This is it.

The organizers of Michael Jackson’s memorial concluded the service with ‘We are the world’ and ‘Heal the world’.

I am not going to conclude my short blogging life with any song.

Yes, I am concluding my blogging life.

That means, I will stop blogging after today.

Why?

It’s love, actually.

That’s all that I can tell, for now.

What that motivated me to start this blog on September 16 2008, has evaporated. Sizzled out.

I know it’s been less than a year, but I am deflated.

But my voice will still be heard, elsewhere, in another way.

For ‘nothing is impossible if we all raise our voices as one’.

So, farewell to friends whom I have made through this blog.

Thank you for sharing my thoughts.

You will still be my friend.

I will still connect. Somehow I will be there.

Farewell & God bless.

Richard Loh, a Penang -based blogger (Malaysia For All) , highlighted this interesting event, a law forum to be held in Penang on 27 June.

It is not restricted to Penang bloggers only, bloggers from other states may participate. Those who can make the trip to Penang this Saturday can register now for free (and for some lip-smacking hawker food later, this is not free!).

The full details here:-

Forum Name: eLawyer – Exabytes Penang Bloggers & Law Forum 2009

Date: 27 June 2009

Time: 9.00am – 12.30pm

Fees: F.O.C.

Venue: Dewan Kuliah G31, Pusat Pengajian Sains Komputer, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang Campus (Landmark Masjid USM).

This event is exclusively sponsored by www.exabytes.com.my – the No.1 web hosting company in Malaysia

Topic 1: Bloggers & Copyrights Laws

Topic 2: Bloggers & Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act 1998 (MCMC Act) and rules and guidelines of MCMC

Topic 3: Bloggers & Defamation Law

Registration: The admission to this Forum is FREE. However, due to limited seat, please R.S.V.P by sending your details (Name, Tel, Email, Occupation and Company/School) to forum@elawyer.com.my before 24 June 2009 or call 03-2782 5399 for more information.

This event is supported by USM and Penang Bar Committee. It is open to anyone. Please visit http://www.elawyer.com.my/blog/elawyer-exabytes-penang-bloggers-law-forum-2009/

Organiser: www.eLawyer.com.my for more information.

Petaling Jaya is a city. So is Ipoh.

Petaling Jaya has international retail brands like Guess, Espirit, Giordano, U2, Timberland and the likes. So has Ipoh. (all right, I know PJ has more big names)

Petaling Jaya has local retailers like Popular Books, MPH, Cold Storage, Giant, Tesco, Jusco and the likes. So has Ipoh.

Petaling Jaya has popular food outlets like McDonald’s, KFC, Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Old Town Coffee and the likes. So has Ipoh.

Petaling Jaya has local & foreign banks like MBB, Standard Chartered, HSBC, Public Bank and the likes. So has Ipoh.

Petaling Jaya has the services of giant telcos like Celcom, Maxis and Digi. So has Ipoh.

Petaling Jaya has Astro. So has Ipoh.

My point is, all things being somewhat equal, I cannot comprehend the difference in prices of food and services between Petaling Jaya and Ipoh: -

A plate of fried kuay teow (with egg, cockles & prawns) – PJ @RM4.50 / Ipoh @ RM3.60.

A takeaway order of economy beehoon – PJ @ RM2.50-RM3.00 / Ipoh @ RM1.00

A plate of chicken rice – PJ @ RM4.00 / Ipoh @ RM3.00.

1 piece of roti canai – PJ @ RM1.20 / Ipoh @ RM 70 sen.

Economy rice of 2 vegetables & 1 meat – PJ @ RM5.00 / Ipoh @ RM3.50.

Tailoring charges to alter the waist size of a pair of pants – PJ @ RM20.00 / Ipoh @ RM5.00.

A haircut for female (no shampoo) comparing same service std – PJ @ RM60 / Ipoh @ RM15.

And of course the salaries differ too.

Somehow I cannot understand why prices are higher in PJ. The price of staples like rice, sugar, flour, oil, meats, petrol, diesel, electricity, water etc are the same in both cities, right? Yet, PJ businesses charge more.

I really cannot figure this out. Is the difference justifiable? Or did the ’survivor’ instinct manifested in the PJ businesses?

Jom pergi Ipoh!

On June 3, while anxiously trying to find my way back to PJ, I committed a traffic offense, and was stopped by the police (actually it was a road trap block).

When I did not offer to ’settle’, I was given a traffic offense ticket (a ’saman’ for ‘memotong digarisan panjang‘). The police officer kindly offered that if I were to pay before June 17, I would be given a 50% discount.

So today, on the way to some errands, I went to the PJ police station to pay the traffic fine. The officer at the desk informed me that my ticket has not been keyed into the system yet, and therefore I cannot make my payment. I was told to go to the police station in ‘daerah Subang Jaya’, and request to have the ticket ‘keyed in’ before I could make the payment, otherwise I have to ‘tunggu lama sampai ia dah masuk sistem’.

I am thinking aloud here..

The authorities complained that people do not pay their traffic summons, and to encourage them to pay, an ‘early-payment discount’ is given. But for what, when one week after my ticket was issued, it was not ready for payment? That means I cannot take advantage of the discount. Another thing is, why does it take this long to process the tickets into the system?

I have not read the ‘yada yada’ (a phrase borrowed from Jarod) about 1Malaysia, but I am sure it would have been mentioned about improving efficiency of the government agencies, as a process to towards 1Malaysia?

Or is this EFFICIENCY, the 1Malaysia way? And we, Malaysians, better take it or leave it?

(peng’s note: I went all the way to the police station in ‘daerah Subang Jaya’, in Puchong, and paid a discounted fine of RM50. Beggars cannot be choosers, right?)

In Cairo, Egypt, Barrack Obama delivered a speech at Cairo University.

‘The speech, in which he quoted verses from the Quran, received thunderous applause and even some shouts of “I love you” from the floor.‘

(Quote: Star)

Meanwhile, in Bukit Gantang, Malaysia, Perak DAP secretary Nga Kor Ming recited a verse from the Qur’an at a ceramah (public talk).

‘At least four non-governmental organisations lodged police reports against Nga yesterday for allegedly debasing Islam by using the Quranic verse at the political ceramah on Saturday (4 April).’

(Quote: MySinChew)

Spot the differences here:

One quoted the Quran and received thunderous applause, and even some shouts of ‘I love you’.

The other quoted the Quran and received at least four police report lodged against him.

Both are politicians. One an Amercian politician, the other, a Malaysian politician.

Let’s switch things a bit:

Put the American politician in Malaysia, doing the same (quoting from the Quran). Would this American politician receive police reports lodged against him?

I am scratching my head….

Anyway, here’s another quote from the American politician, for the Malaysians to ponder… “I like to go to the source of the problem, not around it,”

(peng’s note: this post is not about the religion mentioned here, but about how different people of the same faith respond to the same situation.. I hope my point is noted..)

The 69 64 people arrested on May 7 were told to report at the Ipoh District Police HQ today. Some like Zorro drove to Ipoh at the wee hours of the day, arriving at the unearthly hour of 4am.

And after waiting to be charged (well, that’s what they expected of this trip), they were told - ‘no decision yet on their arrest and they will have to wait a little longer until investigations are completed, to know their fate!’

What the blazers is this, wait a little longer until investigations is completed! Why in the name of stupidity would the police summon these people to Ipoh then! So that they can taste the famous Ipoh kway teow and bring some pomeloes home as souvenirs? Or is Ipoh’s economy so bad that the 69 people are tricked to make this trip to Ipoh and spent some tourist ringgits!

Whatever, whose ever stupid idea this is… this is a blatant mistreatment of ordinary citizens, and a clear indication of how idiotic and inefficient the PDRM is! But on the flip side, how dark they could be…

This is a comedy of horrors in the hall of Malaysian horrors!

Jong took pictures of this morning ..

Scene outside the police HQ

Supporters not allowed into the police HQ compound

Nizar was there too

“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you‘re gonna get,” Forrest Gump quoted what his momma always said.

How true! Tomorrow is a new day and no one knows, exactly, what will happen next. What we are gonna get in life next.

One day I woke up and realize;

• I eat six meals a day, still am hungry, and still lost 15 lbs.
• My heart beat is like the drum tempo; boom, boom, booom, booom!
• My breathing is shallow and raspy.
• I perspire as if there’s a leak in my skin.
• I am heat-sensitive and need the air-con & the fan running at the same time to cool down.
• The pain and aches become chronic, and it’s now there all the time.

The next I know, I am subject to tests and scans, and more tests and scans.

‘It’s a bladder inflammation’, so said the expert.

‘Would a bladder inflammation cause me to lose weight?,‘ I asked. ‘Yes,‘ said the expert, ‘because of loss of appetite.’ ‘But I have a good appetite, I am always hungry,’ I said. ‘Oh..,’ the expert’s lips formed an O in response.

‘Should I be tested on thyroid function?,’ I then asked. ‘Yes, let’s get you tested on that,’ the expert agreed.

I took a bite of the piece of chocolate and I found out what’s inside. Things became clear for me, my autoimmune has gone cuckoo. Resulting in the over production of hormones which caused increased metabolic activity in my body!

I don’t know when is my next bite into another piece of chocolate. Meanwhile, we should not take for granted it will be all sweet and good inside. For the next piece of chocolate, may be full of worms, yucks!

That’s why I need God in my life. He’s the creator and planner.. He knows what’s inside the next piece of chocolate I bite into.

Scrabby asked - 'Am I a coward?'

A self-imposed hibernation (from blogging) and a chronic medical condition have resulted in me being ‘behind’ in the local news, especially political news.

Although I heard from friends that some people participating in vigils were arrested, I have lost count of who and the numbers.

Today, I happen to turn on the TV at 5 plus (out of boredom) and saw clips of the Perak Speaker, Siva being hauled away by police, and Ipoh Barat Member of Parliament Kulasegran being led into the police truck… for attempting to abstain from food?

I felt sad, very sad after viewing that TV clip. And I thought that maybe Pakatan Rakyat should just let the thieves be, concede defeat. For we cannot win a fight with treachery and evil.

Okay, before any of you shoot me down for even thinking of conceding defeat, please know that was a split second of weakness. I had gone completely out of my mind.. probably due to too much of idling at home (when everyone is at work).

When I recovered my sanity, I recalled the story of how David threw a slingshot and down went Goliath the giant!

This is the description of Goliath..

‘He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.’

Can you see the theatrics of Goliath, and his similarity with you-know-who?

Pakatan Rakyat may be like David, small and without the works of the 3 Ms (money, means & machinery) but see how David slew Goliath..

‘Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine… Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.’

What David needed was one good shot, and of course for God to be on his side, to slew the giant.

PR, your good shot would be the rakyat. Because whatever other shots you take will be taken down by the police. But the police cannot arrest the people’s minds.

General Charles De Gaulle exhorted the French people to continue to fight against Germany with this appeal – ‘France has lost a battle. But France has not lost a war!’ And he also said – ‘Must we abandon all hope? Is our defeat final?…No!’

I am convinced that Perak may have lost the fight to thieves, but Perak have not lost the battle of GE13!

So the answer to this question ‘Am I a coward?’ is NO!

(Bible passage reference: 1 Samuel 17)

I first posted a picture of the birds building a nest on the palm leaf in my garden on 12 May.

I checked the progress on 13 May here..

Nest building progress on 13 May

On 14 May, as I watched from the guest room window (outside where the palm tree is situated), I saw the lil’ bird bring bits of leaves to build the nest. I tried to photograph the bird in action, but failed because the bird noticed my presence and flew off in a huff!

Some form of the nest can be now seen, 14 May

But alas, since 14 May and now, 6 days later, there is no progress. I think I made the lil’ bird upset with my peeping and trespassing! The birds have abandoned ship!

Looks like my spying technique needs some polishing.

I will update this post, if there is any progress….

Day 1 (12/5/09) of discovering lil’ humming bird building a nest on the palm leaf. Sometime back in September last year, the lil’ birds built a nest on the frangipani tree in my garden. Will post the progress of the nest-building …

(peng’s note: This post is created and posted via email using my mobile phone! Yeah! WordPress has enabled blogging via email!)