Mother's love & durians

Every time the durian season arrived, mother would always think about her children. She will try to do her best to make sure that her children would get to eat the durians. Sometimes her efforts is really annoying. Some of the things she would ask the children or me to do are as below: -

1. Ask the children to drive back from outstation to eat durian. Her children are staying all the way in Selangor and Perak.

Practically it is not economical to drive all the way from Selangor or Perak to come back and eat a few biji of durian. The cost of toll and petrol itself can buy lots of durian in their respective place. But of course, because of their love for their mother, my brothers and sister tried their best to come back. Also to see their mother. I guess the more important factor would be to see their mother.

2. Ask me to switch on the big freezer to put all the "cracked" durian until any of her children can come back. Somemore, not sure how many days before any of them can come back.

Why can't she just eat the cracked durian first when it dropped? Or let others eat it. Not that there are no more durians on the tree. There are a lot more on the tree. Just keep the good ones lah for the children.
But of course, she is thinking of her children. She wants the children to get the best... i.e. the durians. Not a practical thing to do but it is all for the love of the children.

3. Ask Luke to bring back some of the durians to give to the other children. LOL... who wants to bring the smelly durians all the way from Melaka to Selangor. Can die in the car because of the durian's smell. Some more, Luke has a "new" car, where want to contaminate it with durian smell.

But whatever it is, it just to show that Mom loves her children and is using the durian season indirectly and unconsciously to show love to her children.

Do I Need a Dishwasher?

I can never imagine that I would own a dishwasher one day. I still have not own one by the way. :) But as life is getting busier and the children starts to grow up and needing more attention with their school homework and revision, dishwasher would really helps us get one of our house chores done. I don’t think we have Maytag Dishwashers here but I read that this is quite a popular brand in the US. If you are searching for one in your area but lazy to go shop by shop to look for it, use Krillion. Krillion has generated over 275 million pages of relevant local search results displaying local product information for major appliances in over 40,000 U.S. cities and towns that has never before been available through search engines.

Roti John

Went out with wifey last night. As yesterday was my day off and the children slept early at 9.15pm, we decided to go out for supper. Anyway, we actually planned to go out to Jusco but changed our plan as Bro Andrew and family came to the house. Since Annabelle and Clarissa wants to play with their cousins, we canceled our plans and stay at home instead.

So off we went to Batang Tiga. Went to the shopping centre to buy some stuff before proceeding to the food stalls at the beach. Wanted to eat Roti Canai but the shop closed. So we ordered Roti John. Its been ages since the last time I ate Roti John. It is nice but would be nicer if the shop provides the gravy. Then off we went to buy CDs. Wifey watched Mukhsin while I played Mo Siang.

Durians & mom

The durian trees are now full with durians. But in this case, it is only one durian tree that has lots of fruits this year. The other trees have only a few durians on them. Furthermore the squirrels are back to eat their favorite fruits. So far, they (the squirrels) have eaten more than 5 durians and many more have not been spared from their teeth. Even the sharp "thorns" of the durian tree did not deter the squirrels.

Mom is very angry with the squirrels. Word like "celaka, sial" came out from her to curse the squirrels. Everytime durian seasons is near, the squirrels will be mom's object of cursing. I guess the squirrels must not touch the durians and the rambutans or else be the subject of cursing by mom.

Bad Credit CC

Nowadays almost everything is possible. Even people with poor credit history can own credit card. Usually their poor credit history is due to failure to pay household bills, mortgage or rent arrears, loan defaults and bankruptcy. There are a few credit cards provider that are sympathetic to people with a bad credit rating. Normally those who apply Bad Credit Credit Cards plan to use the credit card to repair their bad credit not to go more into debt. They use their credit card to settle their other bills. Once their credit history is improved, they can apply for other credit cards with lower interest.

What is your fitness level?

On the 7th of July, there will be a friendly soccer match between RGFC and another football club. It is only about 2 weeks from today and yet I know that my fitness level is not as what it should be. Lack of exercise and sleep are the major factors to my low level of fitness. I do hope that the other players are not as unfit as me or we would definitely lose the game.

Since I cannot go for jogging session because of the busy schedule, I tried to do some martial art exercises. It helps a bit with my fitness level, though not as much as a jogging session. And it definitely a big help when I can check my fitness level at myfitnesspal.com. I can easily find out the amount of calories that I am taking for the day with the calorie counter. I should always eat according the amount of calories needed for my everyday activities. Not to eat too much or too little than what is needed.

You can even check out the amount of calories that you have eaten. Just key in the name of the food you have eaten and number of servings that you have taken, and it will show you the amount of nutritions and carbs for that food. Through this, you can monitor the amount and types of food that you should eat. Easy and beneficial for those who wants to maintain their fitness level or control their diet.

Spanish hotels for you.

Everytime I need to travel outstation, I have to think of where I am going to stay for the night. Well, if the place I am going is near my brothers or sisters' place, then I can bunk in with them. But if it is far from their house, I have to find a suitable hotel for the night. Sometimes it is not easy to find one especially if the meeting place I am going to attend is outside the city area. At times, because of this factor, I had to cancel the meeting.

It would be nice if all the hotels in Malaysia, whether small or big hotels, whether one star or 5 stars hotel, can be easily accessed via online. Well, if you travels to Spain, you can easily check out their hotels online. Of course, if you travel there for the purpose of attending a company's meeting, the accomodation would have been taken care of by the company. However, if you want to go for a holiday in Spain, it is better to check out when is the best time to go there.

It is always better to coincide your holiday plans with special cultural events in Spain. That way, you can enjoy not just the sceneries but also the people and the culture. These information can be obtained easily from the website. And you can also easily make a hotel reservation once everything is confirmed. If you are on a budget holiday, you can stay at a hotel for as low as EUR18.00 per day.

Making full use of the coupon codes

Went to the restaurant last night. It has been awhile since the last time I brought mother out for dinner. Most of the time when I asked her out, she will give excuses and tell me that she does not want to go. Sometimes I feel that it is there is something of a barrier between her and me. If any of my brothers were to ask her out, she would willingly obliged and go out with them. Maybe it is because I am always at home with her that she feels that it is not necessary to eat out.

A few days back, I bought a coupon card. Since I know my wife loves to go to Johny's Restaurant, I bought the discount codes. It is worthwhile to buy since I can get more value. Furthermore there is a free bonus dish that comes with the discount codes. So off we went to Johny's Restaurant. Mother has not been to that shopping mall either. We ordered steamboat set for one person and two types of rice for mother and wifey. Annabelle was given 3 pieces of chicken wings as she is more of a meat-eater. Clarissa loves to eat the rice ordered by wifey. Mother ordered Ginger Rice. As for me, whatever extras I is for me as I have eaten dinner at home before we decided to eat out.

The food is nice and mother enjoys her rice and steamboat. Well, I do hope that she will go again in the future when I ask her out. We still have a few coupon cards with us and hope to make full use of it in the near future.

Do you still want to smoke?

Pack my things please.

Personally, I am not the neatest person in the world. And I don't necessarily tidy up the things in my room every morning or everyday. But I definitely do not like things to be messy either. Things should be packed or arranged properly whenever possible.

When I was still a bachelor, tidying up things was never a problem to me. Well, maybe because I do not think about it either. Now that I have 3 children, this is one major issue that I face almost everyday. My children loves to play their toys and do their coloring and writing. And like every other children, packing things and cleaning up after they playing time is not a habit that comes naturally. They had to be asked and instructed, again and again, before they can do it on their own. And with Barnabas who just turned one year old, tidying up after his playtime has to be done by me.

My wife loves to buy toys for my children. I sometimes just don't see why. Almost every toys that my wife bought for the children will be "outdated" after 2 days. After two days, my children will discard the toys and would not play with it anymore. Then I had to pack the toys in the plastic boxes or the cardboard boxes that we bought specifically to keep the toys. Then after the toys can be declared an antique, my children would then take it out and then play with it again. That also, if my wife did not buy any new stuffs for them.

Well, what it takes, I still have to instill the habit of tidying things up in my children after every activities. But first of all, I myself must learn that habit... sigh..

Medical checkup for Barnabas.

Sent Barnabas to the government clinic this morning. Clarissa tagged along as her sister Annabelle is still in school. The clinic was empty except the nurses when we reached there. Took a number and then the nurse asked for Barnabas to be weight and measured. After the check-up, Barnabas was given an injection on his left thigh. He cried when the nurse inserted the needle on his thigh. Only for a while. Thank God for that.

Then brought both of them home. Praying that Barnabas won't have high fever from the injection.

The Survivor

Most of us are pampered and privileged in many ways. Just the fact that we are able to surf the internet and blog about anything shows that we are within the privileged 5% of the world population. The other 95% don't even have internet access or even seen a computer.

What then will happen when you are left alone and stranded without any money or resources in an unknown city? What would you do first? Sounds scary but it can happen. Well, if you ask me, this is what I would do.

Firstly, I would try to remain calm and be cool about the situation. Being panic does not help at all. Of course, believing in the Jesus and His Word is the most important factor of all.

Secondly, I would try and look for a police station, or a hospital within walking distance of where I am. If none are available I would look for a church or any religious worship place. These places normally would agree to help stranded and needy people.

Thirdly, if it were possible to find the nearest Embassy to help with my predicament.

If the second and third option are not available for me, I will try and find the most suitable shelter available for the night and weigh my options the next day.

Well, of course the above are general steps that I will take. Maybe you will have different views and things that you will take into consideration. If you want to know more about how the CIA agent would do in the above situation, check out the USA Network's Burn Notice TV series this coming June 28th. Michael Weston the CIA Operative will show us how and what should be done when faced with the above situation.

3 phase electric board

Woke up at 9am today. Already made an arrangement with the electrician for the 3 phase electric board to be installed today. Had to sleep over at the shop since I know I won't be able to wake up if I went back home to sleep. Furthermore, two of the customers used the computers until 4am this morning.

Thank God that they came as promised. Opened the shop for them to do the work and then I went back to take my nap. By 11am they finished their work and my staff came in. Just nice.... I can go home.

Digital Picture Frame

More and more people own digital cameras and camera phones these days. It has become part of our life. For instant, my wife won't leave the house without her digital camera in her handbag!

With digital camera, no worries about cost of processing film. We can snap as many pictures as we want and burn it to a CD. However, the inconvenience in doing this is we are not able to immediately take it out and show it to our friends and relatives (like photo album) when they come to visit.

I am here to introduce digital picture frame to you. No need to bring out the photo album or your CDs. Just upload all the pictures from your memory card to the digital picture frame. You can even set the period of time you want your pictures to display and how you prefer the transitions between digital pictures. Best of all, you can upload videos too as it comes with built-in stereo speakers.

DigitalFramez are selling them at $99.00 for a 7 inch and it comes with 3 month warrantee. There are also 8 inch, 9 inch and 10 inch. Depends on your budget and where you want to display them. :)

Revathi's Freedom of Faith

Candlelight Vigil

In Support of Revathi's Freedom of Faith

Please attend the following peaceful candlelight vigil in support of Revathi, and many others like her, who are unable to fully exercise their Constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of faith. The vigil is an initiative of civil society organisations including MCCBCHST (the Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism) and various women's rights groups (All Women's Action Society (AWAM), Sisters in Islam (SIS), Women's Aid Organisation (WAO), Women's Centre for Change, Penang (WCC) and Women's Development Collective (WDC)).

Date: Tuesday, 19 June 2007

Time: 8 p.m.

Venue: Dataran Merdeka (at the flagpole)

Please come to show your support in affirming the supremacy of the Federal Constitution and its protection of our fundamental liberties, including the freedom of belief.

Please bring candles, candle-holders and banners.

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

Summary of Revathi's case :

Revathi, an ethnic Indian woman, has been held in a rehabilitation center run by Islamic authorities since January 2007 because she wants the State to acknowledge she is a Hindu and not a Muslim.

Revathi was born to Indian parents who had converted to Islam before her birth. She claims she was raised by her grandmother as a Hindu. She and Suresh were married according to Hindu rites in March 2004. Revathi was advised by the Malacca Islamic Religious Department to make an application at the Malacca Syariah High Court to confirm her status as a Hindu. She did as she was told.

However, the Syariah Court ordered her detained in a rehabilitation centre in Ulu Yam, Selangor under Melaka's Syariah criminal laws for 100 days. This detention was extended in Revathi's absence for a further 80 days supposedly because she had not "repented". In the meanwhile, Revathi's Muslim mother obtained a Syariah Court order granting her custody of Revathi and Suresh's 15 month old baby. That order was enforced on Suresh's Hindu family with the assistance of the police.

The family is now torn apart - with the mother in detention, the child with the grandparents and the father in limbo without his family.

Something wrong with the car

Went to collect the car battery today. Was informed by the battery dealer that there is nothing wrong with the battery. It is just undercharged.... which I don't really know what it meant. They say it might be there is something wrong with my car. But can't really tell me what are the possible reasons.

Haiyaa.... will ask my brother about it later. Maybe he can check my car and see if my car has something "wrong".

Don't Colour on Daddy's Offer Letter

Having a 4 years old daughter that loves colouring almost cause me a heart attack. Recently, I got this tender from the government to give basic computer class to the public. I brought home the offer letter and kept it in an unlocked drawer. The next day, I couldn't find it. I thought I left it that the shop. When I went there, it was not there either. I panicked!

When home and search the room again. Saw a piece of paper on the floor with drawings. Lo and behold, that's my offer letter! Thank God she only drew on the back page. If not, I do not know what to do coz without the offer letter, I might not get paid by the government!



I found this cool Free Coloring Pages online. Will let her know about it, and let her do her colouring online instead. It is very easy to colour. Your children just need to choose a picture from quite a number of nice children's cartoon and anime, then pick the colours from the pallette and fill. If your children is good with their drawing. They can even upload their own masterpiece and share it with others to colour them.

E-Program in the cyber cafe.

Will start the first E-program class today Saturday 16 June 2007. So far there are 10 people who told us that they want to come for the class. Andy will be teaching and I will observe and help out wherever possible.

This program is basically to teach computer skills to housewives, older folks and those working but above 23 years old. It is meant to educate these groups of citizens to the world of computer and internet. It is a 5 hours program and those who completed the class will receive a certificate.

So if your mother or father wants to learn the basic skills of computer and internet, do call me at 012-2544606 or 06-2814308. And it is FREE. Yes... totally FREE for the participants.

Just Bring Them In

When it comes to tackling problems in life, what more is better than getting help from people that actually went through the same problem as us and came out victoriously. That is why many chose Stone Hawk drug treatment center because they were once addicted too. They deeply care about addicts, because someone made the effort to care about them once.

Don't worry about finance coz at Stone Hawk they believe everyone has the right to top-quality drug rehabilitation treatment programs. They will help you apply for the health care loan and other medical related expense which is called the Patient Financing. All you got to do is, bring your love ones in and the rest, they will settle for you. :)

Geography of a Woman

I got this from a yahoo group that I subscribe. Enjoy.

Geography of a Woman

Between 18 and 20 a woman is like Africa ,

half discovered, half wild, naturally beautiful

with fertile deltas.

Between 21 and 30 a woman is like America ,

well developed and open to trade especially

for someone with cash.

Between 31 and 35 she is like India ,

very hot, relaxed and convinced of her own beauty.

Between 36 and 40 a woman is like France,

Gently aging but still a warm and a desirable place to visit.

Between 41 and 50 she is like Yugoslavia ,

lost the war - haunted by past mistakes.

Massive reconstruction is now necessary.

Between 51 and 60, she is like Russia ,

very wide and borders are unpatrolled.

The frigid climate keeps people away.

Between 61 and 70, a woman is like Mongolia,

with a glorious and all conquering past

but alas, no future.

After 70, they become Afghanistan .

Most everyone knows where it is,

but no one wants to go there.

Online Games for Kids

I have a 4 years old, a 2.5 years old and a 1 year old. I was looking for online game for my 4 years old and I came to AreYouGame.com. Besides free online games from that website, we can also buy lotsa amazing toys. If you have AreYouGame coupons even better, you can get great discount using those coupons.

Battery knockout

My car battery died. Unfortunately, I drove the car to the shop for the night shift. When want to go back home, the car couldn't start at all. The battery totally died. Just the other day it shown sign of sickness but was revived again after sending it to be recharged. Thinking that it is all okay and healthy, I drove the car to work.

Had to call wifey to come and fetch me from work the next day. Then sent the battery back to the shop where I bought it since it is still before the one year warranty period. They asked me to send it directly to the dealer for testing. The dealer said that the battery is "undercharged" and asked me to collect it the next day. At the meantime they gave me a spare battery for my car... which I didn't need to use as I prefer to use my motorbike.

Will collect my battery later.

And the Score is...

Recently my wife has been monitoring Annabelle's learning progress. Annabelle is attending a kindergarten and wifey is very concerned on how Annabelle is doing. So far Annabelle has been learning a bit of Chinese words but not to wifey's expectation. But we can't help much because both me and wifey can't speak Chinese so it is difficult for us to help Annabelle.


We have not started teaching her to do her Math yet, just the basic numbering and counting. Maybe we can use Math Tutors to help Annabelle in her learning. I know I don't really like mathematics but with Math Tutors, my work would be easier.

The Story of Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on
inside people.

He said, “My son, the battle is be­tween two ‘wolves’ inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance,
self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

“The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness,
benevo­lence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then
asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee sim­ply replied, “The one you feed.”

Cost of Complacency

Cost of Complacency

Worthy of reading and further thought...

A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II owned a
number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people
were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward
fanaticism.

"Very few people were true Nazis "he said," but many enjoyed the return of
German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who
just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat
back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we
had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost
everything I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my
factories."

We are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that Islam is
the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to
live in peace.

Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant.
It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow
diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name
of Islam. The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in
history.

It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50
shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter
Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking
over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb,
behead, murder, or honor kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque
after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and
hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. The hard quantifiable fact is
that the "peaceful majority" the "silent majority" and it is cowed and
extraneous.

Communist Russia comprised Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet
the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20
million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge
population it was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a
warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across
South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder
of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and
bayonet.

And, who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery. Could it not
be said that the majority of Rwandans were "peace loving"?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our
powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of
points:
Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.

Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up,
because like my friend from Germany, they will awake one day and find that the
fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs,
Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many
others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it
was too late.

As for us who watch it all unfold; we must pay attention to the only group
that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Spyware hazards

Being in the computer or internet business is not problem free. One of the most irritating problems that internet cafe faces is the invasion of viruses, malware, spyware and hackers. These problems are not one off cases but continuous and at the worst dangerous and costly. Dangerous because your privacy is not at stake. Data miners will dig out the information stored in your computer and use it at their own whims and fancy. Costly because if it crashes your computer, you have to reformat or even buy a new hard disk. That is why internet security programs are a must for any computers connected online.

I remember two of my computers were attacked by spywares. Not only did it slows down my computer, it also prevents my customers/users from logging to the internet. Imagine how frustrated my customers was and the bad impression they have about my internet cafe. Definitely not a good impression for my business. Had to "clean up" my computers using many programs and took me almost half a day just to do that. Wasting my time and income.


And if you think that you already have one antivirus program in your computer and that is enough, it is better that you think again. Anti-virus program is specifically to catch only viruses, worms, trojans but not spywares. Because of this, you need to have anti-spyware programs installed in your computer. Well, there are many anti-spyware programs out there. Some are good and reliable programs while most are more of a hoax program. If you are looking for one, check out Spy Sweeper. It is recommended by a few notable players in the internet world like PC World, PC Magazine, SmartComputing and Download.com. As such it has been tested and proven by these players and is more reliable than others. If you act now, you can get it as a discounted price. Wonder whether they have a much more discounted price for an internet cafe.

THE MALAYSIAN MALAY

THE MALAYSIAN MALAY

by Dr Syed Alwi of Singapore

quoted-printable Content-Length: 5485

Dear Editor,

As you know, I am an avid watcher of Malaysian affairs. I must confess that lately, Malaysia appears to be failing. Not a day passes by without more events that clearly highlight Malaysia 's race-religion fault-line. If things keep going this way, I fear for Malaysia 's future.

Today, schools in Singapore celebrate Racial Harmony Day. I can visibly see the joy in the children's faces as they wear their ethnic costumes and have fun together at school. But in Malaysia - even the right to choose a religion has become a sensitive, national issue. No doubt, there are many in Malaysia who hate my liberal views on Islam, family included. But I will say what I must say openly. I have come to the conclusion that Malaysia cannot progress any further without first addressing fundamental questions regarding its identity and soul.

I remember the days when we can laugh at Lat's cartoons on everyday Malaysian life. But sadly, the Islamic tide has polarised Malaysians. Some people ask why I should bother about Malaysian affairs since I am a Singaporean. May I remind Malaysians that it was Tan Siew Sin who once said that Singapore and Malaysia are Siamese Twins. Should Malaysia go down - it would hurt the region tremendously. Especially Singapore .

Where do you think Malay apostates would head for if Lina Joy loses her case? Singapore of course! I find the Malaysian Malay to be very under-exposed. For them, it's all Islam and the NEP and everything under the sun would sort itself out. I am sorry to say this - but Islam and the NEP may be the cause of the undoing of the Malaysian Malay.

There is nothing wrong with religion or affirmative action. But, like everything else in life, they must be taken in moderation and with a pinch of salt. A little doubt is good. Unfortunately in Malaysia , emotions over Islam have overcome reason. What we see today is the result of the NEP and Islamisation policies of the past thirty years or so.

No one owes Malaysian Malays a living. Let me assure you that should Malaysia fail - the Malaysian Malay will suffer enormously. And rightly so. After all - they have been pampered with all sorts of goodies over the years. They cannot now expect more goodies. Perhaps the day of reckoning for them, is near. Whatever it is, Malaysia had better wake up to the realities around her. The globalised world of the 21st century has no NEP to offer the Malaysian Malay. And humans cannot live by religion alone.

Regards,
Dr Syed Alwi

Aliran media statement

Aliran media statement


Lina Joy verdict: No freedom, no compassion

Lina Joy's 10-year battle to be herself as she wanted to be within the
confines of the supreme law of the country, the Federal Constitution, has
been dashed by the Federal Court's decision this morning. The freedom of
religion guaranteed by the Federal Constitution under Article 11 comes
across as hollow and meaningless. This decision has totally rendered null
and void the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

Under the circumstances, the Federal Court's decision has a
devastating effect on issues of fairness and justice. Concerned
citizens will rightly wonder whether the judiciary is capable of
delivering justice for those who turn to it. They will be turned away from
the judicial system of the country thinking that the judges who are sworn
to uphold the Federal Constitution in the course of their duty are not
living up to their oath of office.

Lina Joy's case is something that has to be viewed strictly within the
confines of the Constitution without taking into account any other
consideration. When other considerations come into play, then justice
becomes the victim as is the case in the Lina Joy verdict.

This decision, looked at from another point of view, undermines the
judiciary itself. The judiciary cannot be technical in delivering its
verdict. Fairness and justice should be part of any judgment and should not
be sacrificed on technical grounds. Where is the compassion for someone who
has turned to the judiciary for a solution to free her from her
predicament? Can justice redeem itself? Is there hope for the ordinary
person in our judiciary?

It is really troubling when a issue such as this is politicised and blown
out of all proportion and pressure is mounted to deny justice.

Aliran Executive Committee
30 May 2007

NECF MALAYSIA’S RESPONSE TO THE LINA JOY JUDGEMENT

NECF MALAYSIA’S RESPONSE TO THE LINA JOY JUDGEMENT
Issued on 1 June 2007

NECF Malaysia is gravely disappointed by and dissatisfied with the Federal Court’s dismissal of Lina Joy’s appeal.

First of all, the Federal Court’s decision does not uphold the constitutional safeguard of freedom of religion. It is a person’s fundamental right to profess a religion of her own choice free from compulsion or interference by the state or its institutions. Freedom of religion under the Federal Constitution can only be restrained where a person acts contrary to any general law affecting public order, public health or morality. Therefore, it defies all logic that Lina Joy’s freedom to profess and exercise a faith of her own choice can be subject to administrative barrier in the NRD refusing to effect a change to her religious status except upon the order of the Syariah Court.

The foundational principle of supremacy of the Constitution over all other laws must be upheld.

NECF Malaysia is also deeply dismayed that the majority decision of the highest court has failed to bring about resolution to the present interfaith issues. By insisting that a person who no longer professes the religion of Islam but has embraced another religion to seek an order of the Syariah Court is equivalent to insisting that a muallaf ¹ who has attained the age of majority is obliged to seek the clearance of the religious leaders or authority of his former religion. Mutual respect and tolerance surely cannot be fostered without due regard to the principle of reciprocity.

In affirming the decision of the Court of Appeal, the Federal Court has perpetuated a most unfair and untenable position for Lina Joy and others in a similar dilemma. They now cannot enjoy the full rights as citizens as they are trapped in a religion which they no longer profess and are unable to lawfully marry, have children and live in accordance with the values, precepts and practices of the religion of their choice.

Finally, NECF Malaysia is extremely concerned that the Lina Joy case demonstrates the highest civil court retreating in the face of the relentless onslaught on their position as the third institution in a democratic system of government. In the hierarchy of the judiciary, the Federal Court is vested the judicial power of the Federation.

In this case, the judiciary has unfortunately failed to play its most important role of being both the guardians and interpreters of our Constitution. As an institution above the fray of politics, it is the only institution that can neutrally and without partisan considerations decide the serious issues raised in the Lina Joy case. It is constrained only by true and loyal allegiance to the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution, the twin pillars of our Rukunegara.

In the civil court’s abdicating its judicial power in religious matters on the basis of Article 121 (IA) of the Constitution, the Federal Court is placing undue stress and strain on the government to legislate or amend related laws when the due exercise of its judicial power as interpreter of the Constitution would have brought about a fair and just resolution to the issues.

While the country has undergone a significant shift towards “islamization” since the 1980s, the proclamation of Malaysia as an Islamic country in 2001, though a political expediency, has had considerable psychological impact and further polarized Malaysian citizens of different ethnic and religious backgrounds. Religious vigilantism has been heightened among not only the religious ones, but also the bureaucrats. Administrative actions whether in policies or laws are being implemented without scrupulous regard to the requirements of the policies or laws but with the imposition of syariah rules and requirements. For example, non-Muslim police women are to wear Muslim headscarves for the annual parade. The happenings in recent years are indeed grave concerns. Among others, there are religious authorities breaking up families in the name of religion, the custody tussles between a non-Muslim parent and a Muslim parent, and public morality based on the principles of a particular religion.

The Christian community acknowledges the special position of Islam as the State religion for ceremonial purposes, and recognizes the application of Islamic family laws to those professing the religion of Islam in areas outlined in the Federal Constitution. We uphold the sanctity of the Malaysian Constitution as the supreme law of the land, and it is our hope that the Prime Minister, who has publicly declared to be the Prime Minister of all Malaysians, would fulfil his promises to establish a clean, just, harmonious and prosperous nation.

The decision of the Federal Court sets a landmark example of making legal judgement based on religious sentiment and thus inadvertently disregarding the fundamental right of an individual to profess and practice the religion of his or her choice. In the light of this, NECF Malaysia urges all Christian leaders to encourage their congregations to set aside time, both corporately and privately, to pray for our nation as a whole, in the next few weeks and months. Let us bring to God these matters of extreme gravity and urgency, and humbly ask Him to intervene so that truth, righteousness and godliness will prevail in our land.

The very basic structure of our nation, our institutions, our Constitution and the Rukunegara must remain the solid rock on which Malaysia will continue to prosper and stand tall among the community of nations, and on which all Malaysians strive and thrive together as a multiracial, multicultural and multi-religious society. Let us, the concerned citizens of Malaysia, exercise our rights to make a good decision at the right place and at the right platform.

_________
¹ Muallaf: a convert from a non-Islamic religion who has chosen to profess Islam

• Issued on 1 June 2007 •

Study, study, study.

Unlike my wife who loves to reminiscence about her varsity days, I am the opposite who have nothing much to say about my varsity days. No... not that I don't have any beautiful and wonderful memories of my varsity days, but those are bygone days and let bygone be bygone.

It is also partly because of the course that I took during my varsity days. Because of that course, studying is more of a drag, memorizing and remembering the facts and cases only. Not much of personal application to what is being studied. So in that sense, my varsity days are more of reading, memorizing and exams, which is why I don't really enjoy remembering. Of course, the good memories would be about the extra-activities done there. The fellowship with other students are wonderful memories to remember about.

I think it would be better if there are older students who will take the initiative to be a mentor or even a coach to new students. These older students who know what it feels like as a freshie with all its pressures and uncertainties would be of great encouragement and support to the new students. Of course another alternative for me would be online education. It will definitely take a lot of discipline to do online education but then with proper coaching and guide, it can be done.

“This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.”

The Magi and Jesus.

Been reading 5 chapters a day and today is the beginning of Matthew. The first five chapters talk about the genealogy of Jesus and the birth of Jesus until the beginning of the Sermon of the Mount. Within these 5 chapters, the author Matthew who is one of Jesus' disciples summarized Jesus' 30 years in human form. One thing that is worth noting is about the Magi and Jesus.

Myth: - Jesus is a newborn baby when the Magi visited him. There are 3 wise men that reached Bethlehem when Jesus was born.

Facts: - Jesus is already a child when the Magi visited him. He is not a toddler but a child below the age of 2 years old. The Magi found Jesus in Joseph and Mary's house (not the inn's stable) and worship him . And the Bible did not mention that there are only 3 wise men. There could be more than 3 wise men. (Read Matthew 2)

TEAC and Tchoukball

The Tchoukball game continued to spread in Malaysia. Slowly but surely. Last Sunday, the game was introduced to the TEAC women workers. 10 of them was briefed about the game by Jason Foo. After a short time of briefing about the game history and rules, they played the game. Like all women (talking in general terms) they were a bit "feminine" when first started playing the game. After the first half of the game, it can be seen that there are more sportsmanship or in this case sportswomanship in the game. They really enjoyed the game and is asking Jason for another round of game next week. Hopefully they will take up the game every week.

For the children.

Last week, while tidying up my room drawer, I found 2 silver bracelets. Those silver bracelets was bought in Cambodia during a mission trip two years ago. It was quite cheap then to buy silver jewelery from Cambodia compared to buying it in Malaysia. Of course it is not pure 100% silver because the 100% pure silver bracelet is soft and can easily bends. I bought them for my wife and mom but my wifey does not like to wear silver jewelery. So, it was all the while kept in the drawer.

Since there are 2 of them, I let Annabelle and Clarissa wear them. The size is okay for Annabelle but a bit small for Clarissa. Well, those bracelets are theirs now. Better to let them play with it than just keep it idle in the drawer.

Talking about silver, the silver price is going up. It is now more expensive compared to the price two years ago. That means that it is a good idea to invest in silver coins or even gold coins. Well, if you want to invest in silver or gold, you can check out monex.com. You can buy silver bars and gold coins in different weights. Go check them out.

Some improvement

Last Sunday, we had another friendly match with Bethel's football players. It is not an arranged match but because they all came to play at TES field, we decided to make it a friendly match. Well, if based on the score of 4-4, there's some improvement for RGFC. But then, there's more rooms for improvement, particularly on their stamina. Hehehehe... talking about stamina,... mine is the worst. Not many opportunities to exercise during the weekdays. Work... facing the computers... at home... taking care of the children. Need lots of improvement.

Body clock changed.

Because of the night shift that I'm doing almost everyday, my body clock has changed. Nowadays it is a bit difficult for me to sleep before 12 midnight. I'm still fresh and not sleepy at all. But it is now difficult for me to wake up early before 10am. By the time I wakes up, it is time for lunch. So I had to force myself to eat only a small portion of food for lunch. If not then I'll be fat in no time at all. And if I had to do day shift, then I'll fast lunch. Trying as much possible to have flat tummy.

Lowest unique bid to win

Are you creative? Are you unique? Well, if you think you are, then this contest is for you. Sign up and enter your lowest bid to any of the items you want to win. The catch is your bid must be unique. If it is not unique and everybody bid the same amount as you, you definitely would not win. Only the unique and lowest bid will win.


So, if you think you have what it takes to win, go to bid4prizes.com and enter your lowest bid. I want the Microsoft XBox 360. Not greedy for the BMW car but the game box would do just fine for me. The reason is because if I win the BMW, I can't afford to maintain it. Well, maybe I can sell it but for this time I'll just forgo it. But if I win the XBox 360, I can play it at home or even at the shop. hehehe... maybe I'll put it at the shop and rent it out. Can get more money from it.

Carpenter man.

Some of my customers are fat and heavy. Up to now, there are already 3 chairs that are broken. There was one customer who played for 5 hours straight and because of his heavy weight, the wood bended and the cushion on top of it became flat. Hehehehe..... fat people not only hazardous to their own health but also to my chairs.

Newey, bought a thick plywood from the hardware shop and sawed it to the proper size for the chair. Today, managed to fix one of the chair. Hard work coz did not bring the electric drill. Will fix the other chair tomorrow when I remember to bring the drill.

Loan is calling.

Two days ago, I received a call from a friend of mine Mr Raymond Tan. He is the Public Bank manager for Melaka main branch. Before that he already sms me (and I think to all his contacts) about his job transfer from Muar branch to Melaka branch. He even gave his direct phone line to me so that I can have direct access to him without the need to go through the normal phone procedure. He called and as usual asked me about my current situation at work and home. Looks like he has to do a lot of PR and marketing work to fulfill the bank loans quota.

He asked me whether there are any of my family members or relatives who wants to take loans for any types of loans. And if there are anyone that I know of that wants to take loans to buy a house or a car, he can help them out with the application. So if any of you wants to take a loan and need help with it, do let me know and I will channel you directly to the bank manager himself. VIP treatment for you.

However, if ever you feel you want to check out more about loans, you can also do it online and check out the loanwize.co.uk website. They have personal or secured loans for you. And while you are at it, do read the latest information about loans from that website. One interesting article that should catch your attention is about the meaning of mortgage. And if you are looking for extra money for personal usage and is thinking whether to take an overdraft facility or a loan, maybe the article "Is loan better than an overdraft?" should be of interest to you. Check them out now.