Project: Bihun Goreng Kampung

To celebrate the nation's 57th Independence Day, I decided to cook a meal. My project for the day: Bihun Goreng Kampung.

As I wield a pen more than I do a spatula, I am not expecting much.

But the dish turned out to be beyond my expectation. I don't know how I could churn out something so utterly tasteless.

Ok, maybe I'm being too hard on myself.  The dish can still be eaten after you add soy sauce. I did put ikan bilis, dried shrimp plus salt while I was cooking. Somehow it still tasted bland.

I don't think I'll  be having "bee hoon" for the next month or two. Maybe I should have stuck with nasi goreng kampung. Maybe that's why shops rarely offer meehoon goreng kampung.. Even those that have nasi goreng kampung and meehoon goreng biasa on the menu. When you request for the rice to be replaced with bihun, they'll say it can't be done.

(Note: bihun, meehoon and bee hoon all mean the same thing --- rice vermicelli)

But I will be wielding the spatula again --- sometime in the not too near future.  

I then went out and ordered myself

nasi goreng kampung at Lavender Bakery and Bistro that costs RM12 per plate.

So much for my little Hari Merdeka project. I think my office is having a potluck session soon. I'd like to contribute a home-cooked dish.

Also spent the day reading a book titled "The Power of Persistent Prayer" by Cindy Jacobs. It's a very nice read. You need to believe or else there is no need to pray. 

Sometimes when unfavorable things or obstacles cross your path, your faith wavers. Cindy preaches that it is the hard times that calls for one to pray even harder.

Though I haven't finished reading the entire book yet, I think I know now how I should pray and what I should be praying for.

In A Whimsical Mood

why do some fur kids get to be clothed in velvet and some are deprived of food, hugs and shelter from the cold?  One is a pet dog, the other a street dog whose mother had just been killed. 

How can we help the strays and keep them safe?

little fishes swimming in the blue green sea, do you have the answers that I seek?

maybe the answers will find me after I've indulged in a piece or two of this kek lapis cempedak.

maybe I'll just eat the whole cake.

I guess I'm just in a whimsical mood. I better go get some sleep. Maybe the answers will come in a dream or after a night of refreshing sleep.

Good night.

Thrill Seekers Head To Desaru

DESARU: Johor is giving this seaside town greater tourist appeal by turning it into a sports hub. A popular holiday destination, Desaru is expected to draw sports fans and outdoor enthusiasts with sporting events.

Johor state tourism department director Dr Badrul Hisham Kassim said major events were being planned for sports fans.

“It is understood that Kejora (Southeast Johor Development Authority) and the Kota Tinggi District Office are planning to host several sports events here to boost domestic tourism,” Badrul said.

In the pipeline is a Pesta Rakyat scheduled for early next year.

However, the details are still sketchy.

Lotus Desaru Beach Resort managing director Datuk P. Ramalingam said that the most recent event held here was the Triathlon Desaru 2014 with a turnout of nearly 1,000 participants and spectators.

There were 500 local and international participants as well as fans and family members.

“The participants had to swim swim (2km) , cycle (90km) and run (21km),” said Ramalingam.

Last year, extreme sport fans flocked here for the 7th Monsoon Mayhem International Surf Challenge 2013.

The annual challenge, supported by the Asian Surfing Championships, was organised by Bigfoot Industries Enterprise.

Its official partners were state Tourism, Johor Tourism Promotion Board, Johor Tourism Department, Kejora and Pulai Desaru Beach Resort and Spa.

Lotus Desaru also held a host of activities and provided facilities for thrill-seekers.

Outdoor and recreational activities offered here are not limited to water sports.

The activities offered by hotels and resorts here include rafting, jungle walks and adventure races that are meant to foster friendship and encourage teamwork.

Pulai Desaru Beach Resort marketing and communications officer Nurul Farahin Samsari said the resort would be introducing several water sports activities early next year and it was currently in discussions with a water sports operator.

Presently, its activities include all-terrain vehicle (ATV) rides, paint ball wall games, target shooting, horse-carriage rides and horse riding.

Meanwhile, Wong May Xian, 21, was spotted at Lotus Desaru recently trying her hand at parasailing.

Wong who is from Yong Peng said she had just resigned from her job in Singapore and wanted to “soar to the skies” in her first attempt at the sport.

“I am wearing my glasses although my friends are worried that they may fall off while I’m up there. I want to see everything clearly,” said Wong setting off.

It costs RM100 for a three to four-minute session.

Upon landing, Wong said she was not afraid at all, and the view was breathtaking.

- sourced from NST online

Malaysia, My Home, My Country

A little bit about patriotism, rules and regulations and a Hong Kong dog. 

sourced from NST online

by Chuah Bee Kim

STOP a youth anywhere and ask him how many stripes are there in the Jalur Gemilang or why is our national flag called the Jalur Gemilang and what do the colours represent.

I doubt many will have the correct answer, let alone be able to answer the question confidently.
When flags are being hoisted in residences and business premises, do they do it with pride and love for the country or are they following the crowd?

You have a flag, so I should also have one.

Are teachers and parents teaching the children about the colours of the Jalur Gemilang, its history, the protocols and etiquette of flying a Jalur Gemilang?

This year, I have yet to come across a tattered or worn-out flag, and I am glad.
I have seen such flags in previous years which is a disgrace.  Flags that are raised should not be faded or dirty. The same goes for the state flags.

If we truly love our country, we should not be keeping flags that look like rags.

I remember writing in 2010 about a Johor flag which was used to wrap papayas on a tree.
That was an ultimate insult.  I did a search on Google and found out that if a flag is to be flown at a certain spot, the static flag pole must not be less than 6.1m high.

If the flag is used as a decorative piece or flown for a certain period, the pole must be at least 3m high and no part of the flag must be allowed to touch the ground.

Did you know that a static flag is only allowed to be flown from 7am to 7pm, unless there is a floodlight on?

Flags at government departments are to be raised when the offices open in the morning and lowered after office hours.

In schools, the flag is to be raised in the morning and lowered after the last class.

When the national or state flag is flown from houses or shops, it should face the road and be secured on a pole at a 45-degree angle.

If two flags are flown, the Malaysian flag must be on the left side of the premises.

In Johor, the late Sultan Iskandar decreed in 1985 that the Johor flag must be given prominence and flown on the right side of the Jalur Gemilang.

However, on Merdeka Day, the Jalur Gemilang takes precedence and is flown on the right side of the state flag.  If there are three flag poles, the Johor flag is flown in the centre, the Malaysian flag on the right while the departmental, corporate or institutional flag is flown on the left.

On Merdeka Day, the Malaysian flag is raised in the centre and the Johor flag on the right.
During the Merdeka celebrations or official federal events, the Johor flag is raised after every third Malaysian flag is raised.

The cluster of miniature flags on a utility post also follows the same arrangement.

All flags used for decoration are to be removed two weeks after the event.

All the above were taken from a 2010 article.

I think in other countries, like Indonesia, for instance, the Sang Saka Merah-Putih (The Heirloom Red-and-White) or Bendera Merah-Putih (The Red-and-White Flag) is treated with utmost respect by its residents.

The mentality of the Indonesians and Malaysians are poles apart.

I am not sure about patriotism, but the mentality of Indonesians and those of Malaysians really differs when it comes to direct selling.

Allow me to stray a bit from the subject of patriotism.

Indonesians can make more money in a direct-selling entrepreneurship than a local because of the former’s drive, commitment and passion for the brand.

A local direct-selling agent shared this with me recently.

She said her downlines who are Indonesians really showed all the qualities I mentioned earlier, while her local downlines only treat the business like a part-time venture.

“I have been trying to change the people’s mindset for a long time, but the locals, maybe because they have had an easy life, would never go the extra mile to succeed in their direct-selling business,” said my friend.

Now back to patriotism. I believe some rules are not to be followed rigidly.
I am thinking of the family of five which recently dined at an eatery which prohibited guests to bring in outside food.

Four members of the family had ordered food from the restaurant but an elderly member of the family could only eat home-cooked meals, so when the family took out the food container for the senior citizen, they were allegedly asked to leave the eatery.  The nation is turning 57.  Can’t we exercise some common sense or at least courtesy?

And on a last note, please be kind to animals.

It really reflects badly on the nation if an animal’s welfare is not well taken care of.
The recent incident at a Hong Kong subway where a mongrel was killed when a train rammed into it has put the city in a very bad light.

The train commuters and staff of the subway were aware that there was a mongrel that had strayed onto the tracks but no one did anything to save the poor dog.

Our actions reflect our upbringing, our education and our beloved country will be judged by the world at large, now especially in the age of the Internet.

Happy Merdeka, folks!

Summer Vacation

By Chuah Bee Kim

DESARU: Forty-four Korean children, aged 10 to 15, who were accompanied by English language teachers from the United States, recently stayed at the Lotus Desaru Beach Resort here during their school vacation.

The one-month stay at the resort was organised by Gabriel Recruitment Agency (GRA) and sponsored by three Korea-based companies — Gwangju Bank, Chonbuk Bank and MBC Media — where the children’s parents were employed.

Event coordinator Kim Ji Sun, 34, said the programme helped the children to improve their command of the English language and expose them to the Malaysian culture.

“In Korea, the parents push their chidlren to study hard. We organise such events during the summer or winter breaks as we want the children to have fun while learning,” said Kim.

He described Malaysians as a friendly lot, and the group had enjoyed their stay at the resort.

“We are making plans to organise another outing to Malaysia again in January next year,” he said, adding that similar trips had been organised to the Philippines and Australia in previous years.

Kim’s colleague, Daniel Shim, 34, also a Korean, chipped in to say that the children were fascinated with Malaysia’s diverse multi-racial culture.

“The children were curious about the locals here who were made up of Malays, Chinese and Indians and enjoyed trying out new food.

“To round it up, I would say the children had a perfect holiday in Desaru,” said Shim.

GRA also organises English camps and robotics camps for children and university students. 

Khalid did it by the book

sourced from NST online

WHAT transpired at Istana Bukit Kayangan yesterday was in contrast to the dramatic way PKR attempted to oust Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim from the menteri besar’s post.

Maintaining decorum, the rule of law and even good manners was how it was in the Selangor palace when Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah consented to give an audience to Khalid for the latter to present the facts of the state leadership crisis and his resignation as menteri besar.

There was no spectacular dissolution of the state legislative assembly to pave the way for a snap election, nor was there an abrupt sacking of Khalid. The sultan, instead, wanted everyone to follow the law and established conventions to settle the crisis.

Sultan Sharafuddin had decreed that since the loose coalition of PKR, DAP and Pas claimed that they had the majority in the state assembly, they should nominate a new menteri besar and Khalid concurred by tendering his resignation, each of the three parties should observe the established convention of presenting to the palace at least three names from among Pakatan assemblymen for the post.

The sultan had also insisted for the state not to go rudderless and told Khalid to remain at his post until his successor had been chosen from among those to be proposed by Pakatan.

Typical of Khalid, he followed procedures and, being a loyal subject of the sultan, agreed to stay in office until his replacement had been chosen.

There was no throwing of tantrums, nor angry threats as compared with what went on during the weekend at the PKR congress in Shah Alam when the party’s Wanita chief, Zuraida Kamaruddin, described any attempt to dissolve the state legislative assembly as “nonsense and against the Constitution”.

Even newly minted party vice-president Rafizi Ramli warned Khalid not to advise the sultan to dissolve the assembly at the risk of “losing the last shred of decency left in him”.

As Khalid told the packed press conference after his audience with the sultan, he presented the facts of the crisis to the ruler and then submitted himself to the monarch’s discretion. Nothing more, nothing less.

Nonetheless, underneath the layers of subtleties of the sultan’s decree and Khalid’s proper response, there was a clear hint that PKR, in its haste to replace Khalid with its president, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, had not observed the proper protocol in a matter of such importance.

This was especially so when PKR and its allies made it clear to the palace that it had to accept no one else other than Dr Wan Azizah for the menteri besar post when they sent a letter to that effect to Sultan Sharafuddin on Aug 15.

Among the less subtle observers, the move could even be deemed as an attempt by Pakatan to force the sultan to abide by its wishes on the matter.

It was as if everything had to be done in a confrontational manner and in bad faith to settle the impasse.

The ball is now in Pakatan’s court and it will be for the coalition to choose whether it wants to continue playing hardball or toe the line of laws and conventions as decreed by the sultan.

It should be noted that Sultan Sharafuddin’s insistence on Pakatan observing the convention of presenting at least three candidates for the menteri besar’s post could also mean that the ruler intends for all sides in the dispute to revert to Selangor’s unwritten traditions in choosing the state’s chief executive.

It should also be noted that tradition also points to another interesting fact — Khalid and most former menteris besar were chosen from among assemblymen who hailed from the Selangor Malay heartland, in particular Kuala Selangor.

It is the same convention observed to a large extent in the selection of Johor menteris besar, who have mostly come from the state’s Malay heartland of Muar.

If PKR and its allies are to follow that tradition, they should, therefore, name at least one person from that area as those previously mentioned — Dr Wan Azizah and her party deputy Azmin Ali — are not Selangor-born.Perhaps one name that should be considered is that of Dr Idris Ahmad, PKR’s Ijok assemblyman, who is said to be well-liked by the sultan.

The tussle over the Selangor menteri besar post is still open to any conclusion as of now, except that the sultan had made it clear that it must be reached without all the mess which had earlier caused much discomfort among the people of Selangor ever since the so-called “Kajang Move” was initiated by PKR to oust Khalid.