Family - You can't choose em :)

I was having a conversation with my sister.

I was told that someone told her that family is 'over rated'.
By 'over-rated', I don't really know what it means exactly, but I may have an understanding of what I think it may mean.

When I was younger, family was always there. Something that I know I can come back home to.
When I was growing up, in my tweens and my teens, I didn't like to be around family. I thought it was 'cool' to not be with family. I would just force myself to have dinners with them and then go out and do my own thing. I just didn't want my mom or dad to breathe down my neck or tell me things in front of my friends.

It simply WASN'T COOL!! Especially not in front of the girls!!!

Well, and then when my sister left for KL to study and my Mom went to Singapore to earn more money (to put it very bluntly), suddenly, family shrunk.

It was just my dad and I. And things took a different turn. I ate many many dinners with him cause we both hardly cook. Its hard to cook for two and being men, I suppose its simply easier to eat out. And we had many good conversations. The times when I stumble and did some many a stupid thing which ordinarily would freak average minded parents they were there for me. My dad locally and mom from Singapore would worry for me.

And perhaps through all the absence of the family not being together, it was quite empty to say the least. Well, only felt a little bit though, but I felt it nevertheless. I normally don't care for these things. But also the conversations that I had with my dad, it reached a new level. No longer did I see my dad as a disciplinarian which he was when I was younger (I grew up by the rod and I think it was well worth it), but someone whom I can engage into long conversations with about life and perceptions.

And I took time offs to see my mom in Singapore and she would spend her hard earned money so that I have a comfortable trip each time I visited her. Of course being me, I took advantage of that and would buy many stuff that I normally don't have the chance to buy. It was like the floodgates had opened! HAHAHA.
OK that was beside the point. But from that, I did see the love and sacrifice that she has endured for her kids. For money for better education and better living. And to buy a blue Nike bag and a Manchester United jersey (circa 2000-20001). I was a brat. And I knew it. And I see the love that my mom has for me.

In college, things took a change. It was cool to hang around parents. To spend time with them when they visited KL and to just go shopping with them. Of course in all honesty, when they hit the departmental stores to browse their stuff, I would frolick on my own still :) But hey, it's still with family. Or to take them around KL. Just to hang out. COOL.

You can choose your friends, they come and go. But family is always there. Or always connected whether you like it or not. Through bloodlines or proximity. You can't choose them. God chose them for you.

So, coming back to this bloke who said that family is over-rated, he is 26 now. And I do feel sorry for him. Alas, he is entitled to his opinion :)

I would have thought that family was over rated..when i was 15-16 but they mean the world to me now. And I believe many of you out there would feel the same :)

For good times with Family (past and present, core and extended), here's to a Happy Chinese New Year 2012.

Me and my Grandma - She's having Alzheimer's so she spaces out very often. It's really sad to see her like that, but always nice to see a smile on her face which is worth more than anything.

The Dark Knight is AWESOME!

AWESOME!
Nuff said.

A review of 2011 - Part 2 - Happiness, Sadness, Death, Life, Lessons

So what makes a good year?
Where the good experiences outweigh the bad?
Or that we have learned to be better through the mistakes, hurts and regrets? Good or bad, there will always be both and somehow, both good and bad eventually balances itself.
For every bad experience, there will be a good lesson. For every good experience, there will be an end to it eventually. Like they say, every cloud has a silver lining.

The second part of my review talks of both.

I have experienced the departures of dear family members of my friends.

One, a close friend, Daren, whose friendship has transcended time...a friendship over 25 years is certainly no easy feat. It was indeed painful to see him going through what he did. And even in the funeral, we could see the love of a son towards his father, the hopes he has and the regrets of not being able to fulfill the hopes for his father. But at the end of the day, life is as such and these are things that life throws at us. And I hope time will not make his memories towards his father any less, but perhaps will lessen the hurt of losing someone so dear.

And the other, the father of my junior Boss at work, Peter.
We have seen time and time how he had tried to juggle work while attending to his father's ill health. It was indeed tiring, even watching vicariously from where we are. But at the end of the day, perhaps death was a more comforting outcome than fighting cancer. It is painful yes, to have him see the loss of his dear father.
At the funeral service, this was were I have had a chance to listen to one of the more heartfelt and beautiful of eulogies. Peter, being a litigator, definitely knows how to speak in Court. But an eulogy is different from a court submission. And here is where I heard, perhaps something beautiful about commitments of a father, sacrifices for his children, life and eventually death in a single speech.

And then, as the end of 2010 showed me a revelation, that I am diagnosed as diabetic. It wasn't an easy taking it. It was a huge blow to my face. I couldn't for the love of God, tell anyone about it. Only those who are closest to me, family and my closest friends would eventually know. That called for a drastic change in lifestyle. I have given up many things but this was something new altogether. But heck, a year has passed and I'm still alive. So I thank God for that :) I now love my drinks sugar free. And I'm also much healthier than I was before my diagnosis. It's a challenge i have to take and something I will have to live with. :)

I would also learn that I have much to buck up in my work. As my boss had said, my assessment is very much different now and I should be able to take charge of more things and learn to assess things independently. Somehow, I am still afraid of doing that, but it isn't an option that I can pick. It's something that I need to do. Its a challenge to myself, and a challenge that I know, have the ability to see through. I just need His guidance and His help to give me the strength to discern and to see things through.

Of course, what is life without good memories? Much has been achieved too this year. I got a new car, a new watch, an Iphone 4S (Now, I'm always connected and I wont have to sms for updates and information; especially during rallies aha), but this are all superficial and material.

The bigger achievements this year, how we stood up against fear infliction and tyranny of rule during Bersih 2.0, something monumental for the us, the church, my friends and the people of Malaysia. And perhaps that was the last great rally after the passing of the Peaceful Assembly Bill. We fought against the Bill - Kill the Bill as they say, but failed. But it only spurred us for a hunger for change and come 2012, elections, the tides will turn. In any event, we will continue to fight for a better Malaysia.
(If you think that these events do not concern you at all, then I feel gravely sorry for you and I hope that you will understand that these fights, are for, if not this generation, then for the generation that is to come; i.e your children. And I hope in time, you will join this wave of change.)

On the world stage, we have seen waves of protests, bringing change, particularly the Egypt uprising, the toppling of Gaddafi's Libya and more uprisings within the Arab Spring. We have seen the death of a dictator in Kim Jung Il. Change is happening all around. For the better or for worst? We may not know for sure, but we do know that changes are overdue.

Closer to home, also I have grown closer to my colleagues of whom are all different in their ways but yet, shown much humility and kindness and also sharing the same sense of humour. I have seen them over the years, but only as colleagues and as I get to know them better, they are true and genuine friends. I'm blessed to have meet people like them over the years. And over the years, I am also blessed to have met good friends and people I still stay in touch with. I hope this trend of blessings continue on.

So, I also feel that in some ways, 2012 may be an extension of 2011, all that is left unsettled and not left behind. Things that I still need to deal with. Ghosts of which have yet been fully exorcised. I hope I may see an end to some things and start afresh with new things. It will take time but with His grace and strength, I know i will pull through.

May we all have a better year ahead and may 2012 be a year of overcoming challenges and greater revelations.

Happy New Year All! Let's make 2012 a blast!

I leave you with something I picked up along the way. Two of the quirkiest stars in Hollywood :)

A review of 2011 - Part 1

AS 2011 closes in, in retrospect, so much has been done, and yet sometimes, it feels as if it's so little.

And yes, I have a December curse, I seem to be getting it a lot during the month of December. Well, to sum it up, I tore my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and my medial collateral ligament. The good news is, the Doc informed me based on the X Ray reports that there was no fracture. But the MRI shows something grimmer and with stories of friends who came through hell and back from an ACL reconstruction, I was praying that it wasn't an ACL tear. But as earlier mentioned, it proved to be. Arrr..darn...

Well, it happened during the Firm futsal tournament. 1 win 1 lost and one more to play for. Being Captain for a team is nice. Tried to be as competitive but also reminded my team to have fun while playing. And the third game, up against my Bosses team and folks I know who were seasoned players, I relished the challenge. But as circumstances were anything to go by, I had an unusual tumble and my foot caught the turf while my body twisted along with my knee and then I realized, this is it. My first knee injury.
Ok, really its nothing to be proud of, but these are things that happened when you least expect them to. Well, you live by the sword, you die by the sword? ahaha

Anyway, December hasn't truly ended yet, so there may be a different twist to the ending of my 2011 story.

Ah...the story of my life.

Alright, once again in retrospect, 2011 was a year of revelations. The people I meet, the people I've become closer to. The people whom you think you know, but not always who they are. Revelations of who you trust and who you should be more cautious with. It's interesting really.

At work, what was once a tranquil department, although ripples appeared now and then, things are finally revealed. Perhaps it came at a cost, but it was something that needed to happened as the dirt under the carpet long swept became visible and apparent. It's cleansing time. It has to happened and it's a positive thing that it happened.

Yeah. I speak in summaries. Well, as a friend of mine said, "there's trouble in paradise". How apt.

So, I leave you here with pictures of my lovely knee brace.
I was branded Robocop by the Despatch boys in my firm and Forrest Gump by my cell group members. This became Robogump.
All hail Robogump!!

I may do a bucket list in 2012. That would include doing stand up comedy. Hey, Never try never know right?

OK. Till my next post before 2012 scratches my door!

The Peaceful Assembly Bill - A curtailment of rights

On 16 September 2011 after promises of reform i.e. the repeal of the ISA amongst others, was announced by our PM, we had for a moment a glimmer of hope. We were however also told that there will be two new pieces of legislation to replace the ISA, the Banishment Act and the OSA.
We waited with bated breathe.

Just last week, a new bill was tabled. One that the PM claims to be revolutionary and to improve the rights of individual freedom. Once again, talk is cheap. It's easier to make blanket statements and pray that people buy these statements as truth.

Unfortunately, upon a review of the Peaceful Assembly Bill, we know now that the contents of the bill are far from progressive, but in fact even more repressive and draconian and is a worst off than the Police Act. Already, the need to obtain a permit to assemble peacefully under the Police Act is unconstitutional as it curtails the fundamental liberties set out under our Federal Constitution i.e. Article 10 which gives us the right to assemble peacefully.
If there is a need for a permit, and one which can only be issued by the Police, then it makes the Police higher than the law of the land, the Federal Constitution.

Anyway, below are the FAQ's compiled and published by the Bar Council's Constitutional Law Committee. And perhaps, whoever you are, wherever you are, if you are Malaysian, or sympathetic to the Malaysian cause for freedom and transparency, then this is reproduced in this blog for your benefit:-

The Government is currently trying to pass the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 (PA2011) in Parliament. PA2011 seeks to restrict and regulate the freedom of assembly guaranteed under Article 10(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution. Once the Bill is passed by the Dewan Rakyat and the Senate, and it receives the assent of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, it will become law and can be enforced against all Malaysians and non-citizens. Below is an explanation of some of the key provisions in PA2011.

Q: What does PA2011 say?
A: Amongst other things, PA2011 says:
- 'Street protests' are banned.
- Notice of an assembly must be given to the police within 30 days before the assembly date.
- The police can impose restrictions and conditions on the conduct of the assembly.
- If organizers or participants do not comply with the restrictions and conditions, the police can arrest them and disperse the assembly.
- Not complying with the restrictions and conditions is an offence. On conviction, a person can be fined up to RM10,000.00
- The police have wide powers to disperse the assembly.
- A person who fails to disperse when ordered by the police commits an offence. On conviction, the person can be fined not more than RM20,000.00

Q: what is an "assembly" under PA2011?
A: Under PA2011, gatherings of the public or if it is a private venue, so long as it is for the time being open to or be used by the public. For example, a public forum held at a private venue could, for the time of the forum, be considered to be an assembly under PA2011.

Q: Are there exceptions in PA2011 to the requirement to notify the police of an assembly?
A: At the moment, the only gatherings that do not have to be notified to the police are religious assemblies, funeral processions, wedding receptions, open houses during festivities, family gatherings, family days held by employees for the benefit of employees and their families and general meetings of societies or associations.

Q: What restrictions and conditions can be imposed by the police on an assembly?
A: The police can change the date, time, duration and the place of the assembly. The police can limit what the participants can or cannot say or do. The police can impose conditions regarding payment of clean-up costs and any inherent environmental factor, cultural or religious sensitivity and historical significance of the place of assembly. Importantly, the police can impose any other restrictions which they deem necessary or expedient.

Q: Does PA2011 say that certain people cannot join an assembly?
A: Yes. Children below 15 years of age and non-citizens cannot participate in an assembly. Also people under 21 years cannot organise assemblies.

Q: Under PA2011. are there specific places where assemblies cannot be held?
A: Yes, assemblies cannot be held at or within 50 metres of dams, reservoirs. water catchment areas, water treatment plants, electricity generating stations, petrol stations, hospitals, fire stations, airports, railways, public transport terminals, ports, canals, docks, wharves, piers, bridges marinas, places of worship, kindergartens and schools. This means for example, that you do not need to notify the police of a religious assembly (see the earlier questions) but you cannot hold an assembly at a place of worship. Also, if you live within 50 metres of a kindergarten or school, you cannot hold an open house for a festival, a funeral procession or a wedding reception in your house.

Q: Does PA2011 ban street protest?
A: Under PA2011, "street protests" are banned and this has been confirmed by the Government in the media. However under PA2011. processions (i.e. group gathering in one place and moving towards another) still seems to be permitted under the meaning of "assemblies". Therefore PA2011 appears to allow the police to decide what is a "Street Protest" and what is a "procession". If the police say that an assembly being organized by Group A to gather at one place and move to another is a "street protest", it will be banned . If the police say that an assembly being organized by Group B to gather at one place and move to another is a "procession", it will not be banned and the police will allow Group B to proceed.

Q: Does PA2011 allow the police to use tear gas, water cannons and batons on participants at an assembly?
A: PA2011 does not prevent the police from using tear gas, water cannons and batons on participants at an assembly. Under PA2011, the police can use "all reasonable force" to disperse an assembly in certain circumstances but PA2011 does not say what " all reasonable force" means.

Q: Under PA2011, do the police have to give warning before using "all reasonable force" to disperse an assembly?
A: PA2011 does not say that the police must give warning to the organisers or participants to disperse before they can use all reasonable force to disperse an assembly.

Q: When does PA2011 become law?
A: PA 2011 is currently (25.11.11) a proposed law before the Dewan Rakyat. Once passed by the Dewan Rakyat, it will go before the Dewan Negara. Once it is passed in the Dewan Negara and the Royal Assent is obtained, the Minister of Home Affairs will fix date for PA2011 to take effect.



Understand the above. We all need to oppose legislation such as these. This in it's simplest meaning or reading, shows no signs of progression of fundamental liberties and rights. You can read this in the BC Constitutional Law Comm website as well here.

What can you do?
Support the Bar Council's initiatives to have the PA2011 amended -
http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/notices_for_members/walk_for_freedom_2011_peaceful_assembly_bill_cannot_and_must_not_become_law.html
IT MUST NOT BECOME LAW!

A Night to Remember - KL Bar Charity Night 2011

The Annual KL Bar Charity Night came and went. 30 September 2011 to be exact.

After weeks of practice, The Skelchys finally got their 10 minute opportunity to act like superstars.
:) Was the performance good? Judging from the crowd, I hope so. But the energy from the crowd was there, and I suppose The Skelchys fed on that energy. If The Skelchys managed to entertain, then it was all that mattered. Whether they were good, bad, terrible, that wouldn't have mattered anymore :)

So who are the Skelchys? Ah Bob, Schnausser, Kitty Kat, Sunny Moon, Musico and Captain Cheese McSkelch thats who.

Actually the Skelchys are:-

Ahmad Fadzly :- Vocals, guitar
Sasha :- Vocals, looking pretty
Abdullah Khubayb:- Bass
Joshua Tong:- Lead guitar
Jacklyn See:- Keyboards
Yours Truly:- Drums


Anyway, The Skelchys managed to belt out 3 songs within the 10 mins time frame. No, actually they exceeded it, but then again at that point, whose counting?

3 Songs - U2's Beautiful Day, Katy Perry's Teenage Dream and one of my personal favourite headbangers, Blur's Song 2.

Below are the videos:-

Beautiful Day




Song 2


Hey, at least we tried :) hahaha. Oh yeah, I think Guy Fawkes was also spotted somewhere behind the drum set.
Then again, it was a good run :)

Anyway, the Charity Night was quite a good one. Many good performances especially the dance number from Lee Hishamuddin, when Raph and co did the Gee dance. It had me in stitches and we accompanied that dance at the encore!
Black Asphalt was good too. I liked their number cause it has a climatic end and well, quite thematic to say the least.
Aga was excellent in his acoustic set. Too bad it the crowd was kinda loud, so I suppose a jazz setting would have perhaps suited his performance. But beyond the crowd noise, his rendition of Tracy Chapman's Cars was good.
The dance number by OIT was also good, very well done and I suppose it captured the essence of Lady Gaga. Too bad I dont fancy her :)
Barcode was terrific too and See Xian brought the house down with the Consti Comm theme song.
Unfortunately we missed some performances like Iylia's and also Fourplay's. Would have wanted to be there much earlier, had we not been stuck in the Friday Night KL jam. Still horrible.

Well, there were many good looking people. Girls aplenty :) Hahaha. And ok, guys too I must say. IT was good catching up too with many people I know. After all the legal profession is a small one and one of solidarity. So, we know people who know people who know other people.

SO it was a memorable night, and I'm putting this down in writing so I could one day look at this post and reminiscent :) Until the next event, The Skelchys will be back :)

Also, thanks to the Members of the Skelchys, i.e. Fadzly, Sasha, Abdullah, Josh and Jacklyn. The people behind The Skelchys.

The pictures are as below. Well, its an older camera. So bear with it :)

The way of a Warrior

I took a day off just to take a break from work.
Nope. I hardly take day offs for traveling. No travel itenary beyond the horizons. Just a day of rest.
But also managed to perhaps catch a really awesome movie. A sleeper of a good movie, something that has perhaps gone beneath the radar of blockbuster movies.

Well, actually, my life group members watched it on Wednesday. I was told by Colin and Joo Na that the movie was awesome. I was perhaps more convinced when even Joo Na said that she loved it. Haha...hey, it sounded like another Kung Fu movie (those were my first thoughts) and when Colin told me it was a movie about the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), 2 brothers and an estranged father and it's a drama, I thought of the other fighting movie with 2 brothers. Yes, you guessed it, Mark Warlberg and Christian Bale's The Fighter. Also another one of the movies up there on my list of greats.

So, with the premise, it seemed like it was too good not to be missed. So, on my day off, I watched it with Desmond and Wyzek.

It was awesome. It had drama. It had action. It had the makings of an Academy Award winner. Although the premise is almost similar to The Fighter (which had a Rotten Tomatoes "fresh rating" of 91%), Warrior did not fare far, with a healthy rating of 84%.

The movie brings sibling rivalry to new heights. Where the pain is not just physical, but emotional as well. It's a tale about two brothers who joined the Sparta tournament, kinda like a Super Bowl for UFC. at least thats what the commentators mentioned in the movie itself. The brothers are played by Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. Both played their characters well. Tom Hardy plays the younger brother who is an ex-marine but with a vengeance and turmoil. Joel Edgerton plays the older brother who has his own problems of facing foreclosure on his home. And then you have Nick Nolte who plays the estranged father who is also a recovering alcoholic who tries to reconcile with his sons but to no avail. The premise already sounds like a modern day drama on dysfunctional families. As intense as the drama was, the action scenes were intense and brutal as well.

There is no good or bad in this movie. Just a matter of sides. But even, then by the end of the movie, you just couldn't take sides because you would root for them both. It's a feel good movie that has it's sad and depressing moments. And even the ending, I swore I would have shed a tear, if i did see someone else doing it.

I suppose, the bottomline is, its one of the movies to watch this year. Better than a lot of fluff in the summer. This ain't a summer movie, but it is an intelligent one no less. Like the Fighter, only more intense and brutal.

So, I leave you here with the trailer. If you think it's interesting, have a go :) I know I loved it :)