Saturday, August 30, 2008

The 51st National Day: Road to Nationhood

It is exactly 9.55pm on August 30th, 2008 when I wrote this entry.

I am back at my hometown in Melaka and was a bit disappointed with my wireless broadband service (heck, its only about an 10kpbs faster than my dial up connection). Then again, that would be a story for another day.

At the brink of Malaysia celebrating her National Day, there are a lot of things which I have been pondering, especially so since the last March 8 General Election. To put it in a nutshell, as a nation, are we really there yet? Was the last general election result really a sign of a maturing society dispensing its right to choose responsibly or was it an act of frustration of our society trying to teach "someone" a lesson but at the same time, maybe jeopardizing the very fabric of our social existance?

There are certainly a lot of pent-up frustration with the present governing coalition (with the main target being the backbone of it :UMNO) if the articles and comments on the blogsphere are to be taken. The people are becoming more vocal in their demands and when there are demands from certain quarters, there are bound to be uneasiness and sometime downright hostility to these demands. We are all for just society where everyone is treated as equals and given equal opportunity to succeed but given the very basis of the founding of our country, we should thread this issue with care. Nobody is promoting discrimination and no one is promoting the slave-master relationship (as being portrayed by the "ketuanan" issue) but unfortunately a lot of us seemed to forget our historical background and how independence came about.

Yes, we need to be progressive and look ahead, but not at the expense of discarding our history.

On this note, Happy Birthday, Malaysia.....

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Something on the horizon ?

There was no question that Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim would win the Permatang Pauh by-election. The only question whether he would win with a margin more than his wife or less.

The question was answered resoundingly when DSAI beat Dato' Arif Shah Omar Shah with a 15,579 majority, which was more than the 13,388 majority garnered by Dato' Seri Wan Azizah during the March 8 General Election.

So, after an absence of 10 years, DSAI is back at the Dewan Rakyat and sits directly across from the Prime Minister as the new Opposition Leader. I am sure there must be a sense of deja vu when DSAI entered the parliament again to to be sworn in and while sitting at his place, it must have striked him that not too long ago he was only one seat away from the coveted position of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

What will be on everyone's mind is that come September 16th, 2008, would he finally be able to take oath as the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia, as he has been telling to all of us ?

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

UiTM di Hatiku Part One

Wujudmu di sini di tanah anak merdeka
Bagai obor ilmu memayungi putera-puterinya
Pelopor hidup budaya bangsa
Agama Negara

OK, that's as much as I can remember on the UiTM song but I had the opportunity to sing in on two occassions : my ADP certificate presentation ceremony during my PPP/ITM days and during the convocation for my MBA (during the commencement for my degree at UW-Madison, I sang The Star Spangled Banner, heheh... hey, please don't question my loyalty to my Malaysia). My attachment to UiTM is also due to my parents whom are both UiTM graduates. Reminicsing back on stories told by parents, it was ITM that gave them the chance to improve themselves and makes them what they are today. If it wasn't for ITM, none of them would graduate with Bachelors and Masters degree from the United States and I would probably be writing this blog in Bahasa Malaysia.

So,when someone suggested opening 10% of UiTM intakes to the non-bumis, you can bet it touches a lot of nerve.

... more will be discussed.

MAHA 08

This is my first year participating in MAHA 08.

Our principal, a manufacturer from Kedah took up the booth offer from the Kedah state government to participate but with this year's event being 12 days in total, they have asked us to man the booth and conduct the sales on their behalf. After all, we are their Selangor/KL state distributor and we believe the exposure at MAHA would help in our marketing effort.

Looking around the hall C, most of the participants are "old hands" at participating in exhibitions as their deco, goods presentation and posters are all glossy and professionally done. Looking at what the manufacturers provided us (four buntings-2 for each flavour, samples and a pot), it will be quite a challange to make the booth decent.

Luckily, my staff Shida and her friends are quite creative and it was fun to watch them doing up the empty booth. Lo and behold, we finally looked like we are here!

Pak Lah spent almost half a day at the exhibition site, which at a total cost of RM240 million, is definitely one huge exposition center. Lets hope that it won't be used only once a year for MAHA.

I met a few fellow participants from programme organized by MARA and Matrade. Some of them have been doing quite well in the export market and it is something I aspire to do.

Since I will be here for another ten days at least, I will keep posting on the happenings.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Let The Games Begin!

It was indeed a spectacular start to one of the greatest sporting event in the world. The Beijing Olympic Games began on 08.08.08 at 8.08pm with probably one of the most elaborate and breathtaking opening ceremony ever. The highlight has to be the lighting of the Olympic torch, where former Chinese gymnast, Li Nang was suspended mid air and depicts the action of a runner while behind him unfurls all the venue of the Olympic Torch Run.

Malaysia is on the hunt for the elusive gold medal.

Who will be our first Olympic Gold Medallist/Millionaire ?