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I’m with Malaysia Today
Captain Francis Light – the founder of Penang
Nov
11
Deputy Minister of Tourism Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abdul Taib the son of Chief Minister of Sarawak Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib bin Mahmud has resigned as Deputy Minister of Tourism.
Sulaimin Abdul Rahman submitted his letter of resignation last week to the Minister of Tourism Datuk Paduka Ng Yen Yen due to misunderstanding with his Minister lady boss and this has been brewing for a while. Both are not in talking terms.
Sulaiman last week also sent Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak a copy of his resignation as the Deputy Minister and this it seems was not accepted by the PM.
Najib Tun Razak before he left for Sabah last Saturday did meet up with Sulaiman. Don’t know what transpired in this meeting.
In the March 2008 general election, Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib won a seat for parliament and became Deputy Tourism Minister. Before this, he did not have any political experience but was a high-profile corporate businessman.
Sometime last year, there was even a police report lodged by a former TV personality 22-year-old Avaa Vanja Ramli alleging that Sulaiman had beat her up blue and black in Kuala Lumpur.
Sulaiman’s sister Roziah is one of the most powerful businesswomen in Sarawak with extensive holdings in property and timber business.
Sulaiman’s father Taib is also accused of deep corruption and nepotism with dominance of Sarawak’s political elite including the logging industry. It was even reported that nine Japanese shipping companies, which transported timber from Sarawak, had allegedly failed to report some 1.1 billion yen in income over a period of up to seven years. The report claimed the money was paid as kickbacks to Sarawak officials including a Hong Kong agent linked to Taib’s family.
Under Taib the logging industry in Sarawak has logged many of the ancestral lands of Sarawak’s indigenous communities, despite a lot of outcry, petitions and road blockades. Forceful dismantling has led to several deaths and regular violent coercion by the Malaysian army, police and logging industry enforcers. There was also reports of RAPE of indigenous girls and women by loggers and enforcers of the industry. See here and here.
Nov
08
A New news site Free Malaysia Today will be launch at noon on Nov 11.
Free Malaysia Today has no connections with the defunct FreeMalaysia.com or Free Anwar Campaign started by Raja Petra during the turbulent days of REFORMASI when Anwar Ibrahim was beaten to a pulp by the then Inspector General of Police Rahim Noor and then locked up in Sungai Buloh prison for sodomy. Remember the days?
Free Malaysia Today will be similar to the existing Internet newspapers like MalaysiaKini, Malaysian Insider, Malaysian Mirror, or the Nut Graph.
Looking forward to see some real investigative journalism at work.
See here
Nov
07
One of my favorite, Robbie Williams, the pot smoking bad boy of British pop who is known for his out-of-the-box videos, upped his own bar by dressing up as the ‘White Rabbit’ from ‘Alice In Wonderland’ for his latest song.
The ‘Angels’ singer hops around in a fantasy land in the video for the track ‘You Know Me’ and uses a carrot for a microphone.
The fantasy world created for the video also boasts of singing frogs, talking cabbages and bunny girls.
It starts with a ” STONE” looking Williams sitting in the hairdresser’s chair, deep in thought, before falling down the rabbit hole into his very own Wonderland.
The song will be released on December 7 and is the second track taken from his comeback album ‘Reality Killed the Video Star.’ Watch for this.
Robbie Williams who never denies smoking weed is making a comeback after a gap of more than three years spending time in America.
Robbie Williams the former ‘Take That’ member is also reportedly started work on a reunion album with his old band-mates.
Here is Robbie’s “ANGELS” and “FEEL” and these 2 songs has always been very special to me. I dedicate this to all those who are in love forever and ever…..
Nov
01
“The Dinner”
“The Dinner”
“The Ride”
These pictures were sent to me by Tanjung Aru Tours & Travel’s, Al Munir, a nice young man who is talented and have ideas. The rest in the pictures, other than me, are all staff of Tanjung Aru Tours & Travel the oldest tour company in North Borneo/Sabah.
First, let me note that this is an excellent group. Collectively, they “got it”. I appreciated their effort, maturity and professionalism, including their willingness to put self aside for the greater interest of the company and the tourist visiting Sabah. They collectively worked hard, bucked up when travelers appeared, they rolled up their sleeves and were proactive in their answers and questions asked by travelers. This group is active and does cultivate relationships with people they meet. This was great to witness. Collectively, they are outstanding ambassadors for our country. I am very proud of them and their efforts. In many instances, because of the professional way they conducted themselves, they changed the perceptions of Malaysia in a positive, productive way. I felt honored to witness such an exchange and it made me feel optimistic about the future.
Understanding that our youth hold the key to our future let us with good judgment, strategize and develop our sustainable tourism product with our youth in mind and as partners. There is a huge potential in tourism which can attract many young people. Its up to us as to bring the best out of them all.
I could write more about “The Dinner” and “The Ride” but for now I will settle with the attached pictures that said it all.
Oct
31
Sorry folks for the long drought. Really busy the past week preparing for my pilgrimage to Mount Kinabalu.
Yes, I made it to the Rooftop Of South East Asia, the summit, Low’s Peak 13345 feet above sea, at exactly 5.12 am on the 28th of October 2009. What an INCREDIBLE experience…I never felt so much emotion in my life…
Mount Kinabalu –ah! anything more beautiful, taking it altogether, I have never seen. Even the geology in me was put into good use, Mt Kinabalu in geological terms is a young mountain, a massive granodiorite with much sedimentary and ultrabasic and basic igneous rocks seen everywhere.The peak of the most varied form rose high into the air, partly covered with driving clouds. It was sharp and it glittered — a glorious spectacle. There could only be one such mountain in the world, and as a landmark it was priceless. I knew that I could not mistake that.
In conclusion… INCREDIBLE, FANTASTIC, MAGIC… and hard but manageable… but you need to be prepared when you are over 50.
Strange, even after 3 days my heart is still calling for the mountain! It’s an energy of many dimensions.
Anyway, I will like to take this opportunity to thank the one person who made this pilgrimage possible -Rosdiana, Tanjung Aru Tours And Travel, Sabah.
I shall blog about my journey another time but for now I want you to listen to this song “Speed of Sound” by Coldplay
Oct
17
The problem with Anwar Ibrahim is that he is not empowering the PKR local chaps in Sabah. Why cant he get the Sabah boys to lead Sabahans? Why cannot? What is so wrong with Dr Jeffrey Kitingan to lead? Why so peninsular-centric even after 46 years of independence. Come on lah Anwar you can do better than this.
Appointing Azmin Ali to look after PKR Sabah is a real mistake.
This Azmin Ali fellow is suppose to organise and help facilitate for Anwar Ibrahim in Sabah, but he is not. He is trying to micro-manage PKR Sabah big time. Who is Azmin Ali a junior in politics, a greenhorn to Sabah politics compared with Dr Jeffrey Kitingan?
All the good people left PKR because of Azmin Ali’s stupid attitude and tendency of dominating and monopolising Anwar. See how he undermine Tan Sri Khalid in Selangor, even in Penang he try to undermine my goodfriend Dr Mansor the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang. Now Datuk Zaid Ibrahim seem destined to become yet another casualty.
Maybe Anwar and PKR should go and learn some management skills from Kit Siang and Karpal. See how the DAP does in Sabah and Sarawak. DAP does not put a West Malaysian guy to look after their operations in Sabah and Sarawak. Go learn from DAP and maybe this will help PKR run their operations in Sabah better.
I don’t know what is with this KL. It seems politicians both opposition and ruling seem to manifest how peninsula-centric they can be. Even the federal govt officers in Sabah are full of ego and superiority complex and some so BIG head, arrogant and living in a world of their own. How to promote national unity and integration like this eh? A Penangite, I have been in Sabah long to know of this kind of mentality and its even more disgusting when my kids both Sabahans tell it to me on my face.
Now Najib our PM talks in great deal about this 1Malaysia thingy, this sugar-coated slogan of his. For me, this 1Malaysia is an empty-shell slogan with no real substance and intentions. As long as we have corruption, injustice, discrimination, inequality and particularly the “Ketuanan Melayu”, no way we can achieve 1Malaysia. Can Najib do it? I doubt it but we shall see as time will tell. Maybe Najib should come stay in Sabah and Sarawak to learn about 1Malaysia which has been existing long before Malaysia was formed in 1963.
The issue is colonization in the 21st century. East Malaysia is getting the same treatment as East Timor under Indonesia, becoming a second class minority in their own country, with no history of being part of Malaya until Malaysia was formed.
Oct
15
I wish a very Happy Deepavali to my mom and all my family members in Malaysia, as well as all my brothers and sisters of Hindu faith and all those who are reading this blog.
Although I’m still in Sabah and will not be with you all to sample the great food prepared by my mom (damn the nostalgia!), my heart is with you all.
As you all know by now that I have never been able to churn out the long, verbose, grand greetings like those on the e-cards, so in a plain, simple way I say again “Happy Deepavali” guys. Have a fantastic and most importantly a safe day. Enjoy yourselves.
And remember and NEVER forget that Deepavali the Festival of Lights is the symbol of the triumph of good over evil. It is a struggle between forces of evil and enlightenment, and we must never allow ourselves to fall into the trap of ignorance.
HAPPY DEEPAVALI AND GOD BLESS!
Oct
08
None of the Malaysian universities figures among the world’s top 100 universities, with the U.S. and the U.K. dominating the scene.
Harvard University has retained its top position in 2009, while Cambridge University, U.K has moved up from third to second position. Yale University of the U.S. has slipped one position to third.
According to the QS/Times Higher Education rankings, the University College London (UCL) leapfrogged Oxford University as the latter slipped from fourth to joint fifth position along with Imperial College, London.
Overall, the U.K. still punches above its weight, second only to the US. It has four out of the top 10 slots and 18 in the top 100.
Tokyo is highest ranked Asian university.
The number of Asian universities in the list of top 100 has increased from 14 to 16. The University of Tokyo, at 22, is the highest ranked Asian university, ahead of the University of Hong Kong that stands at 24 and National University of Singapore (NUS) is at 30.
However, Malaysia’s top university, University of Malaya (UM), is back in the world’s Top 200 varsities at no 180. This is 50 places better than last year. Wow what a showing!
It is really a pity that none of the Malaysian Universities could figure among the Top 100 universities in the world. From this, one gets a clear picture of where we stand in the global education scenario.
It is high time the matter is looked into seriously, and fruitful measures taken at the earliest before we slide even lower. Why we are sliding down so badly is very obvious. The quota system is screwing up everything. Besides, our education system in Malaysia doesn’t allow our students flexibility and the opportunity to explore a subject in depth and worst still meritocracy is not favored at all by our political masters.
Politicians should stop experimenting with our education system. UMNO and BN is responsible for our sorry state of affair. Wonder what happened to our great APEX University, the University Sains Malaysia (USM)? Habuk pun tadak ini USM. This goes to prove that we are just JAGUH KAMPONG lah. Our University of Malaya used to be on par with National University of Singapore during the 60’s and 70’s, where are we now? Why have we fallen so badly? Is it not because our education system and civil administration here is politicised?
Our education must be liberated from racism and capitalism then only will we be able to see some change in our international ratings.
Anyway, the top 10 Universities are: Harvard (U.S.), Cambridge (U.K.), Yale(U.S.), UCL, London (U.K.), Imperial College, London and Oxford (both U.K., joint 5), Chicago (U.S.), Princeton (U.S.), MIT, Massachusetts (U.S.) and California Institute of Technology (U.S.). See the full ranking here
Oct
08
The historic house in Johannesburg where Mahatma Gandhi lived almost a century ago has been snapped up by a French tourism company, for what is believed to be almost twice the asking price of $3,77,029, outbidding others, including Indians.
Voyageurs du Monde plans to turn the property into a museum, in line with its philosophy of investing in heritage properties worldwide.
As young lawyer, Gandhiji lived in the house from 1908 to 1910.
Referred to as ‘the Kraal,’ the house in the suburb of Orchards is one of several that Gandhi lived in during his stay in South Africa as he developed his Satyagraha philosophies and led the local Indian community in its struggle against oppression.
Oct
08
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan becomes the ninth person of Indian origin to win the coveted Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2009.
Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, 57, who was born in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India, is the senior scientist and group leader at the Structural Studies Division of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. An American now, Dr. V Ramakrishnan won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for atom-by-atom mapping of the protein-making factories within cells.
Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize, when he was honoured for his contribution to literature in 1913.
Renowned physicist C.V. Raman was conferred the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him.
Hargobind Khorana won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1968 for his interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis. He shared the Prize with Robert Holley and Marshall Nirenberg. Born in Raipur in 1922, he migrated to England in 1949 from where he moved on to the U.S. and settled there.
Subramanyan Chandrasekhar won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of stars. He shared the prize with William Fowler. He was born in Lahore in 1910 and joined the University of Chicago in 1937.
Peace prize Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work in the slums of Calcutta (now Kolkata) through the Missionaries of Charity, an organisation founded by her. She was born in Skopje (then in Turkey) in 1910 and came to India in 1931.
In 1998, the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Amartya Sen.
In 2001 Literature Prize went to V.S. Naipaul.
In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, chaired by R.K. Pachauri, shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the former U.S Vice-President and environment activist Al Gore.
In 1989, Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in India since 1959, got the Nobel Peace Prize.
