Syed Hamid Albar and myself, Achehs like Sanusi Junid, Indians like Kader Sheikh Fadzir and Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Bugises like Najib, Minangs like Rais Yatim, Jawas like Mohamad Rahmat, and others from Madura, Pulau Buyan, Siam, Myanmar, Yunnan (China) and the Philippines are conveniently categorized as Malays.

They are accepted as Malays regardless of whether they speak Malay or otherwise at home like those of us who speak Arabic, the Jawas that speak Jawa, the Minangs that speak Minang, or the Mamak that speak Tamil.

These languages are anything but Malay if we look at it from the perspective of the Federal Constitution, so they should never have been declared Malays. But for the sake of political correctness, all of them are accepted as Malays and "Earth Princes" (bumiputra).

It is grossly unfair to point to the Chinese as immigrants when the Arabs, Indians, Achehs, Minangs, Bataks, Mandailings, Jawas, Maduras, and Bugises are immigrants no less in this country. We cannot deny the fact that most of the Chinese's grandfathers and

grandmothers migrated to this country in the days of the Malacca Malay Sultanante, some of whom did so during the period of Kedah Sultanate, Terengganu Sultanate and Kelantan Sultanate respectively. After Francis Light wrested Penang from the hands of the sultan of Kedah in 1786, more Chinese had arrived here.

We are all immigrants squatting in this country. Only the Negrito, Jekun, Semang, Jahut, Orang Laut, Orang Darat, Senoi, and other indigenous people groups (like the Kadazandusuns, ibans and bidayuhs) can be correctly considered the original inhabitants of this country.

We must never forget the contributions and sacrifices made by all the races in building our nation in all its aspects, including the economy, social structure, national defense and, most importantly, national unity. We are all taxpayers whether or not we are descended from immigrants or squatters.

Mommy dearest, I’m so sorry to have let you worry. Cher & I were too excited about watching internet dramas in our room. My cellphone was in my handbag on the bench outside ~ didn’t hear it ringing! I switched off Cher’s earlier in the room to kill the “wave”. Mom wanted to call & tell us she has found the book at her place which Cher borrowed from the club’s library. It’s about time for her to return it. Nothing big deal in fact.

When she couldn’t reach us through our cellphones, she came “breaking-in” to my apartment with the spare keys. Dad was angry of my usual negligence instead of worried. He believed nothing could have gone wrong with both of us, mother & daughter, in our own apartment. Either he has faith in me to take great care of ourselves or he just couldn’t be bothered!

Mom wouldn’t have rested in peace tonight if she didn’t drop by to check on us! Luckily it’s only about 5 mins drive away.

I kept apologizing to her & thanked her for her concerns to drop by & check on our safety. I told her I did not expect anyone would have called me at this hour anymore, that was why I couldn’t hear the cellphones ringing....

See the difference between a dad & a mom?? Don’t get me wrong, I love dad too but our ways of communication seems to have started wrongly from the beginning. It’s okay, never too late to start anew. I know deep down, he loves all of us the same but he has problems expressing himself in “nice” ways. I’m determined to change myself towards communicating with him now as it’s a lot easier to change ourselves than to change others.

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On this 100th day since grandma has left us, this was our first reunion. Of course, not everyone was present but it was joyful day. As if grandma was amongst us….

Uncle Matt woke up at 3am last night. He claimed that to be the tea’s fault which he drank earlier. Ever since grandma passed away, the Indonesian maid was sent home, he’s left all alone in that house. A humble 3-bedroom turned 2-bedroom terrace intermediate single-storey house~a little too big for him alone now. At 63 years old, no wife, no children, only a pet fish and cable TV are currently his only companions.

I know it’s not easy for him. When grandma was around, if he didn’t see her awake before him every morning, he would check on the sleeping beauty if she was still breathing. It has become a morning ritual for him. When he went home late after appointments, grandma would nag at him like he was a rebellious youngster who stays out late. Now…..the house is so deadly silent when he reaches home. This is why when dad or mom scolds me for some mistakes I do, I’m able to enjoy it! And this saves a lot on unnecessary troubles too.

I can understand why uncle Matt’s planning to move out from that house & live in a small apartment. I can understand how his dinner tastes like when he has to cook & eat alone. I can understand how much he misses grandma. I can understand how hard he’s trying to adapt himself living alone now. Uncle Matt is one of my favorite uncles among 10 other siblings. No doubt he would never want to impose on anyone, I wish I could do something for him when he needs help later.

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It was a fun slow drive to Damai in the late afternoon yesterday. 3 pairs of us, dad & mom, sis & her hubby, Cher & I in dad’s MPV. Dad wanted to see the development along the way. There are many new housing estates, a new township Semariang & some rich tycoons’ bungalows, etc.. There are many food stalls selling corns, crabs & pickled local fruits as well.

On our way back around 5pm, we went to Buntal Village to have a simple 4-dish seafood dinner because we had too much to eat the night before. How often we get a chance for a trip like this? Wondering when will be the next…

So these were about all what I did during this Gawai Holidays, I baked, cooked, dined out with my family, took some pictures, most importantly, I finally had time for my poor little Kancil ~ Yup! All this while I washed, vacuumed & waxed it all by myself, at dad’s place, never at my own apartment’s parking lot!! Otherwise, neighbors would stop by & chit-chat with me. I don’t like being watched while I’m doing something. It’s very inconvenient too, no car washing bay like most condominiums have in KL. It’s really a hoo-hah for me to clean my poor car which only happens a few times in a year. Why don’t I spend a little money & send it for cleaning? Well, it’s also tiring waiting for them to do the jobs(I don’t trust them with the keys), moreover I get to work out alot on my muscles doing the jobs by myself! Sweat, sweat, sweat….

Sigh…. Back to work tomorrow. How time flies…. Tonight, my fellow space’s friends! Sleep tight!