First ever self-produced strip: Earthly Strip! (tag)


This strip is dedicated to Malaysians that have selective reasoning whenever it comes to subsidy.

p/s - whoa! Yahoo! has a new look!

Last October, I brought three paperbacks. Just last week, while I was rollicking, most of the daytime anyway, by the Dungun River, I managed to finished up Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis (tag).



It's really a good comedy - and tragedy - about bond traders. Bonds as in economic debt of course. Despite the economic background of this real life story at Wall Street in the 90s of the 80s, one doesn't need to know economics to appreciate the book and its humor. And it had been a long time since I laughed so hard reading a book.

There are several memorable scenes in it. This is one of them:

One trader remembers that "Lewie would say he thought the market was going up, and buy a hundred million [dollar-worth of] bonds. The market would start to go down. So Lewie would buy two billion more bonds, and of coursse the market would then go up. After he had driven the market up, Lewie would turn to me and say, 'See I told you it was going up'..."

Another one:

"...Actually there was one good reason for using the charts: Everyone else did. If you believed that large sums of money were about to be invested on the basis of a chart, then, as dumb as it made you feel, it made sense to look at that chart; perhaps it would enable you to place your bet first and get in front of the coming wave. Many of our French and English speculators, however, honestly believed the charts contained the secrets of the market. They are aboriginal chartists. They would have used the charts even if no one else did. They communed with their charts as if they were Ouija boards. The charts were speaking to them."

It maybe a typical dry economics humor but it's funny nonetheless.

Regarding the second block quote, it is especially true about people in the stock market nowadays. A broker a couple of months back talked to me about forecasting. I looked at him and said quietly in my mind, trying to be polite, are you for real? Eh, I ended up explaining efficient market theory to him. And he wanted to sell me stocks.

Really, in economics, the best future price, given perfect information, is the price today. All those forecastings are bullshit. The only reason charting works is because laymen actually believe in those charts and then force the market to go the way the forecasters had forecasted. It's a self-fulfilled prophecy. I still laugh at people that actually believe all the bullshits spew by so-called forecasters. Even the forecasters know its bullshit. Well, the forecasters with real economic know-how anyway. Some people may argue that information is not perfect. Yeah. True. But all know insider trading is illegal, eh?

Now, it's time for me to get on with my reading. In my mind, there are three candidates currently.

One is Stiglitz's The Roaring Nineties - I've read his Globalization and Its Discontent; yup, that Nobel Prize for economics winner; even attended his lecture at Michigan!). It has a cool cover by the way.

Two is Hujan Pagi by A. Samad Said. A. Samad Said needs no introduction in Malay literature and Hujan Pagi won, I think, the 1987/88 Malaysian literature award, or something like that. I've never read any proper Malay work so, I thought, if not now, when? But I've actually started the first page or two. I however find it hard to keep my interest alive - it was like when I first read Lord of the Rings (I must stress - before it came to the cinema, years earlier! I'm not a person that read a book because the book makes it to the movies - with the exception of , er, Star Wars. Star Wars is just different). Tough read in the first few chapters but as the story develops, well, we all know why Lord of the Rings is so successful in the cinemas.

Third is Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat. I've been wanting to read it since early last year but I kept getting myself sidetracked with other books and responsibilities.

So, we'll see.

p/s - Mathematical art. Parental guidance is required. Sort of. Depending on point of view of course. (via)

Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (tag) has officially declared a state of emergency in the Philippines after a coup plot was uncovered:

MANILA (Reuters) - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo invoked emergency rule in the Philippines on Friday after security forces said they had foiled a coup attempt, shocking analysts and driving down the country's currency.

Talk of plots against Arroyo, who survived a crisis last year over allegations of vote-rigging and corruption, has been running high around this week's anniversary of a "people power" revolt that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

"I have declared a state of emergency," Arroyo said in a taped address on television and radio, adding she had authorized the military and police "to take ample measures".

"This is my warning to those who are attempting anything against the government."

I say, Arroyo needs to step down already. It's becoming more apparent each day that Arroyo has little popular support from the masses. With all the controversies centered around her, I bet the Philippines would solve a lot of problem with her stepping down.

With there's already trouble to the north of Malaysia (read, Thailand), Malaysia doesn't need another unstable neighbor.

p/s - remember the great flood of Pasir Kumpal? Well, some people got back there and Pelf has some pictures.

A lot of us Malaysians consider our government as the main bulwark towards greater free speech in this country. I thought so too until the Non Sequitur and New Straits Times (NST) controversy occured. As the issue unravels, it's becoming clear that the principle hurdle towards free speech is not the government. Instead, it is the society itself; us.

The more I look at it, the more convinced am I of the fact that Malaysians, even the urbanites that on the surface are for free speech, are unprogressive and illiberal wherever the ideal is concerned. Instead, they practice selective free speech, which is an act of hypocrisy. In this controversy, same people that chastise the government for blatant disrespect of free speech are calling for censorship of NST. It's scary to see these people working to undermine free speech. A fifth column in the most unexpected vocal camp - bloggers like Jeff Ooi!

Jeff Ooi is probably a free speech icon in Malaysian blogosphere. Worse, he seems to be jumping up and down seeing NST getting into trouble. It will be crucial to keep the whole episode in mind the next time Jeff Ooi get into trouble.

While bloggers don't represent the Malaysian society as a whole, it does give a glimpse of what's happening. And while not all Malaysians are supporting actions against NST, it seems to me, a sizable numbers are.

All I want to say is that, if we ourselves, Malaysians disrespect free speech and criticize other for disregarding free speech, then we shouldn't blame the government for practicing censorship. We shouldn't even get mad whenever the government practices it. After all, it's we that elect the government into office. The government is an image of us, the people, the majority.

The right thing to do in the name of free speech is to come to NST's defense. No censorship whatsoever.

Finally, in form of reductio ad absurdum: if NST is guilty of publishing and republishing the strip, then Jeff Ooi is also guilty of republishing it. If NST is being punished for publishing the strip, so should Jeff Ooi. Since Jeff Ooi supports action against NST, then Jeff Ooi must support actions against himself.

Absurd? If yes, then there must be a flaw in reasoning somewhere. Right?

FUCK YEAH!!!!

Within 20 minutes, 2 - 0 in Ajax's favor! Huntelaar in the 15th and Rosales in the 20th!

LOL! Inter Milan's bad hair week is becoming Ajax's sweet dream!

p/s - half time. Still 2 - 0. Inter should have gotten a goal but Ajax got extremely lucky. Time to cool down. I can't even type properly due to overpump adrenaline.

pp/s - in the other game, Mourinho got his red card. He's jinked it and he deserves it.

ppp/s - the second leg is going to be extra hard. Though Ajax played marvelously during the first half, the second was a disaster. Inter equalized and that means Ajax will have to win in Milan. Or maybe a 3-3 score line.

As for me, I'm disappointed.

It might be 4-3-3 with Rosales, Huntelaar and Rosenberg up front. I think this is one of the strongest attacking front in Ajax's recent weeks. According to somebody at Ajaxtalk, the line-up might look like this:

Stekelenburg

Trabelsi
Heitinga
Vermaelen
Juanfran

Maduro
Lindenbergh
Emanuelson

Rosales
Huntelaar
Rosenberg

Midfield is looks shaky though, especially with Galasek injured.

Still, Inter is having a bad hair week, a total opposite of Ajax. So, I'm optimistic of Ajax's chance.

About five more hours before the match. I must stay awake!

Sarawak Tribune made itself infamous in Malaysia by publishing the 12 cartoons that were produced by The Jutland Post. After so much pressure, Sarawak Tribune closed down. And now, New Straits Times (NST), a newspaper which garners greater influence than Sarawak Tribute in Malaysia, published a Non Sequitur comic strip that tried to squeeze the humor out of the controversy started by a rightwing Danish newspaper. Apparently, some Malaysians got upset by a comic strip that doesn't even start to draw Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. And guess what those Malaysians want?

They want to censor the NST. Even those bloggers that claim to speak for free speech.

To me, the comic does not even come close to the level of The Jutland Post. The strip doesn't even make fun of the prophet. But that is not the case and I doubt those that are pushing for censorship care about that. This is not a case whether I, or anybody, loving or abhorring the strip. This is a case of free press and speech.

Regardless, the Malaysian government however risks of being hypocritical to the offended by the strip if the government won't act against NST. I'd rather have a hypocritical government than living a society that develops a knack for censorship.

If a person is actually for free press and free speech, that person shouldn't and wouldn't want NST to be censored, regardless of how NST had reacted to the suspension of Sarawak Tribune. So, if you're one of those out there that support the move to censor NST, please, don't call yourself as a person that is for free speech or free press. Else, you would be as hypocritical as your government.

Those that are for free press and speech should defend NST from any censorship. This is especially so when NST is one of Malaysia's principle newspapers. If we allow NST to be censored, what do you think will happen to the other papers?

Think of the scenario Singapore. Alright, alright. Just taking a cheap shot. Sorry Singaporeans. I love you all!

Let's do it better. Think Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. Of People's Republic of China. Or North Korea. We'll be in league with them. Hell, our ranking in Reporters' Without Borders would probably take a nose dive.

A systematic erosion of free press. Is that what you want?

I know we should strive for consistency. But do we want a government that censors everything for the sake of consistency? The only consistency here is the continuing erosion of free press and speech and I don't want that consistency.

If you want consistency, then think in the way that "if NST is allowed to offend some people that and gets away, then Sarawak Tribune should be allowed to operate". Not in the way of "if Sarawak Tribune's license was revoked because it offended other people, then so should NST's."

Observe the difference.

In this scenario, New Straits Times is a city wall. If the city wall is breached, there goes free press in Malaysia. Therefore, think before you speak. Think before you take the next step. Free press and free speech are at stake here.

Ajax (tag) gave RBC Roosendaal a good spanking over the weekend. Huntelaar scored four and Rosenberg got two. Six-nil and that win keeps Ajax at fourth.

That win is also a sweet little boost before the upcoming UEFA Champions League quarterfinal in Amsterdam - a game against Inter Milan. But six-goal performance does have its toll. Galasek won't be playing due to injury. But with Huntelaar, Rosenberg and Wesley Sneijder in the team, I dare say, bring 'em on.

Inter on the other hand doesn't look too good. Not that Ajax is fairing any better in the Eredivisie but in term of recent form, Inter might have some troubles.

So, yeah. Let's beat Inter Milan! Let's clean the Champions League of all Italian teams!

And, oh, before I forgot, congratulations to all Liverpool's fans. As for me, I'm just happy to see another loss for the Manchester United.

I spent almost a week last week at Pasir Kumpal, a huge river bank by the Dungun River in Terengganu. If you've been following my blog, you'll know that I was there on a conservation work. Like I said earlier, it's a gazetted area essential to the survival of an endangered terrapin species, Batagur baska.

While there, all, including me, had to patrol the bank and locate and record terrapins' landing and nests. There were a few other responsibilities that needed to be carried out but there are not worth mentioning. You could say that I had proper expectation of things to do. That was until the unexpected happened.

Pasir Kumpal has an unpredictable weather pattern. I'm not sure whether if it's due to micro-climate or that's just how the weather works in Terengganu but within a day, it could rain several times with varying magnitude, interspaced with bright sunny day. It could be charmingly clear for a few hours and then heavy rainfall all the sudden the minute you started to blink. The wind is also exceptionally strong given that it's more than ten miles - 16 km - away the South China Sea:



I think, Pasir Kumpal is within the red circle. This is my approximation in a Malaysian Public Works Department-produced map (JKR; Jabatan Kerja Raya):



For the JKR's map, I'm not sure of the license but since it's a work of a government, it should be a public domain. But just to be safe, I'll try fair use.

If you're interested, I've linked the location at Google Map. Google rocks! And yeah, that reminds me, Malaysia needs a system just like Mapquest. Currently, the best useful Malaysia map for civilian purpose available online is at JKR. That's simply insufficient.

Which reminds me, I need to SMS Samy Vellu. LOL! Sorry for that lame joke but Samy Vellu brought this upon himself. He simply committed hilariously bad political maneuver. But at least, in the end, he opened up a "24-Hour Public Complaints Bureau", which is good. Aight. That's a digression. Back to our little story.

As you may have known, there is a big flood (tag) in Terengganu currently. Not as huge as the one hit the whole northern region of the Malay Peninsula last December but it's big nonetheless. When the flood first happened, I was by the Dungun River, witnessing first hand how the water level rose drastically in less than a day.

By February 10, there were about four terrapin nests at Pasir Kumpal. On the same day, for the first time, it rained heavily for a prolonged period. The water level was noticeably higher than usual. By evening time, with the help of the moon gravitational pull, it rose even higher. Full moon was a few days away.

Around midnight, two turtle nests were succumbing to the river. So, we were actually forced to save the nests. One nest was terribly close to the water line. In order to retrieve the eggs and bring it to safety, we had to dig the nest. The act of retrieving the eggs was hard work and became impossible as the water level rose further. As foolish as it may sound, we actually built a sand wall around the nest as a small dam to prevent water from interfering us from retrieving the eggs. Regardless, this particular nest had already been inundated with water. In the end, out of - if I recall correctly - 10 eggs, 3 were recovered, 4 damaged and the rest were lost to the river. If you were here, you could actually feel disappointment in the air. I felt helpless even before we built the dam.

We had better luck with the second nest and recovered all safely. As for the two remaining nests, we managed to relocate one while another went under water probably around six in the morning.

I was scheduled to patrol the sand bank at 3 AM with one of two professors there, Dr. Kuchling. Heh, overslept but thankfully, the good professor woke me up at 3.30 AM. Heh, he overslept too. About him, I find his background rather, er, interesting. He was born in Austria but is an Australian citizen. So, he's an Austrian Australian. The word play is just uncanny.

Anyway, during my round, a quarter of the huge sand bank was under water. By 6 AM, as reported, "there was no more beach to patrol". By 9 AM, when I woke up, I could already see the water from where I slept. Earlier, I had to go down the bank to see the water.

Since it was a tough night, another Professor, Prof. Chan, a ranger and I decided to go out to town to get some real breakfast for the rest of the party. Little did we know at that time that the bridge that connects Pasir Kumpal with civilization had been submerged under water. Trapped, Marooned. Fucked. Choose your favorite word. So, no real breakfast for us.

We turned back but the all the rangers ventured out regardless. I don't know how they got out. They swam I suppose.

Despite the fact that Pasir Kumpal had become Kumpal island, we didn't think it could get any worse than this. Reason is, the local said that it would be unlikely for the river to flood our campsite. They said a typical bad flood would only reach the vegetation's edge. Some of those with vehicle weren't willing to bet on it. Hence, they moved their vehicles up to higher ground. Since it was dirt road and it rained hard the day before, a four-wheel-drive and a rope were great blessings.
By 3 PM, water was about 20 meter away from the hut. And there was a downpour again. At 5 PM, water just kept on creeping up. Edge of the vegetation, eh? Yeah, whatever.

For proof, this is a patch of green about midway from water to vegetation's edge on the first or second day:



This is on the 11th, around 3 or 4 PM, shot from my "bed":



Members of the party were already talking about emergency plan. It wasn't much a plan. Even if it had worked, I doubt we would be safe.

Later, near six, the rangers came back and more importantly, they brought with them roti canai! Oh, yeah. They came in by a boat. Also, at six, I needed to take less than 10 steps from the place that I slept to get to the river. It was that bad.

So, we packed, ate our lunch-cum-tea with roti canai and were soon evacuated all the way to Kuala Terengganu, nearly 100 km up north.

If the party had spent another day at Pasir Kumpal, I don't think I'd be blogging right now. According to Pelf, the campsite had gone submerged the day after.

I wonder what Noah would do in our situation. Meh.

About the rainfall that contributed to the floor, some locals said that this flood is coming a bit late. Such downpour should be done in January. And it seems that this weird weather pattern is also hitting the Philippines and caused a massive landslide yesterday. I want to suspect climate change but the Northeast Monsoon that starts in November will only end around March. So, I won't and can't point at climate change just yet.

p/s - Blogger had a bit of problem and I lost a few recent comments. So, if you found your comment is lost, feel free to repost it. =)

More of Pasir Kumpal.



That calm water was Dungun River before the flood (tag).

To me, Pasir Kumpal is an amazing geographical feature. The place is actually a sandy bank by the Dungun River, a little over ten miles inland. It's huge with more than a kilometer in length, about maybe 50 meters in width on average. Never had I ever imagined such place exist at such size. It's like a big beach in the middle of a jungle!

Don't trust me? Well, take a look at these pictures.



This is at one end, roughly looking east.



At the same spot, looking north.



West. Notice the distance between vegetation (left) and water edge (right).



At the other end, looking northeast.

Due to the importance of the place to the survival of river terrapins - Batagur baska, an endangered species; tuntung in Malay - it's been gazetted as a conservation site by the state of Terengganu. This place might as well be the largest nesting site for this species in the world given that Malaysia is "last stronghold of the terrapins", "Dungun River probably represents the largest remaining wild population in Malaysia" and that Pasir Kumpal is most likely the largest of all sandy banks of Dungun River.

The only drawbacks about this place are; one, no or little reception - believe it or not, only Celcom works there no matter its signal strength; two, some sort of parasites that eat your blood, known as tuau tungau in Malay; three, leeches. An army of leeches. Four; a little hard to get to. Much harder to get out in my case.

p/s - I knew one of these days Ann Coulter would get into trouble. Right now, her fellow conservatives are shying away from her due to Coulter's recent racist remark. Suddenly, association with her is a sin. LOL! She may have committed fraud too! Hahaha. Republicans have too many problems. Cheney, DeLay, Abramoff. The list is endless.

pp/s - Been going on for a few days now but it will never get old.

Stewart was on fire tonight:

"Whittington was mistaken for a bird."

"Harry Whittington, seasoned to an inch of his life."

"Don't let your kids go hunting with the Vice President. I don't care what kind of lucrative contracts they're trying to land or-energy regulations they're trying to get lifted. He'll shoot them in the face."

Rob Corddry joined in.

Corddry : "Jon, tonight the Vice President is standing by his decision to shoot Harry Whittington. Now according to the best intelligence available, there were quail hidden in the brush. Everyone believed at the time-there-were-quail in the brush. And while the quail turned out to be the 78 year old man. Even knowing that today, Mr. Cheney insists-he still would have shot Mr. Whittington in the face.

Jon rocks! (via)

I'm not in the mood of blogging but I still wanted to post something nonetheless. So, photo time!



I caught this at Kuala Terengganu (tag). Batu Burok beach if I'm not mistaken. The wind there was so strong that there were small waves forming in a pothole filled with water. Nevermind the sea waves!

I had great expectation for this photo when I first shot it. I actually invested more or less 15 minutes to shoot that particular wave. Yet, once I got back to my desktop, it's hard not to feel disappointed with the result. Too much noise; dull colors. Sigh...

Despite that disappointment, Kuala Terengganu is a cool little city. Not quite large, enough people and has a pretty slow lifestyle. More importantly, it's way more walkable than Kuala Lumpur.

A lot has changed since I last visited Terengganu more than a decade ago. A turtle sculpture that used to symbolize the town has been replaced with a giant replica of batu bersurat. What is batu bersurat?

I'm not sure what its equivalent English noun for it (inscripted stone?) but I have a picture of it. I saw it at a museum here in Kuala Lumpur a couple of months back. It's the oldest artifact with Jawi writing on it.



Suffice to say, it's an important historical artifact. But I still miss the giant turtle sculpture.

New development projects are also in place. I strongly feel that some of the projects should have been done years ago. But PAS government that controlled the state apparently didn't do their job when they had the chance to prove themselves. Despite my reservation for Barisan Nasional, at least, BN is doing their job to promote economic growth.

Also, huge barriers are being constructed at the mouth of Terengganu River. I had a chat with a local about it and he said the project is essential to protect the city from sea surge^pp/s. I was so interested in the barriers that I climbed up to Bukit Puteri, a hill near the river mouth and observed it from above.



Though it can't be seen from the photo, the barriers are in great length. The river mouth right now is almost completely covered. I think there is a better way to protect the city but since I lack knowledge in hydrology as well as civil engineering, I shall refrain from criticizing. I'd sound like a fool if I were to comment too much on it.

But in all, I like Kuala Terengganu, especially the wind. The people there are a bit conservative for my liking but I'm convinced the wind could blow the conservatives away from me.

p/s - Newmont gets its way.

JAKARTA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The world's biggest gold miner, Newmont Mining Corp., is paying Indonesia $30 million to settle a civil suit over pollution, but will still face criminal charges in a case closely watched by foreign investors.

The episode first started way back in 2004.

pp/s - I might have meant tidal or storm surge. (Back)

I'm in the process of updating my diary that has been neglected for more than six months now. So much to write for a week worth of lifetime. I really like to blog part of it too, especially about how I in a party of six (or seven) tried to save a few terrapin eggs by hopelessly trying to ward off rising river water level by building a small sand dam. And of course, the eventual evacuation out of Dungun. If I remembered correct, I did make two of the most memorable quotes I had ever uttered in my life. I really want to share that but just not yet.

For now, this is one of the better photos that I managed while I was in Kuala Terengganu (tag).



A small lighthouse by the South China Sea, near the mouth of the river. I'm quite lucky to catch the structure against a blue sky. Despite the appearance of a sunny day, it was a pretty bad day; the clouds threatened to wreck havoc just as it had when I was in Pasir Kumpal.

It is quite worrying to find out that when I left Pasir Kumpal behind, the worst hadn't past yet. Flood hit the northeastern states again, especially Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, immediately after I left for Kuala Lumpur on the 13th. From the look of it, the flood has yet to recede.

At the same time, Kenyir Dam was overflowing. When Kenyir Dam is unable to cope with a situation, it's not a laughing matter. I'm not sure though if Dungun River is connected to the Dam. But I know Terengganu River is.

After witnessing the flood in the northeastern states first hand, I'm convinced that the Ninth Malaysian Plan must concentrate on drainage and irrigation system. It happens every year in the north and that means we're not doing enough to adapt to Malaysian tropical rainfall. Forget about funding moral police. Moral police doesn't save lives. Drainage and irrigation projects do.

And, ehem, there was a strong storm with torrential downpour here in Kuala Lumpur just this evening. I'm sure glad the rate of surviving a storm in Kuala Lumpur is higher than Dungun's.

Finally, after biting more than I could chew, I'm now in Kuala Lumpur again. Pasir Kumpal in Dungun was severely flooded and I along with a few others - two professors, two reporters from The Star and another volunteer - in the end were marooned there and later evacuated by PERHILITAN; Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Park (tag). Will tell you later of my crazy story. If you don't have the patience for it, visit Pelf's blog. She's a friend I made at Pasir Kumpal. Her entries will give you some picture of what happened there. I've also added her into my blogroll.

Also, this post is dedicated to PERHILITAN. Especially rangers Encik Adnan and Encik Ibrahim that took care of us - in effect, saving our lives from a major flood - and to Encik Ghazali, the department state deputy director for evacuating me all the way to Kuala Terengganu from Dungun. Not forgetting, the locals, including Rosli and Pak Long that were helpful in my time of need.



This is for PERHILITAN; for all the good works they're doing for the environment. And for evacuating us to safety!

For now, I totally need to get some rest.

Well, I'm off for my first conservation work in Malaysia (tag). I'll be stuck in Terengganu and maybe even Kelantan for about a week. In the mean time, I present to you a picture of the moon.



Could you actually believe that this photo worth 28k?

Anyway, sing together now:

Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see

Bluebirds
Singing a song
Nothing but bluebirds
All day long

Tata.

When I first heard that a Danish media published caricatures of Prophet Mohammad (tag) last year, to be honest, being a Muslim myself, I was slightly irritated. Though it's an act of free speech, the Danish media abused its rights. That was that and I didn't expect it to balloon up unnecessarily. I didn't expect it because I don't think it's rational for such issue to take a center stage in world politics. Apparently, I have overestimated the Muslim world's sensibility. Muslim Malaysians on the contrary are acting coolly. Comparing Malaysians' response against Arabs and Indonesians' reaction on it, I can't help but feel proud to be a Malaysian.

In my opinion, what's happening in the Muslim world is a gross overreaction followed by impossible demand. The side at fault is the rightwing newspaper Jyllands-Posten, not the Danish government. Moreover, the Danish government has no right to censor the newspaper. Nobody should but that's another matter altogether. Hence, the Danish government has no reason to apologize.

I'm not sure whether it's simply a refusal to understand the concept of free press or a thick skull but a lot of people are choosing to ignore why the Danish government is refusing to take the blame. Libya's act of closing its embassy in Denmark is one of the overreaction and also an example of failure to appreciate free press concept. Another one is consumer boycotts in the Arab world. These boycotts, instead of hurting the rightwing paper, are hurting real people that have nothing to do with the paper. This is plain wrong. It's as stupid as Republicans' action of boycotting French fries during the invasion of Iraq - that boycott would only hurt potatoes farmers in the United States instead of the French economy.

Malaysian Prime Minister has been discrete on the matter, criticizing the paper instead of the Danish government. Apart from 50 PAS supporters that protested in front of the Danish embassy in Kuala Lumpur yesterday - which obviously doesn't represent the majority - Malaysians are being quite rational on the matter. I haven't heard Malaysians storming the Danish embassy like what happened in Jakarta or anybody calling a boycott of Danish or any European products here in Malaysia yet.

The ability to discern between the government and a private entity is not lost on Malaysians, unlike Arabic countries and Indonesia. In fact, I think, Malaysia is the only Muslim-majority country that is not blaming the Danish government for a private entity's doing. I might be wrong but it seems like so.

To all Muslims out there, seriously, be sensible. The first thing to do is to realize that it's a rightwing paper that started this, not Denmark the country. Differentiate the two and then comprehend that the Danish government can't censor that paper. Blaming and targeting the Danish government and its people for things that they didn't do only complicates the matter at hand and bring about a much unneeded clash of culture.

So Denmark, I stand by thee. But definitely not by Jyllands-Posten.


I will not treat a country that believes in green energy unfairly. So, buy Danish!

p/s - stupid, stupid. This is way beyond overreacting.

pp/s - despite all this, it doesn't change the fact that there is hypocrisy involved. This comic aptly captures the hypocrisy.



Quoting Wikipedia: Cartoon from Jordanian newspaper Al Ghad. Counter-clockwise: "This one is anti-semitic", "this one is racist", "those fall under free speech".

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building is probably one of the most photographed structures in Kuala Lumpur (tag). One reason is because before all the tall towers and buildings were erected, this was Kuala Lumpur's principle landmark.



I took this some time ago, on the same day I saw a lovely facade and framed it. I like this photo simply because it's colorful. Well, maybe just because it's bright. The photo however looks busy; too many distractions. But I still like it.

p/s - a good result before a scary match. Ajax faces Feyenoord this Sunday. Seeing Ajax's current state, Ajax is going to get a royal beating. But with that 3-0 victory, maybe I shouldn't be too pessimistic.

pp/s - Paracetamol is human's greatest invention. For me, at least, at this particular moment.

In bid to win $20 worth of Greenpeace merchandizes. Haiku on ocean! In Malay though:

Di ufuk sana,
biru laut memikat,
mengejar mimpi.

Roughly means, still in 5-7-5 format!

On the horizon,
the blue ocean calling us,
us, chasing a dream.

Anyway, there is a very high possibility that I will travel go to Terengganu next week and lend a hand to a conservation project (tag). Well, a project cum holidays. I'm pretty much excited because it's been more than ten years since I last bathe in the South China Sea. And sitting by the South China Sea, I will be vomiting more lame haikus for all to suffer!

The only thing I might about travelling to Terengganu is that, there is no rail service. And I don't wanna drive either. So, looks like bus for me. Seven hours in a bus won't be too kind to my ass.

While in the bus, penning a haiku or two for Proton (tag) might be something to distract me from boredom. Why Proton on all the sudden? Well, instaed of Volkswagen, Proton has a new ally; Mitsubishi. Again.

Mitsubishi Motors to form new tie-up with Malaysia's Proton

38 minutes ago

TOKYO (AFP) - Struggling Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors will form a new tie-up with Proton that would help the embattled Malaysian carmaker develop new models, a newspaper reports.

The tie-up will include a technology transfer, mutual supply of auto parts, including engines, and allow Proton to create new models, the Asahi Shimbun reported, quoting unnamed company sources.

It has only been about about two years since since Proton and Mitsubishi last decided to part ways.

Proton and Mitsubishi should just marry each other. Enough with the flirting already. Hell, let's do one haiku for Proton now.

Hail Mitsubishi!
A setting red giant star,
trying to save us.

Bush just had his 2006 State of the Union (tag) a couple of hours back. One of his points is:

Far from being a hopeless dream, the advance of freedom is the great story of our time. In 1945, there were about two dozen lonely democracies in the world. Today, there are 122. And we're writing a new chapter in the story of self-government -- with women lining up to vote in Afghanistan, and millions of Iraqis marking their liberty with purple ink, and men and women from Lebanon to Egypt debating the rights of individuals and the necessity of freedom. At the start of 2006, more than half the people of our world live in democratic nations. And we do not forget the other half -- in places like Syria and Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Iran -- because the demands of justice, and the peace of this world, require their freedom, as well.

Yes. When the Palestinians democratically elect Hamas into office, suddenly, it's not acceptable, isn't it?

A reminder for Bush: in real democracy, you can't always get the result that you yearn for.

Contrary to Bush and several others' belief, including Israel, I believe that this is a chance to establish greater peace between Israel and Palestine. Take the Hamas' ceasefire for instance. Hamas is staying true to its words. Hamas has not launched any single attack on Israel for the last few months. Meanwhile, Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza Strip speaks well from Israel.

Both are signals that both sides could assume good faith. Because of that, I have high hope the ceasefire could a stepping stone for a comprehensive and viable peace plan if Israel and Hamas-led government could sort things out on a negotiation table. If Israel and everybody else won't talk to Hamas, then things won't go for the better.

Isolation just won't work. It didn't work with North Korea, neither did it work for Iran nor Myanmar. It didn't even work with Arafat when he was alived. Isolation will only bring more trouble. The European Union, United States and Israel cannot pretend that Hamas doesn't represent the people of Palestine.

While saying this, Hamas must realize that the state of Israel is not going anywhere. Israel has a right to exist regardless of history. The most viable solution is a two-state solution. The time for war has come and gone.

p/s - this is starting to become very ridiculous. Protesting Muslims don't seem to comprehend free speech while German and French media can't seem to appreciate diversity.

pp/s - well, somebody disagrees with me. It seems he prefers war to peace.