Ucap Selamat

So we have our new Prime Minister, and among the first thing I looked for after the swearing in were the acceptance speech and wishes from world leaders.

I think the speech is just fine. Nothing to be compared of that of Obama's awe-inspiring and rhetorical winning speech. Well, speech is indeed not everything but if that is the easiest way to spot and establish vision and style of governance between lines of eloquence, why not give some hoot?

The speech could do a little to Malaysians' confidence in where are we going from now.

So I tick it off.

And so I read wishes from world leaders after giving them few days to gather their thoughts and come up with something creative and relationship-tying wishes. I expected something from the G8, or any other economic powerhouse to bid our premier luck.

I reckon this is a reflection of their relationship with our country and how serious they are in maintaining close ties as far as economic growth, information and technology sharing and international liaisons and branding are concerned. 

Much to my dismay, none of them is taking us seriously (it seems).

I couldn't see any Obama, Brown, Aso, Medvedev, Berlusconi, Sarkozy or Merkel's silver tongue anywhere in the wish - but only some hard-working ambassadors.

International confidence? Fingers crossed.

Wishes from world leaders, I put it on KIV.

So Pak Lah is now a Tun, the highest federal title you can get in the country. I can only giggle upon reading that the first thing Tun Lah plans to do as a retired premier is to catch up on some sleep.

And the giggle quickly ascended to laugh not long after.

Sleep tight, Tun.

Someone is back, the first member of UMNO Baru - keeping up to his promise to come back in after Tun Lah steps down.

The nation's eyes are now on three by-elections of two Bukits and a Batang. Pun intended ha ha, so much for Asian's infamous sex drive. Okay let's not go into that.

Traditionally, elections would split the country into two or more fractions, and the prognosis is usually quite awful to mention.

I hope we can recover well after that and do something good for the future of the country.

I can only wish the country well for we have only 3923 days to 2020, the year we all agreed to put our wawasan on. 

P/s - And 1883 days if Malaysia's World Cup 2014 plan is somewhere in Najib's mind.

Blue and Brown

Here's a lil something I found on racism.

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After Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, school teacher Jane Elliott wanted to teach her third-grade class about racism. Rather than a lengthy discussion about it, she decided to show the 8-year-olds what racism is all about in a famous "experiment":

With King shot just the day before in Memphis, Elliott encouraged her third-graders to discuss how something so horrible could happen.

"I finally said, ‘Do you kids have any idea how it feels to be something other than white in this country?’ "

The children shook their heads and said they wanted to learn, so Elliott set the rules. Blue-eyed children must use a cup to drink from the fountain. Blue-eyed children must leave late to lunch and to recess. Blue-eyed children were not to speak to brown-eyed children. Blue-eyed children were troublemakers and slow learners.

Within 15 minutes, Elliott says, she observed her brown-eyed students morph into youthful supremacists and blue-eyed children become uncertain and intimidated.

Brown-eyed children "became domineering and arrogant and judgmental and cool," she says. "And smart! Smart! All of a sudden, disabled readers were reading. I thought, ‘This is not possible, this is my imagination.’ And I watched bright, blue-eyed kids become stupid and frightened and frustrated and angry and resentful and distrustful. It was absolutely the strangest thing I’d ever experienced."

Corina Knoll of the Los Angeles Times has the story.

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Thanks to Neatorama.com

Jom2 Tutup Lampu

Marilah semua. Berganding tangan menambah umur dia yang sudah tua. Jangan buat-buat lupa sudah berjuta-juta jam dia memberi kita manfaat. Namun hanya yang kita beri hanya khianat.

Hanya 60 jam, bukan 60 tahun. Hanya tutup selama sejam dari 8:30 hingga 9:30 malam.

Eh, kau post blog ni x pakai letrik ke?

Itulah gunanya bateri.

B-Odd-oh

KJ wins UMNO Youth post, beating favorite Mukhriz Mahathir and controversy-clad Khir Toyo in a neck and neck encounter. (Source: KJ's Facebook status)

Never trust the odds these days. Even the 'untouchable' Man United lost all point at Craven Cottage and the rich in Chelsea slumped to fellow Londoners. 

Never rest on your laurels, and bear in mind that you reserve no value if you think you are better than others.

Cheers.

UtuStarHarianKiniDay

I can't help but to find reading online Malaysian news a disappointing experience. I have been trying to be positive and draw out conclusion in attempt to ease the feeling that behind every cloud, there is a silver lining. 

I make it a point everyday to start my day with dose of Malaysian news before reading lenghty and witty shares of British journalism. But I ended up finding myself in all envy to find reading British news is way more interesting.

No, I am not going into journalism now. It is the happenings in Malaysia that I feel very disappointed with.

Nevermind the politics, god of all Malaysian plights - we have everything to be worried about the future of the country, which will turn 52 years old this 31st August. 

PPSMI, UMNO election pandemonium, crisis in the parliament, royal contempt, this and that, just show how crazy things are in our country. 

Come on lah YB, gaji ribu-ribu for what? Kerja lebih lah.

Come on lah YB, orang undi for what? Serve the rakyat lah.

Come on lah YB, aging every year for what? Grow up lah.

You guys are gifted bunch, who are brilliant in rhetorical speech and all thing talking. But ask yourself, are your minds and maturity are equally eloquent?

Please, I want good news, anything that can make me proud and tell those arrogant Mat Salleh that we have done this and that - not something that will spoil my day thinking about how bad my country is. 

Yet I still believe in you, Malaysia. I know you can do it. That is why I mean it when I say Malaysia Boleh.

Malaysia Boleh.

Percaya?

Kalau kita masih ingat, dulu masa zaman-zaman tengah gayat guna email mesti ada antara kita yang dapat email berkenaan kekuasaan Allah. Adalah gambar batu bertulis kalimah Allah, awan berbentuk kalimah Allah, pokok yang berbentuk orang sujud (malah ada bergaris arah kiblat dalam gambar tu) dan bermacam-macam. Gunung. Batu. Aurora pun masuk dalam list.

So what? Apa hikmahnya? Kita kena bersyukur kita Islam kah? Kita kena forward kepada orang lain kah email tu?

TERNYATA TIDAK!

Ape ko cakap ni Ainan. Ajaran sesat ke?

Bukan ajaran sesat. Tapi fikiran logik yang mudah.

Sebelum kita sibuk nak forward email  tu, cuba fikir persoalan ni;

• Sahih kah gambar tu? Sekarang dengan Adobe Photoshop mudah saja gambar-gambar tersebut dieksploitasi.
  
• Bagaimana kalau ada gambar-gambar alam yang membentuk salib, bintang David dan lambang agama-agama lain? (tolak Bahai kerana itu adalah kompilasi) Adakah Allah mengiyakan agama lain berdasarkan 'bukti' penciptaannya?
  

Sebagai manusia matang dan berakal, sewajarnya email sedemikian membawa mesej yang baik; menontonkan kebesaran Allah SWT kepada semua receipent email tersebut. Tapi, dua persoalan di atas harus diambil kira kerana ada kebarangkalian email tersebut dihantar oleh orang yang tidak bertanggungjawab. Ternyata, niat tak menghalalkan cara.

Bukan niat penulis untuk mempertikaikan usaha kita sebagai hamba Allah menikmati dan mendalami kebesaran Dia cuma penulis sedikit terkilan kerana terlalu banyak perkara sebagitu tersebar dengan mudah melalui email dan Instant Messaging. Ada email yang berisi ayat-ayat Quran dan seruan-seruan supaya disebarkan email tersebut kepada orang lain dan jika tidak, malapetaka akan berlaku kepada sesiapa yang tidak menyampaikan 'amanah' tersebut.

Apakah logik, jika kita dapat satu pesanan melalui Instant Messaging berkenaan sesuatu ayat Quran dan jika kita tidak forward, nanti bala atau malapetaka akan tiba.

Please guys, be logical.

Jangan sampai orang Islam dikatakan kolot!

Sekian.

Artikel ini adalah adaptasi artikel seorang penulis blog Indonesia, alhabib dan sekali lagi penulis menyatakan artikel ini bukan berniat untuk mempersoal atau memperkecil kebesaran Allah SWT. Moga beri manfaat.

Kerajaan Dinding

Dulu, Sidharta Gautama Buddha mencapai tahap Moksha di bawah sepohon pokok setelah begitu lama bertapa. Beliau mendapat jawapan untuk cara kehidupan kekal abadi. Pokok itu telah memainkan peranan yang amat penting sekali. Beliau tidak akan dilahirkan semula ke dunia ini sebaliknya telah mencapai Nirvana.

Dulu, Parameswara duduk berehat di bawah pohon Melaka dan kawasan pemerintahan baru Baginda Melaka. Pokok sekali lagi memainkan peranan yang amat penting. Kesultanan Melayu Melaka kemudiannya berkembang menjadi sebuah empayar yang amat penting pada masa itu.

Kini? Adakah pokok di hadapan bangunan DUN Perak ini akan memainkan peranan yang penting juga? Moga-moga mendapat jawapan. 

Tolonglah wahai semua pihak. Cukuplah semua pihak. Marilah berdamai dan menyelesaikan masalah secara depan-depan. Man to man. Tak guna saling bertikam lidah dan berperang sesama sendiri. Akhir nanti kita semua yang akan rugi. Kami yang hidup di bumi Perak ini dan menjunjung langit Perak ini inginkan kehidupan yang aman. Ameen.

Sekian.