There Will Be Blood

Salaam...

Ok... my last entry on this blog was dated April 23 2007. That was more than a year back.

Today is 14-June-2008. That's 418 days ago, equated to whatever numbers that I could've come up with on this blog and make you guys think that I'm smart!! HA HA!! But, let me just leave it at that.

So what's new, Apai?? Well.. not much actually... really not THAT much..

Last July resigned from Weatherford, joined Premium Drilling... was in Singapore for almost 3 months, then sent to this place which I just couldn't comprehend, and just so BORING called Mumbai, India. Been here for slightly more than 6 months now. Back to where I started off my career - Drilling Rig!! Have no idea what it is? It's a US$200+mil machine that oil company hires to drill hole looking for hydrocarbon. NO!! We are not the one that caused the oil price to hike so high. As a matter of fact, we will be the one that will reduce the price by looking for more reservoirs and what not... damn!! I'm so technical nowadays!!

Life has been.... hmmmm... boring I guess!! Love the job, hate the place. Miserable? Yeah.. once in a while. Right now, sitting on my bed in Sahara Star Hotel, watching Euro match - Spain vs Sweden.

What else? Not much actually. Haven't got anything to write, hence been leaving this space not updated for quite some time. Personal life? Yeah.. still single.. same old...

Girlfriend? Well... No idea what's the status on that... let me just leave it as per Friendster's status - It's complicated.

Don Juan's status? Hmmm.. In India? Don't you know that Indian girls are so conservative?? Now I am really missing Far East Asian girls... maybe it is the caste thingy...

Takde idea laaa.. seriously takde idea... mmg dah tak sefluid cam dulu dah kepala aku ni nak keluarkan idea nak ditaip. I can talk about Mumbai.. but tak fair laa.. coz so far... I only have negative things to say about this place despite being called Bollywood.. So, let me just save that for next time laaa kalau blog ni masih bernyawa...

Aku baca gak entries aku yg lama.. cam tak caya plak aku taip sume tu.. tak sangka aku ni terer menaip.. hehehe... tp that was in the past.. mmg skrg ni dah tak dilemma kot.. bukan sbb dah ada gelpren ke apa.. tp sbb mmg dah tak dilemma.. maybe I just couldn't be bothered about my status now...

Oh yeah.. saje nak cakap.. few weeks back aku angau.. angau ngan sapa??! ngan my ex-girlfriend (no.. it is not your fault!!)... ada bad thoughts and intentions... but.. hope tu just dalam diri aku laa.. yang aku tak akan channel out and buat mende yg tak sepatut aku buat... although aku sendiri tatau apa yg aku nak buat.. betul lah org cakap.. first love susah nak lupa.. no matter what you say.. or whatever you try to do... penangan nya cukup luar biasa.. DAMN!!

And the long overdue - congrats to Dell... member dah pregnant baru nak congrats dlm blog ni.. sapa lagik yg dah nikah ek?! oh yeah.. congrats to my ex-fiancee yg dah pregnant gak... err.. bkn ngan aku laa.. dia dah kawin.. anak dia ngan laki dia laa!!

And to all - sorry laa kalau lama dah tak berkontek.. aku tak blame kalau korang nk cakap aku sombong.. sbb aku sendiri pun takde explanation kenapa tak berkontek.. aku bagi alasan aku jauh, tak blogging, tukar phone number, and busy ngan keje sampai takde masa nak layan kawan.. boleh tak?! Just realized my circle of friends semakin lama makin mengecik jek... not that kawan lari.. guess tak maintain nak berkontek.. and makin lama.. kawan more ngan working colleagues, and those yg close jek lee.. including family.. I envy those yg ada ramai kawan.. and always got things to do with friends... and maintain berkawan.. regardless kat mana, and keja apa, and whatever happened... saspek!!

Tuh jek lee kot aku nak taip for now.. tgk laa kalau aku still boleh mantain the same standard as my previous postings.. which I doubt it now... like I said.. I don't have that dilemma, I am a changed person now... bukan nak ckp tukar jadik a better person.. tak jugak ckp jahat.. tp just changed... guess my mindset dah tak sama... the old chips dah kena buang.. skrg masuk chips baru... my set of values semua dah tukar... but I still am into Rock music, love fast cars (Nissan GTR - I adore thee!!), still enjoy a companion of lovely girls (cheeh!! konon), and still once in a while has that weird tendency of giving my piece of mind about relationship..... hmmmmm...

ciao then... and we'll see whether I am really back this time around....

berbulan kat India ni.. still tak leh tangkap gik cakap Hindi...

Do you know that India has 1 Billion people.. and each States in India has their own way of running their own States?? No standard at all??

Do you know that KL's traffic jam originated from India? Achievement by our beloved Samy Vellu!! And Indians DO drive that BAD!!

And if you like to honk, and beaming ur lights while trying to pass a car in front of you.. YOU DO HAVE INDIAN BLOOD IN YOU!!! Better think before you call anyone else Kap Lam Ya Nga..

Re-Born!!!

As Salaamu'alaikum...

Aku decided memecahkan kesunyian blog aku ni dan mencuci kesawangan nya daripada tak ditulis atau dicatitkan apa2 tulisan for how many months, how many weeks, how many days, and how many hours.

Alhamdulillaah.. Syukur kehadrat Illahi kerana aku masih lagi diberi kesempatan untuk hidup di dunia sementaranya ni.. dan nyawa aku masih lagi dipanjangkan... bukan untuk dipersiakan.. tp untuk dipergunakan ke jalan yang betul...

So what has been up? Hmm.. a lot I guess... which I can sum up as - Enjoy your current life as much as you can, seize the opportunity, take all the chances and risks.. coz you will only live once!!

With that being said... I am currently enjoying my stay in Brunei.. love to go back to KL if I got the chance.. and exploring the unknown territory which I have never had the chance to do so before..

Others - there was an incident happened few weeks back.. guess they were messing with the wrong ppl at the wrong time.. walaupun sememeh.. jangan disangka bley dipermainkan camtu jek.. too bad they didn't intend to go the whole 9-yard!!! Alhamdulillaah.. tu dah masuk dlm memori daun pisang jek skrg.. I hope..

Ok laa.. To all.. I am doing pretty well now.. alhamdulillaah.. so far so good.. Masih lagi as eligible as ever.. cheeh...!! Insya Allah.. kalau ada jodoh and rezeki.. akan berjumpa ngan korang semua lagik... Is this a permanent come back to the blog world? I am not so sure.. only time will tell......

who says u cannot pick up chix with Golf, the sport, not the car??!! :P

SEKETUL KEJU DAN SEHELAI TUALA KECIL

Rakaman ini dipetik dari program Motivasi Pagi -TV 3 (6.30 pagi)
oleh Ustazah Noorbayah Mahmood.

Seorang gadis datang menemui Rasulullah dengan tangan kanannya disorokkan ke dalam poket bajunya. Dari raut wajahnya, anak gadis ini sedang menanggung kesakitan yang amat sangat. Lalu Rasulullah menegurnya, “Wahai anakku, kenapa wajahmu menampakkan kamu sedang kesakitan dan apa yang kamu sorokkan di tanganmu?” Lalu gadis malang ini pun menceritakan hal yang berlaku padanya.

“Ya Rasulullah, sesungguhnya aku adalah anak yatim piatu. Malam tadi aku telah bermimpi dan mimpiku itu telah membuatkan aku menanggung kesakitan ini.” Balas gadis tadi. “Jika tidak jadi keberatan, ceritakanlah mimpimu itu wahai anakku.” Rasulullah mula tertarik dengan penjelasan gadis tersebut.

“Aku bermimpi berjumpa ibuku di dalam neraka. Keadaannya amat menyedihkan. Ibuku meminta diberikan air kerana dia amat dahaga kerana kepanasan api neraka itu hingga peluh tidak sempat keluar kerana kekeringan sekelip mata.” Gadis itu berhenti seketika menahan sebak. “Kemudian kulihat ditangan kirinya ada seketul keju dan ditangan kanannya ada sehelai tuala kecil. Beliau mengibas-ngibaskan kedua-dua benda tersebut untuk menghalang api dari membakar tubuhnya. Lantas aku bertanya ibuku, kenapa dia menerima balasan sebegitu rupa sedangkan ketika hidupnya ibuku adalah seorang hamba yang patuh dengan ajaran islam dan isteri yang taat kepada suaminya?

Lalu ibuku memberitahu bahawa ketika hidupnya dia amat bakhil. Hanya dua benda itu sahaja iaitu seketul keju dan sehelai tuala kecil pernah disedekahkan kepada fakir. Yang lainnya hanya untuk bermuka-muka dan menunjukkan kelebihan hartanya sahaja. Lalu aku terus mencari ayahku. Rupanya beliau berada di syurga dan sedang menjamu penghuni syurga dengan makanan yang lazat dan minuman dari telaga nabi. Ayahku memang amat terkenal kerana sikapnya yang dermawan dan kuat beramal.

Lalu aku bertanya kepada ayahku. “Wahai ayah, ibu sedang kehausan dan menaggung azab di neraka. Tidakkah ayah ingin membantu ibu sedangkan di dunia kulihat ibu amat mentaatimu dan menurut perintah agama. Lalu dijawab oleh ayahnya. Sesungguhnya beliau dan semua penghuni syurga telah dilarang oleh Allah dari memberi walau setitik air kepada isterinya kerana itu adalah pembalasan untuk kebakhilan yang dilakukan ketika didunia. Oleh kerana kasihan melihat azab yang diterima oleh ibuku, aku lantas menceduk sedikit air mengguna tapak tangan kananku lalu dibawa ke neraka. Belum sempat air tersebut mencecah bibir ibuku, api neraka telah menyambar tanganku sehingga melecur. Seketika itu juga aku tersedar dan mendapati tapak tanganku melecur teruk. Itulah sebabnya aku datang berjumpa engkau ya Rasulullah.”

Panjang lebar gadis itu bercerita sambil airmatanya tidak henti-henti mengalir dipipi. Rasulullah kemudian meletakkan tongkatnya ke tapak tangan gadis tersebut lalu menadah tangan, berdoa memohon petunjuk dari Allah. Jika sekiranya mimpi gadis tersebut adalah benar maka disembuhkanlah agar menjadi iktibar kepada beliau dan semua umat Islam. Lalu berkat kebesaranNya tangan gadis tersebut sembuh.

Rasulullah lantas berkata, “Wahai anakku, pulanglah. Banyakkan bersedekah dan berzikir dan pahalanya kau berikan kepada ibumu. Mudah-mudahan segala dosanya terampun. INSYALLAH…”

WAR-WARKANLAH KPD SELURUH UMAT MUHAMMAD UNTUK SECEBIS PEDOMAN AGAR TIDAK MENGAMAL SIKAP KEBAKHILAN TERHADAP SESAMA MANUSIA...

Battle of the PMs : TDM vs AAB Part II

.. continuation ...

There are many other stories such as about the double tracking railway line, the national car, and more. Suffice to say, the double tracking railway line had the same objective as the 'Crooked' Bridge; in that Malaysia's commerce would improve and Singapore's dominance in the region would be given a serious challenge.

But Abdullah aborted this as well.

The double tracking railway line was actually the first move. Once the double tracking was done, then the high speed train was supposed to follow. Imagine the day when one could live in a cheaper town like Ipoh where property prices are half those in the big city, yet work in Kuala Lumpur -- and the time it takes to get to work from Ipoh would be faster than driving from Subang Jaya to Kuala Lumpur today. The small towns would boom and development would be spread out throughout the country instead of concentrated in a few key areas like it is today. But that too now remains just a dream.

The MV Agusta matter is another issue. Dr Mahathir was going to use MV Agusta to develop a peoples' car (volkswagen) that could be marketed for as low as RM10,000, or less. MV Agusta had the technology to do this and the cost to buy MV Agusta, in spite of it debts, was still lower than embarking on this project doing your own R&D from scratch. R&D costs billions of Ringgit and to develop a car from scratch would not only cost more but would be time consuming as well. Even if you are prepared to pay the higher cost, the time would take too long. MV Agusta was a short cut and at a cheaper price on top of that.

But MV Agusta was sold off for RM4 and Dr Mahathir's RM10,000 peoples' car went down the toilet, just like all the others. In fact, the sale of MV Agusta itself raises other questions. How did they decide who to sell it to and do those in the decision-making process have an interest in the company that bought MV Agusta? (Which raises the issue of conflict of interest.)

Dr Mahathir knows the real story, as he does about who those sand suppliers are, but he is not revealing all, at least not just yet. It is not that Abdullah is ignorant about all this. He knows the agenda behind the 'Crooked' Bridge, double tracking railway line, MV Agusta, and much more. He knows that all these are mere catalysts for bigger things.

And he agreed that these are necessary for the future of the country. Yet he dismantled them one by one just to make it appear like Dr Mahathir is stupid and that all his ideas are stupid. It is all about politics and of trying to undermine Dr Mahathir. And what better way to do this than to dismantle what Dr Mahathir started and give the impression that the previous Prime Minister was a nut case. So the country suffers. So what? That is the small picture. The big picture is: Dr Mahathir is embarrassed.

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is another thing that Dr Mahathir was and still is against. All those years he was prime minister he resisted the FTA. Then, late last year, Abdullah secretly signed the FTA with Japan whereby Japanese automobiles would have free access to the Malaysian market while Malaysian vegetables would have free access to the Japanese market.

Malaysian vegetables? What vegetables do we have that we can export to Japan? We do not even grow enough for our own consumption and almost everything we eat needs to be supplemented with imports. Anyway, do the Japanese eat our vegetables? Abdullah might as well have signed an FTA with Canada whereby we export ice cubes to the Eskimos.

The FTA Abdullah signed with Japan was so confidential that even the Cabinet did not know about it until Abdullah informed its members later, after it had been signed. The Cabinet members were shocked, but by then it was too late to do anything about it. And how is Proton going to survive once Japanese cars get free access to the Malaysian market when even Europe and the United States can't compete with them?

Proton is a dead man walking. Its days are numbered and it will be just a matter of time when the national car folds. As the Malays would say: siap kain kapan (prepare the funeral shroud).

Now the United States also wants the FTA with Malaysia signed and the US-Malaysia FTA would open all government contracts and procurement to US companies. That is the end of the New Economic Policy. The days of the Bumiputera businessmen are numbered. Malays will have to revert to becoming clerks and drivers again. Dr Mahathir is beginning to doubt whether Abdullah knows what he is doing. As far as Dr Mahathir is concerned, whatever he did, he did with the interest of the nation at heart. But Abdullah's moves, the way Dr Mahathir sees it, are moves of a traitor who does not care about the country's interest. Dr Mahathir is quite prepared to allow Abdullah to run this country the way he, as Prime Minister, sees fit. But Dr Mahathir will not remain silent and allow this state of affairs to continue if, as he put it, Malaysia's sovereignty is jeopardised. Dr Mahathir would rather take on Abdullah than allow the man to destroy this country. Not just Dr Mahathir, but many Umno veterans as well believe that power in the hands of Abdullah is like giving a flower to a monkey. Monkeys do not appreciate the beauty of flowers.

So... what do you think?

Battle of the PMs : TDM vs AAB Part I

Salaam .. This is a long one..... but worth reading...

Not worth the paper it is written on….

They say in legal circles that a verbal agreement is not worth the paper it is written on. Islam says, if a man breaks his word up to three times, then do not take him as a friend or comrade. Islamic scholar or ulamak, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, also currently Prime Minister of Malaysia, gave his word and he broke it more than three times. Abdullah, therefore, cannot be taken as a friend either in the western or Islamic perspective.

And who did Abdullah give his word to? He gave it to previous Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad -- and of course to all Malaysians in his 2004 Election Manifesto, which he has also broken. And what did he promise Dr Mahathir? Many things, amongst which are that the Scenic or 'Crooked' Bridge would not be abandoned, the double tracking railway line would be pursued, and the national car, Proton, would be supported -- just to mention but three.

After Dr Mahathir announced his resignation to a shocked Umno General Assembly in mid-2002, Abdullah and Dr Mahathir spent 15 months in countless conferences to discuss what the former should and would do when he finally takes over as Prime Minister in November 2003. Dr Mahathir went into great detail and explained at length why he did what he did in his 22 years as Malaysia's Prime Minister. Dr Mahathir had a reason for his many perceived lunatic moves. Even Abdullah, who was his deputy soon after Anwar Ibrahim's exit in September 1998, could not understand everything that Dr Mahathir did. Now he does.

Abdullah sat there taking pages after pages of notes as Dr Mahathir gave him a 15-month crash course in Mahanomics (synonymous with Reaganomics).

By the end of the 15-month training and orientation programme, Abdullah understood fully what was in the head of that strange animal called Mahathir. More importantly, Abdullah now saw the logic in Dr Mahathir's every move and agreed that, though sometimes somewhat devious, many of these moves were actually quite necessary in the pursuit of the bigger objective.

Many of Dr Mahathir's moves would certainly appear loony to the uninitiated. They would appear even stranger when viewed in the backdrop of what was perceived as a failed plan. Dr Mahathir was a blunderer and the many disasters he left as a legacy to Abdullah in November 2003 laid testimony to this. But Abdullah knew they were no disasters. He did not know earlier of course. But 15 months of sitting in front of Dr Mahathir and taking notes as the Prime Minister imparted his innermost thoughts left Abdullah with no doubts that this old man knew what he was up to and these moves could only be labeled as brilliant.

Take the Scenic or 'Crooked' Bridge as one example. No one would disagree if we were to say that this is the most stupid idea yet to come out of Dr Mahathir's mind. Why build half a bridge? Why build such a silly looking bridge that would wind its way around because it had to join the Causeway halfway across the Straits of Johor or Tebrau Straits?

If they built a full bridge, then the bridge could be built straight, lower and shorter at maybe almost the same cost as half a bridge. But now they are building half a bridge, so it has to be crooked and higher -- and the cost for half a bridge is not half the cost of a full, straight bridge.

But they can't build a straight or full bridge because Singapore will not allow their half of the Causeway to be demolished and they are not interested in building the other half of the bridge on their side or within their territorial waters.

Singapore could of course agree to join Malaysia in this bridge project and agree to the Causeway being demolished and a full, straight bridge be built to replace the Causeway. But Singapore wanted the bridge to be packaged with a lot of other goodies, all in Singapore's favour. These goodies would be like throwing in the supply of sand, allowing Singapore Air Force planes more flights over Malaysian air space, plus a re-look at the water agreement.

Dr Mahathir did not agree to this. He would not package the bridge with all these other issues and he wanted each issue to be an issue by itself and to be negotiated separately and on its own merits. Dr Mahathir was no fool.

He knew if he rejected Singapore's demand for a packaged deal, then Singapore would not agree to the bridge. Malaysia could go on with the bridge if it wanted, but it can only build a bridge on Malaysia's side, not on Singapore's side. Therefore it would have to be a silly-looking half-bridge that would need to be highly elevated and winding.

That was exactly what Dr Mahathir wanted. He wanted Singapore to reject the full, straight bridge idea and stipulate that Malaysia can only build half a bridge if it still insisted on proceeding with the plan. Dr Mahathir did not want a full bridge. He wanted a half-bridge. A full bridge would mean it would have to be straight and therefore low. A half-bridge would force the bridge to curve and therefore it would have to be built highly elevated.

What Dr Mahathir really wanted is the space beneath the bridge which a full bridge would not offer while a half-bridge would. And why did he want this space? He wanted it because he wanted large container ships and oil tankers to be able to sail under the bridge.

The Straits of Melaka is one of the busiest sea lanes in the world.
But ships plying the Straits cannot reach Johor Port unless they sail around Singapore. So they would rather stop at the Port of Singapore instead of coming to Johor. Even ships carrying goods bound for Malaysia would rather stop at Singapore for transshipment to Malaysia rather than sail to Malaysia. Once there is a highly elevated bridge, then the ships can bypass Singapore and come straight to Malaysia.

In short, a highly elevated 'crooked' bridge would boost the viability of Johor Port and pose a serious threat to the Port of Singapore. To be more dramatic, the bridge could actually kill the Port of Singapore and make Johor Port the new centre for imports to and exports from Malaysia -- plus for those Indonesian importers and exporters as well who currently would rather use Singapore than sail the extra distance around Singapore to come to Johor.

That was what Dr Mahathir really wanted. He was not actually interested in the bridge. He was more interested in Malaysia overtaking Singapore in the port business. And the crooked, high, half-bridge would be able to achieve this. A straight, low, full bridge would not. Dr Mahathir very cleverly maneuvered so that Singapore would disagree with the full bridge and would instead ask Malaysia to proceed with half a bridge. Once they said that, Dr Mahathir got them exactly where he wanted them. The half-bridge is Singapore's idea, not Dr Mahathir's, so Singapore cannot now turn around and say that they had been tricked and the bridge was merely a Red Herring and that the real motive was to outdo the Port of Singapore.

Somehow, along the way, Malaysia's Foreign Minister packaged the supply of sand and more SAF flights over Malaysian air space in the bridge deal.

Dr Mahathir never agreed to this. But Abdullah did for reasons known only to himself and his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin. The sand would of course come from Johor and those individuals who will be awarded the contract to supply sand to Singapore are family members of those involved in the decision-making process at the very top echelons of power -- those walking in the corridors of power. The supply of sand is not a government effort but a private arrangement. What is even more perturbing to Dr Mahathir is that Singapore did not demand that the supply of sand be included in the deal. This idea came from Malaysia. It was Malaysia that proposed it, not Singapore that demanded it.

When the Johor Menteri Besar found out about the supply of sand arrangement he was outraged. Dr Mahathir had banned the export of sand back in 1997 and Johor was quite happy with this as the sand was coming from Johor and it is the politicians and their cronies who are making hundreds of millions out of it. For the first time in his life this very polished man who always has a sweet smile for anyone he encounters lost his cool. He never raises his voice, especially to the Prime Minister. But that day he did and he told the Prime Minister that Umno Johor will strongly oppose any Johor sand being sold to Singapore. Even the palace got into the act and there was a danger of another Constitutional Crisis erupting.

In short, there was a mutiny and Johor was in revolt. A crisis never before seen in Malaysian history was about to explode. This was a state-federal conflict in the making. Abdullah had blundered big time. He had agreed that the bridge would include the supply of sand to Singapore. Now Johor, the source of the sand, put its foot down and threatened to resist at whatever cost, and Johor can be as independent as Kelantan if it so wishes.

They would also reveal the names of all those who stand to benefit from this supply of sand; family members of those at the very top of the Abdullah administration. If you think the Mahathir-Anwar crisis was exciting, the supply of sand to Singapore would dwarf this by far.

Two days later, Abdullah announced that the bridge project would be aborted, after starting work on it (and incurring a liability of RM100 million). Three weeks before that, Parliament had reiterated the bridge project would go on and the Minister of Works himself assured Parliament that this would be so. But now it was off. They would not be proceeding with the bridge. They could not proceed with it. To proceed with it would mean they have to supply sand to Singapore. And this would create a massive crisis between the federal government and the Johor state government.

The only way out of the supply of sand commitment would be to abort the bridge project. No bridge, no sand, and no federal government-Johor state government crisis, plain and simple.

But it is out of the frying pan, into the fire. Without the bridge, there would be no way ships could sail to Johor Port through the Straits and the Port of Singapore would continue to dominate this region. Dr Mahathir's plan to build up Johor Port and challenge Singapore's dominance was thwarted. And it was thwarted by no other than his successor who had promised him that the bridge would go on. And it was thwarted because some greedy people in the decision-making team had tried to get rich quick through selling sand to Singapore by packaging the sand supply deal in the bridge proposal.

Dr Mahathir was hopping mad. Abdullah had made a big booboo, and to get out of this booboo he cancelled the bridge project. Abdullah was trying to save his arse. But in doing so he sacrificed Malaysia. Johor Port would now have to remain as pathetic as it has always been. And the Port of Singapore would remain the big wheel of this region. Flushed down the toilet is Dr Mahathir's plan for overtaking Singapore. And, to make it worse, Abdullah had promised Dr Mahathir the bridge would go on. And he understood fully well why it must. And he realised that the bridge was for the good of Malaysia's commerce. But saving his arse was his first priority. Saving Johor Port has to come second. That is the story of the 'Crooked' Bridge.

.... to be continued ...

The Guy List - 40 Unwritten Rules To Live By Part I

Last batch - 1 to 20

1. Never ask a woman if she wants to have sex by asking her if she want to have sex.
2. It is more important to have a good health insurance than good health.
3. Don't bluff more than once in a poker game with friends.
4. When one of the big bosses at work unexpectedly says something really cheery and friendly to you, he means absolutely nothing by it. Not even if he's your father.
5. Wear as much black as you can. It makes you look slimmer and cooler. But avoid black jeans!!
6. When someone in your family is going through a divorce, always side with the blood relative.
7. Pointedly praising something unusual a person owns or has done will make you appear far smarter in his eyes than a 10-minute discourse on world events.
8. Yes. Speak softly and carry a big stick. But don't mumble. And don't swing the stick.
9. The man who can't dance, can't converse, and can't provide psychological support to a woman is only half a man: the other half can't cook, can't clean and badly wants a drink!!
10. Do not get a visible tattoo larger than your p*nis.
11. Be aware that most people are operating on a very condensed version of the 10 Commandments: the part about murder.
12. There will be times when good neighbors are more important than a good neighborhood.
13. Telling a woman, "You're a great person," is a taken as the lead-in to a confession that you don't love her.
14. Trying to 'teach someone a lesson' never works.
15. Easy on the mayo!
16. Be careful about publicly discussing your hobbies, as most hobbies strike people as somewhat pathetic: most notably, collecting stamps, coins, or anything else, bird-watching, bowling, table tennis, poetry, dog shows, chat rooms (HA HA HA!!), yoga, herpetology, marathon running, and religion (nak tambah blogging bley tak? - ikon siul2). The only hobbies you can safely own up to when among people you need to impress are fly-fishing and golf!! (hu hu!! Go Tiger Wood!!)
17. Never buy anyone a gift at a kiosk.
18. Never wear clothing that your coworkers avoid - the bow tie, the suspenders, the green suit. While you might think you're expressing your individuality, your colleagues will perceive it as a rejection of their group culture; you'll become a person who probably can't be trusted.
19. Do not bring lunch to work.
20. Rainbows are God's way of reminding us that beauty is an optical illusion, except in sports cars.

Taken from Men's Health magazine...

The Guy List - 40 Unwritten Rules To Live By Part II

First batch - No 21 - 40

21. YOU WILL NEVER BECOME A ROCK STAR!!
22. As you go through life, you will discover that more and more of the subjects you studied in college are useless, with the exception of abnormal psychology.
23. Never make any sort of generalisation concerning gender, even if it's so true God himself would back you up.
24. Telling a person in management, "I'm a bit of a philosopher," means you're a total loser.
25. When running in the park on a hot day, do not take off your shirt if you are really hairy.
26. Never hesitate to admit the error of your ways, when under oath in the court of law.
27. Always wear freshly laundered or pressed clothing to work. Even one wrinkle will have certain coworkers creating - and perhaps sharing - scenarios of debauchery or financial distress.
28. Do not say hi to a perfect stranger in any town with a population over 2,000.
29. Always imply, in every possible way, that the person you're talking to is smarter, better-looking, slimmer and more successful than they really are.
30. When choosing a bottle of wine to bring to a dinner party, spend between 20-30 dollars. That's for a bottle (okay.. not relevant!)
31.Do not come on to the new female pastor unless she winks at you during the sermon (okay.. takde kena mengena!)
32. An ounce of appearance is worth a pound of substance.
33. The way a woman looks, acts, and talks says nothing about how good she is in bed (he he he..!)
34. It is okay to admit in conversation that your accountant used his imagination to save you $500 in taxes, but never admit you saved five bucks by refilling the bottle in the minibar with water.
35. Never get into a pissing match via email. If he forwards, you lose.
36. Never suggest to another person at the gym that he's not working hard enough to accomplish anything.
37. People who live in glass houses are idiots.
38. Going insane while watching a great football game is a sign of mental health (especially in this World Cup season!)
39. When a man meets another man, bonding begins when they both say things that they hope no one else hears.
40. The person who sincerely says to you, "I want to get to know you better," is a person who you don't want to know at all.

Al-Fatihah...

To my dearest housemate, Agus Handoko. An Indonesian mate, yang kerja dengan Weatherford di Brunei.

Involved in a car accident, di Highway Brunei. He was sitting at the passenger's seat, while my other colleague was driving a Kijang. On their way back to Kuala Belait from Bandar Seri Begawan. Went for a weekend day-out.

Aku pegi ke tempat kejadian, setelah one of my friend yang jugak on his way to KB nampak kete tu eksiden, and he recognized the car, and called me up about it. Aku pun gegas gi tempat kejadian nak check it out. Confirm tu kete derang, but both of them dah dihantar ke hospital. The car hit a tree, head on. I was told by one of the policeman that they were unable to retrieve both of them out of the car for almost an hour. Nanti laa aku uploadkan gambar kete tu.

Aku pun gi ke hospital. On the way ke hospital tu, aku dok teringat kata2 sorang policeman kat tempat kejadian tadi. Dia bgtau, sorang mungkin tak selamat. So, aku dok terpikir sapa kah itu? Tapi dari news yg aku selalu dengar, biasanya, driver tak separah penumpang.

Sesampai kat hospital KB, jumpa ngan my colleague yg dah sampai situ, and I was told that one of them dah passed away, while sorang lagik masih kat ICU. And, I was told that my housemate, Agus, passed away. Unconsciously, aku bagitau diri aku agar that news belum confirm lagik, and they're still trying to safe him. Tapi, itulah takdir kan. And for a moment there, I was in a state of denial. Aku tatau apa aku rasa time tu. Konpius?! Aku hanya mampu nak tgk the body dari luar tingkap jek. Derang ckp, kepala dia mmg teruk laaa kena. Aku hanya nampak separuh jek of the body. Tak sanggup nak masuk dalam bilik tu.

And then, struggle nak cari nombor phone family dia kat Indonesia. Finally, bila dah dapat, aku pun call laa, and adik lelaki dia angkat telefon. Dengan Bahasa Indonesia aku yang berkarat, and the first time aku menyampaikan berita yang seumpama ini, aku pun sampaikan laa apa yang patut. Adik dia mmg shock, but all I can say was yang kitaorg akan arrange to hantar the body back to Indonesia bila dah selesai post mortem. I know I should've said more, but nothing came out of mouth, and nothing popped into my head. Aku just antar sms lepas tu, to bagitau derang my phone number, and other contact no kat Brunei, in case they want to ask anything.

Dah selesai doktor check apa2 yg patut, the body was taken to the morgue for the nite. Tomorrow, the body will be sent to a hospital in Bandar Seri Begawan for a post-mortem, and only after that baru dapat dihantar ke Indonesia. Aku harap semuanya akan berjalan lancar dlm proses menghantar mayat nye nanti.

My mom couldn't have said it better bila aku bagitau dia news ni. My mom kenal dia, coz she ever came to Brunei and visit my house. "He came all the way to Brunei to earn an honest living, but coming back in a casket". Well, takde lee mak aku ckp exactly camtu, tp lebey kurang camtu lee isipati dia. Inilah ajal. Baru malam semalam kitaorg melepak layan Thomas Cup, main pool, and dia melayan aku tgh tripping.

Semoga Allah mencucuri Rahmat ke atas Roh nya... dan semoga roh beliau ditempatkan bersama2 dengan roh2 org2 yang beriman. Amiin.

Al-Fatihah.... You were a good housemate and an excellent colleague!!.....

Keliru..

Salaam..

Something I got in my email today.... an old article.... but I think and I believe isi dia amat penting.... renungi lah...

Kiriman: Faisaltehrani pada 16 Dis, 2004 - 02:46 PM
FOKUS YANG ANEH-ANEH
OLEH FAISAL TEHRANI

ANEH! Begitu kata kawan saya Abdullah Komurcu yang sudah berada di Malaysia dalam setahun. Yang aneh-aneh terlalu banyak di Malaysia, tambahnya lagi. Beliau merujuk kepada banyak perkara yang sebetulnya membingungkan, itu kata beliau. Juga kata hati saya, tetapi kerana ia terlalu lazim di Malaysia maka ia tidak lagi jadi membingungkan meskipun ia adalah sebetulnya sesuatu yang amat mengelirukan. Jika kita kata ini sesuatu yang mengelirukan kita pula yang dituduh keliru. Maaf artikel ini lebih mengata pembaca beragama Islam. Ini bulan raya, lagi pun agama itu nasihat.

Contoh? Begini. Kawan saya itu merujuk berita seorang artis menunaikan umrah kemudian pulang masih menyanyi, masih mengenakan pakaian seksi dan macam-macam lagilah. Bila orang tanya dia balas semula denganjawapan, ini antara saya dengan Allah. Eh-eh bukan di dalam Islam antara Allah dengan kita ada kaitan dengan lain-lain manusia juga?

Kemudian kata sahabat saya itu, lebih aneh dia melihat remaja atau gadis bertudung kemudian mengenakan t-shirt lengan pendek. Di mana konsep menutup auratnya? Atau di sekolah bertudung labuh kemudianpulang sekolah tidak sabar-sabar lagi menayangkan rambut merah blonde yang baru diwarnakan. Atau, contoh lain, gadis bertudung kelihatan sopan, menegurnya di dalam tren dengan penuh manja dan menawarkan ‘saya boleh bawa pergi jalan-jalan di Genting’. Bila saya tiba dan sergah gadis itu kerana perangai buruknya, dia marah pula pada saya. “I just want to be friendly.” Eh-eh ini Malaysiakah? Bukankah ini negara Islam?

Atau bukankah Turki yang sepatutnya lebih teruk kerana mereka dilanda fahaman sekularisme lebih awal dari kita? Sahabat saya itu jadi lebih ‘terkejut kerbau’ melihat ada artis wanita bertudung sempurna kemudian menyanyi lagu seperti pop. ‘Ini aneh.’ Katanya. ‘Ini Islam cara Malaysia, kita berbangga kita terbuka.’

Tukas seorang teman saya, orang tempatan yang rasa bertanggungjawab mempertahankan ‘Malaysia’. Dan apa pendirian saya? Kenapa mempertahankan dan melindungi perkara yang nyata salah? Pengalaman saya di Turki yang paling besar ialah menyedari bahawa hak dan batil jelas dan ketara terpisah. Kalau sudah mungkar takkan bercampur dengan makruf. Tak mungkin bertemu. Tutup aurat cara separuh seperti yang diamalkan di Malaysia bukan kebiasaan di Turki dan bukan kebiasaan wanita dengan penuh ‘mesra’ menawarkan ‘mahu bersiar-siar bersama’. Tak terjadi wanita bertudung bujang keluar berjalan iseng-iseng dengan teman lelaki meskipun di dalam kumpulan. Tak ada lagu pop dengan lirik Islami. Atau tak mungkin artis pop seperti Guben Ergen atau Emre Altug menunaikan umrah kemudian hebohkan pada semua peminat dan media, baru pulang dari umrah dan hati sudah tenang asyik teringat Kaabah tetapi tetap melalak sampai nampak anak tekak dan tetap tayang pusat.

Eleh biasalah. Kolot betul Faisal Tehrani ini sejak dua tiga bulan inikan. Ikut ajaran sesatlah agaknya si Faisal sekarang. Eh-eh apa dah jadi dengan ‘budak-budak’ kita? Eh-eh, macam tak sedarkah ini berlaku selama ini?

Jadi perlukah kita terkejut jika ada daging babi bercampur dengan daging ayam di stor simpanan daging sebelum di jual ke pusat membeli belah lalu ditag dengan tanda HALAL? Perlukah kita terperanjat di kedai24 jam air soya di rak bawah, beer atau arak di rak atas? Sedangkan di kaunter bank kita di sebelah ialah kaunter muamalah di sebelah ialah kaunter kewangan cara sekular. Kitakan rayakan Krismas dan hari rayasama-sama. Apa salahnya. Baguslah orang Malaysia terbuka. Pokoknya halal dan haram bersatu. Di Malaysia kita buat begitu! Kita bangga, kita kata ini Islam cara kita.

Eh-eh Islam cara kita yang betul ke atau Islam cara yang disimpulkan di dalam al-Quran dan ditunjukkan oleh Nabi yang betul? Mana satu yang betul? Eh-eh kita keliru ke? Takkan kita keliru? Ini telah diamalkan sekian lama. Dia orang Turki, dia yang tak tahu, dia yang lagi keliru.

Eh-eh anehnya kita di dalam dunia yang kita tidak tahu mana satu makruf mana satu mungkar dan noda. Kerana itulah saya pernah terperanjat besar bila seorang gadis bersolat dan berpuasa tapi duduk bersekedudukan dengan teman lelakinya berbangsa Iran. Bolehkah ini berlaku, eh-eh inikan Malaysia. Nak hairan apa!

Masha Allah! Seteruk itukah kita tidak nampak mana yang hak dan mana yang batil. Patutlah! Allah sudah tutup pintu hidayahkah untuk remaja kita? Atau Allah sudah gelapkan hati kita sebegitu busukkah hingga sudah tidak kenal lagi mana yang betul mana yang salah dan bila ia bercampur baur kita sangka itu lebih baik dan cool?

Bukankah di dalam sembahyang kita minta jalan lurus sahaja Ya Allah yang Kau tunjukkan pada kita. Jangan jalan lain. Jalan campur aduk pun tak mahu. Di mana duduknya kita?

Teman-teman selalu bertanya, kenapa saya begitu tergiur dengan Turki (negara orang) dan duduk di sana lama-lama. Jawapan saya, saya nampak mana yang betul mana yang salah. Hitam putih jelas terang. Dan saya tak perlu risau iman saya berkarat dimasuki unsur nifaq. Yang saya selalu minta dalam doa lepas sembahyang, Tuhan jangan jadikan saya orang munafik. Saya takut!

Itu yang membuatkan saya memandang lebih tinggi ‘negara orang’. Macam bagus sahaja Faisal sekarang. Eh-eh nak jadi baik pun dipandang serong? Saya sedih hati dan terlalu berduka dengan keadaan diMalaysia, keadaan yang menimpa remaja-remaja kita. Mana tidaknya kekeliruan adalah kebenaran.

Masalah kita di Malaysia bukan masalah ilmu. Kita kreatif, bangsa Malaysia lebih kreatif dari bangsa-bangsa lain, saya sahkan ini setelah banyak mengembara. Mana ada masyarakat yang boleh menjadikan nasi putih kepada ratus macam nasi lain. Roti canai boleh diintikan nenas apatah lagi pisang. Itu baru perkara mudah-mudah kita sudah kreatif. Bakat kita sudah diterima dan diiktiraf.

Justeru apa masalah lagi, kita bagus dan lebih pandai apa? Kata Abdullah, sebelum ini jika dia lihat cawan dengan tulisan dibuntutnya Made In Malaysia dia akan beli berbanding cawan dengan tertera tulisan Made In Taiwan kerana ‘Malaysia negara Islam’, sekarang dia rasa sangsi. Dia naik keliru. Islam apa begini? Kita Islam denganhadharah, kita berilmu.

Tentu, berilmu dan bijak serta berpengetahuan seperti masyarakat Malaysia mesti datang seiiring dengan adab dan akhlak. Masalah kita ialah masalah akhlak. Kalau tidak masakan tidak saya akan menganga mendengar cerita ada gadis remaja Melayu menggesel bahagian tubuhnya kepada teman saya di dalam LRT. Come on Faisal, apa salahnya, budak perempuan itu mengaji khatam al-Quran apa! Dia tahu tajwid lebih dari engkau. Jadi sayalah yang berdosa? Eh-eh kelirunya!