September 20, 2006
Set aside preferred parking for disabled
I READ with dismay about a new parking system which was recently introduced by a shopping mall that offered VIP parking spaces for certain credit cards holders.
The rich can now park their luxury cars at this special car park, which is nearer to the entrance. Not having to park their cars in the “public” car park means they can worry less about the sort of crimes reported to have happened in such places.
The rich have comfortable rides to the mall and with one swipe of a card their safety is assured. Come rain or shine, they only need to walk a short distance to the entrance of the mall.
If shopping malls have extra space near their entrance that can be converted to parking spaces, wouldn’t it be better to reserve it for the disabled, pregnant women and the elderly?
localview
20/09/06 @ Opinion :Thestar.com.my
September 14, 2006
Of Sincerity and Wedding Vows
Ever since our wedding was featured in a local bridal magazine, doors have been opened for me to participate more actively in the wedding scene in Malaysia. I have been receiving the strangest request too, including a request to write a wedding vow!
How strange, I thought. If there were many vows that a person would make in his or her life, there will be only one vow which you can only make once – and that would be your wedding vow. It would be the most sincere thing that you would say to the person that you want to spend the rest of your life with. That would be your vow to the person whom you will wake up to every morning. And that would be a vow that will keep you together – happily married, as it was meant to be.
Looking back to our very own wedding, I had started drafting my vow even the week after he proposed to me! I wanted it to be meaningful and beautiful. We had planned to exchanged our vows during our garden reception, but we eventually changed the plan. We finally exchanged our vows at the only place which we thought was worthy of such event – in the church where I grew up.
My vow actually didn’t turn out as beautiful as I wanted it to be, but I am sure that I was being true to myself. And I am glad that I did so.
So to my dear friend whose name I can’t reveal here, I can’t really write your wedding vow on behalf of you. It has to be one thing that you have to write for yourself. It doesn’t need to be beautiful, but being truthful would be the best thing to do. And I know you can do it. And I will be there listening to you when you exhange your vow with him.
It would be beautiful, no matter what you say, because sincerity shines through even the lousiest speech ..
September 12, 2006
Save the innocent babies!
I READ about a teenage girl who tried to flush her newborn baby down the hospital toilet in the newspaper yesterday. The underaged girl somehow managed to keep her pregnancy secret from her parents through the nine months. And last night she complained about a diarrhoea and her mother sent her to a hospital at 2.00am. The caring mother also rushed to check on her after she was in the hospital toilet for more than an hour.
What is missing from this picture? I saw a caring mother who rushed her daughter to hospital at 2.00am. I also saw a teenage girl who is too afraid to let her parents know about her pregnancy. It is also possible that she had such strict parents that she knew that breaking the news to them would do more harm than good. She probably also realised that the society would never accept her baby into this world. She murdered her baby to save herself and the baby.
This innocent baby is a victim of our unforgiving society. Our religions and cultural values taught us that pre-marital sex is a sin. Pregnancies out of wedlock is wrong. But we are also taught to forgive each other. And most values teach us that everyone deserve a second chance. We are not here to encourage pre-marital sex, but we are also here to guide those who has committed these sins to repent, and to accept them when they have turned over a new leaf. And to give the innocent babies a chance to see the world.
We see many single unmarried mothers who raised their children successfully in other countries. These children deserved the chance of survival, and to live the life that God has granted them, be it with or without a father.
But our society in general cannot accept this. We are too quick to judge, and this fact create such a fear in these pregnant teenagers to get rid of their babies in any ways that they could. Flushing them down the toilets, or abandoning the newborn babies at the dumpsters to be eaten by the stray dogs. These innocent babies became the victim of a society who have rejected them even before they were born.
If only we could be more forgiving and speak about sex to our children more openly, we may be able save many of these innocent babies. We could stop cruelty to babies by accepting them into this world.
Teenagers with pre-marital sex probably deserves punishment, but innocent babies definitely deserves survival.
Think about it.
September 11, 2006
ROCK4HOPE in Retrospective
This post is written with no intention to harm and without prejudice.
The ROCK4HOPE Charity Rock Concert for Yvonne Foong took place as planned last Saturday. Everything was great, except for the scarcity of the audience. The entire event + the preparation prior to the event was truly a great lesson for me. Learnt a lot – including the fact that the Bohemian Rhapsody sounded so much better when you listen to it live! Not from Metallica though, but from the acclaimed Deja Voodoo Spells. They are great!
Though I was not in the actually committee for the event, I could say that much that I have done to help only end up in dissappointment.
And here are some of them ..
* Nel from Astro Infozone (for Hitz.fm and Mix.fm) told me that they could not list the charity event on their Infozone announcement listing, merely because the “scope” was too small. The concert was only meant to raise fund for ONE person, and they can’t accept a scope as “insignificant” as that. Since when did saving one’s life is “insignificant”? There’s always a problem in our society – an event to raise fund for one person is insignificant, but a seminar on ‘how to make money’ is significant enough to be announced 3 times a day over the radio.
* An 8TV consultant spoke to me and assuring me that they will contact me and Yvonne on promoting the concert over the Quickie show. We even discussed about free-ticket-giveaways to callers who called in during the show. I was all excited for the meeting with the ever-beautiful Marion Counter and Adam C, but then we waited and waited and we never receive the call. And our subsequent calls to them were simply not answered. Oh well, maybe something happened on the way to Heaven ..
* I faxed the press release to The Star and they gladly listed in on their Metro Diary for only ONE day, and it was not even on the day of the event, it was about 3 weeks before. But maybe it helped. I received the next phone call from one of The Star reporter requesting me for Yvonne’s photo. She said that to highlight the event on the day itself, they would like to put up her photo in the middle of the Metro Diary, so that it would get more attention. Well, we thought it was great idea, and we gladly sent her the photo. And on 9th Sept, I opened the paper the first thing in the morning and saw the picture of Multimedia University MMU on the page, instead of Yvonne’s photo.
* We sold only 16 tickets to our friends. Including the tickets for me and my spouse, that would be 18 tickets. Many promised that they would turn up and purchase the tickets on the day itself, but none that we knew actually turned up.
In retrospective, I think most dissappointment were lead by false hope. We get dissappointed when others did not keep their words.
We also saw how only the needy would understand the needy.
* My cousin who earns 5 digit a month would not even buy one ticket.
* A friend who is in the progress of raising fund for his own father’s surgery – bought 5 tickets.
* I saw how most of those who came to the concert also supported Yvonne’s Heart4Hope products – some wanted to buy 2 t-shirts but they had only RM30. Some wanted both the earrings and the book but had to settle for only one of the two because they did not have much cash in their wallet.
It’s true how only the needy understand the needy. I remembered our little observation trip to Paris last year. We were warned about the pick-pockets who were mostly blacks. And we were warned that the riots around the suburbs of Paris were mostly committed by blacks. But when we arrived there lost in our limited vocabulary in French, the black teenagers showed us the way to our hotel. And as we walked along the backstreets of the city, we saw blacks giving food to the white beggars. How ironic. Paris was an eye opener for us as we saw the worst in ourselves -we are just hypocrites in our very own way.
So there goes the retrospective or post-mortem for the concert. The next charity concert that I’ll be attending would be the Heart to Heart Charity Concert for the Desa Amal Jireh, to be held near my workplace at Bukit Jalil Stadium, we will see Daniel Lee (i voted for him, and am convinced that it was my winning vote that made him win!), Jaclyn Victor and Misha Omar. I am not sure if this concert would see a bigger turnout. We shall see …
August 8, 2006
A Chance Meeting : A Life Changing Experience
I know I have not had much time to write much recently ..
Added here is my post to The Star Citizen Blog today:
I had a very life changing experience eversince I get to know a 20-year-old girl who has a rare disease called Neurofibromatosis Type 2. This rare and incurable genetic disorder causes tumors to grow in her brain, spine and along peripheral nerves. Three major surgeries have passed since the diagnosis four years ago, but many tumors in her body still needs to be removed. The tumors damage randoms nerves as they grow.
I decided to meet up with her in person last Saturday. And my perception of life has never been the same eversince! Despite the fact that some of the tumors have made her deaf on both ears, she has no self-pity. She is humble, but yet confident. She made me realise that life could be so difficult for some of us, but she won’t spend her days complaining about what she is missing out as a 20-year old girl.
Having just spent about 30 minutes with her, communicated with her by typing on her laptop as she couldn’t hear my voice, I was truly inspired. That day, I never look at my life the same way as I used to be. I stopped complaining about all the trivial things about my life. I am so lucky compared to her, but I am so much weaker than her! I am much older than her, but she is much more matured that me.
My new-found friend, Yvonne Foong, with the help of her friends and family members, is organizing a fundraising rock concert for her surgery to remove a tumor in her brain. The concert, dubbed ROCK4HOPE, will see rock bands “A Day at The Zoo” and the acclaimed “Deja Voodoo Spells” performs songs from their respective albums at the multi-purpose hall of Sunway University College on 9th September 2006, 7.30pm onwards. More information is available at http://www.yvonnefoong.com/rock4hope.
Quoting Yvonne, “The more people supporting the concert, the sooner I can go for the surgery”.
Thank you, Yvonne for being such an inspiration to me. And I sincerely hope that you will be able to hear again soon!
August 7, 2006
ROCK4HOPE : Come enjoy the ROCK music and give her HOPE for a better life!
ROCK4HOPE is a charity concert organized to raise funds for the surgery of 20-year-old 2005 Dream Malaysia Awards winner, Yvonne Foong, to remove a tumor in the brain.
The Mass Communication student of Life College was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 2, a rare and incurable genetic disorder which causes tumors to grow in her brain, spine and along peripheral nerves. Three major surgeries have passed since the diagnosis four years ago, but many tumors in Yvonne’s body still needs to be removed. The tumors damage randoms nerves as they grow.
Yvonne, who spends her time studying and writing freelance articles for local dailies, is currently in need of funds to remove a brain tumor called Acoustic Neuroma that had made her deaf in both ears. The avid classical singer and pianist she was once, is now living in a world of silence.
You can make a difference to the life of this plucky young adult, by giving her the hope of hearing again. Besides removing the tumor, the amount raised will be used to purchase an Auditory Brainstem Implant, the only hearing aid in the world suitable for her condition due to the adsence of hearing nerves to the brain.
Yvonne invites you to the concert that helps provide her a better quality of life.
Theme: ROCK4HOPE
DATE: 9th September 2006
Performing Artists: Deja Voodoo Spells and A Day At The Zoo
Venue: Sunway University College, Multi-Purpose Hall
Time: 7:30pm onwards
Ticket Price: RM20 only
For more info, please visit http://www.yvonnefoong.com/rock4hope
Tickets are now on sale at the following locations:
– Fantasia Music Studio 32-B, Jln 20/16A, Paramount Garden, Section 20, 46300 PJ. Tel: 03-78738991
– Jaq’s and Jan’s (next to Victoria Station or Jake’s Charbroil steak house) very near Bangsar Shopping Center.
– Attributes No. 8 Jln SS 13/6, 47500 Subang Jaya.
– Canaanland (PJ Branch) F14, (First Floor), Centrepoint,Lebuh Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya. Tel : 03 – 77260461
– Canaanland (KL Branch) 8th Floor, Menara TA One, 22, Jalan P. Ramlee, 50250 Kuala Lumpur (Opposite Petronas Twin Towers/KLCC). Tel :03 21662601/2
– Canaanland (Damansara Perdana branch) Unit 2-15, Perdana The Place, No. 1,Jln PJU 8/5D, Bandar Damasara Perdana, 47820 Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-77264233
– AYA Cafe No. 34B, Jalan SS 15/8, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor (Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9.30am – 5.30pm). Tel: 03-56378737, 603-5637 473
July 18, 2006
Wake up and smell the coffee!
I woke up this morning realising that there are three things playing in my head. One – the Tsunami that hit Java’s coast killing over 100 people last night. Two – the haze situation in northern Malaysia has worsen, and Three – Siti is getting married to Datuk K!
I switched on the radio and found that most channels are discussing over the third issue – The wedding of our Malaysian Sweetheart. The Deejays and callers spoke about the issue to the finest details, from how Siti met Datuk K and the financial and personal background of them. The discussion also extended to the lengths of the marriage plan which will take place in a ‘garden wedding‘ setting and who are invited to the wedding and who are not.
I am both amazed and surprised how we tend to channel our energy and time into the personal lives of the celebrities. Not much was mentioned about the latest update on the Tsunami aftermath in Java. And not much was mentioned about the haze condition in northen Malaysia too. It seemed that Siti’s gossips have overshadowed all these important issues.
Siti undoubtedly is our Malaysian Sweetheart. She has made us proud with her many achievements without compromising our malaysian cultures and traditions. She brought to us numerous beautiful and touching songs, especially those love ballads which can easily touch our hearts. And now that she has found the man of her love, we should all give our blessings and best wishes to her. And let’s leave them alone to have some privacy to start their family.
And the rest of us Malaysians should now channel our energy to the right places! Are volunteers needed to help out the Tsunami victims? Or are we too busy discussing about Siti that we forgot to stock up on face masks if the haze condition worsen in the next few days?
It’s time for us to wake up and smell the coffee!
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Added by localview on 19 July 2006 : This article has been renamed by the-star’s editor to “Siti talk swamps tsunami news” and is published on today’s The Star’s Opinion Section.
July 6, 2006
World Cup 2006 : A display of colors and unity
Confession : I hate World Cup season! The traffic is bad especially during off-work time. The dinner outlets that we frequently go to are suddenly full. And there seemed to be more careless drivers on the road, probably lack of sleep. And everywhere you go, they would ask you the same question – “did you see the match?”. I hate to say No, but I have yet to see even one match.
But my eyes have been wide open throughout this World Cup season in Malaysia!
The world cup scenario in Malaysia is probably not the same as many other countries. Malaysian are unique in their very own ways. We are multi-racial. We speak many languages. We have our own interests. But now I believe that football is a language of its own. And I believe now that football is not just a samba kick – this season, what I saw was a display of colours, unity and family values!
I am not talking about the colourful jerseys on sale everywhere…
Football fans of all skin colours, all religions, all languages and all educational qualifications come together and cheer for the matches. They don’t mind being seated closely to each other at the more-crowded-than-usual mamak places. They may speak different languages but during those magical moment of excitement when a goal was conceded, the ah pek patted Encik Ali’s shoulder and said “Yes!!”. Mr.Siva grabbed Ahmad’s hand and said “you see, i told you he would score!”. And they would all conclude the match by ordering the same drink – teh tarik!
That was just one of the many colours that I saw this season ..
My 17-yr-old brother who always think of himself as “cool’ hardly ever have much in common to chat about with my 60-yr-old dad. I remembered when my dad asked me to tag along for a breakfast with two of them. He told me that sometimes the two of them just had breakfast without saying even a word. Our teenagers nowadays can chat online with their friends for hours, but can’t find any word to say to their parents.
Once again, the cup of life came to the rescue..
This weekend was the first time I saw my teenager brother and my dad have so much to talk about! They stayed up late together to catch the match, and they couldn’t stop just commenting and criticising the players. And the next morning at breakfast they both couldn’t wait to tell the rest of us who missed the match about the excitement and the result of the match. “You won’t believe that Brazil and England are out!”, dad said, and my brother added “yeah, and last night dad was so confident that Brazil will win the World Cup this year”..Dad added, “yeah…what can i say…”…and from there I could see the happiness in my dad’s eyes..he probably didn’t care much about who would go into the finals, but he have finally found his son back to his arms..and I could feel the tear in my eyes too..
Now let’s hope that the Cup of Life will continue to bring life to our society and families. If you have visited countries where their football fans watch the matches only with their own kinds, their own skin colors and religions, you probably will see now how colourful this World Cup season has been.
———————–
Added by localview on 13th July 2006:
This article was published as the RM50 winner in the ‘blog of the day’ section in The Star newspaper on 11th July 2006 (Page N32). Can’t say that I was happy for the RM50, but I am definitely glad to know probably millions of newspaper readers read my post! It’s a good motivation for me to keep writing!
permalink : http://blog.thestar.com.my/permalink.asp?id=4692
June 30, 2006
A local scene – Road Safety in Malaysia
A fatal accident which happened to one of my close friends earlier this year triggered me to write this small article to NST, hoping that it would create awareness on the road safety issue, especially to those who are seated comfortably at the back seat of the vehicles. This article was published at the “Letters” section of the online nst web portal on 14 February 2006. Ironically, a few weeks later, I saw a road-safety campaign advertisement on the television on this very same issue – a child arriving at school with bruises on her face. She was previously playing at the back seat of the car while his father who was driving suddenly stepped on brake abruptly and causing her to be thrown to the front dashboard. I know that my article probably did not reach the Road Safety Department, or did it? Who says that an anonymous unknown writer like me can’t make a difference? I probably did ..even in a minimal way.
Buckle up, you in the back
Feb 14
I HAVE always wondered why countries such as the United States have laws requiring passengers at the back of a vehicle to wear seat belts, while in most countries, including Malaysia, only the driver and front passenger need to wear seat belts.
Will wearing a seat belt at the back seat save lives? The answer is a yes.When accidents occur, the passengers at the back are at risk of being injured or even killed due to their inability to respond in time, compared with a passenger or driver at the front.Those at the front have a better view of the road and traffic condition, and thus, are able to respond when an accident happens.
The back passengers are prone to be more relaxed. Some may be asleep and some enjoying a good chat.
They would be unable to do anything at all should an accident take place.
They face a greater risk of being thrown out of the seats or even the car.
There should be a rule to require backseat passengers to buckle-up as well? It could save more lives.
June 29, 2006
A local celebrity – Yvonne Foong
Here’s a teenager who deserves to be everyone’s local celebrity! Yvonne Foong is not just another average 20-yr-old teenager. Read more about her at http://www.yvonnefoong.com/about-the-author
I can’t remember how I stumbled across her website, but after spending more time understanding her situation and how she took the world with all the strength that she has, she deserves every single piece of respect that I have to offer! And today, when I decided to visit her blog again, tears filled my eyes and my heart as I saw what she wrote! She is going to sponsor a child – despite of her own financial needs for her own surgery!
I sincerely hope anyone who is reading this and could afford some monetory help, you should read this :
http://www.yvonnefoong.com/donate-to-my-medical-fund/
And a note to myself, I should look into my pathetic-savings account tonight and get my cheque book ready!
A Local Writer Writing on Local Stuffs 