Be Morally-Correct

The Chinese culture has been deeply influenced by Confucius, a great Chinese teacher and educator. His influence extends throughout the world even today. Confucius believed that moral principles, virtues and discipline should be the very first lessons taught to a child, and that children need to practice them daily. Unlike modern-day parents who disapprove of physical punishment, ancient Chinese parents actually encouraged and thanked the teacher when their children were punished for misbehaving. It was most important to the ancient Chinese parents that their children learned moral principles and virtues first - before any other subjects, because without these as a foundation, the learning of all other subjects would be futile. In ancient China, the purpose of going to school and studying was to prepare for becoming saints and sages, not to pave the way for fame or profit-making.

Even though they seem stringent by today's standards, it is apparent that the people of that time felt it was important that the child should be well-disciplined and taught moral principles and virtues when still very young. They felt that without strict discipline and moral standards, a child would amount to nothing. Not knowing what it meant to be dutiful to parents and respectful to teachers, a child would grow up not listening to or respecting anyone. Ironically today, many parents listen to the child instead of the other way round. Additionally, teachers are afraid to teach and discipline children because they are fearful of violating the children's legal rights and of being sued by parents.

Currently, we live in a tumultuous world where the relationships among people; between people and their government; parents and children; husbands and wives; employers and employees - are disintegrating. Parents do not act like parents and children do not act like children anymore. Our minds are polluted and our family system is disintegrating, as evidenced by an ever-increasing divorce rate. Soon the planet Earth will no longer be fit for us to live on. We are fearful of our futures and the futures of our children.

Therefore, it is fervently hoped that each and every one of us would embrace all good moral principles, virtues and be disciplined, so that our future generations will benefit from it, and society at large and our world will be at peace and be a better place to live on, come rain or shine! CIAO!

Conned At ATM

The Star paper today reported that a group using new tactic involving teamwork and trickery to fool and swap victims' ATM cards. Read the full story below.

Con artists are now using a new tactic to rob people at auto-teller machines (ATM) by swapping ATM cards. Acting with accomplices, including women, they would distract and confuse their victim while the person is in the midst of a transaction and by sleight of hand, would swap his or her ATM card. One of them would memorise the victim's personal identification number while they were being punched at the start of the transaction.

The latest incident occurred on Tuesday night when credit card agent See Teck Chuan was robbed of RM5,000 at the Seri Gombak Maybank ATM machines. He said he saw three Middle Eastern-looking people, including a woman, in the bank.

"I went to the second machine while the woman, who was clad in an abaya (long gown usually worn by Arab women), went to the one next to mine. A very tall man stood behind me. In the midst of my transaction, the woman suddenly called out to me in a foreign language and signalled for me to pick up some bank notes on the floor," he said.

See said he told her that the money was not his but she kept gesturing for him to pick up the notes. He did so after she pointed to her back, as if trying to indicate that she had back pain.

"She still appeared dissatisfied and kept talking with me facing her the whole time," he said.

See claimed that the woman then left in a huff together with the tall man behind him without taking the money. Before he could proceed with his transaction, the third man still in the bank 'scolded' him for keeping the money.

"As he appeared very angry, I decided to place the money back on the floor. Then, I continued with my transaction but it failed. I ejected my card and inserted it again and was surprised to see the name that appeared on the screen as someone else's. I then realised that I had been tricked, but it was too late as all three foreigners had left," he told reporters at the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department yesterday.

See said he immediately called the bank to have his account frozen but was asked a series of questions instead.

"Precious minutes were wasted and by the time I got my account frozen, my money was already gone," he said.

By ZALINAH NOORDIN

newsdesk@thestar.com.my

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By Admin:

Always practise the 3As whenever you're at an ATM. ALERT; AWARE; ANTICIPATE.

Always stay Alert and be Aware of your surroundings and Anticipate actions of those around you, come rain or shine! Better be safe than sorry. CIAO!

Love Conquers Hatred

Let's not live in this world of hate

where humanity begins to disintegrate

Of untold miseries we lamentably create

declaring wars to subjugate weaker states

O why should we eliminate and annihilate

our own fellow brothers and sisters at whatever rate?

Remember true life is not to discriminate

lest it leads us all to dire straits

Colour bars should we truly eradicate

as each of us must learn to share and tolerate

So if we want real peace to perpetuate

loving-kindness and mindfulness must we cultivate

For when the bond of mankind begins to deteriorate

blame it not on the unkind twist of fate!

Just For Fun

Goodbye Michael.....R.I.P.

Michael Joseph Jackson (29 August 1958 – 25 June 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the "King of Pop" in subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums are among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous(1991) and HIStory (1995).

In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as Beat It, Billie Jean andThriller — credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool — helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as Black or White and Scream made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.

One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records — including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time" — 13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career — more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era — and the sales of over 750 million albums worldwide. Cited as one of the world's most famous men, Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades.

Jackson died on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50. [Source:Wikipedia]

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By Admin:

Michael J. Jackson, entertainer extraordinaire, gave millions around the world joy and happiness with his kind of music, IS definitely the King of Pop none can ever compare with. He IS the Numero Uno in the hearts of his millions of fans and will forever remain so. Like all living beings, he left us, but.......oh so sudden, with nary a word of goodbye, but left behind a legacy, a void that can never be filled again, ever, come rain or shine!

Goodbye Michael.....R.I.P.

Long live the Moonwalk!

Bahasa Malaysia Vs English

Tuesday June 23, 2009 (The Star, Page 38)

Yesteryear’s switch to BM put paid to good English today

THE standard of English in the country has deteriorated since the switch to Bahasa Malaysia as the teaching medium in the 1970s, Nanyang Siang Pau said in its editorial.

The daily said most youngsters in the country could not converse fluently in English even after they had graduated from university.

“Most of them cannot express themselves well in the language, not to mention their proficiency when required to introduce a product or service, negotiate or write any proposal or report in English,” it said.

It said the private sector had also admitted that it was difficult to hire the right candidates for vacancies due to the language barrier.

It said many students realised the importance of English only when they graduated from university.

“Even those who work in the public sector cannot escape the fact that English is important for their career advancement,” it said.

It said what the Government needed to do now was to improve the teaching of the language, which included the increase in the use of English as a teaching medium.

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The Government changed the teaching medium in national schools totally to Bahasa Malaysia in 1970 starting with those in Standards One. I was one of the thousands of school children 'affected' by the change back then. The following year, it was my wife's turn. Our son who is now in college, attended a Chinese vernacular school from Standard One right up to Form Five.

Now, to blame the Government totally for the deterioration of the standard of English in the country is to say the least, totally uncalled for. Are those from learning in the Bahasa Malaysia medium good in both written and spoken Bahasa Malaysia? I doubt it!

Reasons for the deterioration of the English language in our country must be posed back to those who could hardly speak the language. Why were they poor in the language? Is it because they were taught in Bahasa Malaysia in school? If it is, then why even the Malay students are weak in Bahasa Malaysia? I obtained an A2 in Bahasa Malaysia in the SPM whereas most of my Malay classmates averaged only a C5. For the record, I obtained an A1 in English 121 and an A2 in English 122, way back in 1980.

Therefore, the deterioration of the English language in our country falls squarely on the shoulders of the students and parents. They place no emphasis on languages taught in school, and only realised their follies when they are out in the real world. If this apathy is left unchecked, I doubt even by reverting the teaching medium, the standard of English would improve by much.

As the clamour for emphasis on English is going on, please do not forget about our national language, Bahasa Malaysia. To the powers that be, please place equal importance to our national language as not to sidetrack it.

Let me tell of an incidence sometime back in 1995. I was attending a Japanese language class at the YMCA, Penang. Our teacher was a Japanese lady, and all her explanations and translations were done in Bahasa Malaysia. A few fellow students requested the teacher to do her explanations and translations in English. Well, she was both surprised and astonished that they can't understand Bahasa Malaysia. She had only been in Malaysia the past three months and already mastered our language. Oh what shame! Then she told those students to master their own language before trying others, and promptly shooed them out of her class. I cringed whenever I think back of that shameful incidence.

Oh! For the record, both my wife and son could hold their own when it comes to both written or spoken Bahasa Malaysia and English, come rain or shine! CIAO!

Killer Fish Of Kenyir?

Orang asli believe 'ikan naga' caused death of duo

The Star, Thursday 18 June 2009, Pg 33

HULU TERENGGANU: The deaths of Kenyir Lake's bird park supervisor and a rescue worker on Tuesday may have been caused by a monster fish that has lived in South-East Asia's largest man-made lake for the last three decades.

That's what elders from the orang asli (indigenous tribe) community in Sungai Berua, a village that borders Kenyir Lake, believe.

The victim, Helmi Sukhri Hisham, 28, drowned after he mysteriously fell off from his boat while a diver from State Fire and Rescue Department, Aladi Hassan, 41, also died when he attempted to retrieve the victim's body.

The orang asli folk claim to have sighted the fish on numerous occasions, and the creature has sharp finlets, is colourful and has scales similar to a shark. The orang asli call the fish 'Ikan Naga' (dragon fish).

Kuala Berang state assemblyman Mohd Zawawi Ismail said that in recent sightings, villagers claimed the giant fish measured over 4 metres in girth.

"As a young boy, I heard tales of this dragon fish in Kenyir and after 30 years, orang asli villagers claim the creature has grown to a gigantic size," he said when contacted here yesterday. He said foreigners who were involved in the Kenyir dam construction in 1978 also reported to have spotted the creature that once dominated the Kenyir river before the waterway was diverted into the man-made lake in 1985. He said the villagers believe that both victims were attacked by the creature.

Based on the account from villagers, Mohd Zawawi said the victim could have lost his balance when the large fish hit the bow of the boat. Helmi, from Yan in Kedah, had ferried his colleague to an island when the incident happened. The colleague, Bakri Mohd Noor, 30, said he heard a crashing sound when he was on the island's jetty.

"I ran towards the boat and found the boat spinning but Helmi was missing. I shouted out his name but there was no response so I decided to alert my superior," said Bakri.

State Fire and Rescue Department diving unit chief, Yusmizan Yusof, said 10 divers were involved in the search and rescue operation. The two bodies were retrieved from the lake at 7am and 8am yesterday.

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By Admin:

I couldn't help laughing when I read this article from The Star yesterday. Not on the lost of lives, which were rather unfortunate, but rather on the belief that there is a monster killer fish of

gigantic proportion inhabiting Kenyir Lake.

Since when did sharks have scales? Or is it maybe the orang asli probably haven't seen

sharks before? And why was this fact not pointed out to them?

The claim that this monster fish has a girth of over 4 metres is pure exaggeration of the

highest level imaginable! If indeed it is, then the fish would have easily measured 8 metres

lengthwise. Then it indeed would be a monster fish! But all this are highly doubtful.

And finally, if there is indeed such a monstrous fish in Kenyir Lake, I doubt both the

victims' bodies could have been retrieved, which were in this case.

Therefore, the only reasonable and believable conclusion to all this monster fish claims,

is that it is most probably a fish of the 'Arapaima Giga' genus, released into the lake when it got

too big for comfort for its owner/s. The Arapaima Giga is native to South America's Amazon river

and have been known to attain 4.5 metres in length and weighing a hefty 200kgs.

As for the unfortunate victims, they most probably got themselves entangled in submerged

tree branches and drowned.

Personally, I have seen two of these fishes in the Mengkuang Dam, Seberang Perai,

about three years back. I haven't seen them since, but I've heard of sightings of a gigantic fish in

the dam by frequent visitors and illegal anglers alike.

Here, I have attached two pics of the fish to give some ideas of what the Arapaima Giga

looks like and the sheer size of it. So the next time, if anyone should visit the Mengkuang Dam,

be on the look-out for them, come rain or shine! CIAO!