Slumber Fun - Friend For Life !

When you have 12 loud, precocious and smart children in a camp, what do you get? You've guessed it ~ One big noise and one great loud & happy family , of course. This is the scenario for RR Ranger Kids Slumber Night 2009 which was held in Everly Resort, Melaka. Together with helpers comprising of bigger boys, girls, commanders and adults, this made the camp a real success. As always, God is the centre and the very cause of our success. I give all glory and thanks to HIM. I am so very thankful for my fellow commanders namely Errol, Jessica, Steven and SLing for bringing a lot of order in the house while upcoming leaders like Bryan, Stefanie, Ivy, Stephen Raj, Daniel, John, JWee, SYuen, Josephine, Jocelyn including helpers, Matthew and Eunice had brought so much cheer to my heart in terms of leadership and running a successful camp.
I am absolutely delighted with the turn-out of the camp which comprised camp "veterans" like Merrick, Luke, Ashley while the rest comprised of Claudia, Donovan, Debbie, Ethan, Andrea, Jonathan, Dave, Caleb and Joshua. They are a real bundle of fun and that can really melt your heart with their antics and smart quips. For me, I personally felt very happy to be able to share this wonderful day with the children who not only made me realised how important it is to be a friend to them, play with them and know their simple ways. One thing is for sure, they eat a lot as though they have a bottomless pit in their stomachs! They are honest, speak freely [ they say I snore very loudly and I explained that as they have spoken so loud during the day -from morning to afternoon, it was my time to "speak" at night!!! ] and a real bundle of fun [ especially during the night games when I get to compete with my buddy, Caleb! We had a barrel of fun together! I lost to him in a few rounds of games as he was much quicker than I was! ] during games. Yeah, they can be cry-babies at times but they are really quite "steady" without their parents around, actually. One word of caution though - don't feed them too much sugar after 8.00pm! They are a bundle of energy and they'll run you crazy! I witnessed what friendship is all about between the children- the sharing of food, the caring when someone is injured or even in general times. The friendship bond and learning is fantastic!~

The food was also superb especially the lunch spaghetti [ wonderfully prepared by Comdr. Jessica & Comdr. Errol ] and steamboat dinner with lots of fish ball, meatballs, crab sticks and load of other goodies. Then, there is this muffin making session by J/C Ivy Wong and she was fantastic in teaching the children on how to bake great chocolate muffins which they enjoyed very much. [ Thanks, Ivy! More sugar in their blood stream and bundles of energy to "torture" us ! Ha....ha.... ] As for supper, we were all treated to a great treat of doughnuts compliments from Sis.Annie [ Jonathan's mom ] and a nice cuppa of Milo. That's when the fun starts, actually. As they have pumped up sugar contents running in their tiny veins, they refused to sleep at 11.00pm , talking away in the night and making fun of one another though they refused to be blamed for their high sugar contents antics. In fact, they have blamed my snoring for the reason they have not been having a good sleep! What wonderful children as I pleaded innocence on such matters ! Ha......ha.........

Boy, they actually "gang-up " in the morning and told me in no unspecific terms that I have been their cause of not being able to sleep well. Then I braved myself and told them, well, at least, they can now go back to their home , "torture" their parents and sleep well! Ha.....ha..........The other thing, they gave Steven a hard time when he was sharing the Word! The experience was so traumatic for him that he has promised not to put himself in front of these little terrors in the near future!

Yunno, deep down in my heart, I really love these children. I guess, they are so special to me. Their innocence and simple ways just knocks you over. They know the love you share with them and they are no fools either. What I like most is their simple love for God. That is what that makes them so special and dear to my heart while this is the camp specially designed for them to enjoy and to have fun. As a leader, I am so blessed with my fellow leaders who share this vision of love for the children we nurture week after week in our Royal Rangers class. I am thankful to God that we now have a group of upcoming young leaders who are learning and catching up on our ways of sharing our lives for these children. They - the young leaders are the future of this ministry and God's love in years to come. I am so proud of them as they now know the ways to organise a children's camp with little supervision and their hearts ~ wonderfully primed in servanthood! That makes me very happy indeed especially their caring for the children. In fact, the Camp Commander of this camp is Stephen Raj and his team of young leaders. For me and my commanders, we took care of the necessities like food and accommodation while the program was entirely run by these leaders. They did very well and I am so proud of them. To me , this is leadership in transition. We cannot be holding on to our positions for life and not allow other leaders to grow in His Kingdom. I am all out for this smooth leadership transition as young people with fresh new ideas would be an added advantage to God's ministry like ours. As for the older leaders, they would continue to be mentors and bringing up more leaders to serve in this ministry bringing this ministry to greater heights.

Me? I am just another servant in His Kingdom and I will continue to serve as long as I am needed in the ministry - positions, accolades or even praises don't matter to me. I am only here to serve my Father in heaven and I am thankful that I have been able to do so.

What a camp and I am truly blessed with these young ones lives!~They have taught me a lesson on what friendship is all about! Blessed you, children!

The yummy looking doughnuts which sent the young children to go wild and ballistics at night!

Mobile Freeze..

Today, my mobile phone suffered a "brain freeze" or commonly known as "hang" since morning and apparently, I didn't know about it. I was busy at my work that I had failed to notice this. Though it was extremely quiet since morning, I just thought that maybe for once, just for once, nobody wanted to talk to me. By mid-day, I just pulled out my phone out of curiosity as I was having a hard meeting in Pagoh since morning. To my utter horror, I had missed 34 calls [ comprises of 10 people ] , 17 sms and 5 voice messages! Ah! Life was much easier then without the handphone, right? Well, with modern conveniences, this is what happens! I must say that I didn't get any extra ordinary super duper "canggih" handphone because I don't believe in getting a new unit, actually. I personally think it's a waste of money which could be put in better use. Anyway, for the benefit of those who do not know, the handphone was a gift from SLing, JWee and SYuen. They thought my "old phone" was pathetic and so, they got a new one some few months back! Thank you, dearies! Honestly, I still kinda like my old Nokia 3310! It's hardly, it's reliable and it's tough,man. You see, when on the field , I used to drop my phone a lot and so, most of the time new phones don't last. The Nokia 3310 may drop, disintergrate to a few pieces but when you put it back together, you still get a ring tone loud and clear! Sheez! Don't throw bricks at me - I am moving with time now!
Anyway, it's so weird that the phone is so quiet. Then when I finally got it back to work - I started getting a lot of calls from friends and family. Some of my "goodest" friends thought I had been kidnapped while many contacted my wife and complained that they could not reach me to get on my comments whether am I running for the DPM [ Definitely People's Monkey ] in my office as the present one has been promoted to PM [ You've guessed it ! ] and asked if everything was okay. Yeah!Yeah! Everything is under control! I am NOT on Ah Long list nor am I involved with any China/Mongolian/Uzbeks/Kazaks nationals beauties nor am I a 4D bookie! For crying out loud, it was just for a few hours ~ I confirmed I am NOT dead , very much alive, don't owe any credit cards companies nor lose any money at the casino in Genting! BTW, many many thanks for the care and concern. I really appreciate it! At least, I know I have made a small impact on some lives. That's a real comfort indeed. I may not have saved many lives in the basket but at least, some lives still remembers me. By todays' standard that caring level is quite encouraging. Thanks again for caring! It's been a long and hard day but the peace & quiet has quite worth it, at least for a day! By tomorrow, it's back to the abatoir and the madness continues !~

Ah! Half a day rest...

Today, I took half a day off from work as I felt unwell. My body was burning up a fever and I knew I had to pop in some medicine and get a good rest. This I did without hesitation as I know my body well enough that if I didn't get the rest needed , I would be delirious soon. I would probably be calling out some names [ oops! hopefully I didn't do this - must be some horrific names-lar! ] or even making some really funny snoring sounds! Anyway,before hitting home, I had managed to get some work done and this was important to me. Work has been delayed and piled up because of an unprecedented case which takes priority. So, just have to grit the teeth and move on.
Anyway, after popping the medicine from the fridge, somehow Spongebob doesn't look square to me while Patrick looked kinda round. Oh!Oh!It was time to sleep and rest before Spongebob turns white! Anyway, I had some forty winks on the couch and somehow, I managed to rest. This is some simple pleasures that I have not had for quite some time. It was always rush rush and work. So when simple pleasures like sleep is available, you tend to try to get max out of it.

In the evening after picking up JW for tuition, I stopped by a shop to get some music disc. After some time, I got " You're The Inspiration- The Music of David Foster & Friends" plus the "Ultimate Collection of Luciano Pavarotti." As always, I looked into the songs before I get the CDs. I kind like David Foster music which was mostly sentimental and meaningful. Yeah! Most of the songs were kinda way back but I like the music a lot. You know, some how "The Prayer" sung by Andrea Bocelli and Katherine McPhee sounded real good to my ears though many singers had sung this popular song in so many different ways. " Bridge Over Trouble Water" by Josh Groban and Brian McKnight was also another delightful musical arrangements and vocals. I guess, the one that impressed me the most was Whitney Houston's songs " I Have Nothing" and "I Will Always Love You" sung by Charice Pempengco [ on the right ] , a petite Filipino young lady who did a duet with Celine Dion [ received a raving review! ] and a host of other singers billed as the new raw talent singing sensation. Charice has a great voice and power pack vocals. A few clicks here and there brought some interesting things about this petite girl. Anyway, she reminded me very much of our own Sheila Majid, man! A touch of class of their own in terms of powerful vocals. Honestly, I still like our own Sheila Majid better. Like her vocals and like her oozing class,man! As for Pavarotti disc, didn't have the chance to hear it yet. Will probably hear it tomorrow when the cloud clears a little while I get a little better in health. It's an acquired taste of music, so I am told! Like classical music too,actually. They are serene and ........so........... dramatic at times!
Yeah! I've had had a rest that I needed though I really just wish I could get a little more so that I can really enjoy the rest. Well, fat hopes while I'll be back for work tomorrow. Back to the crunchers and reality of work!~ I really despise it at times but that's work that will enable me to put food on the table for the family. It hurts but that's reality. Welcome to the real world!~

The Underdog...

This morning before leaving for work, I had to drop my son, Joa Wee for his karate competition in Ayer Keroh, Melaka. Prior to this , earlier in the week, I had signed the parent's consent form for him to compete in the competition. BTW, he just started his karate lessons and I had encouraged him as I was all for some form of self-defence skills. Actually, I was quite surprised that his karate master had enrolled him in the competition so early in his training. I was informed that JW's karate master had confidence in him. Honestly, before signing the form , I had asked JW if he was ready for this. Being eager is one thing, getting your body battered in the kumite competition is no joke. You could be seriously hurt if you don't get it right or have the correct skills for it. JW simply replied that he has been training hard and that he was ready for it. He told me that he needs to be faster and able to fend of the kicks as he shared to me the technicalities of karate. I just listened to him and though deep down in me, from experience, I know that he would be really the underdog in the competition if he competes. But yunno, I like his 'underdog' tag and his pure brawns. Sure, why not? Afterall, he's my son and I should trust him , right? So, I agreed to it but I told him to get in shape & train hard. I then left him to fend for himself and I must honestly say that though I was busy at work, I make it a point to see his progress in secrecy. When I heard the drop of the dumbell in his room or the sound of some metal sounds, I know he was in training.
Then this morning, before departing, we prayed together at the living room. After prayers, I told him to remain humble at all times and to be a fair competitor. I told him not to hurt anyone lest cheat in his fights and be very level headed. JW promised that he would be and I trust him. The other thing I reminded him was to continual give thanks to God for every fight he goes thru whether he wins or loses. I told him that it doesn't matter if he loses or wins, he needs to be a fair competitor. He then told me that I was a dying breed. We smiled for a while but I had a good time with my son. I also told him that win or lose, I am proud of him. Yunno, I want to do the right thing and instill sportsmanship and integrity as a sportsman. That would make him stand tall even if he loses in the competition. After work at about 2.00pm, I called him and asked him if he needed any support. He just told me that he would be okay and I prayed for him again though in silence.

Then at about 6.00pm, SLing and me went to pick him up. He came into the car excitedly and told us that he won the bronze medals for both his participation. We immediately told him that we are proud of him and his achievement. He told me that he lost to a black belt competitor who eventually became the winner of the competition. He even added that he had to beat multi-colored karate belt participants before reaching the semis. He went on to say that probably his competitors under-estimated him because he was only a white belt holder and thus, the 'underdog' tag. Before I could say anything else, he said, " Yes, dad. I give thanks to God for my every win. I praise God when I went to pick up my medal." Now, that is mighty important for me. Though I would love to celebrate his success but I would rather he give thanks to God and praise Him first before anything else. Today, I am so proud of him for doing that and I told him so. Then, it is back to massaging the left side of his body and his back as he had taken some beating by the eventual winner during their bouts. That's what he told me , though! Anyway, he looked exhausted and went to bed early just now.

Yunno, I thank God that he started as the underdog and triumph not in medals alone but in himself. I am glad that he gives honour to God first and that meant more to me than the medals! That is priceless~

Stepping Up!

I was with a colleague of mine in a workshop late yesterday evening and I saw so many crashed, twisted, wrecked and damaged cars in that workshop. They come in all shapes and sizes while the damages range from slight dent to total wrecks indeed. Yunno, as I looked around, I saw this panel beater patiently and skillfully beat on the crooked, dented and damaged piece of metal scrap. Within the next 15 to 20 minutes, the side fender was all in good shape again. Unsatisfied , he continued to smoother the surface with some fine beating and knocking to ensure that it was really usable. Then, he broke into a small smirk and a smile escape the corner of his mouth. Then, he continued working on the next part of the car and he labored on without a sound or complaint. After all , you may say that he is paid for the job, right? But here was a man who was quite merticulous with work and he was doing it with much care. The welding sparks flew while he pummeled on the hot metal scrap; shaping it into a nice piece of artwork but he didn't bother about the sparks that flew or burnt his skin. All he was interested in was getting his job done.
Before I forget, I am ever so thankful for all of you who had sms , emailed and even left a comment or two over my article on "Speaking Up! " I am not doing it for any self -gain but only to speak afresh what's in my humble heart. I am humbled by your kind words of encouragement and support. I am even more humbled in my heart knowing that each and everyone of you cared for what legalism, arrogance and pride of the human shepherd are harming our very basis of religious foundation. Thank you for that "big" show of support. It beats suffering alone in silence year after year, yunno. I shall not let up in my speaking up for what is right and just. In all humility, I will stand up and not be beaten. If I fall, I will make sure that I rise to my feet and continually stand up even if I am beaten again and again and again. This is my solemn promise!

Coming back to the workshop scenario, as I looked around, sure, I was interested in the panel beater and his work but something else caught me. It is the dented, twisted,crumpled cars around the workshop. Yunno, those damaged cars are like all of us while the workshop is like our church establishment. Rather than being the workshop manager, our Lord work as the lone panel beater ; restoring each and every one of us as we come in battered and weary. Then I realised that instead of joining the panel beater in restoring the hurt, the battered, the sick, the poor, the marginalised, the broken-hearted and the cold, our so-call human shepherds turned into self-elected workshop supervisors and mandors. As there is only one panel beater, many cars don't get repaired and ready for the next battle on the road. I guess, this is actually what is happening in our church today, right? Then , came in a damaged BMW car for repairs. Suddenly, the self-elected supervisor and mandors started to crowd around the BMW car while the panel beater just looked from afar, shaking his head and continued restoring the car he was working on. While everyone fussed around the BMW car, other cars did not get repaired and restored.

Yunno, the best part of this experience was that the real owner of the workshop is the panel beater. He was such a hands-on guy that he was not interested in position or the accolades. All he ever know is to repair and restore cars - no fancy words nor clothes nor money to flash around. So, when he chided his staff for putting so much monkeying on the BMW, they quickly dispersed and started doing their own work at the workshop. I was amazed at the lesson that I am learning from our Heavenly Father.

The other thing is that this is a new workshop with new tools, new machinery and new automation to work on. It is not only big and spacious but there is still room for more damaged cars to be repaired. When I asked the panel beater [ the boss ] about the lack of workers, he told me that he is going to send some of the his workers for field training and employ new graduates from the local instuition to work in his workshop. He is also hopeful that by sending out his workers, they would be more competent in their job and work ethically as the car workshop business had been riddled with corruption, deceit and shoddy workmanship. Sounds familiar? He further added that in their business, there are aplenty of cars to be repaired but skilled workers are too few. That's why he continued that it's his intention to train those new workers and then later on as they are ready, they could help built the business and solicitated more business - well repaired cars and good reputation will bring in the business. He is also practical in saying that sooner or later when these guys are more competent, they would want to open their own business and he welcomes it even though he would need to re-train again and again and again. Does this sound familiar to you?

As I left the workshop, I have learnt my lesson well. I am greatly inspired by the panel beater, the workshop and the damaged cars!~ For those of you who are familiar with this scenario, let's continue our walk with the Lord and do our very best for the Lord. Don't let up in our struggle for righteousness and serving the Lord. I will continue to speak out for what is just and right. I don't want to be battered all the time. I can stand up because the Lord will enable me to stand upright and be accounted for!~ God bless you all.~

Royal Rangers Camporama 2009!

Wow! RR Camporama is back! Get your details soon! Bestest camp in the world, man!

SKY wedding ....

Last Saturday, I attended the wedding dinner of my former colleague, SKYong and his bride, Pui Yee. I have known SKY for about 3 years now and I have good things to say about this person. Somehow, SKY, Teo and myself clicked quite well at work. He is really a hard working, honest and considerate guy. When he first started out in my company, he showed no airs and worked really hard just like anyone else. The fact that he had about 1 1/2 years experience prior to joining our workforce really showed his humbleness and willingness to work. I have very good impression of him and though sometimes during my course of teaching him the finer aspects of our job, I was kinda harsh on him but he took it all in good spirit. Yes, there are times that I could be a real torturer when it comes to work but I only have good intentions in my heart. I have always reminded him that in our work, mistakes/error/misjudgement will land us into a lot of unnecessary trouble or a gruelling & grilling day at the courts. This will then eventually affect our job performance and our take home remunerations. Thank God, he weathered through all the difficulties though he did have a time of disappointment over his take home pay. I believe, we have done what we can for him and I would dare say, the company lost a very good man who was very competent at his work. Seriously, I sorely miss this young chap who has a lot of potential in him and I just wish that we could do more for him.
Anyway, his wedding dinner was the usual stuff of 8 course dinner. BTW, he looked good in his suit and so did his charming & ever smiling bride, Pui Yee! At the dinner, I also met up with MC , a pretty young girl who had grown up to be a pretty woman together with her fiancee, Eric. I was really glad to have met them and it gives me a lot of joy knowing that MC & Eric are doing ok together. That night, my colleagues and I had a great time of merry -making while enjoying the food. Like all Chinese wedding dinners, there would be plenty of singing from the diners. One oldie crooned some old Hokkien songs and I find it really extremely excruciating to hear him sing!! For once, I wanted to get a bottle of water/chair and throw it at him as every one was sorta closing their ears to soften the impact of the screeching voice! BTW, he did not take the hints and continued singing another song and felt as though the microphone belonged to him that nite! Well, all "good" things must come to an end and eventually, SKY brothers took over while we continued our merry making! We had a good time, sharing laughter and drinks. Most important of all, we celebrated the very significant day and wedding of a good friend of ours.

So, to SKY & Pui Yee, all the best to your future undertakings, manufacture some good healthy babies and have a good & great life together!~

Friend like Roger...

In my life so far, somehow, God has blessed me with good friends. There are some who are funny, caring , tolerant and even kind hearted while there are some who are simply joyful, humorous and so much fun to be with. One such person is Roger Lim. He is one of those friends that you would like to have when you are on a trip, have a food party or when you need info on Haadyai. [ He's the specialist when it comes to Haadyai town, though! ]
To me, personally, Roger is not only thoughtful at times but he is caring and a good-hearted person. I remembered having some good conversations with him during our trips together and the advices he gave me when we were in Redang Island with the cell group members and friends. Though he is greatly misunderstood at times for his aloofness and his short quips, he is really a great guy inside compact in his small stocky frame. To me, he is the only person who would take the trouble to explain to you on certain things and the extension of help when you are in need.

So, to see Roger lying on the hospital bed suffering a mild stroke was indeed a shocker to me. I guess, when SLing and I went to visit him the other day, I have nothing but pain in my heart to see him lying there. Though he could move his right hands, his right leg was quite the opposite. SLing and I reassured him that with the constant physio , he should be okay in a couple of months. I am indeed thankful that he did not suffer the full effect of a stroke. As he explained his situation to me, I can't help feeling useless as I didn't know what to do for him. The only thing I could do was to offer my silent prayers for him to recover soonest.

We tried cheering him up but we know that he would feel kinda down because of his inabilities right now. Afterall, he is a cheerful, happy-go-lucky and fun type. [ BTW, he's the only one who would tell you that it's hot in an air-cond room! ] So, having to lie down on the bed kinda makes him feel awkward. For those who knows him, he is the kinda that won't sit still for a minute and the type that would walk around everywhere in your house. He's that active and the "on-the-go" type. Anyway, SLing and I encouraged him as much as possible and we told him that we still need a good guide to Haadyai and he's the best around. We made him promised to recover fast so that we could travel together to Haadyai and have a good time again. That kinda brought back the colours to his face and he was beaming. At least, that brightens up his whole disposition and I am glad with it.

Yunno, to hear Roger telling us that we need to take care of our food intake was something that is beyond me. The Roger I knew would eat whatever food fare that is laid in front of him. He's not a fussy eater and " semua boleh" kinda eater. I guess, his warning does comes in handy as we grow solemnly old along the years.

So, in your quiet time, please spare a prayer for my good friend , Roger. He needs the support, the prayers and the encouragement from you saints of God. As you pray for his speedy recovery, pray too that he would spread the cheer of good heartedness all around. God bless you for praying for Roger! One up for the shirtless man!~

Some Solace...

My family and I went back to visit our favourite nephew, Ryan and the family in Seremban over the weekend. Once again, we have been blessed by Wei & Jade's hospitality and it is always a joy being able to fellowship with them and also play with our favourite nephew, Ryan.
Well, what can we say except that he has grown up, started talking gibberish [ can't understand a word he says while nodding our heads in agreement! ] and a real joy to our hearts. We even took him out to the playground area in Jusco Seremban and we really had a good time playing with him. He keeps shouting his heart out at everything at the playground and we thought he was happy as the playground was quite noisy with a 50-60 screaming kids and adults alike!!! It was fun being transported back to childhood just for about 40 minutes! Miss the screaming but ear splitting noises!
After that, it is taking him to where ever is possible for him to walk. He kinda like playing with toys and not letting them go. Anyway, he's really adorable and seemed to cry less now. Still stick like glue to his parents, Wei & Jade but still a whole lot of fun to be with. BTW, he is still our early morning alarm clock. The only difference now is that our "alarm clock" knocks on the door to wake us up!! He is really a joy! Ah! To me, hearing his cries, whims and his gibberish talks......hmmmmmmnnnn..... I am in paradise, actually!

Chicken Talk !

The other day, I travelled for about half a day to get to this really 'ulu' place to visit a poultry farm. "To visit" means to work, actually! It is actually a modern poultry farm whereby everything is systematically and electrically controlled to so-call produce good meat chickens. It means the food, water, bulb lights are on and off at specific times to get good fat chickens for the slaughter house! You see, the modern chicken houses were covered with electrically controlled tarpaulin curtains walls to regulate flow of air and so on. So, when electrical supply is suddenly cut off, these curtains would automatically fall ; giving the chicken house the much need insulation of air. In this particular scenario, there was a sudden electrical breakdown and the curtains fell. So, excess sunlight beamed into the chicken house caused a major panic to the chickens. Afterall, they have not been exposed to such bright lights since they started their lives in the chicken house. Obviously, they got pretty uptight, quickly huddled together and soon , a stampede starts with each fighting for some space in the centre. Like all stampede, some just couldn't stand the heat , the suffocation and the anxiety. When this happens, casualties begin to pile up and so, "Amazing Grace" sounded sweet to some of these chickens! There has been some who just have a heart attack and konked off due to this . Like I said, they have been under the blanket of darkness all this while with regulated lightings that they actually forgot what the sun looks like while pecking away at the food when lights are turned on. It's like their Armageddon.

Honestly, I don't know how to react because I do find it rather amusing to know some of the causes of death while pity at the same time because each chicken house could accommodate 20,000 chickens! That's a lot of birds in a chicken house! BTW, there are 8 chicken houses there meaning....there are 160,000 birds living in the houses. Yunno, there is a lesson to be learned here and I shall leave it to you to interpret it yourself. For me, I am ever thankful to God for another good lesson in life. The lesson I learn is don't take life for granted! Live the day in the fullest and never coop yourself in. Open up your life and learn from it!~

What a shame!

I thought long and hard before I wrote this entry of mine. I know that I might cause a stir here and there with what I am going to say but I want to do the right thing - expressing the true feelings I have in my heart. I am distressed and my heart bleeds reading from Constitutional crisis in Perak to the death of car jacker suspect A.Kugan. To be honest, I am more appalled at the death of A.Kugan in police custody than anything else. No offence intended, I really have some good friends in the police force and I want to be respectful to them too but this case is diferent and I cannot 'tahan'-lar. With the availability of the second post mortem on the cause of death of the suspect, A.Kugan, I find it incomprehensible and distressing at the horrific injuries he suffered while in police custody. Mind you, there has been more deaths of suspects while in police custody than from cow farms for the past few years and this is mighty embarrassing for the police force itself. I would like to state here that I am not condoning the suspect's car thefts acts or his criminal activities and so on but I believe he has the right to a fair trial [ BTW, "fair" is only a word nowadays! Hardly being practise practically - ask the politicians in our country ~ they will foam in their mouths,actually! ] in our court of law today. Yes, if he is found guilty then by all means , he should be sentenced/punished for his crimes like the saying goes, " You do the crime, you get the time! " But this death doesn't make sense at all.
I have asked myself countless number of times, " Does a car jacker deserves to die in that manner?" The obvious answer is " NO". In fact, no one deserves to die until a proper trial is held and that too involves heinous crimes. This is an absolute nightmare for the police chaps! This is also not a racial issue either. It doesn't matter if this person is a Chinese, Malay, Indian, Kadazan, Iban , Sikh, Orang Asli or whatever - the fact remains that NO ONE should die while in police custody! That's the fact! Gosh! There is simply no more safe place in our nation today except for the burial plot we have been keeping for our own, I guess. It is really disturbing for me that such brutality takes place right under the noses our so-call upholders of the law of our country.

As I traced the salient points of injuries sustained in the second post mortem report, I can only see men of hatred, vengence and evil intent inflicting such horrendous & horrific injuries to A.Kugan. The injuries inflicted were not only inhumane but virtually on the verge of physchopathic & disturbing animalistic behavioural pattern. There were burnt marks, contusions and hemorrhage noted all over the front and back of the body. It is a real torture and I am gutted to know that such atrocities and barbaric acts are still prevalent today. These men in blue who abuse not only the trust of the society but of the entire nation are a real disgrace & the actual scum of the police force. I have no doubt in my mind that there are some genuine good, honest and hardworking men and women in our Police force. So, let's not crucify the whole lot of them while these abusers/cowards represent a small portion of the police force. Let's get their leaders instead. Afterall, they wouldn't have done it without the consent of their superiors, right? The common saying "monkey see, monkey do" applies here. For far too long now, the lower ranks are often blamed for their officers mistakes, misjudgement or turning a blind eye. Well, today, let's get their superiors to be responsible for their boys action, shall we? Yunno, for those out there in the force who still practises such primitive ways of gathering information and intelligence, I stand today [ I hope I also have the support from all of you! ] and shout out loud & strong to you - COWARDS! Don't hide behind the cloak of law and pretend to be defenders of the law when you are actually abusing it every which way you can!

For me, I want to put up my hands to the Lord and pray that the Lord have mercy on this nation of ours. I pray too that the Lord would heal our corrupt, selfish and chaotic nation. I pray too for justice and order to prevail!~ By God, I want to live and die peacefully in this nation of ours - definitely not looking for an accelerated dying process like A.Kugan!~

Support for World Vision Malaysia !

About 2 weeks ago, the representative from World Vision Malaysia made a short presentation in our church. Though they were slotted right at the end of the service, I am of the considered opinion that they could have more time to present their organisation and believe me, this is a worthy cause to contribute to. Yunno , in many ways, I was impressed with what they are trying to do and with the ads campaign on TV in full swing , it is hard to ignore this organisation. What they are doing are really praiseworthy and a real decent gesture. Yunno, we are so lucky that we have drinking water running through our pipelines while there are many others who don't have this liberty. This is the same too for education and basic neccesities of life like food , blankets, shelter, uniforms and so on. As I go through the World Vision Malaysia website, my heart is tugged at the picture of a child drinking from the loose end pipe! What a sight!
World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Inspired by our Christian values, World Vision is dedicated to working with the world's most vulnerable people. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. World Vision helps the poor to help themselves, working with them to build sustainable futures for their children, families and communities through emergency relief, education, health care, economic development and promotion of justice.
World Vision Malaysia (WVM) began in 1997 as a Support Office with the aim of raising funds for and awareness of needy children and communities overseas. Among them which WVM is supporting are:
Bati, Cambodia
Yongsheng, Xinjiang and Hebei, China
Coimbatore, India
Singkawang , Indonesia
Marjeyoun, Lebanon
Nalaikh, Mongolia
Mya Nanda, Myanmar
Thusalushaka, South Africa
Kuan Niang, Prai Burng, Kapur, and Mae Sariang, Thailand.

BTW, it takes RM 50.00 a month or RM 600.00 a year to help these people out or sponsor a child program. Come on, now! We spend more than RM 50.00 a week, isn't it? So, please, go to the World Vision Malaysia website and do your fair bit for the people out there! Sign up the pledge and help humanity. This is my personal plea to you people out there! It is much much much better and more satisfying than giving to a stingy 'holy' establishment, right? You'll understand what I am saying!~

Overwhelming Tiredness...

I just received a call from a good friend, Rob asking me on why the silence over my blog. I just want to thank this friend for his gentle reminder that the Lord is our strength. It is not that I do not have ideas on what to write but I am simply too tired to even want to start. Day and night I've been staring at the computer monitor at my work place and it does wear you down at the end of the day. This is not inclusive of squeezing & strectching my brains to the maximum on how to write a good & just report and also to rack my brains for the right & balance figures. This is not including the cold stares, foul language and curses that comes along with it. Sometimes, I do feel the brunt and hazards of my work. Geez! At least, I still have a job, right? BTW, it has been a tiresome week with a major fire loss in Melaka town and Pagoh recently. I guess, a lot of time is spent on these sites and they simply wears me down because of the preliminary work load.
Honestly, I am not complaining about my job. That's the nature of my job. Some call it "living on people's misfortune " while some call it " a gold miners' occupation". You can call it whatever way you want but it's still a job. Sometimes, the demands of the job gets to you. You've gotta get things done before you can call it quits for the day. I will put up my hands and say it straight that I am not an ambitious person in the working order hierarchy. Status or position don't matter to me and I don't crave for it unlike a lot of people in our working environment today. [This is not the reason why I am working late,ok? ] At the end of the day, it's the pay packet which I bring home to feed the family is the only thing that matters to me. I would never go to the extent of pulling down my fellow colleagues for some stupid jump in the "dog eat dog" working world we have or for a fistful of dollars. That's not my style. I am more dignified than that. I would prefer to do an honest job and though I may be called a nitwit at the end of the day, I would still be a happy nitwit because I have done my fair share of work. I guess, in many ways, working with integrity, honesty and with a good heart is important. I always try to help out my colleagues in whatever way I can and I am never stingy in giving an idea or helping people out. BTW, my colleagues are a bundle of fun with a mixture of craziness, crankiness and a high level of explosives! Yeah! They too have to put up with my 43 year old tempers! I guess, in many ways, helping my fellow colleagues gives me a fulfilling feeling.

Over the years, I have done my fair share of travelling on the road for work and also to do a lot of preliminary works for various cases that I do. It's tedious and tiring. Nowadays, I am already quite tired by the time I get home. I guess, in this difficult times, having a job right now is far better than anything else. Oh! Yes! Be very prudent with your spendings. Cut back on luxuries and spend only on neccessities. [ BTW, the real financial crunch is coming! Don't let the Gomen fool you into thinking that everything is going alright, rosy and sweet. Be prayerful and watchful, always!]
Today, I am totally tired to my bones. Hopefully, I can recover soonest and get some really good rest. Afterall, 43 isn't really spring chicken, yunno! Cheers!~