[Msia] How would this be reported

I think I've beat the news cycle by a few hours - now just wondering how this incident would be spun later tonight during primetime news.

Around lunchtime, MCA building had a small crowd in the front. NTV7's camera crew was there and another station I think - it was to record some mini demo / declaration of some sort by somebody (presumably MCA or MCA sanctioned since it was done right at the front porch). Some fella in a suit was making a statement, whilst 2 other lackies were holding up badly made placards protesting something about how the Chinese community was part of Msia too.

Now, the message isn't the issue - but it was really done in such a makeshift and hasty manner, and so badly done. A few coffee tables were joined together, and someone took a marker pen and wrote something on 2 manila cardboards, and held it around; and some guy gave some statements - that was it.

I just felt it was just to exploit the news cycle either to add pressure to the BN's UMNO to sort of the issue of treating other minorities better, OR in the total exact opposite to create maximize an issue's coverage and thereby taking away some newstime away from Anwar's swearing in today.

But I wonder maybe it was done for both objectives? Having cake and eating it too - you have to love politicos for the slimeballs they are :)

Update 28Aug08,2030hrs:

- The guy in the suit was Wee Kia Siong from the Youth Wing

- It was apparently a 2 hour plus event, some other politicians were there to shout, wave, show face

- Judging by what TV2 Mandarin News showed, it was 3 manila cards not 2; and there was also an indoor politico-reporters conference

- BUT it still doesn't change my original line of thought - plus I think the MCA event was only shown on the Mandarin news - I switched around but the other channels did not seem to have shown it. So in addition to my original thoughts - it was perhaps specifically shown only on the Mandarin News to placate the cinapeks.

[Self] Conf Call

Another 40 mins to a conf call - sitting & waiting .....

[Msia] News To Depress 20-21Aug08

Depressing News: 20~21Aug08.

Parliament is leaking .... again. I have lost count as to how many times it has happened over the past few years.

Unfortunately, Uncle Samy has gone into stealth mode, and I guess he won't be climbing up ladders to fix buildings any more. Sigh! A great era is over!! Whoever shall we get to announce the next toll hikes BUT they surely will not be able to match the flair of Uncle Samy :(


Najip making some 'equal treatment' statement (From Malaysiakini):
"If you go to other places in the region, the Chinese had to change their names and couldn’t go to Chinese schools. But here, we let everyone practise their culture. The name Lee Chong Wei is still Lee Chong Wei. This is BN’s policy until today," he said at the ceremony to hand over a cheque for RM300,000 to the Beijing Olympics silver medalist.

Wow, makes me well proud to be Malaysian that a basic right such as defining one's own naming standards could be tossed into the political fray. Plus, poor Lee Chong Wei probably could not say anything against that racial-divisive-remark else he could kiss that RM 300,000 payout adios.

But thanks a lot Najip for the reminder - I shall never, never, never ever take the name "Chan Keen Soon" for granted ever again!


Dr. Koh vs Guan Eng
Interesting to see the 2nd debate. Dr. Koh was definitely the chap who had more finesse and was also obviously more prepared than Guan Eng. Guan Eng was still stuck in an opposition mentality if he and the rest cannot get out of that psychological state - they may as well hand over the reins of government to the BN next election.

I wonder why Guan Eng was not well prepared - perhaps a bit of cockiness and overconfidence? But I have a bit of newfound respect for Dr. Koh, he apparently isn't the absolute pushover I thought he was. Dr. Koh if you pronounce is slowly and delibrately, does have a twang that sounds menacing (think Dr. Eeeeeee-whellll).

Whatever it is all the best to Penang - long live Ghee Hiang "Tau Sar Pneagh"!


PUTRA LRT
Damn KJ Station didn't function at all on 20Aug08 around 0820hrs. Stood around like an idiot with the rest of the swelling crowd, and by 0840 nothing had changed. Don't know when it got 'fixed' decided to opt out for the day.

Heard it was the 2nd time in 1 month. For an automated mass transportation system where the tolerance of failure is usually ZERO, this is a national disgrace. There should be a class action suit launched against the idiots running Putra LRT.


Summary: Well hope you read it, know how teruk life can get, and you can smile a bit knowing you aren't that worse off than you originally thought. Now gimme a smile .... :)

[Self] The Avengers (Original!)

Call it the curse of SG's shopping culture, but I was smiling happily when I plonked down a hundred plus SGD for 3 boxsets of The Avengers (the Steed + Mrs. Peel period).

FYI - I caught The Avengers in my high school years on Friday afternoons on TV3, and loved the wry, deadpan, weirdness of each episode.

Mrs. Emma Peel was a total hottie and she had gracefully kicked arse (being a redhead didn't hurt either); while Steed "set the standard for civility and refinement while killing enemies".

Where else could you get stories where:
- Cats are activated into mauling monsters with a simple radio trigger? (The Hidden Tiger)

- A nutjob directer, an actor and actress trying to reclaim their former glory plots a snuff film "The Death of Mrs. Peel"? (Epic)

- An army hides in an underground city ... waiting to take over Great Britain when the time is right? (The Living Dead)
- A department store in the middle of London was taken over by a bunch of terrorists who planted a nuclear bomb in the basement ~ that would detonate when somebody bought a washing machine? (Death At Bargain Prices)

As the boxset said .... "whimsical yet deadly serious". Couldn't agree more. I still need to find the other Emma Peel season boxsets though.

Additional ramblings:

- I did notice that Mrs. Peel seemed to wear a lot of leather in the 65 season, and later on the style drifted into a softer fabric (mostly jumpsuit) tone.

- The last revisionism in 1998 by Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, and Sean Connery was terrible. It just did not translate the essence of The Avengers properly onto the big screen - bad writing probably done it in, but I also suspect that like some great classics its greatness should be sealed forever in its time (eg: try doing a revisionist movie for Casablanca or My Fair Lady and it would be destined for failure).

- The Avengers was best defined by the Steed + Emma Peel years. I did not see the one before, and think the Tara King years lacked the dynamic and weird relationship tension btw Steed and Mrs. Peel.

[Msia] Full Refund

An incompetent government - to the extent you can chart out their devolution since the 1980s, which in turn is hurting Msian society economically, culturally and intellectually.

A dysfunctional opposition - 3 of them still grappling with baby teeth probs; but 1 of them is surprisingly already an expert with knives and has mastered the art of backstabbing before knowing how to walk.

Fundamentalists from all walks of life who appear on TV, and in turn stroking the emotions of otherwise nice people into irrational angry nutcases into the streets.

Infrastructure that is certified ok to fail coz it is still under warranty. Given the way the gov sweep things under the carpet let's rename that stupid stretch of 1.7km worth of highway with a marketing spin....
Before: MRR2
Now: MRR v2.1! (can we ciplak the Yahoo! yodel as part of the rebranding)

And yes, a cheap assed transportation system that is so poorly maintained. Every time I think I cannot feel more pissed off with the LRT and KLRapid system - they managed to surprise me somehow with something new. Can we get these people to drill oil instead they keep on hitting new low ground there is obviously a skill-industry mismatch.

And if this were a movie, we just started 10 minutes into the starting. The acting & direction sucks, the popcorn already masuk angin, and some fella nearby cannot stop farting. Can I get a full refund?