because of.. The Because!

[image source: Haroldsplanet.com]

Haha. I like this one. Another Harold's Planet daily favorite of mine. :D
Curse yooouu Mr. The Because! Curse you! hehe
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Yay! Finally i managed to sell off my old Dell monitor (2003) at the BuySellTrade shop in SS15, after months of delay. For RM50, i think it is reasonable. Sunway Pyramid's IT Centre could only offer me RM20! So, yeah it is a good price. Check out their website. You can sell practically everything there. They buy everything from electronic goods and gadgets, books, baby chair, vcds, golf set and et cetera. but also do take note that it is so damn hard to find a parking spot! Close to near impossible. hehe. My advice, go after 6pm.

Matchbook Romance - Monster (daymnn, tho i like this song, they sound like totally different band! I think i like 'Stories and Alibis' much better..)

Sharifah Aini given discharge

PETALING JAYA: Singer Sharifah Aini, 53, who was accused of defaming pop idol Siti Nurhaliza, was given a discharge not amounting to acquittal by the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court. - TheStar

Finally.. after almost two years of the famous Siti Nurhaliza hate mail chain letter that brought kak pah to court, it's now almost over. I kinda already expected the result because it's hard to prove such accusation. Her case was one of a kind, which was sending defamatory e-mail. The first to happen in Malaysia. But anyway good for her then.

Wolf Parade - Shine a Light

Mat Rempit, Off The Edge & Bahasa Melayu

Another random writings by yours truly..

Apa yang hebat sangat pasal mat rempit ni? Sampaikan nak buat lagi filem pasal diorang? Sekarang Metrowealth (oh tak heranla) pulak nak buat filem pasal mat rempit. Nama filem pun ntahapaapantah. 'Remp-It'?? Ingat dah gile cool habis la nama tu. Seingat aku rasanya ni la filem pertama Metrowealth yang dah tak guna khidmat blue-eyed-boy David Teo, si Prof Madya tu. Filem ni diarah oleh Ahmad Idham. Seorang pelakon dan pengarah yang aku tak minat.

Aku boleh bet la, ending cerita ni mesti mat rempit tu insaf dan kembali ke pangkal jalan. Pastu ada la jiwang sana sini sikit. Seperti stereotaip kebanyakan filem-filem Melayu. Setiap kali filem baru keluar, mesti producer, director etc, akan kata filem dia 'berbeza', 'lain daripada yang lain', 'sesuatu yang baru', 'nantikan kejutan'. kan, kan? hehe. Mana ada pengarah filem nak cakap, "filem aku sama je dengan satu filem Hindustan tu, aku buat versi melayu je" Contoh je ni ye.

Cerita pasal mat rempit ni aku teringatkan satu artikel dalam majalah favorite, Off The Edge (Nov. 2005 issue). Aku tak pernah jumpa satu artikel yang lebih detail pasal lifestyle mat rempit daripada yang ni. Baru aku tau macam mana serba sikit kehidupan diorang. Walaupun aku memang langsung tak berminat. Apa pun aku rasa Danny Lim, wartawan & jurufoto artikel ni telah berjaya dalam buat research dan mengupas isu Mat Rempit.

Wartawan, Danny Lim ada interview sorang mat rempit ni (Pak Tam;bukan nama sebenar);

Pak Tam is one of the leaders of the Castello gang of Mat Rempits and he's giving me the standard Mat Rempit weekend tour. The circuit runs from Dataran Merdeka, down Jalan Raja Laut, past Sogo, loops around Chow Kit to Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, and back to Dataran...

"I don't care what people say about Mat Rempits. I'm proud to be one. Saya jiwa Mat Rempit. This is normal for me," declares Pak Tam. "My parents have scolded me until they foam at the mouth. But even after being in accidents, I'll still want to ride. What more can they say?"

- Memang Mat Rempit tak pernah serik-serik. Lepas baca ni baru aku tahu diorang bangga rupanya digelar Mat Rempit. hari tu kat KL, terserempak satu motor ni ada sticker besar - 'Mat Rempit KL'. Gila bangga diorang nih.

Pak Tam claims he's clean from substance abuse - it's just not his style - but he's had the best of the rest. Girls were ' bersepah' around him, until he got syphillis, which freaked him out...

Favorite vacation spot: Goes on motorcycle convoys to Port Dickson, Janda Baik and Pangkor during Merdeka and New Year holidays. Gangs used to caused trouble on these trips, "but nowadays they don't fight anymore - what for sakit badan. Better to have sex with girls."

Cultural Consumption: Reads Harian Metro & Kosmo! Buy broadsheets only for lottery numbers. Loves watching KL Menjerit, Fast & Furious, Gila-Gila Remaja. - Ha Gila-Gila Remaja aku pun suka. :p

Tapi Pak Tam ni ada kesedaran diri dan matlamat hidup jugakla. Baca ni;

"Mat Rempits has its limits. There come a time to "wash your hands". Around 25-28, that's when they start thinking about starting a family, doing business. I want to have my own car, my own house, I want to see my parents do the Haj in Makkah. I want to sit in an office, not do (manual work). I also want to have a family, i also want to go to heaven.."

Kalau baca magazine Off The Edge ni, antara kolum (er wujud ke ayat ni?) favorite saya ialah daripada kolum 'Tapai'-Hishamuddin Rais, 'Those were the days' - Dato' Abdul Hamid Dato' Sidek, 'Teohlogy' - Patrick Teoh, Ulasan filem-'Citizen Kam' oleh Kam Raslan, Travel, dan tak ketinggalan jugak, cover story interview. Seperti tagline magazine ni, 'Arts & Culture for businessperson'; sangat kena rasanya isi-isinya dengan citarasa aku.

Kadang-kadang aku terfikir kejap. Kenapa majalah berbahasa Melayu tak ada satu pun yang macam ni? Kalau ada pun umpama mati segan hidup tak mahu. Semua pun majalah hiburan, gosip artis entah apa, taruk muka Mawi kat cover magazine setiap bulan (saya tak anti Mawi, bagi contoh je ni). Sedih tahun lepas majalah Massa terpaksa gulung tikar, sebab takde sambutan. Nasib baik la majalah macam Dewan Masyarakat, Al-Islam dll ada lagi.

Saya risau Bahasa Melayu satu hari nanti hilang nilai ilmiah dan nilai akademiknya dan hanya jadi bahasa harian, bahasa pasar, bahasa di rumah dan bahasa di papan-papan tanda sahaja dan hanya duduk megah sebagai bahasa kebangsaan di perlembagaan semata-mata tanpa ada sebarang makna yang signifikan langsung ataupun nanti ianya akan di-downgrade-kan macam bahasa-bahasa lain dari cabang suku kaum Melayu seperti; Minang, Aceh, Banjar, Bugis, Batak, Sulu dll.

Okok, aku kalau nak cerita pasal isu Bahasa Melayu boleh buat blog entry baru ni.

Akhir kata, maaf kalau ada sesiapa tersinggung dengan blog hari ni.

Later folks.

[p/s: Mari nantikan filem Red Kebaya. Nampak menarik.]

Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [beautiful song :)]

Kisah anak kecil penjual kuih..

Cerita ni aku ambil daripada Mingguan Malaysia dua minggu lepas. Tangguh punya tangguh, baru hari ni post kat blog. Tersentuh hati aku bila pertama kali baca 'Kisah anak kecil penjual kuih' ni. So, hari ni aku nak kongsi pulak cerita ni kat blog.

Alkisah...
Seorang pemuda yang sedang menahan lapar pantas menuju ke sebuah gerai makan. Semasa hampir menghabiskan sebahagian kecil hidangannya yang tinggal, datanglah seorang kanak-kanak lelaki penjaja kuih.

“Encik mahu membeli kuih saya? Ada karipap, cucur, ketayap. Mak saya yang buatkan. Ramai pelanggan yang kata sedap.” Dengan ramah pemuda yang sedang menjamah makanannya itu menjawab: “Takpelah dik, abang pun tengah makan ni.”

Kanak-kanak tersebut bagaimanapun tidak berputus asa. Dia menunggu pemuda tersebut selesai menjamu seleranya dan sekali lagi mempelawanya membeli kuih-muih tradisional yang disediakan ibunya. “Terima kasih sajalah adik, abang dah kenyang ni.”

Selesai makan pemuda itu terus berjalan keluar dari situ menuju ke kenderaannya. Kanak-kanak tadi yang sudah seharian berjaja masih tidak berputus asa. Hati kecilnya berkata, “Walaupun sudah kenyang, mungkin dia boleh bawa pulang sebagai buah tangan untuk orang-orang di rumahnya.”

Kenak-kanak tersebut terpaksa membantu ibunya menjual kuih setelah kematian bapanya tidak berapa lama dulu. Dia mempunyai dua orang adik lagi yang masih kecil. Dan, buat kali ketiganya dia berkata: “Bang, mahu beli kuih saya?”

Pemuda tersebut kemudiannya mengeliarkan RM2 dah menghulurkannya kepada kanak-kanak tersebut. “Adik ni memang tak reti menyerah kalah ye. Tak pe, ambil sahaja duit ni. Abang kira sedekah, okey?” Kanak-kanak tersebut mengambil duit tersebut lalu diberikan kepada peminta sedekah yang kebetulan ada di situ. Pemuda tersebut kehairanan lantas dia bertanya:

“Dik, abang bagi duit tu dekat adik, kenapa adik bagi kepada orang lain pula?”
Sambil menguntum senyum, kanak-kanak tersebut berkata, “Bang, saya sudah berjanji dengan ibu di rumah untuk menjualkan kuih yang dibuatnya ini walaupun dengan bersusah payah. Bukan jadi mengemis. Saya akan berasa bangga kalau pulang ke rumah dan berjumpa dengan ibu sekiranya kuih ibu habis terjual, lebih-lebih lagi saat saya memberikan ibu wang hasil kerja keras saya. Ibu saya tidak suka saya jadi pengemis, bang.”

Pemuda tadi seperti terpana dengan kata-kata yang diucapkan oleh seorang kanak-kanak yang hanya berusia lebih kurang 12 tahun itu. Walaupun usianya belum dianggap matang, namun bagi kanak-kanak tersebut, beliau menggangap kerja itu sebagai satu amanah. Jika dia tidak berjaya di dalam sesuatu kerja yang dilakukannya dan di dalam hal ini, menjual kuih, kanak-kanak berkenaan merasakan seolah-olah nilai dirinya berkurangan.

Kena pula dengan ajaran ibunya yang pantang jika anak-anaknya meminta-minta, menjadi pengemis. Kanak-kanak itu mahu melihat ibunya tersenyum dan gembira setiap kali menyambut kepulangannya di rumah. Senyuman bonda yang tulus dibalas dengan kerja yang terbaik dan mampu menghasilkan pendapatan.

Pemuda tadi akhirnya terus memborong kesemua kuih yang dijaja oleh kanak-kanak tersebut – bukan kerana perutnya lapar tetapi prinsip yang dimiliki oleh anak kecil itu bahawa kerja adalah satu maruah dan, dia akan mendapat wang kalau sudah bekerja dengan baik.

[kredit kepada Adura, pengirim cerita ini]

Daim

I used to hold Tun Daim Zainuddin (Malaysia's ex-Finance Minister from 1984-1991) in high regard, especially after reading his biographical book, 'Daim; The Man behind the Enigma' by Cheong Mei Sui & Adibah Amin. I read it with full interest on how the way he managed to turn around the economy in less than 4 years during the time Malaysia suffered its worse economic crisis in 1985, amidst full of critics and controversy surrounding him. One thing that i like about him is that, he is one of the few successful Malay entrepreneur before the Dasar Ekonomi Baru (NEP) era. A time where the Malay had only 2 percent share in the equity of companies. He was also the first Malay to venture into housing and property industry.

His first business in the late 60s was in plastics but it didn't turned out well, and he almost went bankrupt. Later on, he decided to venture into land and property. Taman Maluri in Cheras was his first housing project under his company, Syarikat Maluri Sdn Bhd. And it was a successful project. And as they say, the rest was history. He was already a successful millionaire way before Dr. Mahathir invited him to run for politics. I feel like writing a review of the book, but don't quite have the time for it, so yeah, maybe some other time.

But anyway, i'd like to quote a few excerpts from the book,

In 1991, Daim's contribution was succintly summed up thus: "Despite having much of his tenure clouded in controversy, the outgoing Finance Minister has nonetheless earned a reputation as one of the country's ablest economic architects, having steered Malaysia through recession into four straight years of high growth."

Commenting on the Asian growth rates, visiting Professor of Finance, Dr. J. Colin Dodds from Canada's St. Mary's University said: "These growth rates, of which Malaysia's is probably one of the best, are unparalleled in history. Even in the US, even in the UK, during their so-called Industrial Revolution, didn't achieve growth rates anywhere near these.."

Tun Daim Zainuddin, is one of the many few UMNO leaders that i highly admire and I feel sad reading this piece of news on today's NST frontpage. I don't intend to elaborate further, you can check out jeff ooi's blog about this issue. I hope he would respond to the media soon.

NST: THE METRAMAC CASE: 'They took RM32m'

Plus 44 - No It Isn't

Selamaat hari jadiii... :D

Happy birthday Siti! heehe :p

Haha. tak tahu apa nak update sebenarnya, so mari kita wish siti, semoga panjang umur, murah rezeki dan sukses selalu. ohokhok.

Too Phat ft. Siti - Dua Dunia

Adi belanja makan

rakan-rakan ofis di Naili's Place, Sentul. [tora,imah,me,fatie,eby,adi,02, chenard,zam,ayun; j2 takde dlm gambar]

Hari ni hari last Adi (ex-roommate, ex-officemate dan juga orang kuat nanafc :p) keje kat office. Dia akan ke IPDA (Institut Perguruan Darul Aman), Jitra lepas ni. Semalam dia belanja kitorang semua dinner. best best. Semalam kat Naili's, budak-budak ni terserempak dengan Amylia AF3. Chenard sempat ambik gambar. daymnnn nak jugak. hehe. walaupun aku takde minat sangat pun. :p

Selamat maju jaya diucapkan kepada Adi, yang bakal mengikut jejak langkah mak bapak dia, sebagai seorang guru. :)

Selamat menyambut Hari Raya Qurban, in advance.

Peterpan - Tak Bisakah

Blind guy story

So here goes my story for today. It so happened that yesterday was the first time in weeks that i took the KTM commuter train and Monorail to work due to some unforeseen circumstances. :p Usually i drive to work. Ok, to cut short the story, I was at the BB Monorail station on my way back home from office. While walking to the opposite platform, which is the platform for the KL Sentral route, i spotted on a blind man (pic) was walking towards the edge and my eyes were like glued to him instantly. Perhaps there's nothing interesting left for me to see. I could see he was trying to enter the train but i guess he didn't realised that the train was about to leave when he came.

Maybe he thought the train just arrived, but actually the train was already leaving. He was like few seconds late. As i walked for few steps later- i heard a loud shout from behind (someone screamed). The most unexpected thing happened. The blind man fell off the platform edge! He was the first to arrive at the platform, so there's no one close enough to prevent him from falling. I was dumbstruck and shocked of what i saw. I straight away ran towards the platform edge. Good thing was that i'm glad there were still many good people around.

There's this one guy and few others constantly telling the blind man,

"abang, jangan bergerak, duduk.. duduk dulu,"

"tunggu, tunggu, kita panggil orang datang.."

Bahaya gila. About 2 minutes later, the monorail station officers came and took him away and it caused a delay for about nearly half and hour. but thank god he's in good shape now. phew. but still kesian la.. and yeah, i managed to snap few shots though. hehe
my officemate was so traumatized of the incident.. she actually saw the blind man 'walked on air' before falling off the platform. Gile scary.. Luckily he's not so badly injured and the station officers were quick to react and took him off the rail track.

I'm still in a shock of what i saw, but a little better now.

The National - Looking For Astronauts