Pedal Works

I was at Subang Parade yesterday evening for a lightning-strike purchasing operation (i.e. last minute shopping), and I was pleasantly surprised to see that some of my photos had been used for a promotional poster displayed at the information counter.

You see, last month Maestro Bernard and I helped our friends to shoot some pictures of their products and shop at Subang Parade. The management of Subang Parade then used the pictures to produce their promotional materials.

Well, I don't have a copy of the poster, but here are some of the pictures I took.

The shop is called Pedal Works and, as you can see, they sell ladies' shoes. You can find them at the East End, right in front of Uncle Lim's kopitiam.

They also do nail art

Pedal Works at Subang Parade

Same old same old

Here's a non-political post for a change. Hahaha.

It's comforting to know that some things don't change.

I was at the Chefoo Methodist Centre in Cameron Highlands last week, and I looked up an old friend called Bell.

I had taken a picture of Bell in December 2003, and so I took another shot last week, for old time's sake. The composition this time was slightly different, as I couldn't find the previous stone backdrop. I think it had been demolished. The lighting was also different -- harsher and more direct this time.

Canon EOS 1000FN, Fuji Superia Xtra ISO400, exposure unrecorded, 200mm, Dec 2003

Nikon D80, ISO 200, 1/250 sec, f5.6, 170mm, Dec 2007


Which one do you prefer?

I still like film. My first love.

Or maybe my photo editing skills just suck.

Mutually exclusive?

Our politicians are still living in the dark ages when they perpetuate the notion that public safety and freedom of expression are mutually exclusive, and that we have to choose one over the other. Hello? We need both. We will never be a truly "developed" society if we continue to portray a mask of stability that is merely held in place by oppressive laws.

I quote M. Bakri Musa, "There is no safety without freedom. Suppressed, humans will ultimately erupt like a volcano, and with equally unpredictable devastations. Freedom without safety is anarchy. Safety and freedom are two sides of the same coin; each complements the other and both are hallmarks of civilized societies. “Safety” without freedom is illusory." You can read the full letter in Lim Kit Siang's blog.

Well, to be fair to our PM, he is put in a very difficult position. Managing the internal power struggles in the highest echelons of power is no joke. Let's pray that he turns over and really stamps his foot down on nepotism and corruption, and this time for real.

p/s Sorry for the recent spate of political posts. I shall endeavour to make my next post "softer" and more reader-friendly. Haha.

Another wet blanket

How to spend an ethically-correct Christmas

PARIS (AFP) - Want to spend an environmentally ethically correct Christmas this year? Then switch off the Christmas lights, opt for oysters for dinner, and forget about stuffing stockings with hi-tech gadgets.

Climate experts say there is no single quick-fix solution against the mega wastage of the festive season, but there are a number of common-sense ways of enjoying Christmas without causing undue harm to the planet.

"Each one of us in our own small way can take a series of steps to limit the impact of Christmas on the environment," Nadia Boeglin, of France's Agency for the Environment and Control of Energy (ADEME), told AFP.

Not just a single step, she insisted, such as buying recycled wrapping paper for example, but a lot of steps that set end-to-end can reduce a carbon footprint.

Take Christmas trees, for example. This year's tree should be small and purchased with its roots, potted or not, said Gaelle Bouttier-Guerive of the WWF global conservation organisation. That way it can be left outside on a balcony or be planted in the garden for use again the following year.

Citizens of some north European countries and Switzerland can opt for "good wood" by selecting trees available there that come with FSC certification (the Forest Stewardship Council that guarantees the protection of primal forests).

Although Christmas traditionally is a festival of light, it is preferable to avoid lighting up the garden, said Bouttier-Guerive.

Christmas lights gobble up energy as well as upsetting birds and insects.

For the Christmas meal, go for old-fashioned cloth napkins and porcelain plates rather than throw-away paper plates and napkins, and prepare a meal of local seasonal produce, organic if possible, she said.

Should you opt for caviar, from the endangered sturgeon, carefully check its origin as there is much contraband caviar about, or choose farmed caviar instead.

Oysters, a year-end favourite in France though not popular everywhere, are good for the environment, said Jancovici. They function like tiny carbon-wells that absorb CO2 to build their shells. "It's better for the environment to eat oysters than to eat a big slice of red meat," he said.

Choosing fish is also an environmentally-stacked issue as many species have been decimated by fishing. Atlantic salmon and swordfish are to be avoided at all costs, according to WWF, which instead recommends trout or sea bass.

Note too that fish sold with the MSC label (Marine Stewardship Council) are fish caught with sustainable methods.

As to dessert, make it yourself to avoid cakes stuffed with unhealthy additives and sugar.

But the real key to a waste-reducing Christmas "is to remember everything you ended up throwing away last year to avoid buying too much this time round," said Boeglin.

And the worst environmental hazard of all are useless potentially polluting gifts -- gagdets first and foremost.

"You need to choose presents that please, that are useful and that will not be thrown away," said Boeglin.

The problem there is that "hi-tech electronic goods are popular for Christmas yet the exact opposite of an environmentally-correct gift," she said. They are high energy-users, require lots of energy for manufacture and are difficult to recycle due to their make-up and to the fact they often contain toxic substances.

Consumers can refer to Greenpeace's recent "Guide to Greener Electronics" for information on green-friendly mobile phones and computers. And of course, all battery-using electronic items should be purchased with rechargeable batteries.

Buyers of wooden toys and other objects need to check for the FSC label, or its European equivalent PESC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) for its sustainability.

Recycled or fair-trade goods generally can be considered to be green-friendly.

Currently very trendy are non-material gifts that do not harm the planet such as theatre or concert tickets, beauty salon vouchers and sports-club memberships. "But please don't offer anyone a trip to somewhere far-away," said Jancovici.

And when Christmas is over, the proper green thing to do is to carefully sort the waste for recycling.

Here we go again

The politicians in power have detained five Hindraf leaders under the evil ISA.

The boys in power had a golden opportunity to seriously discuss with the aggrieved parties about the heartfelt issues raised by the rakyat. Instead, the iron fist chose to silence dissenters with the I-Simply-Arrest.

Sure, the ISA arrests were done in the name of national security, but my heart is certainly not at peace.

How can we say we are on the road to developed nation status, when we continue to use oppressive laws against fellow citizens?

Sigh. Another black page in the history books.

Well, at least we know what the current batch of politicians are capable of. They are consistent. Just like their predecessors.

The question now is, do we want such politicians to lead us into the future?

Are we, or not?

You know, we Malaysians pride ourselves at being one of the most diverse yet stable nations on earth. But some of our leaders continue to warn us that national stability and security is constantly being threatened by "undesired elements", as if May 13 could erupt again anytime. (By the way, what was the root cause of May 13? Anybody?)

So, what are we? Stable or unstable? United or divided? Integrated or disintegrated? Surely we can't be both.

Is our stability inherent and internal, or is it merely exerted on us from the outside, and liable to break down the moment controls are let go?

Are we like Yugoslavia, where the peace and harmony was merely forced by dictatorial rule, and quickly broke down the moment the control was released?

Or are we truly united from within, such that we can weather racial and religious conflicts with maturity, showing grace to one another?

We can't be totally stable and unstable at the same time. We must be somewhere on the continuum between both ends of the scale.

Perhaps the more important question to ask is, which end of the national stability and unity continuum are we moving towards?

But as long as the present government continues to rule by force, we will never really know whether we are merely forced to tolerate one another, or we truly love our neighbour as ourselves.

OK, I succumbed

Yes, I confess.

Today I bought Bebo Norman's newly released Christmas album "Christmas... From the Realm of Glory".

I sampled a few tracks at the shop, and it sounded very promising.

I'll also go dig out the songs I talked about in June.

So, fret not. I am getting myself in the mood. Hehe.

:)

10 reasons why I hate Christmas

1. There is way too much emphasis on commercialism and Santa Claus-ism. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ. But anyway, I shall not be a party pooper and spoil the festive mood.

2. I usually end up eating too much, and stuffing myself silly just because there is food served. This is my weakness -- if there is food on the table, I'll eat it.

3. Nobody has ever given me a Canon 40D for Christmas before, not even a second-hand one.

4. The festivities take so much effort to organize that I'm tired out by the thought of Christmas, rather than rejuvenated by it.

5. It never snows in KL. Fake styrofoam snow is the closest I can get to the real thing. Sure, I could fly to Antarctica and get snow all year round, but flying there would entail releasing carbon dioxide which will increase global warming and further reduce the possibility of ever snowing in KL.

6. There is so much wastage of wrapping paper at Christmas time. If you wanna give me a 40D, forget about wrapping it. In fact, I don't even need the box.

7. Post-Christmas holiday blues are exacerbated by work deadlines that don't go on holiday, but crouch and hide in the office, waiting to pounce on me when I go back on 2nd January.

8. I have to crack my head to decide who to buy Christmas presents for, and what to buy. But I'm improving slightly. Last year I only suffered a bruise on my forehead. It's much easier to give birthday presents. By the way, what present do we give Jesus, since it is his birthday anyway.

9. Christmas carols can only be sung at Christmas. I mean, I like those songs, so why can't I sing them in April, or June? Why do people give me strange looks when I sing or play a Christmas carol in any month other than December? We don't know for sure the date of Jesus' birthday is, so it could well be in April, for all we know.

10. Christmas gets more attention than Easter, although Easter is more important, from a theological point of view. It's like celebrating the flagging off of a race, but neglecting the finishing line. Isn't it more important to know who won the race, rather than who started in pole position?


p/s. Pardon the exaggeration and hyperbole in my reflections above. I just wanted to rock the boat a little, using some dissuasive negative reverse psychology. I actually do like Christmas, to a certain extent. Heheh. ;P

Joy to the world!

Magnificat

Magnificat anima mea Dominum

Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.

Quia respexit humilitatem ancillæ suæ: ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.

Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen eius.

Et misericordia eius a progenie in progenies timentibus eum.

Fecit potentiam in brachio suo, dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.

Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles.

Esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimisit inanes,

Suscepit Israel puerum suum recordatus misericordiæ suæ,

Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini eius in sæcula.

Mary's song from Luke 1:46-55.

My daddy used to say

My late father used to say that Malaysia is technically still in a state of emergency, since the emergency rule that was imposed in the aftermath of 13 May 1969 was never properly rescinded. People just conveniently forgot about it and carried on business as usual. Just two weeks ago, Thierry Rommel, the outgoing EU envoy to Malaysia, echoed similar sentiments.

Now that I think about it, my dad's comment does make sense. I mean, the way the politicians and police behave often leads me to think that we are still living in some quasi-emergency state where a violent explosion of civil unrest or rebellion could happen any moment. This also explains why the present politicians would rather go down in the elections than revoke emergency laws such as the Internal Security Act 1960 which is a rehashed leftover of the Emergency Regulations Ordinance 1948 enacted by the British to lock up Communists. The Ordinance was repealed in 1960 at the end of the Emergency, but the newly-independent Malaysian government nicely enacted the ISA as the successor to the Ordinance. Brilliant. Perhaps it was a necessary evil back then. But fast-forward 50 years... is it still necessary? Are we hoping to lock up terrorists? Or Opposition politicians?

The oppressive laws in Malaysia were crafted for emergency conditions. The laws were meant to fight Communists in 1948 or xenophobiacs in 1969, not peaceful demonstrators in 2007. If you thought Old Town Kopitiam was old-fashioned, you should check out the laws of Malaysia. That's retro for you, dude.

The ISA's cousin, the Emergency Ordinance (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) 1969 (notice the word "emergency" again), was enacted to subdue suspected racist instigators by detaining them without trial at detention centres like Simpang Renggam or to banish them to "remote" places like Gua Musang or maybe Cameron Highlands. Once banished, the poor suspects would be totally cut off from the rest of the world since there was only one road into town, and the fella had to report to the police station twice a day, and there were only a few fixed line telephones here and there. Anyone banished would be rendered powerless through mere physical isolation. Today the police still use the same outdated law to banish criminal suspects, but guess what, with modern telecommunications and highways the fella could still be directing his criminal empire from a "remote" location 500km away! You could be banished to Gua Musang, and report to the police station in the morning, drive to KL for a meeting, and still make it back to report again in the evening. What we need now are tough laws that hit where it hurts. We need anti-money laundering laws. We need laws to freeze and confiscate all assets of convicted criminals. Yea, but first we need a clean police force to prosecute and get them convicted. That's more difficult than simply banishing bad guys and hoping that out-of-sight means out-of-mind.

In this information era, many countries are enacting laws enabling Freedom of Information, but Malaysia still holds on to the Official Secrets Act 1972 for dear life. Whose life, I wonder? It only makes life more difficult for people such as researchers and journalists, who need to obtain information for legitimate purposes, but hardly stops government officials from leaking so-called confidential documents, because, like it or not, there are many government staff who are frustrated with their own political "masters" but cannot openly voice out their grievances.

The politicians want a new generation of students who can think critically, create innovatively and learn independently. But the politicians also want to keep the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 which prohibits students from getting involved in political activities, among other things. I'm like, duuuh?! There's a thing called opportunity cost. You can't have your cake and eat it. Or, maybe those politicking fellas are dreaming of having their cake but eating someone else's. Creative economics. Deserves another honorary PhD.

Malaysia is shackled and bogged down by so many antiquated, anachronistic, outdated laws. I wonder how we can really progress. It is one thing to build skyscrapers; it is another thing to develop minds. No prizes for guessing which one Malaysia excels in.

My daddy said some others things too while he was still around. Perhaps I should have listened more back then, but I was too stubborn. Haha. :)

Assembly language

I was going to say something about this but I guess CPPS beat me to it. So here's their press statement...


PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Allow Freedom of Assembly

The Centre for Public Policy Studies regrets the police prohibition of and use of violence on a number of recent gatherings in Kuala Lumpur.

Two weeks ago on the 10^th November 2007, BERSIH, a coalition of non-Governmental organisations and political parties, organised a march to submit a memorandum calling for measures to ensure free and fair elections in the country.

More recently, on Sunday the 25^th November 2007, Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) organised a rally to submit a memorandum calling for equal treatment of Indians, highlighting their socio-economic marginalisation in the country.

The Government has responded by saying that demonstrations are unnecessary, that memorandums should be handed in personally, and that any concerns can be brought up in forums through a consultative approach.

However, such forums, panels and meetings have been conducted on numerous occasions to little avail. These articulations are compiled into reports and submitted to various committees, but it is precisely inaction and non-response from the Government that has fuelled frustrations amongst those groups who have not received equal treatment.

Article 10 of the Federal Constitution guarantees that every citizen has the right to assemble peaceably. This is affirmed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The BERSIH and HINDRAF rallies were peaceful gatherings and should not be misconstrued as otherwise.

1. The CPPS calls on the Government to recognise the rights of civil society to freedom of assembly. The right to freely assemble peacefully is one of the hallmarks of a democratic society. If we want to consider ourselves a true democracy, then the police should stop immediately its highhanded excessive use of force at dispersing peaceful crowds, including the use of tear gas and unrelenting water cannons at peaceful demonstrations and rallies.

We need to urgently review the policy and processes regarding the provision of permits for peaceful assembly as guaranteed in our Federal Constitution. If the police had given permits to assemble and march peacefully, subject, of course, to reasonable and agreed-upon terms, the unnecessary disruption and subsequent chaos would have been avoided.

2. The CPPS also urges the Government to examine the root causes of the deep sense of grievance and frustration that underlie these rallies and demonstrations . The issues being raised by civil society organisations recently are valid and should be urgently considered. The views and opinions of this large cross-section of society cannot be swept under the carpet. These expressions of frustration and anger arise from a significant proportion of the Malaysian public. These must be factored into policy-making processes, and not ignored.

3. At the same time, it would be useful for the Government to meet the leaders of these rallies and find out more about their grievances , taking action to resolve outstanding problems that have adversely affected sections of the Malaysian society. New approaches are urgently needed to ensure greater national unity, peace, stability and progress.

Tan Sri Dato' (Dr.) Ramon V. Navaratnam

Chairman,

Centre for Public Policy Studies

26^th November 2007

Kuala Lumpur

Free Rice

I came across Free Rice recently. The link was emailed to me, and I also saw it featured on BBC.

Play Free Rice. You can improve your English vocabulary while getting sponsors to donate rice to feed the hungry through the United Nations World Food Program.

Click on the link below to play. You can also read the FAQs there, and find links to other sites on world hunger.

Busy busy

This is what I've been doing during my free time... :)

David & Grace
29.09.2007

Peter & Kae Jeen
20.10.2007

Aaron & Yip Wei
03.11.2007

Mun Yew & Evelyn
08.11.2007

Psalm 96

1 Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Sing to the LORD, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

4 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.

9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.

11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

12 let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;

13 they will sing before the LORD, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his truth.

Smart stupidity

In an unfortunate series of events that revealed my lack of mobile phone tech savvy-ness, I accidentally blocked my SIM card on Saturday. To make things worse, my attempts to unblock it resulted in the SIM card being permanently disabled. And, in a triple whammy, I also forgot the security code on my phone, so now I have to reformat the phone and lose everything in it. Basically, all the numbers in both the SIM card and phone are gone forever.

Here's how it happened:

1. I was going for the BERSIH rally in KL, to show support for the movement and the agenda for free and fair elections.

2. I figured I shouldn't bring my new phone, just in case we got drenched by special water from certain sources. Just in case.

3. So I switched the SIM card to from my new phone to my old phone. It asked for the PIN. Whaddaya know, I keyed in the wrong PIN code 3 times! This was mistake #1. I forgot that the SIM card will get blocked after 3 wrong tries. (Actually, mistake number #0 was that I activated the PIN and security codes on my new phone... and then forgot the codes! More about this later...)

4. The SIM card got blocked, and then the phone asked for the PUK code. So I ran to grab the PUK (personal unblocking key). Would you believe it?!! I committed another silly mistake. I keyed the PUK for the wrong SIM card. I thought I had the PUK, but only realized today that it belonged to the very first SIM card that I got in 2000. The current SIM card is an upgraded one, and I somehow don't have the PUK for the new SIM card recorded anywhere.

5. And here is where it gets complicated. I unknowingly keyed in the wrong PUK, and it asked me to key in a new PIN and then reconfirm the PIN, which is what I did. But the result was "Code Error". I couldn't understand why, coz all the while I thought the PUK was correct. I couldn't have keyed in the new PIN (I chose 1234) wrongly, could I?!?! So I repeated the process, but got the same "Code Error". But, after about 8 attempts, when the phone gave me the terse message, "Final attempt", I decided to get the pros to fix it. Besides, I had a train to catch to go downtown KL.

6. So, off I went to the (illegal?) gathering in KL without a phone, but I was with friends, so I wasn't totally incommunicado. I wore my yellow T-shirt under another shirt, ala undercover Superman style. But no, I did not rip off my outer shirt to reveal the yellow shirt underneath when I reached the Istana. I merely unbuttoned it gently.

7. The gathering was very peaceful and orderly, at least at the places where I was, i.e. train station and Istana (I later heard that there was some commotion in the Masjid Jamek area). Some police officers were even helping to direct traffic -- I guess they had no choice. In case you were stuck in the jam on the Federal Highway, I can assure you that it was caused entirely by the police roadblocks, which was designed to deliberately slow down traffic. I also heard that they were stopping buses carrying yellow people. Anyway, my group took the train, so we got there in the usual time.

8. After the peaceful gathering in front of the Istana we went back to the train station and hopped on the return train. No problems. I got a bit wet, but it was due to the rain, not the police water cannons.

9. Then I went to the an authorized network service centre, hoping to unblock my SIM card. But the attempt to unblock it only made the card become permanently blocked, because the wrong PUK was keyed in again, for the final time. The SIM card was rejected. Only then did I find out that I could have called the network provider's helpline to get the PUK. But the problem was that I had been thinking all the while I had the correct PUK. And the "Code Error" message was because of the wrong PUK, not because I re-entered the wrong PIN. Big sigh. It's like climbing up to the top of the ladder only to find that it's leaning on the wrong wall.

10. So, the guy at the service centre issued a new SIM card (for the same phone number). The SIM card would take at least a day to be activated. That was OK, I thought. But I lost ALL the numbers stored in the SIM card. That was OK too, I thought, because I had copied the numbers to the new phone's memory. But then, I switched on the phone, and lo and behold, it asked me for the security code!

11. And, I couldn't remember it!!! Big mistake! I changed the code after getting the new phone last month, and didn't record it anywhere!!! There is no limit to the number of attempts to key in the security code, but it's 5 digits, and so technically there are 100,000 permutations. That's more than the number of people gathered for the BERSIH rally.

12. So I went to bed with both the old and new phones non-functional (I couldn't even set the alarm) because the new SIM card was not yet activated.

13. On Sunday afternoon, after trying about 139 times to key in some plausible passcodes (based on my birthday, or initials, or just keypad number patterns) I finally relented and I went to the mobile phone shop where I bought the new phone. I thought they would be able to do something, but unfortunately, the only way was to send it back to the distributor for reformatting. That means I lose ALL the numbers in the phone also. The whole process will take a few days.

14. So here I am now with my old phone, a new not-yet-activated SIM card, and a totally blank contact list. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

This has turned out to be a long convoluted story, but I hope you get the drift.

So,

This is stupid:

1. Forgetting passcodes.

2. Keying in the wrong passcode while assuming it is the correct one.

3. Changing the security code on the mobile phone and not remembering it. I later found out from the guy at the shop that it's almost pointless to switch on the security code on the phone to prevent people from using it if it is stolen. Because, the folks can easily send it undercover to the service centres and break the code. It's an inside job -- the technicians conspiring with the resellers. Obviously it's illegal, but it's happening.

This is smart:

1. Supporting free and fair elections.

2. Always remembering passcodes (duh?!) or writing them down somewhere.

3. Not trying to be too smart. Call the helpline instead.


Well, at the end of the day, this whole SIM card and phone hassle pales in comparison to the more important thing, that I was a part of Malaysian history. I was standing very near the Istana gate, with the crowd, and I saw the BERSIH leaders walk through the FRU line to deliver the memorandum to the King's aide. Two police helicopters were buzzing overhead, a clever tactic to drown out the voices of the people. After the memorandum was handed over, the police chief instructed the crowd to disperse, and we dutifully complied. I feel that the police are improving slightly in their handling of such mass gatherings.

I took part in the "riot". Would you consider that an act of civil disobedience?

Gandhi did it. Martin Luther King Jr did it. I did it. And so did a few thousand other Malaysians.

In case you are wondering what BERSIH stands for, visit the website.