Innocence maintained* - Jewel

Foreign Affairs Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Shabery Cheek said unlike the detention laws in Guantanamo Bay, the ISA did not infringe upon human rights.

(Reported in The Star today. Read the whole report here)

And what was the basis of such a brainless allegation?

"There are pressures from the United Nations and (former US president) Bill Clinton to close Guantanamo Bay but we have never heard of our former Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister calling for the ISA to be abolished".

Oh, so we are safe! As long as no former PM or DPM calls for ISA to be abolished, it is not infringing human rights.

What a load of bollocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since when does detaining a person who is innocent (we still believe that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, rite? Rite?????) indefinitely without charging him/her in Court or allowing him/her to defend their innocence not an infringement of human rights? You dun need an LL.M in Internatinal Human Rights Law to figure that out!

But since i do hv such an LL.M, here is a short list of the rights infringed by the ISA:-

• Right to be informed of grounds of arrest;
• Right to take proceedings before a Court of law;
• Rights of a detained person to have access to the outside world;
• Rights of a detained person to be treated with dignity and respect;
• Rights of a detained person not to be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
• Right to compensation for unlawful detention

The list is in no way exhaustive. And if you think i'm just plucking it all from the air, you can read about it in greater detail here.

*The 6th song from her 2nd album, Spirit, which happens to be my fav Jewel album so far!

I miss you* - Haddaway

I just chatted wif Michael over MSN - and tho it was great, it just left me feeling so down. I miss me mates so so much. I miss the life there...

Michael had an amazing eventful weekend when his girlfriend almost got kicked out of the country by the Immigration!!!! Thanks to the help of the Uni people, the local MP and plenty of frens, things just got resolved.

Sachin returned from an equally eventful trip back home and his girlfren will be coming over from Spain this week to join him.

Song Ke is still the same - and bringing joy into our lives! ;-)

Chiaki just left for home for good.

Yuki is settling in at Manchester.

And me? I miss them all.

This was our last nite together - on the 30th November 2006. You can tell we had a blast! :-)

*This song hit the UK charts way back in the fall of 1993 (went all the way to no. 9) - it din help when we listened to it at the time when we missed home the most!

Tell her about it* - Billy Joel

Here's an updated version of this song (made together wif Babyface) which was Olivia's first no. 1 hit in the US and in Canada when it topped the charts way back in 1974. I was thinking that maybe a more modern version might win over the present generation - yes? So anyone wanna watch her at Genting Highlands next month???? Lemme know!

*From his album, An Innocent Man, this was his second Billboard no. 1 hit.

Kung fu fighting* - Carl Douglas

Tony Anthony learned kung fu since he was 4 years old. he grew up and became the World Champion "master" in martial arts, in 1987, 1988 and 1989 (read more about him from Wikipedia here).

In recent times, he has become an evangelist, the founding director of a Christian organisation called "Avanti" and has written a book entitled "Taming the Tiger".

Here's a brief snippet about the book from Avanti's website:-

Authentic Media are pleased to announce the release of Taming The Tiger by Tony Anthony, a true story with more thrills, spills, twists and turns than a Hollywood blockbuster.

Taming The Tiger relates Tony’s astounding life story, beginning when he is sent to China as a four year old to become a Kung Fu disciple, where he spends eight hours a day following a cruel and brutal training regime, overseen by the Grand Master, his grandfather.

Quickly developing into a Kung Fu expert, Tony becomes an elite bodyguard, protecting some of the world’s most powerful people whilst also winning the world Kung Fu championships three times. Personal tragedy, however, alters Tony’s sense of extreme discipline and he begins to use his skills for illegal means, becoming embroiled in a world of violence, destruction and death.

Eventually incarcerated in the notorious Nicosia Central Prison in Cyprus, Tony hits rock bottom. Through the visits of a stranger, he is introduced to the reality and life-changing power of Jesus Christ and he finds himself freed from the hate which had so consumed him.

Anyways, the main purpose of this post is to announce that Tony Anthony will be in The Life Chapel this Sunday to share about his life story. The meeting will start at 11:30 am (for map details, go here). It promises to be a real interesting meeting - but unfortunately, Mr. Anthony will not be giving any kung fu demonstration!!!! But if you really want to, you can try to provoke him.... ;-P

Do try to come and bring yr frens along. Feel free to contact me for further details. If you would like to listen to him but can't make it this Sunday, he'll be speaking at other venues too - contact me for the details.

p/s - pic obtained from Amazon.co.uk

*Apparently, this song was recorded as a "B" side of a single and was never really taken seriously until the record company chief heard it and said that it was good enuf to be released as an "A" side. The rest as they say is history - and it became Carl's biggest hit - some say, his only hit - hitting no. 1 in both the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and the UK singles Chart!

Immortality* - Celine Dion

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.

Ecclesiastes 7v2 (NIV)

I almost din go for the service this morning. After all, i really din know him that well. I mean, everyone (in my church circle) knew who Eric Kirton was. I've spoken to him a couple of times - usually during church retreats or after meetings which he spoke at. But tt's about it.

But i do know Colin well. And i know that if the roles were reversed, i'd be really touched if he came.

Funny how God works - you try to do something for someone else and you end up being blessed. Well, it's funny that i shud still find it funny after all that i've experienced!!!

The above Bible verse was a quote made by King Solomon - and no one can doubt the wisdom in his words even til today. There's something very sobering about attending a funeral service. It's a reminder of our mortality - that one day, all of us will die and be fertilisers for daffodils. It's a wake-up call to start living our life to its fullest, to seize the day and every opportunity that comes our way. It's also a time when we recall God's grace and goodness.

Yet, at the same time, it reminds us of our immortality. Our physical life may end one day, but our spirits will live on forever - and we can be clothed wif new bodies too!

I've never dreaded attending Christian funeral services - it's always so filled wif hope, wif joy. Sure, we mourn for the loss of the physical presence of our brother or sister. It kills us (pun not intended) that he or she will no longer be wif us, that we can hear their voice no longer, feel their touch no more, to not be able to laugh together wif them... not in this lifetime. Tears will be shed - but it's the kinda tears shed at airports and farewells, altho multiplied a few times.

But we take time to recall wonderful memories - and thank God for them.

It also fills us wif comfort and joy as we know that the departed person has gone to a better place - and its only a matter of time before that one sweet day when we will be reunited again, in the presence of God, and be together, forever.

Tombstone in Glasgow

* This song was composed by the Gibb brothers specifically for Ms Dion - and they can be heard singing bck-up vocals. It hit no. 5 in the UK but was never released as a single in the States.

Amazing grace* - LeAnn Rimes

"Why dun i drive back in the nite?", i thot to meself!

Excellent idea! i save money by not having to pay for the hostel that nite, and on top of that, it would be a most pleasant drive back!!! Nice cool nite, the highway to meself, stress-free! Brilliant!

How wrong could i have been!!!!!!

It poured like mad that nite. It was a storm - cats and dogs and rats and whatever else!!!!! At certain parts of the highway, the rain was falling at such an angle towards my direction that i could not see the road at all! Visibility down to zero! I had to strain real hard to see thru the wet windscreen which made which was made so much harder due to the fact i had astigmatism - those who have that would understand.

And the highway was packed wif vehicles!!!!! What's goin on???? Maybe it was common to have that many vehicles on the road after dark in M'sia. Maybe it was cuz of the rain and cars were travelling slower. But it was so stressful! Large lorries on the slow lane crawling at a tortoise's pace while vehicles travelling on the fast lane (this includes a few huge express busses) think they are Michael Schumacher!!!!

All that just made me even more tired - i was oredi exhausted from traipsing around the island the whole day, most of the time, under the blazing sun. Thinking back, it was really scary - it felt so unreal, like i was half asleep most of the time. I prolly went to sleep wif me eyes opened a couple of times.

When me mate heard about that, he reprimanded me for being crazy. He said that driving in heavy rain at night is really dangerous - he has done it a few times in the past and it was only by God's grace that he went thru those incidents unhurt.

I could only nod quietly in agreement and offer a silent prayer of thanksgiving...

*This well-loved Christian hymn by John Newton was done in an acapella version by Ms Rimes in her You light up my life: Inspirational Songs album

Let me be there* - Olivia Newton-John

Alrite - i'm old! Dun be deceived by me youthful looks! ;-P

Just to prove how old i am, i am declaring to the whole world (wide web) that i'm a big fan of Olivia Newton-John! Prolly almost a huge a fan as i am of Jewel!

And i've been getting all excited cuz she is scheduled to perform in M'sia next month! Woohoo!!!!!

Ok, ok - most if not all you reading me blog will be wondering, who the h*ck is Olivia Newton-John???? If you are asking that question, i dun know how to answer. Prolly, the easiest would be to refer you to the classic movie-musical, Grease. Yup, she's the one who played Sandy.

"Wow, she must be a million years old then!!!!" you must be thinking.

Well, she shud be... but she still looks as young as ever!

I grew up listening to her!!!! Yeah, i am that old! I still remember how she looks on the cover of her cassette which i'd listen on the old player we had back then!!!

Truth be told, i wasn't such a big fan of Grease back then. Sure, I liked it. But the movie-musical which really made a difference in me life was the lessor known one by ONJ, Xanadu. If i watch it again now, i'll have to admit that it's such a corny show wif pretty lame effects. But i'll still love it. A movie about having yr dreams come true, a movie with good old singing and dancing (tap-dancing too), a movie wif the legendary Gene Kelly (altho some say it was his lowest point in show business), a movie wif such unforgettable songs. I loved all the songs. Still do. Brilliant!

As i grew older, i had a very close fren who also happened to be a huge fan of ONJ. We'd actually spend time listening to ONJ over the phone and singing along together. And we had this magical moment once when we bought for each other the Xanadu soundtrack CD and passed it to each other at the same time!!!! Really! I handed it over to her, still in the plastic bag, so she couldn't tell what CD it was but she knew it was a CD. Instead of reaching out to take it, she handed to me something in a brown envelope - obviously a CD too. We stood there, offering each other a CD when we suddenly realised that it had to be the same CD. It was. :-)

Anyways, its a pity she isn't in M'sia anymore or she'll be the first i'd ask to watch the concert (altho i dun think her hubby would be too crazy bout it!!!).

But i really hope i'll be able to catch it - even if the tickets are kinda pricey. All i ask is to let me be there when she is singing live!!!!

For those who are still wondering wat the fuss is all about, let me leave you wif my favourite song of hers, which ironically is not from the Xanadu soundtrack!!!!

*Her first Top 10 single in the US, this song won her a Grammy for Best Female Vocalist. Just to give you an idea of how old she is, this song was covered by Elvis Presley 4 years later!!!!!

Something kinda funny* - Spice Girls

Forwarded to me by me bro:-

UK Immigration Officer: Purpose of visit?

Visitor: I'm here to study law, sir.

Officer: You know, you must have a lot of lawyers in Malaysia.

Visitor: Why do you say that?

Officer: Well, i've been here for a good twenty years, and I'd say 80% of Malaysians I see here say they're here to read law.

Visitor: Oh, really? That's really something i never knew. Hard to believe in fact.

Officer: Just you watch, then. You just stand here until the next Malaysian comes along, and I'll bet he's here to read law.

*Visitor waits for 5 mins, Ah Chong from Malaysia comes to immigration counter*

Officer: Mr. Ah Chong, purpose of visit?

Ah Chong: Study lorr...

Well, if you aren't M'sian (or S'porean), you may have difficulty understanding the joke...!

*The 8th track from their debut album. Apparently, it was one of the first few songs that producer Simon Fuller heard which made him decide to manage them.

Time of your life* - Green Day

It was late in the nite and we were having dong sui (which was too sweet) by the roadside, while mozzies feasted on me legs. I had to literally brave thru a storm just to get there - but it was worth it. We haven't seen each other since spring 2 years ago, when i popped by her apartment the day before she flew off to the UK. We said we'd meet up in London once i'm over there.

We never did.

A series of unforeseen events and loads of procrastinating meant that we would only meet up face to face - when we were both back here in M'sia. But that din mean we weren't in contact when in the UK. Thanks to the free-calls deals over there, we kept each other updated regularly.

Still, it was good to see her again. Somehow, she is part of the memories of the life i had back in England. As we chatted the nite away, we both sighed wistfully at how enjoyable and wonderful life was when we were there.

I had always expected life back here not to be as good as it was then - and being right doesn't make it any easier! I guess maybe i need a little more time.

Last nite reminded me of one of the reasons why life back there was so wonderful - when we talk, we really talked! Back here, when we go for a drink or chat after a meal or hang out at someone's place, the conversation will be about when is so and so's next holiday trip, which expensive Japanese joint to eat at next, who is having renovations done to their expensive houses, or computer stuffs. People will be comparing - and admiring - handphones, showing off their new digital SLRs, talk about expensive cars, !!!! Mind you, i'm refering to Christians who are allegedly not supposed to be materialistic. Yeah, rite!

It just seem all too superficial, at times.

Back in Essex, we would talk about our lives (borrowing this description from another mate's blog). We would share deep emotions and feelings. We'd talk about our families and our frens. We'd chat about things which matters to us, insecurities, fears, hurts, joy.

But hey, i can do that wif me mtes back here too, can't i?

I can't. I dun know why. It's not like i havent tried. the times i do, you can just feel the energy level dropping and an uneasy silence falls... until someone makes a stupid joke to break the tension and then we'd all resume the frivolous stuffs.

Maybe it's cuz of the fear of being judged - which is again ironic as the Bible teaches Christians not to judge. Among me mates in the UK, there is no such fear. Sure, we'd ridicule each other for some stupid decisions, laugh at our mistakes, tell each other to the face how we can be wrong. But that was all good - we were all being honest, and being who we are. There was this freedom in being ourselves - and it was liberating.

Big meals, snacks or just drinks - it din matter cuz the people and the conversations were what was important

Ah well... maybe it's still too soon since i've been back. The engines need to be warmed-up more. In any event, there are frens here wif whom i can share me life wif - not that many, but there are. And i'm truly thankful for them.

Eve: It's what life is. It's a series of rooms and who we get stuck in those rooms with adds up to what our lives are.

(House M.D. Season 3 Episode 12)

p/s - after much contemplation, i've decided to post this up wif a footnote that it is not the intention of this post to take a swipe at anyone but a way of expressing how much i miss me mates

*This song was actually meant as a "break-up" song and originally titled, Good Riddance! And apparently, Billy Joe made the same mistake - twice - during the intro of the song, which you can still hear in the released version.

When will I see you again?* - The Three Degrees

I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again
James Taylor

It sure feels like i thought wrong...

*One of the most successful recordings in the "Philly Soul" sound. Me mates and i were crazy about this song when we were doing our Form 6 - and hearing it always brings back memories of those days.

The Prayer* - Celine Dion & Andrea Bocelli

Father who are in heaven, holy be thy name. God bless all my friends in

whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! And may their

life be full of your peace and prosperity and most of all bless them for

their glowing personalities and wonderful love (as weird as they can be)!
(A prayer from an old fren)

p/s - pic is sculpture of the little John the Baptist (Saint Jean Baptiste enfant) by Jean Dampt, on display at Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

*The song first appeared as solo performances by Dion (in English) and Bocelli (in Italian) on the soundtrack of a little known animated show, Quest for Camelot. It was released as a duet a year later, and featured on Dion's X'mas album, These Are Special Times. Nominated but failed to win in both the Oscars and the Grammys.

Say my name* - Destiny's Child

“…and what do your frens call you?”, the instructor asked me after I introduced meself. I paused for a moment before i replied hesitatingly, “Mun Onn”.

I could just imagine wat was going on in the minds of those present there!

“Man, he is slow...”

“Is he mentally challenged?”

“He probably doesn’t have any frens...”

Well, the reason i took a moment to reply was because there was no one right answer! Different frens call me differently!!!! In fact, you can tell who they are just by how they call me! One group calls me “Lai”, another group “Mun” and frens of me family calls me “Onn”. Let me elaborate:-

“Mun Onn”

This is prolly the most common name i am called. It consists of me first and middle name in Cantonese. Me church frens call me that. So do all me school mates from primary and secondary school.

However, only one person ever pronounced it the correct way – this girl from Hong Kong who attended the same church i did in Essex.

“Lai”

This is my surname. If you hear someone call me that, it has to be me ex-coursemates from me undergraduate days. The person responsible for causing that is one of me lecturers during our first year. He called all those with Chinese names (and without English forenames) by their surnames. Since during the first few weeks of our first year, we were strangers to each other, we remembered each others’ names by wat our lecturer called us – so they called me “Lai” while others were called “Ling”, “Hong” etc.

All those who used to work under me when i was a lawyer still refers to me as “Mr. Lai”. I remember telling this lawyer – who used to be a chambering student when i was practising – not to refer to me by “Mr. Lai” in our present e-mails – but he said that it was difficult to break the habit!

“Mun”

There are many groups which call me this and there are different... erm... tones(?). The first ever group was the Senior Scouts Patrol – for some reason, we called each other by our first name only, unlike others in school who usually refer to us by our first and middle name. So it was “Mun”, “Kit”, “Tiang”, “Boon”, “Pak”, “Yok”.

The next group are me workmates in Uni. I thought it’d be easier for these Mat Sallehs to just call me “Mun” – and easier for them to remember too! See, how thoughtful i am!

Then, when i started working at the Chinese restaurant, the name stuck. But since they were mainly Cantonese speaking Hongkies and M’sians there, they called me “Ah Mun”. Somehow, the spelling of that evolved to “Man”!!!! I used to joke wif me colleagues that i had since become “da man”!!!

Me cousemates at UoE and lecturers also refer to me as “Mun” – altho some get the pronunciation wrong while another gave me a special one-of-a-kind nickname (see here).

“Onn”

Me family calls me that. As such, frens of me family call me that too – as well as all me relatives.

“Min An”

This is my name in Mandarin. All me mates from China call me that – except Jane who is from Guangdong and speaks Cantonese fluently. It took me quite a while to realise it but me Mandarin speaking mates from China had great difficulty pronouncing “Mun”!!! You should see how they would struggle to do so (if you dun believe me, find a China student and test him/her) and how they would be overcome wif relief when i told them to just call me Min An!

In truth, after a while, i really liked being called that! In fact, i was thinking of introducing meself by that from then on – but then i remembered that me passport, student card, bank accounts, credit cards, identification card, driving license all uses me Cantonese transliteration – so i guess i'll have to stick to Mun Onn.

p/s - This list does not include nicknames like "Newton", "Munster", "Chris", "Obi-Mun", "Bangun" etc.

*This was thier biggest hit from their album, "The Writing's On The Wall" when they used to consist of 4 members!

Flying without wings* - Westlife

It truly baffles me how they can make a big fuss, call a press conference, announce to the world, promote special fares and set a launch date... when they did - not - have - the - planes!!!!!!!

Yes, after all the hype - which was reported even in the UK - Air Asia X will not deliver. Not this year anyway. Read the report here.

Sure, i understand if there are some matters which need to be ironed out, edges trimmed, holes filled. But dun u think that being an airline, the first thing that has to be confirmed before selling yourself to the whole world is to get the planes first? Or at least one plane?

But some brilliant person insisted that they publicise cheap flights to UK this July - with or without any confirmation that they will get at least one aeroplane by then. Apparently, a spokesman described it as a "minor technical issue". What the....?????

It just baffles me!!!

I guess i'm disappointed as this is more or less the nail in the coffin on whatever hopes i had harboured to go back to the UK this July for a sweet reunion wif me ex-flatmates. :-(

p/s - pic taken at Pembrokeshire National Park, Wales, last fall. Model: Markus

*Their 3rd no. 1 hit in the UK. It was also famously sung by Ruben Studdard in the finale for American Idol 2

Powerless* - Nelly Furtado

Ultra vires - beyond the scope or in excess of legal power or authority
(Definition from Merriam-Webster online)

Do you know that it is possible for some laws to be illegal? That sounds like a paradox, doesn't it? Let me elaborate.

The Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the law. Article 4(1) provides as follows:-

This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.

Putting it simply, it is the law! All other laws derive its validity from the Federal Constitution. So let's say for instance, the Constitution says that all men must wear green shirts. If the Parliament decides to pass a new law which allows men to wear red shirts, that particular law will not be "legal". The Parliament is said to have acted "...beyond the scope or in excess of its legal power" - it has acted ultra vires as It has no power to do so. It is powerless. After all, the Parliament derives its power from the Constitution.

There was a decision of the Malaysian Court of Appeal which was reported in the newspapers today. Basically, a husband converted to Islam. The wife applied to the Civil courts for an injunction regarding some family law matters. Unfortunately for her, the Court of Appeal held that she has to seek her remedy not in the Civil Courts but in the Islamic Courts - the Syariah Court. The headlines in the News Straits Times summed it up clearly in the first line of its report: - "A non-Muslim married to a person who has converted to Islam has to seek remedy in the syariah court over family matters" (read the whole report here).

It was almost an open and shut case. The Court simply refered to the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984 which provides that "...in the event one of the parties converted to Islam, it must be administratively dissolved by a syariah court".

With that, the Court of Appeal washed its hands and told the non-Muslim woman to go to the Syariah Court.

But wait a minute - Gopal Sri Ram JCA did not agree, altho to his Lordship, it appears to be an open and shut case too. His Lordship held that since the Federal Constitution expressly provided that the Syariah Court "...shall have jurisdiction only over person professing the religion of Islam" (emphasis added), the said provision of the Islamic Family Law refered by the other learned Judges is ultra vires the Constitution since it purports to confer to the Syariah Court jurisdiction over non-Islam persons.

That makes sense, doesn't it? Read his views here.

Putting it simply:-

• Constitution says Syariah Courts only have jurisdiction over Islam persons;
• Islamic Family Law says that in a marriage, if one of the spouse is a Muslim, then Syariah Courts have jurisdiction over both spouses for the purposes of dissolution;
• In effect, the Syariah Court will have jurisdiction over the non-Islam spouse - this clearly is not allowed by the Consitution;

Well, anyways, the matter will be appealed to the Federal Court and as such, it'll be sub-judice to discuss the matter now.

But Sri Ram's view makes sense, doesn't it????

*The song where Nelly describes how she was once asked by a record company to hide her ancestry. Love this song - brilliant vocals and the banjo adds a nice touch to it.

I wonder as I wander* - Jewel

Wanderlust! It was only a matter of time before i succumb to it... again. And this is in spite of the lack of finances to do so!

Due to me current state of unemployment, all me plans to go places like Beijing, Cambodia, Northern Thailand, S'pore - even East M'sia - have been shelved indefinitely until i earn sufficient funds to pay for them.

I've been itching to travel again - but responsibilites ("taxi" service ;-P) have prevented me from doing so. Therefore, i jumped at the opportunity to take a trip down to historic Malacca - even if it was just to spend a couple of hours there (while me mate attends a job interview)!

It felt brilliant to be wandering again, aimlessly, just me, me bag, some water and me camera! It felt so good to be a tourist again! :-)

One of the things which struck me as i wandered along was how much the place reminded me of Holland!!! Well, Malacca was colonised by the Dutch, yet i believe the Portuguese left a larger impression there. Still, the similarities were hard to miss!

But hey, dun take me word it - check out the pics i took (all the photos on the left were taken at Malacca last week while the ones on the right were taken in Holland last fall):-

There were windmills!!!!


Narrow buildings by the river/canals


Interesting small alleyways


Bicycles with tacky flowers deco


Church buildings with bell towers


Colourful windows


Flowers by the river/canals


Wooden footwear on sale


Riverboats


And both places even had good duck rice!!!!

Check out the rest of me M'cca pics here!

p/s - i also got meself rather excited when i started dreaming of opening me own back-packers' place which conducts small tours. Anyone interested to be a partner???

*From her Christmas album, i love her almost acapella version of this lovely song.

Somebody's watching me* - Rockwell

Ha, Lai Mun Onn - mengapa hanya sekarang baru pohon untuk MyKad? (Translation: Why are only applying for your MyKad now?)

The lady over the counter asked the above question in a mock-reprimanding tone! I just went "hee...." and flashed a sheepish grin back at her.

For the record, she was very nice and frenly - a pleasant surprise!!!!

Anyways, i couldn't tell her that the reason i have been resisting is a form of silent protest over the MyKad (for non-Malaysians, the MyKad is the Malaysian Identity Card).

I'm just not comfortable having all my personal details stored in a tiny chip on a card - especially when the MyKad can be used for so many purposes. Perhaps i just dun have faith in the government's security system - and i fret that any hacker can just wipe out my entire existence or change my personal records wif the tap of a key on a keyboard. Furthermore, the conspiracy-theorists in me feels that the MyKad is just a tool to enable the government to track all our movements and lifestyle.

Eg., take a look at how effective Tesco's Clubcards have been in the UK - just by tracking all our purchases, they know wat products to sell at which branch and even send each individual customers coupons for products which they use and for products which they think the customers may buy!

Soon, they'll have a database on each citizen - where they travel to, do they drive, how much they spend, what do they spend on, etc. Somebody will be watching over me...!

I've been watching too many movies, have i? Perhaps i have too active an imagination?

Maybe... but the lady over the counter knew i just came back from studying overseas! And she even commented that i used to be fat!!! When i asked how she knew, she allowed me a peek on her flat-screen monitor and there was a photo of me when i was 12 years old!!!!! Even i meself dun have a copy of that photo anymore!!!!!!

But the days of my resistence has come to an end. It is futile, i guess - so i just succumb to peer-pressure - and also to the fear that they'll increase the fine for late application (all applications made from the year 2006 onwards is considered late and subject to a fine of RM10 - less than 2 quid!). *sigh* i sold out my convictions over fear of monetary loss *hangs head in shame*

Oh well... anyways, just to end off with some interesting things i found out about the name, "MyKad":-

• The "My" refers to our country, Malaysia - it is the country code top-level domain for Malaysia - used for local internet addresses.
  
• It also stands for the literal meaning in English, the first person possesive pronoun, signifying personal ownership.
• The word "Kad" is the BM transliteration of the English word, "Card".
  
• It is also an acronym for "Kad Akuan Diri" (meaning "Personal Identification Card").
  
• It can also be an acronym for "Kad Aplikasi Digital" (meaning "Digital Appliation Card").
  

(Source: Wikipedia and MalaysiaCentral.com)

Bet you din know what MyKad stood for before this, rite?

*Rockwell's first single, it is a popular paranoia song which features guest vocals by Michael and Jermaine Jackson.

So emotional* - Whitney Houston

The 4th official held up a board to indicate that there'll be 3 added minutes before the game ends. Oh, no!!!! i cried out. The last 15 minutes had been bad enuf - and now, i had to endure another 3 minutes. A horrible feeling of déjà vu came over me.

I could see the headlines now - Liverpool's season has come to an end!!!! After being knocked out of the FA Cup and League Cup, and having no chance watsoever to win the EPL, they will now bow out of the Champions League the same way how they lost to Man Utd just a few days ago - by a stoppage time goal after dominating the whole game!!!!

I could hardly sit down nor could i bear to watch - and my teeth nibbled on me nails...

But the final whistle came - and along with it, a sense of total and absolute relief. As the TV screen flashed with scenes of the LFC players congratulating themselves and the fans celebrating, and as the P.A. system at Anfield played the familiar Gerry and the Pacemakers' song, You'll never walk alone, i found tears forming in me eyes...

No, i'm not exaggerating. And yes, i still surprise meself at how emotional i'll get over a silly footie game. After all these years of seeing Liverpool perform badly and lose - being a LFC fan in the 90s has not been easy - i thought i'd be immune to see them get beaten, especially by the reigning champions of Europe. But i'm not.

I remember sleepless nites when Gerard Houlier's LFC get beaten and knocked out of the Champions League.

Why is it that football matches evoke such deep emotions? Last nite also saw shocking scenes of the Valencia-Inter Milan match where players were involved in a brawl - which looked worse that the Chelsea-Arsenal one we witnessed a couple of weeks ago (see pics here).

And thruout the years, we have heard and read about the violence that a football match can trigger, how even a player was once murdered because he conceded an own goal during the World Cup competition.

Like it or not, football does play a big part in our lives - here in M'sia, and esp so in the UK. And as was shared during a lesson last nite, it is an international language - something which transcends boundaries and bring people together. I remember those days of going to watch matches at the SU Bar - and even tho i'll go alone, i won't be watching it alone - everyone will suddenly be a fren... or a foe! ;-P It is nice when at the end of the game, both set of fans applaud the winners and losers for such an entertaining fare.

It is nice to have passionate fans - but not fanatical!!! Let's hope us fans will always be the former and never the latter.

p/s - as i sent me neice to school in the morning, i was surprised to find the normally jammed roads with heavy traffic to be clear!! And i wondered whether was it becuz of the 4 am Champion League matches!!!

p/p/s - photo above taken from BBC News Online

*Her first no. 1 of 1988, it was also her 6th no. 1 in a row.

You can't always get what you want* - The Rolling Stones

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need
Mick Jagger & Keith Richards

*Came in at no. 100 in the Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Times, recently has experience a small revival thanks to the TV series, House MD

My happy ending* - Avril Lavigne

It's the end of the Spring Festival celebrations - well, at least for us here in Malaysia (GMT+8)! After 15 days of eating and... eating, it's time to end the festivities.

As indicated in an earlier post, the last few days was a flurry of going from one meal to another! I dare not step onto the weighing scale - but the fact that i have to loosen me belt is enuf to tell me that the kilos have been added - way too successfully!!!

I liked how the festivities ended for me - it wasn't the food. Well, it wasn't just the food. It was the time spent wif those sharing the food wif me.

While the food varied a little (from super expensive lunch at high class restaurants to simple home fellowship meals, from extremely tasty to disappointingly bland), and the occasions were pretty varied (from reunions to Church group activity to purely fun get-togethers), and the people i shared the meals wif were very varied (from people younger than me to me peers whom i grew up wif, me Uni mates, people old enuf to be me parents and people who are my parents ;-P), the common factor was that I have had a brilliant time on each occasion.

That's wat these celebrations are all about, isn't it - frens and families.

p/s - i do miss me frens and "family" members who are overseas, tho. Very much! :-(

*The second single from her second album, it is also her second platinum cetified single after her hugely successful Complicated

You're the still the one* - Shania Twain

Debbie Gibson - This So-Called Miracle

*Double Grammy Award winner in 1999. Absolutely love this song! Written by Shania and her husband, Lange, the song is based on the true story of their relationship.

It's all coming back to me now* - Celine Dion

Just like riding a bicycle, i noticed that after being back for more than a month, a lot of things are coming back to me naturally. Some are old habits - discarded while i was away overseas but back wif a vengence. Others are things out of me control. The common factor is that all these stuffs unfortunately, are not the good ones.

For instance, i noticed that now, i speed on the Federal Highway - which is rather common if you are a Malaysian and use it daily. But believe it or not, for the first week or so, i actually kept to the speed limit!!!!!

Oh, i also initially was amused - and even tickled at times - at how bad the drivers on the roads are, how inconsiderate they can be. Now, i'll let them know my annoyance by honking on me horn or glaring at them. :-( And oh, the "cub-chai"s are no longer cute!!!!

I'm also an air-con-holic now. Hard to believe it but when i got back, i actually din like the air-cond. It felt too artificial. I'm used to sleeping wif windows wide opened, enjoying the breeze from the 11th floor (sometimes, the gales!!!!). Perhaps the weather in the first couple of weeks of me being back was rather cooling and i could do without the air-cond. But not anymore. Not during the day-time, anyway.

Another thing which has "come back" to me is my migraine - esp the mysterious ones which hit me when i wake up after a good sleep!!!!

As a result of that, another bad habit has returned - popping in pills. Pain killers, to be precise. I know its bad to take so much paracetemol - trust me, i've tried to bear wif the pain but it just remained wif me all day long!!!

Which reminds me - gotta go buy panadol...

Closely related to this is how i've been falling sick so easily - in the UK, i only fell sick once (and another time in France). Here, i've lost count oredi. I just recovered earlier this week for a couple of days only to fall sick again yesterday. *sigh*

Methinks it's gotta do with the food here? Can't think of anything else.

Which brings be to my next bad habit which has "come back" - eating!!! Eating on its own is not bad - but eating none stop? Eating a lot late in the nite? It's the mamak culture (see here)!!!!!

And it's also the Spring Festival/Chinese New Year!!!! Yes, that means eat, eat, eat!

I guess it is no surprise then that something else has "come back" to me - all the kilograms lost when i was in the UK!!!! A check on the scales last nite revealed that i've gained 4 kilos since coming back!!!!! Mind you, the 4 kilos were gained just during the past couple of weeks - yeah, it coincides with the first day of the Spring Festival!!!!!

Things dun seem to be getting any better. After all, there's a dinner wif Church frens tonite, dinner with the Home Fellowship members tomorrow nite, lunch wif former Uni-mates on Sat, dinner wif the Young Adults on Sat nite - and on Sunday, the final dinner for the Spring Festival celebrations!!!

*Sigh* i've resigned meself to the fact that more of them kilos are "coming back" to me now.

*Typical operatic ballad style of Jim Steinman, the writer, recently remade by Meatloaf - the king of such genre! Apparently, it was inspired by Wuthering Heights, the song being compared to "Heathcliffe digging up Cathy's corpse and dancing with it in the cold moonlight"!!