Treat Strays With Kindness

 THOUSANDS of homeless dogs in Johor have been culled in a most inhumane way.  Hopefully, this will come to an end.

  A recent videotape of seven dogs being bludgeoned to death by dog catchers with what was seen to be iron stick, surfaced in the social networking site, Facebook.  The taping garnered an outcry from dog lovers nation-wide.

  Malaysian Independent Animal Rescue founder and president T. Puspa Rani flew to Johor Baru to lodge a report against the Johor Baru Municipal Council (MPJBT).  She was joined by three other non-governmental organisations concerned with animal welfare, and some 15 people who lodged invidual reports.

  This is believed to be unprecedented.
 
  There were previous cases of dog culling and abuse, but the number that responded to condemn the act was not like this.

  Also unprecedented was the fact that MPJBT readily admitted to the wrongdoing.  Kudos to the young man who took the trouble to tail the MPJBT lorry and record the gruesome incident. 

  All it took was one act, one individual.

  After it was seen and shared via Facebook, and the numbers made the difference.  Now, we just need to be persistent.  Keep at it.  To stop the cruelty, and any future acts of cruelty.

  Puspa also talked to representatives of the Department of Veterinary Services who was also at the Skudai police station and to her shock, found out that the MPJBT actually does not have a certified veterinarian to terminate the lives of the dogs.

  According to her, no dogcatchers are allowed to kill.  This is like murder of the innocence whose crime is only to be born a stray.

  There is something even more shocking.  Companion Animal Rescue Effort Society (CARES) founder Joseph Chia recently told me that he had received numerous complaints of pet dogs that have gone missing from homes. 

  Chia said that although the dog catchers have the right to enter a locked compound to snatch the dogs, it should not be done without any prior warning to the owner.

  "Even if there were complaints, the dog catchers should be merciful and let the owners have some time to do something about it as these are not strays," he said.

  However, not much can be done there because the pet owners were too scared to lodge a police report. 

   If we keep quiet, no one will know what is going on.  I know there are people who are insensitive to all these.  People who do not like dogs, for instance, would consider homeless dogs as just "biological trash".

  "They have no homes, and they can't be on the streets.  So what else can be done except to kill them?"  There are people who will never comprehend why there will be a public outcry when strays are slain. 

  But every life is precious, and ought to be treated with utmost respect.  And do not forget, the numbers can make a difference.  Persistence can make a difference.  Whatever it is, do not give up even when the situation seems hopeless.

Pray

We need to move beyond talking and preaching and start PRAYING.

Pray consistently.  Pray persistently.  Pray for the salvation of others.  Pray for clarity and wisdom.  Pray for the strength to face whatever challenges you are facing.

I was in church today.  I'm not a Christian, but I think the most important thing to do NOW is to pray. 

I really enjoyed the sermon.  The pastor talked about God opening doors for us, but our pride, behavior and attitude may have closed the door, denying ourselves the privileges and blessings. 

I enjoyed the joke which the pastor shared about the two parrots where one was trained to say "Let's Pray".  Yes, the parrot can only utter "Let's Pray", while another parrot had only been trained to say "Let's Get Married".  One day the owners of these two parrots decided to get their pets together so that they can learn from one another.

When the meeting eventually took place, one parrot uttered "Let's Get Married" and the other promptly replied: "Prayers answered."

There was another joke he shared which I found was pretty funny too, but I shall leave that for another day.

Nothing was mentioned at all about the flight MH370 but as we all closed our eyes to pray, I'm sure many of us were sending prayers to the victims and loved ones of the passengers and crew.

When I read NST online today, I also came across this report where our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had called on Malaysians to continue offering prayers and motivational support for families of passengers on board the missing Beijing-bound MH370 flight.  The report was by Adib Povera.


I also read this  Prayers for MH370 on http://bigcatrambleon.blogspot.com/  She said it so well here.

 I've always been interested in faith and prayer.  I don't really pray or chant consistently.  I get lazy and also "hilang semangat" at times.  But I do believe in the power of prayers.  And it is essential to know what we are praying for.

Happy Valentine's Day

A Hello Kitty bouquet. Pic by Nur Aisyah Mazalan

LOVE ...

there's so many ways to express it.

Don't waste this day (or any other day) by not expressing your love, gratitude and appreciation for that special someone

Those who don't have a "special someone" can still celebrate friendship,  kosen-rufu (world peace through individual effort) or self-love.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

and also have a merry CHAP GOH MEH celebration!!!  Peace....!!!

Valentine's Day and Chap Goh Meh

Let me introduce to you Valentina Kim, a lovely lass who was born on Valentine's Day.

The 27-year-old runs Kim's Florist and Floral Supplies, established in 1981, at Jalan Sungai Chat in Johor Bahru. 

Valentina Kim (centre) with me and Norbaiti Phaharoradzi

At Kim's Florist, luscious red roses are the best-sellers for Valentine's Day.  A bouquet with 101 roses, where a single white rose is found among 100 red ones, translates to "You're my one and only."
By the way, a bouquet like that costs RM950.

This year's "Chap Goh Meh", which is the 15th day of the Chinese New Year celebration, also falls on Feb 14.  Some have dubbed the last day of the CNY as the Chinese version of Valentine's Day.

In the old days, Chinese girls are not allowed to go out on their own.  But on "Chap Goh Meh", they get to go for a stroll, albeit chaperoned, in the hope of finding love.  Single ladies also get to throw Mandarin oranges into the river for single men to pick up.  This tradition is still practiced today among the Chinese community.

Come Friday, I, too, will celebrate this day but I pretty much doubt there'll be roses or Mandarin oranges.  It'll be a quiet day with

My Valentine

Much To Be Thankful For

Gray and Baby.

There's much to be thankful for today.  Let me start by telling you about  Gray, a five-year-old German Shepherd, and 10-month-old Baby, a cross between a Beagle and a Cocker Spaniel or a Duschand, I'm not so sure.

No one wanted Baby so my big-hearted aunty took her in.  She is part of the family now.  Both Gray and Baby get along fine.

While Shella's busy in the kitchen helping my aunt prepare lunch, I was playing with the dogs in the living room.  Really thankful for this moment.

Finally, lunch is ready.  Can't play no more.  My aunt has given me the recipes for "chicken rendang" and "sambal".  Thank you for that and the hearty meal with my aunt and uncle.  I am definitely going to try to make the sambal when I get home.  Shella can handle the chicken rendang.

My aunt also shared with me a sad story about my other aunt, who is her sister.  My other aunt is a widow.  She is suffering from dementia and is living alone. Let us all do all the good that we can now, and pray that we do not end up in such a sad state.

I have yet to say what I am most thankful for today.  While I was on my way to my aunt's house, the wheel of a black four-wheel drive in front of my car suddenly came off.  I saw smoke coming out of the tyre and the driver lost control of the vehicle just a little bit before coming to an abrupt stop.

I was very calm at the time, and the car following behind also managed to stop in time. That's why Never Never Never tailgate another car.

Drive safe everyone, stay positive and do all the good that you can. 

What is True Happiness?

At times we need to ardently indulge in stillness and silence.  That is the only time we can hear what our inner voice is telling us.
 
I posted this article before in another blog.  It is so profound that I am posting it again here.  It is sourced from the Metta Lodge Johor Bahru facebook page.  It was a talk given by Bro Punna.

In our culture it is easy to confuse pleasure with happiness.

Pleasure is derived from things like a fine meal, sex, live theatre, a vacation, or a new car. The advertising industry, in fact our entire economy, is devoted to stoking our desire for new pleasures. While these things are enjoyable, and should be enjoyed, they are not the same as happiness. If we are not truly happy and we look to sensual pleasures for fulfillment, we will never find that spiritual completeness for which every human naturally longs. The desire for physical objects or external experiences will never be extinguished. When we finally acquire something we have been striving for, we will experience a temporary satisfaction, but we will soon want something more. Even when we get what we want, there is always the fear of losing what we have.

We love praise, success, pleasure and fame and hate their opposites. But when we are holding onto a stick there is always a danger of grasping the wrong end. As they say, the main cause of divorce is marriage. Think of all the dualities: health-sickness, life-death, young-old, rich-poor etc.

True happiness is uncaused and is not dependent on external objects or experiences.

You are happy for no reason at all. Happiness is our natural state. Only our attachments and burdens draw us away from our most natural state of being.

To acquire happiness you don't have to do anything, because happiness cannot be acquired. Does anybody know why? Because we have it already. How can you acquire what you already have? Then why don't you experience it? Because you've got to drop something. You've got to drop illusions. You don't have to add anything in order to be happy; you've got to drop something. Life is easy, life is delightful. It's only hard on your illusions, your ambitions, your greed, your cravings.

- Bro Punna -

Happy Bee

I love this song.  It's so soothing and calming.  The voice, the lyrics, the melody... I'm deeply captivated by it.

The Chocolate Factory

Today I got to indulge in chocolates of various shapes and flavours.

It is said that eating a chocolate heightens desires, enhances moods and makes one calmer. Coupled by the fact that it was raining today,  it couldn't have been a more perfect day.  I love the rain, especially when I am indoors.

I can imagine Willy Wonka walking around the new Ringgit Malaysia 55 million industrial chocolate facility of  Guan Chong Berhad (GCB) located at PLOT D32, Jalan DPB/b, Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Gelang Patah,

The new facility with state-of-art machinery from Switzerland and Germany can churn out 10,000 metric tones in its first phase, but will eventually produce 50,000 metric tonnes in the future. GCB, established in 1990, is currently the 4th largest cocoa processors in the world, with total annual grinding capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year.

According to the Malaysian Cocoa Board, Malaysia has a cocoa grinding capacity of 300,000 tonnes annually.  Of this, about 85 per cent of the grinding capacity is based in Johor. 

Johor is expected to produce 360,000 tonnes of industrial chocolates annually by the year 2020 to generate RM4 billion in revenue for Malaysia.

I Hate Goodbyes

Captivated by this altar in Mary's house, I can't help asking the question: "Why must things change when they're already going so well?"

There was a time when I'd skip off to work.  When a friend heard this, she found it hard to believe.  She said no one actually likes their work.   

For me, it was not like that at all. Once upon a time.

But I know all things happen for a reason, and setbacks are not there to discourage you, but to show you what you're capable of.

You meet new people, form new friendships.  Lynn Mazlina A. Majid and Taufik Salimin from a Malay daily were two new friends I made over the last year.  Lynn came to JB a year and a half ago.  She still remembered the day we first met.  It was at a Press conference at the Persada Johor International Convention Centre.  She came in and introduced herself.  At that time, I did not know she was the new "ketua biro of Kosmo".

(from left) Shella, Lynn, Mary, Me, Taufik

with Mary's Mom and sis, Anne, and that's Ibrahim Isa on the far right.

The little elf

Mary's Mom is a great cook.  For the gathering, she churned out fried mee, nuggets and wedges.  And Aunty also made rasem, which is one of my favourite soups.  I drank it from a glass like it was a hot beverage.  It was very soothing to the throat.

Meanwhile, Lynn's farewell speech went something like this.
  
"What I was most afraid of is saying goodbye... But ya....life moves so fast. Many thanks for being my friend,  not just when it was convenient, but at all times. Truthfully, there's nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship. Again, many thanks for being present in my life, all the time... all the way. Thank you also for giving me beautiful memories that I'm going to cherish for a life time. I'm blessed to have friends like all of you.

And remember... Don't let anyone steal your joy. We'll see each other again..."

People come into your life for a reason. Cherish the friendships that you have now.  Every moment is a gift.

That's life... we are all here for a little while, and then we're whisk off to somewhere else to start anew. 

The Vow of Kai and Mika

"...that all we can ask is that we leave it having loved, and being loved." 

from the novelization of "47 Ronin" by Joan D Vinge

I love the epic 47 Ronin.  It was sheer visual splendour.  I've always been fascinated with stories that have shape shifters, sorcerers and witches. The CGI effects was done just right, not over-the-top.

I don't totally disagree when people say Keanu Reeves's acting is "wooden", or that he and Kou Shibasaki who played his love interest in the movie, lacks chemistry.

In spite of that, I still enjoyed the film that depicts courage, loyalty and honour.  Such qualities are indeed rare.

The tale is about a band of samurai warriors who lost their master, and became a ronin.  They vowed to avenge their master's death, even if it meant they would eventually have to die to achieve this. To garner such steadfast loyalty, Lord Asano must have been a leader who had earned the respect of his men.

But what stirred me even more was the vow made by Kai (played by Keanu Reeves) and Mika (Kou Shibasaki).

Kai said: "I will search for you through a thousand worlds, and 10,000 lifetimes until I find you."

"And I will wait for you in all of them..." was Mika's reply.

It may be mushy, but that scene just melts my heart.  What if.... they do come back, and in all the lifetimes, they came back in different forms with multiple character flaws?  For instance, Kai came back as handsome as his former self but he isn't the gallant warrior anymore.  He's a selfish bloke with pent-up angst and anger.  And he doesn't treat women with much respect.

And Mika was reincarnated not as her former virtuous nor ravishing self, but someone with tonnes of negative traits.  But because of the vow, they meet again.  Will true love prevail and stand the test of time?

I would love to think YES.  True love will conquer all, no?

Stay & Play at Le Grandeur

An advertorial that appeared in the New Straits Times on Dec 18, 2013.

The Allamanda Course 

JOHOR is set to draw the tourist dollar from golfers next year as the nation welcomes tourists during Visit Malaysia Year 2014. One operator who is ready for the influx of visitors is Le Grandeur Palm Resort Golf & Country Club  in Senai, which expects a 10 to 20 per cent increase in bookings for its stay and play promotion

Its chief executive officer, George Loong said, the promotion attracted 338 bookings this year. Loong said the promotion had been well-received since its introduction several years ago. The weekend rate for an overnight stay in a deluxe room, which includes breakfast and one round of 18-hole golf, is RM440 (single) and RM640 (double), while the weekday rate is RM340 (single) and RM450 (double).

The resort recently launched another promotion called the "Break, Brick and Fun". For RM450+, guests can experience a two-day one-night stay in a deluxe room. The package comes with breakfast for two persons and Legoland entrance tickers for two adults, with a 20 per cent discount on food and beverages spent at the park in Nusajaya. The park is the first Legoland theme park in Asia. The entrance ticket to Legoland is RM110 nett per child (foreigner) and RM80 nett per child (Malaysian).

Guests can enjoy a 15 per cent discount when they visit Le Spa to rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit. There are foot baths, body, neck and shoulder massages as well as facials using natural ingredients and pure essences.

Guests with children can ask for an extra bed at RM70 nett with breakfast thrown in. However, there must be a maximum of two children in the room. The promotion runs from Jan 1 to June 30. The resort also has a new attraction, the "Nerf Gun Battle Zone", believed to be the first of its kind in Johor.

Loong said the new attraction was ideal for corporate team building and children as it provided an avenue for a battle of wits and energy.

"Remember those days when Nerf blasters were just toy guns and nothing more?

"Times have changed and toys have become more sophisticated as playing them requires strategy. Nerf guns are the craze now. The game is played with safety vests and masks, appealing to cubicle warriors and children," Loong said.

Players are required to position themselves at stragegic areas, set up ambushes and shoot out with enemies. The goal is to reach and possess the red flag without being shot.

The Melati Suite

Comprising a 330-room facility on one side and the Palm Resort Golf & Country Club on the other, the 324ha resort has so much to offer. The Indonesian-based brand aspires to provide luxurious accommodation with all rooms and suites having views of either the golf course, swimming pool or lush tropical gardens. Guests can also visit Hello Kitty Town and the Little Big Club (featuring Barney, Thomas & Friends, Pingu the Penguin) and shop at Johor Premium Outlets.

Thank You For This Blessed Life

I lighted an apple-scented green candle today and prayed.  The reason I chose green was because the colour symbolises life, well-being, balance, among other things.

I've been out of action for the past three days due to flu.  However, today's an eventful Sunday.

Aeon Bukit Indah in Johor Baru was crowded with shoppers scouting for  Christmas gifts.  One can just feel the Christmas cheer all around.  I, too, indulged myself in buying gifts as a way of saying "thank you" for a blessed life filled with caring friends and good health.

Health --- that is so important for one to have a quality life.  Please don't let the stress get to you.  I know it's not easy.  Definitely not easy --- with deadlines to meet, responsibilities, inner demons, personality clashes, blah blah blah. But it can be done.

The Buddha says: 'If a person foolishly does me wrong, I will return to him the protection of my boundless love. The more evil that comes from him the more good will go from me. I will always give off only the fragrance of goodness."

I have my share of challenges and people who dislike me.  But then, don't we all?   It's a natural learning process.  Part and parcel of life.  

shake belly sashimi (left) and hotate sashimi

Anyway, while shopping, I suddenly craved for sashimi, so I strolled into the Kinsahi Japanese Restaurant.  The shake belly sashimi dipped with wasabi and soy sauce was pure pleasure for the taste bud.  Hmm... simply divine.

The meal came with a pot of ocha (Japanese green tea) which is said to have numerous health benefits.

The mind is the source of happiness and unhapiness.   Choose well.

Rice with durian, and love with no regrets

Durian with Rice

Enjoy an instant meal of succulent durian with rice.

Put less than a teaspoon of sugar and salt each, depending on how salty or sweet you want the rice to be.  Then pour water into the rice, and you're ready to tuck into a yummilicious meal.  Easy, right?

Opening the durian, however, is another story.

I think I'm having delayed onset muscle soreness after my trip to Gunung Pulai yesterday. Going to see the doctor afterwards. My throat is also a little sore.  However, I'm still looking forward to my next adventure.  Life is to be indulged.

A friend of mine, who used to be a big fan of LOVE, said true love only exists in fairytales.  She said: "Sorry to burst your bubble but that is the way it is."

She may NOT be wrong,  but I also believe that all experiences serve to  leave an imprint, some more than others, and all such experiences are to be enjoyed and cherished without any regret.