Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Farewell JB, Hello KL!

The previous weekend was my last in JB. It also marked the end of a 13-year affair with YTL. I first got acquainted with YTL Power back in '97 when I first got my scholarship. I first stepped into a YTL power station back in '98 for industrial training. I joined YTL Paka as a staff in 2001. And I got transferred to Pasir Gudang in 2002.

It was mixed feelings saying good bye to YTL Pasir Gudang after more than 8 years there. The place and its people have provided me a much cherished memory. It was an experience of warmth, friendship, teamwork, camaraderie, spirit of excellence and many more which are indescribable by words. The people of YTL is what made us distinctive from the rest! It's not easy saying good bye after sharing so much for so many years.

Nevertheless, people do move on and I guess it was also a long overdue move. So, although there was sadness, there were also feelings of excitement & anxiety. Excited to return back to home, anxious to start a new life and looking forward to a new job. I don't really know if things will pan out well after this, after so many years of rather comfortable and complacent environment. Nevertheless, nothing ventured nothing gained.

So it's time to start a new life. The beginning of better things to come (I hope). As for the memories and wonderful experience in JB, I would always cherish and remember. It was ironic that in my early years in JB, I used to complain about the place (with some other friends who shared the same thoughts). But after so many years, I've grown to call JB home, admitting I'm already a Johorean and generally liking the place. Good bye to my fellow colleagues, friends and KLite still in JB!

At the moment, my to-do list while I'm back in KL are as follows:
  • Report to work at the new company on 1 Oct.
  • Start renovating and preparing my new home.
  • Catching up with long lost KL friends, ex-classmates etc.
  • Putting up with those bloody traffic jams and chaotic parking.
  • Leading a more healthy lifestyle (going to gym at my condo, cycling again, jogging at Lake Gardens??)
  • Looking forward to a host of new activities that KL has to offer (more IEM talks, theater shows at KLPAC?, ....)

Monday, September 20, 2010

鄧麗君 ~~ 漫步人生路


在你身边路虽远
末疲倦
伴你漫行
一段接一段
越过高峰
另一峰却又见
目标推远
让理想永远在前面
......

路纵崎岖

亦不怕受磨练

愿一生中

苦痛快乐也体验

愉快悲哀

在身边转又转

风中赏雪

雾里赏花

快乐回旋

母用计较

快欣赏身边

美丽每一天

还愿确信

美景良辰在脚边

愿将欢笑声

盖掩苦痛那一面

悲也好喜也好

每天找到新发现

让疾风吹呀吹

尽管给我俩考验

小雨点

放心洒

早已决心向着前

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Happy Malaysia Day!


Happy Malaysia Day! May we all reject extremism, racism and stupidity. Instead, all Malaysians should (or rather shall) embrace unity, equality and basic common sense! Happy Malaysia Day and may the spirit of 1957 & 1963 live on!

As the clip says, we are different but same same! We should always cherish the diversity and uniqueness of the Malaysian society. Malaysia belongs to all Malaysians and not any particular group. We will not be what we are today without the contributions of each and everyone of us.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Lobang Korek


An old song by a Malay singer called Hang Mokhtar:

Lobang (lobang) korek (korek)
Sudah tampal, kontraktor nanti korek
Hari-hari tampal korek
Sudah tampal, esok ada korek
Papan (papan) tanda (tanda) hari-hari ada tengah jalan
Pandu kereta hati tak senang
Salah pandu kita masuk lobang
Highway banyak, tol pun banyak
Pergi airport tiga kali mahu bayar
Kadang-kadang susah juga
Highway juga selalu banyak kereta
Lobang (lobang) korek (korek)
Jalan siap nanti kontraktor korek
Sampai bila mahu korek
Hari-hari ada tampal korek

Highway banyak, tol pun banyak
Pergi airport tiga kali mahu bayar
Kadang-kadang susah juga
Highway juga selalu banyak kereta

Lobang (lobang) korek (korek)
Jalan siap nanti kontraktor korek
Sampai bila mahu korek
Hari-hari ada tampal korek
Sampai bila mahu korek
Hari-hari ada tampal korek.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Selamat Hari Raya!


سلامت هاري راي عيدالفطري! ايد مبارك!
معاف ظاهير دان باطين!

Wishing all Muslims: Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir & Batin! Have a wonderful holiday weekend and drive safely!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Zee Avi - Bitter Heart


Sun rays come down as seen when they hit the ground,
Children spinning around till they fall down down down.
I wait for you: it's been two hours now,
You're still somewhere in town,
Your dinners getting cold.
I rest my case you are always this late,
And you know how much I hate waiting around 'round 'round,
Bitter heart, bitter heart tries to keep it all inside,
Bitter heart, bitter heart shadows will help you try to hide,
Bitter heart, my bitter heart is gettin' just a little fragile,
Bitter heart, bitter heart of mine.
And then you come and tell me the same reason as you did yesterday,
So tell me whats her name.
Doo doo da dum, doo doo da dum, doo doo doo doo doo doo da da dum dum, da da da da dum, da da da da dum, da da da da dum.
Bitter heart, bitter heart tries to keep it all inside
Bitter heart, bitter heart shadows will help you try to hide,
Bitter heart, my bitter heart is just getting a little fragile,
Bitter heart, bitter heart of mine, of mine, of mine, of mine, of mine, of mine.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Insensitive or over-sensitive?

Read in the papers today that a TV3 Hari Raya advertisement was pulled off the air due to a Malay pakcik resembling Santa Claus riding a sleigh up in the sky! Is TV3 being insensitive or just some people being oversensitive? Well... I am definitely not the person to decide (though I have my own thoughts) since some will sure say I haven't the credentials to open my mouth. Perhaps other Malaysians can see the ad for themselves and decide.

Anyway, here's the lyrics of the ad:

Syawal menjelma,
Memutik detik riang,
Doa dan ampun
maaf di pinta.

Lebaran Ini,
Memberi sinar-suci,
Ramadhan,
Penuh kemuliaan,

Kegembiraan, Ketenangan, Kesabaran Menanti Lebaran

Kita teguhi keimanan,
Di Syawal ini,

Sinar Lebaran,
Di hiasi berwarna - warni,

Selamat - Selamat Hari Raya
Selamat - Selamat Hari Raya.


and the lyrics in Jawi:

شوال منجيلم،
مموتيق دتيق رينڬ،
دعا دان امڤون
معاف د ڤينتا.

ليبرن اين،
ممبري سينر-سوچي،
رمضان،
ڤنوه كمولياان،

كڬمبيراان، كتنڠن، كصبرن مننتي ليبرن

كيت تڬوهي كايمانن،
د شوال اين،

سينر ليبرن،
د هياسي برورنا - ورني،

سلامت - سلامت هاري راي
سلامت - سلامت هاري راي.


And then there is this Cina fella called Namewee whose favorite past time is to rap and swear, and in general gets the wrath of all "sensitive" Malaysians. Personally, I don't fully disagree with his video contents but seriously this guy needs an attitude adjustment. To me, it's really padan muka for him if he gets into trouble. Nevertheless, aside from the vulgar words I don't find anything too offensive with his latest video. It's just another expression of anger towards a allegedly racist principal.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Malaysians free to travel....

The Henley visa restriction index shows Malaysia ranks 13th in the world for its citizen's freedom of travel (i.e. no visa restriction when visiting other countries)... In other words, in terms of easy access to other countries without visa restriction, Malaysians rank 13th in the world. Top apparently is UK (but hey, they have access to almost all Commonwealth countries!)

Here is a snapshot of the index taken from its web site...

RankScoreRankScore
1United Kingdom16613Malaysia151
2Denmark16414Liechtenstein147
3Sweden16315Malta146
4Finland16219Hong Kong140
4Luxembourg16225Israel133
5France16128Brazil130
5Germany16131St. Kitts and Nevis121
5Italy16147South Africa88
5Netherlands16148Montenegro86
6Belgium16049Russian Federation83
6Japan16051Dominica80
6Spain16065United Arab Emirates64
7Ireland15969Thailand60
7Norway15971India57
7United States15974Bosnia and Herzegowina53
8Austria15877India50
8Portugal15884Egypt43
9Australia15784Vietnam43
9Canada15788Nepal38
9New Zealand15788China38
10Switzerland15690Pakistan36
11Singapore15592Iran34
12Greece15394Lebanon32
13Iceland15198Afghanistan26
13South Korea151

Happy Merdeka!

Wishing all Malaysians, no matter where you are, a very Happy Merdeka! May the original spirit of Tunku in 1957 be revived... May the real spirit of 1Malaysia be upheld, where all Malaysians live in a peaceful, prosperous and fair nation without any persecution and discrimination.

Selamat Hari Merdeka! 国庆日快乐! !اليوم الوطني سعيد ハッピーナショナルデー! 해피 건국 기념일! Chúc mừng Ngày Quốc khánh!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Beyond - 海闊天空


今天我 寒夜裡看雪飄過
懷著冷卻了的心窩漂遠方
風雨裏追趕
霧裡分不清影蹤
天空海闊你與我
可會變(誰沒在變)

多少次 迎著冷眼與嘲笑
從沒有放棄過心中的理想
一剎那恍惚
若有所失的感覺
不知不覺已變淡
心裡愛(誰明白我)

原諒我這一生不羈放縱愛自由
也會怕有一天會跌倒
背棄了理想 誰人都可以
那會怕有一天只你共我

仍然自由自我
永遠高唱我歌走遍千里