Happy 53rd Merdeka Malaysia !

  

Lets relive the spirit of Merdeka,

Malaysia !

Language is a funny thing. It allows you the privilege to consider and administer new ideas based upon the structural formulations of that languages' grammar and word construction but at the same time it also allows (some) individuals minds to be limited - or expanded, by the very words and language within which the concept resides and is used.

It is worth noting that at this point most normal readers would lose interest in reading further given the type of words used!

Many men and women of note (or those who wants to be noted) with great ideas often tabulate and present their ideas upon the unsuspecting masses as a new ideology using the gift of language and explain it away using the emotional attachments/ linkage words and structure to give the ideas and concepts weight and gravity.

In my life and experiences, the dreams I have are in this language you are now reading although my mother tongue should be Chinese and Tamil (Father's side); and ideally the 13 years of National School tutelage should nominally make it be Malay, but somehow or rather it stuck on me that I should find expression best in this language.

How that differentiates me in thinking and thus manner from the usual brethren of my social circle is often a predicament that over the years has crossed both sides of the emotive chart as people I encounter often peg me in their respective minds as either one of them or not one of them which often results in ridiculous situations arising out of these assumptions.

But coming back to the gist of this writing, the area where the most striking evidence for the influence of language on patterns of thought is the language of describing space to another person — how we describe the orientation of the world around us. Suppose you want to give someone directions to get to your house.

You might say: “After the traffic light, take the first left, then the second right, and then you’ll see a white house in front of you. Our door is on the right.” But in theory, you could also say: “After the traffic lights, drive north, and then on the second crossing drive east and you’ll see a white house directly to the east.

Ours is the southern door.”

These two sets of directions may describe the same route, but they rely on different systems of coordinates. The first uses egocentric coordinates, which depend on our own bodies: a left-right axis and a front-back axis relative to it.  

The second system uses fixed geographic directions, which do not rotate with us wherever we turn.

Now imagine if you will, in a country of 27 million different people of myriad beliefs with different levels of language usage and understanding how certain simple requests or reactions can/would inflame the fragile egos of the other various individuals and communities; that is ill equipped / prepared to tolerate such remarks or requests; if  it is not peppered with the correct social decorum / platform.

Though harm or insult is never intended, but nonetheless some styles of a person’s request can be deemed infringing on another’s life choice although mind you,on a different outlook, given how over the last 54 years our elders and even theirs before them, have lived amicably with even lesser knowledge and intimations; this represents (to me at least) the remarkable adaptability and forgiving nature of our sociological make up and national social structure whereby the not familiar is still accepted and allowed to grow & prosper in peace !

It would appear, to me at least that the greatest foe to our national strength and solidarity nowadays seems to be fear.

Fear of being maligned, fear of losing out .

Left unchecked though, once these fears are entertained, and is normally fueled by the various egregious actions and reactions of a certain political sorts, over time, the subliminal parochial language patterns (name calling, racial slurs,etc) and it's connotations of these various communities fears would have imposed on impressionable young minds, either by society or parents; an unreasonable view of their own individual & immediate woes and problems which would be later tinged with a racial platform.

Eventually these little observed intolerances would lead those with a different mother tongue to see their animated world through lenses tinted with associations and emotional responses that are always racially conceived. 

These would gradually grow into differences of opinion when the two separated worlds of either Tamil,Chinese,Malay & English language speaker later meet and engage with each other.

Which makes the current peace and stability this country has preserved, practiced and makes customary amongst its people of all races, customs and religion; all the more precious, remarkable and worthwhile to cherish ever after.

Even though our country’s individual; cultural and ideological stances are many and could often grate the others in ways we cannot always identify; Malaysians as a whole have accept this difference as part and parcel of our culture within this country.

This heritage of our fore fathers are the cultural and sociological treasures that we must never unlearn nor choose to disregard, for we do it at the peril of ourselves and of our loved ones future.

                                                 

                                        Happy  53rd Merdeka Malaysia !

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Umno menentang Malayan Union memberi kerakyatan kepada kaum minoriti Columnists WRITTEN BY ZAKI SAMSUDIN    Pepatah Cina ada menyebut: 'Yang menang jadi raja, yang kalah jadi penjahat' (chengzhe wei wang, baizhe wei kou). Pepatah ini sering digunakan dalam konteks penulisan sejarah. Sejarah sering ditulis pihak yang menang dalam perang merebut kuasa. Maka, yang menang itu diagung-agungkan dan yang kalah dicerca semahunya.  Lihat sahaja bagaimana Hang Tuah dan Hang Jebat digambarkan dalam 'Sejarah Melayu'. Hang Tuah diagung-agungkan sebagai wira menyelematkan Melaka dan Hang Jebat dicerca sebagai penderhaka yang kejam dan hina. Hang Jebat digambarkan seorang yang mabuk kuasa mengamuk menuntut bela atas kematian sahabat karibnya. Beliau dikatakan kebal kerana keris Taming Sari berada ditangannya. Maka Hang Jebat seorang sahaja sudah cukup untuk mengambil-alih istana Sultan Melaka.  Hakikatnya, 'Sejarah Melayu' ditulis oleh penulis-penulis yang diupah pihak istana. Mana mungkin huraiannya adil dan saksama menggambarkan setiap tokoh dan peristiwa di Melaka. Hang Jebat misalnya dikatakan bertindak sendirian. Tidak ada yang lain yang menyokongnya. Namun bila direnung secara rasional, adakah mungkin benar Jebat seorang mampu menundukkan semua hulubalang raja? Bala tentera kerajaan Melaka bukan hanya seorang dua. Malah dikatakan mencecah puluhan ribu jumlahnya. Takkan Hang Jebat begitu hebat sehingga mampu menewaskan kesemuanya? Mungkinkah apa yang berlaku sebenarnya adalah perang saudara? Hang Jebat adalah ketua pihak pemberontak dan beliau disokong ribuan rakyat yang simpati dengan perjuangannya. Kumpulannya tewas maka Hang Jebat sebagai ketua dicerca dan dihina seolah-olah tidak ada seorang rakyat pun yang menyokongnya.  Tidak cukup dengan itu, Hang Jebat dituduh pula mengamuk setelah ditikam Hang Tuah membunuh ramai rakyat Melaka yang tidak berdosa. Sehebat manapun seorang pahlawan itu, mana mungkin setelah parah tertusuk keris di badan mengamuk tujuh hari tujuh malam membunuh ribuan manusia? Mustahil pada saat ini untuk kita mengetahui apakah sebenarnya yang terjadi. Kisah Hang Tuah dan Hang Jebat berlaku sudah sekian lama. Tidak ada sumber bukti yang sahih yang dapat memisahkan yang mana fakta dan yang mana rekaan semata-mata.  Tokoh-tokoh lain tak disebut  Namun dalam pengkajian sejarah kemerdekaan negara yang hanya separuh abad usianya, banyak sumber boleh diselidiki untuk menghasikan ulasan yang adil dan saksama. Misalnya, dalam mengkaji persoalan siapakah pejuang kemerdekaan negara, tidak mungkin hasilnya akan menjurus hanya pada Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak dan pemimipin Parti Perikatan yang lain? Nama-nama seperti Burhanuddin Al-Helmy (kiri), Ahmad Boestamam, Mustapha Hussain dan ramai lagi, kenapa lenyap begitu sahaja dalam buku-buku teks sejarah rasmi negara?  Yang pasti, yang terawal berjuang ke arah kemerdekaan bukanlah golongan elit dan bangsawan Melayu yang menubuhkan Umno pada tahun 1946. Yang terlebih dahulu menyemai semangat merdeka adalah orang-orang kebanyakan seperti Ibrahim Yaakub, Ishak Haji Muhammad, Burhanuddian Al-Helmy dan Mustapha Hussain. Malangnya, kerana mereka bukanlah daripada golongan elit masyarakat Melayu yang berdamping dengan penjajah British, usaha mereka tidak berhasil. Namun perjuangan dan pengorbanan mereka tidak sia-sia. Walaupun telah sekian lama tidak diberi penghormatan, kisah perjuangan mereka kini mula terserlah melalui buku-buku yang tersadur dengan interpretasi sejarah yang berbeza daripada apa yang sering dihidangkan dalam buku-buku sejarah rasmi negara.  Peranan dan sumbangan Umno ke arah kemerdekaan memang tidak dinafikan. Namun hakikatnya, ketika Umno ditubuhkan pada tahun 1946, kemerdekaan Tanah Melayu bukan matlamat perjuangannya. Umno ditubuhkan asalnya untuk menentang penubuhan Malayan Union. Yang ditentang adalah perlucutan kuasa raja-raja Melayu dan undang-undang yang memberikan hak kewargenegaraan kepada semua golongan imigran yang termaktub dalam gagasan Malayan Union yang dicadangkan. Malah Umno dalam tempoh lima tahun sejak penubuhannya begitu berkeras tidak mahu membuka taraf kerakyatan kepada orang-orang Cina, India dan orang-orang bukan Melayu yang lain di Malaya.  Pengasas dan Presiden Umno ketika itu, Dato' Onn Jaafar mulai sedar kemerdekaan akan hanya tercapai jika masyarakat berbilang kaum dan agama di Malaya dapat bersatu dan bekerjasama. Namun usahanya untuk membuka keahlian Umno kepada kaum yang lain ditentang hebat, memaksa beliau meletakkan jawatan dan mengasaskan parti politik yang lain. Fahaman kiri dituduh komunis Dalam keadaan Umno yang masih terkial-kial dengan isu kerakyatan, sudah ada sebenarnya usaha untuk menyatupadukan masyarakat berbilang kaum di Malaya di bawah satu suara untuk menuntut kemerdekaan. Usaha ini dipelopori pertubuhan-pertubuhan di bawah naungan Putera (Pusat Tenaga Rakyat) dan AMCJA (All-Malaya Council of Joint Action). Putera dipelopori Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM) yang diketuai Burhanuddin Al-Helmy dan disokong hebat masyarakat Melayu di luar bandar. AMCJA pula didokong kesatuan-kesatuan pekerja dan beberapa pertubuhan bukan Melayu yang lain.  Malangnya semua pertubuhan ini tidak mendapat restu pihak British. Alasan utamanya ialah semua pertubuhan ini berfahaman kiri dan dituduh bersekongkol dengan pihak komunis.  Maka kewujudan dan pengaruh mereka menjadi ancaman besar kepada pihak British yang mahu memelihara kepentingan mereka sendiri. Semua pertubuhan haluan kiri ini diharamkan dan ramai pemimpin-pemimpin mereka ditahan. Penahanan mereka ini membuka laluan untuk Umno memimpin perjuangan ke arah kemerdekaan yang sebelum itu bukan merupakan matlamat yang diperjuangkan. Buku-buku teks sejarah sekarang tidak banyak mengulas tentang kisah-kisah ini. Sejarah kemerdekaan negara dirumuskan dalam fakta-fakta ringkas yang disusun dalam bentuk carta dan gambarajah. Mana mungkin pelajar-pelajar sekarang mampu menyelami dan menghayati sejarah negara dengan kaedah pembelajaran seperti ini?  Namun inilah realitinya sekarang. Sejarah hanyalah satu matapelajaran yang memerlukan penghafalan 'fakta' sepertimana yang termaktub dalam buku-buku teks dan rujukan.  Saya berpendapat semua rakyat Malaysia perlu didedahkan dengan penulisan-penulisan sejarah yang berbeza. Bermula daripada sekolah menengah, golongan muda perlu didedahkan dengan kisah-kisah perjuangan semua golongan dan kumpulan pejuang kemerdekaan termasuklah kisah perjuangan Kesatuan Melayu Malaya, PKMM, Putera, AMCJA, Umno dan Parti Komunis Malaya. Semua pertubuhan-pertubuhan ini telah menyumbang ke arah kemerdekaan. Kemerdekaan diperolehi secara aman Maka, selain daripada membaca kisah perjuangan tokoh-tokoh seperti Onn Jaafar, Tunku Abdul Rahman dan Tan Cheng Lock, semua rakyat Malaysia perlu digalakkan juga memahami perjuangaan tokoh-tokoh lain seperti Burhanuddin Al-Helmy, Ahmad Boestamam (kiri), Mustapha Hussain, Rashid Maidin, Shamsiah Fakeh, Chin Peng dan lain-lain.  Antara tokoh-tokoh ini memang terdapat tokoh-tokoh komunis yang terlibat dalam pembunuhan dan keganasan. Namun keganasan sebenarnya tidak berlaku hanya di sebelah pihak. Dan pihak komunis tidak juga mengganas membabi buta tanpa sebab.  Ada sejarahnya dan ada kisah di sebaliknya. Fakta sejarah itu tidak semuanya hitam dan putih. Terdapat kisah dan interpretasi yang berbeza. Tidak salah bagi kita untuk memihak kepada sesuatu interpretasi yang tertentu, namun salah rasanya jika kita tidak mengambil tahu akan interpretasi-interpretasi lain yang wujud. Secara peribadi saya percaya tatkala segala kisah perjuangan ini dirungkai dan dibahas, ramai yang akan bersetuju dengan kesimpulan bahawa kaedah perjuangan yang diambil Tunku Abdul Rahman merupakan jalan terbaik untuk mencapai kemerdekaan.  Tunku menuntut kemerdekaan daripada pihak British secara aman dan teratur. Kebijaksaan Tunku berunding memastikan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu mencapai kemerdekaan pada tahun 1957 dengan mewarisi sistem dan prasarana pentadbiran yang licin dan berkesan. Ini banyak menyumbang kepada kemajuan negara yang lebih pesat berbanding dengan bekas tanah jajahan British yang lain seperti Ghana, Nigeria, India dan Pakistan. Namun dalam keghairahan kita memperingati jasa dan pengorbanan Tunku dan rakan-rakannya yang lain, janganlah diabaikan pengorbanan tokoh-tokoh negara yang lain. Janganlah dinafikan kemerdekaan yang kita nikmati hari ini sedikit sebanyak adalah hasil perjuangan mereka juga.

Ramadhan Feast for the Senses in Hotel Seri Malaysia,Melaka

Seri Malaysia Hotel is a gem of a resort located just before the main arch welcoming you into Melaka city in Ayer Keroh, right after you leave the toll from the North -South Highway.It is fronting the main road and is a hidden pearl that many non muslim locals might not know and don’t even think of going if nobody introduce you to  the fact that the serene atmosphere  & food here is nice and soothing. Very relaxing & welcoming.

The Jonker Cafe is their main F& B outlet and the food is authentic Malay cuisine, especially this Ramadhan month when the cream de la cream of feasts are offered to the salivating public by the Hotel.

 Everything from the special Gulai Kawah to the Bubur Lambuk; the Nasi Minyak berlauk Ayam; Satay Kambing/Ayam; Kerang Bakar; Roasted Lamb on the spit; Murtabak Kambing/Ayam;Yong Tau Fu Goreng; Kway Teow Goreng, fried with garlic powder, and all manner & types of salad and spices and dipping including the lovely belacan and cincaluk mixed dips of several varieties which definitely is an added flavor to the dishes on offer.

In a nutshell,  Seri Malaysia Hotel  is a haven where the food is very scrumptious and the ambiance relaxing and comfortable.

With your selection and food in hand and good company in your table, a total feeling of joy is experienced here, nestled within the shady gaily de- lighted trees and beautiful landscapes; buoyed by the melodious songs of the Ghazal Band that is specially prepared for your comfort and listening pleasure.

My guests and I found the service here to be fun, friendly and definitely up to mark. I will definitely be returning for my second visit for the Buffet Ramadhan with my friends.

The stupendous and colorful display on the dessert train was an eye opener that must not be missed as many of the selection on display here are authentic malay kueh's that we hardly get to see often now.


All in all, the buffet is value for money and the special treatment given by the staff will make you happy with this delightful malacca property !








Two Thumbs up !!

We were chased out of McDonald's by our daughter !

What an attention seeking phrase, right? But, unlikely as it may seem, that was exactly what happened to my wife and I last Saturday at Mahkota Parade Mall. It was around 9pm and we were supposed to pick up our one and only daughter from MP as she had been shopping and lepakking in the mall since early evening hours with members of her PRS Group. (School advisorial & support Group) She unfortunately, was so embarrassed to see us waiting outside the McDonald's to pick her up;as she was in her group of friends, that she sms'ed us to pls go away ! and wait for her to call us and tell us where to pick her up:> (Wah ! mana boleh ni. sudah lawan tokeh)

So, as expected of any proud and indignant parent, we made a big hue and cry and snorted nasally to show our unhappiness and then, quietly walked away and grumbled at ourselves how pampered and ungrateful kids nowdays are. Last time, during our school days, jangan harap our parents would drive down to town to collect us much less being told to stay out of sight when picking us up!

Anyways, that sorted out, we walked in to the nearest restaurant to wait our daughter's call and had ourselves a nice dinner of Bulgogi Chicken & Noodles dish. This type of Korean  food outlets seem to be sprouting everywhere nowdays,as I've seen more than 5 outlets in malacca alone. How they sustain themselves is beyond me as the restaurant we entered didn't have that many customers apart from us though truth be told their food offering, service and price are all commendable. I suppose what my friends said about the Korean Golfers vacationing in AFamosa in groups of 20 and above as a group vacation to learn and get to play Golf in our Golf Resorts must be true. On average, based on the  2010 statistics given by UPEN (Unit Perancang Ekonomi Negeri) the tourists money has helped reduce the disparity between urban and rural income in Malacca to a difference of between RM 1.40 cents in the urban areas to every RM 1.00 in the rural area earned. That is good news.

On Sunday, the associate members of the St. Francis Association drove up to PJ-The La Sallian Provencialate Building to attend the Bi Ennal MFOLSA AGM. 2010 and to update and make plans with our SFA Chapter in KL (FCKL); the coming retreat in A Famosa Resort on September 16 /17, 2010 which is organised by myself and a few others in actualizing our Building Fund Plans for the association's purchase of it's own building. The plan is to raise RM 500.000.00 in two years to support the purchase of our  association building. The retreat is planned to raise awareness of these plans and to re format the association and it's vision and mission statements to be self sustaining once the building is available as then as Land Owners, the responsibility will be more than as mere tenants. After a long 7 hour sitting and explanation and debate on the fundamentals of the Retreat, we drove back home and made it back in 1 Hour ; just in time to meet Shireen  from Sri Lanka (the niece of our associations' founding father PG Pamadasa- 93 years ago !) The meeting was cordial though a little rushed as she had made plans to meet Audrey for dinner earlier. Yeoh Kian Huat then proposed we have our dinner in rennaissance in his Olio Italian Restaurant (he's the owner). A good spread of  beer,pasta, pizza, lamb shank and braised mutton later, we retired happily but rather tiredly for the day !

Tomorrow is going to be another long day as the meeting on melaka maju 2010 is beginning at 9.00 am in MITC Hall. This coming week is also the Malacca Tourism Association's visit the members week whereby every day or so we make annual visits to our membership to give them an opportunity to meet and greet us and allow them and us to update on our individual plans, promotions and packages.

Fun, Food, Friendship and Fiesta.

The week ends are thank fully replete with activities this month as the activities seem to double come the fasting month ! My friend, Moidu and I attended a Taklimat recently (Briefing) where the Melaka Government  included the names of the two of us as Lead Auditors for the Landscaping and Cleanliness Referendum for Melaka Maju 2010. Melaka Maju is an ongoing collaboration between the various departments within our administration to peg the standard of living of the citizens of Melaka to the level of the OECD ( Organization of Economic Co-Operation & Development). 

To help make the various governmental and non governmental (NGO)outfits achieve this collaborative effort by the State Economic Planning Unit of the Chief Minister's Department, these last 10 years, an annual chart of deliverables based on Management by Objectives format has been observed and followed. 

Amongst the various deliverables that each department in the state government's charge has to achieve are items like the number of doctors per 1000 people as compared to other OECD developed cities like Vienna,Strasbourg; Algeria; and also items like the number of  women in government as dept heads, etc.

 The countries within the OECD  grouping are used as checking boards to determine Melaka's living standards as compared to theirs. This MBO system of the State Government has managed to elevate the basic standard of living of the community and citizens as it allows the administrators to peg their resolve in raising standards according to fact based and recognized goals.

Any ways, like I was saying, the NGO's are normally invited to collaborate with this sincere effort by the state departments during an annual seminar where every year the stated achievements and goals are summarized and  action taken on. Under the auspice of the Malacca Tourism Association; yours truly has been actively participating in these various programmes.One of this year job scope will be a 60 day immersive programme whereby selected public areas and buildings and businesses will be audited for their efforts in maintaining our city's vision as a green and clean city.

After the briefing at the Media House in MITC, we dropped by the Auto City locality where the Transportation  Museum by Perzim is located. It is almost out of the way for normal melakkans but the promotion by CMI Holdings Berhad to have a Car Boot Sale every sunday  in that locality is hopefully going to change all that. The Museum charges RM 10.00 per adult entry, but the set up is encouraging. The tickets will also allow the entrants to visit the other museums in Melaka.

Many items on show were actually loaners that the car owners are using as a sale display to hawk their cars. But, there were items there that were quite interesting esp. the olden wagons and horse carriage ! I suppose , given a couple of years more even my old trusty car can be considered worthy of display at the museum?

Later that afternoon, after getting stuck in traffic for almost 45 minutes between Tranquerah Road and the Mahkota Parade area ( all school zones); I managed to doze off  for a few hours in preparation of the evening's schedule of  dinner & meetings. 

The high light of the evening was the monthly St . Francis Association (SFA) meeting  that was this time around hosted by Simon the GM of Straits Meridian Hotel, Melaka. Michelle tagged along on this occasion as I felt that Phillip ;our secretary for the association would be a little over burden with the heavy list of items on discussion and to follow up. So, I offered my wife's help to the association for assisting with the taking of  meeting minutes , which they gladly accepted.

3 hours of talking and planning later, the meeting was disbursed with everyone contributing well inputs for the day, especially since the tummy was well taken cared off earlier!

The food on offer for the Ramadhan Buffet was as always diverse in offer and taste with items off the Grill; meats and savouries of many kinds; & Nyonya food items were also on offer in the buffet which was keenly appreciated by our group of eaters.



On Saturday, another  few friends and I participated in more offers of hosted lunches and dinners as there were seminars and talks to attend with regards to our involvement in the sales of Financial Products.(with Phillip of Money Concepts, Melaka)



Walton International also extended their invitation to me this weekend to participate in their Land Bank Sales Scheme; whereby the strata purchase of development land in USA was discussed and previewed. It was a very interesting sales talk and I was very keen tp participate and the best part was, so was Phillip,who came along for the show .

 The idea of retaining a small percentage of our various investments with this company was highly interesting and intriguing. And to top it off each purchase of a titled plot is small enough to be almost not much worry about. Only USD 10,000.00 per purchase. (about RM 31,000.00 at today's prices)

Their hosted luncheon was also quite a classy affair as it was held at the Holiday Inn Melaka which is always good for taste and show.

Vincent and Phillip enjoying the myriad food on offer. I was busy taking photo's but managed to gorge myself also, slightly later ;>