Michael Jackson

I know facebook, blogs, etc are already swarmed with MJ related messages, but am gonna post this anyway.

Today marks the passing of Michael Jackson, a genius, legend and world icon.

I firmly believe that his personal life is his own darn business and nobody has the right to judge him on that basis alone. As such, will always remember MJ as the artist with unrivaled originality, talent, and passion.

His music is not just music, as they always embedded with strong messages, vision and style, and it's an honour to be in the era where MJ lives. Thanks for the music and memories, MJ.

Shall let his music and moves do the talking.

In Danger

My risk to H1N1 swine flu just increased 100 folds because the virus is now dancing around in my neighbourhood (Wangsa Maju).

A form 4 student from a school less than 1km away was confirmed to have H1N1. Reported by Wangsa Maju MP here.

Damn...

PS: Does this mean that I have a legitimate reason to skip class now?
PS2: Not to imply that the original reason was not

Note to Self

Dear TsuChong,

Based on the happenings in the immediate past week, here are a few things for you to remember for the coming one:

1) Do not skip class with the pretext of "I want to self-study" at home and end up sleeping/loafting around mindlessly.

2) Your calorie intake was off the chart - primary suspects include Koko Crunch, Oreo, Chipsmore, and Lexus Duo Peanut Butter and Chocolate biscuit.

3) Sleeping at 3.30am when class is at 8am the next day is not a good idea.

4) Spending the whole day watching 10 episodes of Heroes when you have test 2 days away is suicidal (as you would have already found out yesterday after the test).

5) Saying to yourself "I will only watch one episode of Heroes" or "This is the last episode I'm watching" is a lie, and may actually work the reverse.

6) Facebook is an evil time-sucker. Remove it from your bookmarks.


Okay, that all for now. Time to close facebook, grab some Chipsmore and watch Heroes.

Yours sincerely,
Yourself

We Won't Learn, Will We?

Remember Nirmala Bonat? It happened again!

Report from Star.com @ http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/10/nation/4087508&sec=nation

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Wednesday June 10, 2009
Maid: I want to forget the hell
By ANDREW SAGAYAM and YUEN MEIKENG

KUALA LUMPUR: Siti Hajar, the Indonesian maid who was badly scarred after allegedly being repeatedly tortured by her employer, just wants to forget her three years of hell and return home to her family in West Java.

The 33-year-old from Garut said she longed to be with her family so she could forget the torture she suffered at the hands of her employer.

“I want to put all the misery I went through behind me. I just want to be with my family,” said Siti when met at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) where she is being treated, yesterday.



Siti had come to work in the country in July 2006 after her divorce from her ice-cream pedlar husband.

Asked if she would return to Malaysia to work, Siti said she was not sure. “But I don’t think all Malaysian employers are bad.”
- amazing how she is still able to remain positive after such an ordeal

The maid who is warded at the surgical ward was taken to the gynaecology ward at 1pm. It is learnt that doctors wanted to ensure she was not sexually abused.

Relating her ordeal, Siti said she had tried to escape on a few occasions when she could no longer stand the physical abuse but was always caught by her employer.

She alleged that at times her employer even hit her in front of her (the employer’s) 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son.

Her 43-year-old employer, a single mother of two had also allegedly poured boiling water over her and had repeatedly beaten her with a cane since 34 months ago.

The maid had also claimed that she was only fed plain rice twice a day and forced to eat pork at times.

An Indonesian Embassy official who declined to be named said Siti had spoken to her family on the phone.

“Her family is anxious for the case to be resolved as fast as possible because they want her to return to Indonesia,” he said.

Siti escaped from the employer’s residence in Lanai Kiara Condominium in Mont Kiara with the help of a neighbour at 7.30am on Monday.
- probably some rich a-hole with a non-existence heart

“I used a steel rod to prise open the front grille and with the help of a neighbour, I took a taxi to the Indonesian Embassy.

“I reached there at 8.30am and the taxi driver gave me RM10 after he heard what had happened to me,” Siti said.

Brickfields police chief Asst Comm Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid said the employer had been remanded for five days beginning yesterday.

Police will also record statements from the taxi driver who took Siti to the embassy.

On Monday, Indonesian Ambassador Tan Sri Da’i Bactiar said the employer had willingly admitted to abusing Siti.

“She cried and apologised for abusing Siti,” he said.
- what for?

----

Here's a bet on what's gonna happen:
Big hoo-haa over next few days
Govn and opp make some noise
Employee gonna claim that Siti has mental disorder and inflicted the injuries on helfself
Things get quite and we'll hear of it again in 3 years time when court makes judgement

In the mean time, many more domestic helpers are being exploited and abused.

Building a Nation Called Malaysia

Farish Noor gives interesting insights into the history of Malaysia and how it has affected the nation building process and race relations. Also, talks about the way forward and how to build a truly Malaysian Malaysia.

At This Point of Time

I don't usually open up and blog about myself, my dogs, my clothes, what I had for lunch, daily happenings, etc. But the blog has been so un-frequently updated till feel obliged to post something. Am thus offering myself as a sacrificial lamb... or pig.. or whatever...

Anyways, the last 3 months or so was occupied with internship in EY. Got a sneak preview of the working world, and daymm.. it ain't that pretty. Waking up early sucks, traffic sucks, work gets depressing at times. But retrospectively, was a memorable and fulfilling experience because of 2 reasons; the learnings and experience gained was enriching, and was blessed to be able to meet many awesome people.

Last weekend, helped run a programme for an orang asli community in Bidor, Perak. Brought a bunch of kids from the kampung to KL for a day trip, as they seldom get the opportunity to do so. Was pretty stressed-up planning for the programme, hence was glad and satisfied that things turned out well. May sound cheesy, but the support and warmth between peers was comforting and motivating.

And now (sigh), after months of not going to school, am back to classes. Went to a couple of lectures during the week, and am quite literally dying.

That's all for now.

PS: I do have a couple of doggies.

Can You Help?

Please take a look at the picture essay @ http://www.mycen.com.my/sightings/sightings030509_pulau_ketam_dogs.html