Ini Jalan Bukan Kau Yg Punya!

Balik Raya Fever is nearing. And so is another chapter of long-hours stucked in traffic jams, accidents and all sort of things that test the limit of our patience and tolerance. Those listed down below, please bear in mind that those highways, federal roads, lorong-lorong dan denai-denai, adalah hak milik bersama!

Road Hoggers

What can I say…I just hate ‘em!!! When you are driving on the highway @ 110kmh (?) on the right lane and then you had to hit on the brake just because the car in in front is too dense to understand that lane is for overtaking or emergency and NOT for cruising leisurely @ 80kmh!!! Not when the other lane is clear for you to continue your ‘makan angin’. Come on la…stop being so selfish. To make the matter even worse, tu diaa..tengah dok bersayang-sayang dengan awek kat handphone. Instantly, 9 naga aku keluaq. Hangennnn... Because of these inconsiderate fellas, I’ve become a tailgater (which I hate!), flashing hi-beam like crazy and if that still fail, I blare my honked! Please la…I hate honking people.

Tailgaters

Owh yes…these people really gets on my nerves. Say, @ the 3-lane highway, m driving in the middle, another car is overtaking me albeit slowly. Fine. In the rear-mirror I could see a fierce looking red BMW is coming on really fast n flashing it’s light to the overtaking car beside me, signaling the driver ‘get-out-of-my-way’. Eh hello Mr. BMW, ko buta ke ape? That fella is trying to overtake me. Wait je la. But whatever. Not my prob. Then why I hate this type of driver? Haa…when that BMW is flashing his lights, and honking like mad, the driver in front of him gets panic or really disturb, tambah-tambah kalo awek baru dapat lesen or kete baru. So, that driver will swerve into my lane with just ngam2 gap between our cars. Whadda heck! Bahaya siot! Tau la your car canggih,canggun,aku terliur tengok, but there's no call for rudeness. Even if you look like Shah Rukh, sikit pon aku xhengen if that's how you are! That’s 1 of the hundreds reasons why I just hate those tailgaters. I hate road hoggers coz they made me into a tailgater which I hate!

Mat Rempit

Need to be said more on these inebriate fools? Bazir ATP di bulan Ramadhan jek...Buat malu kaum je.

Drivers who don’t indicate

Eh, hello! What does indicator means? Masa test JPJ pandai lak pakai kan pakai. It’s not that hard to flick on the indicator. Tak luak pon kehenseman n kemachoan korg. It’s really bugging me. You want to change lane, nak cilok gua, ok, gua tak kesah. But bagi la signal. Then, dengan berat hati aku akan bagi jalan coz at least you are considerate enough to warn me of your ciloking. If the road is devoid of any cars that could cause accident then if you want to zig-zagging the lanes pon nobody cares.

Drivers slow down to watch accidents

1 word comes to mind when it comes to these people- VULTURES! Yep... I wonder if these guys get a sudden flush of adrenalin seeing others' misfortune or misery. If not, then why are they gawking and slowing their cars unnecessarily and causing another bout of congestion? Eh hello Makcik! Move la. Don’t cause another accident. ingat tu free show ke?? Maybe they are too caring… wanting to see if everything is OK. But, weird thing is, they don’t stop to help. If they do, then it’s humanitarian indeed. It’s hard to find Good Samaritan these days. But usually, that is rarely the case…

Drivers braking without any reason

Stop braking unnecessarily. It’s annoying. Tak pasal-pasal aku jadi gelabah ingat emergency brake. If the traffics are heavy, then drive slowly. Bukan tailgating the car in front. Ko nak laju camne time congested camtu?? When they tailgate, mula la membrek dan aku akan jadi stark raving mad!

Drivers who have no clue on speed limit

What are speed limits for? If you are ignorance of the reasons then don’t drive until you have an idea. But if you know but couldn’t care any less then you are a disgrace. They are reason why the authority puts up 60kmh, 80kmh, and 110kmh at various locations. They take into account the terrains, road conditions, climate and other factors that contribute to traffic safety. Those drivers, who can’t read the sign, are putting others at risk. 1 accident that caused by hydro-skidding can lead up to a massive pile-up! Last week, on my way to work, as I exited the SKVE and went into the road leading to Putrajaya, which is nearly a 360 degree turn, a car, Kelisa, was in the middle of the road, badly damaged. Luckily there was a police present, signaling us to keep away and slow down. So the car in front of me managed to slow down and steer clear of the Kelisa. I was driving slowly at that time as it was raining and the road was slippery, so did the cars behind me. Alhamdulillah, all of us escape unscathed. So, to those mulish drivers, mind the speed limit!

Road Ragers

Sempena hari baik bulan baik, maaf-maaf la sikit2 tu. You got personal problem? Who doesn’t? awek ko curang? Ko curang la balik. Go and vent your anger elsewhere. Not on the road and definitely on the other drivers. You think you are too big too bagus? You got connection with Along Bukit Beruntung? Aku keturunan ke 7 Daeng Perani. Raja Siam pon kalah dengan dia. You 'Pedaki' members? You got ayah? I got ayah also....Who cares! You mess with me, me cabut.. Gila ape nak tunggu…Lariiiii…..

Driver/passenger who litter

Zero civic awareness. Fine. But when you drive in front of me and start throwing out things without any thought of people behind you, memang ko nak kene maki kan? If in your youth, you represent the state in discus throw @ the Olimpik, fine la. Tak de la kete aku tu bermandikan sos keropok lekor. Ini lawan gusti tangan ngan budak tadika pon belum tentu menang.... 1 thing if they throw out food, and entirely different thing if the are smoking like the Fire Dragon of the East then throw out the cigarette butts, yang masih berbara2 kelepek kene kereta aku… hahaha… memang membara aku! You wanna die, fine by me, keep on smoking till your internal organs rot and fester with maggots and and your external organs got infected with gangrene and fall off! Lantak ko la labu. But when you throw that disgusting and sickening thing out and somehow it landed on other people’s vehicle, ko memang bangang. End of story.

So friends...drive safely, don't be reckless and dont be a victim. Please visit "Malaysians Unite for Road Safety 09.09.09" and pledge. You can be the start of that change!

Five Minds for the Future: A Review

The world is getting quite ruthless and the competition is fierce, and made even harder by the globalization. In order to survive the era to come, we need to have an edge over everyone by equipping ourselves with skills to give us the extra mile we sorely needed to excel and thrive. When it comes to that, nothing is more powerful than the right mindset or mental framework. In Five Minds for the Future, Howard Gardner, explores five dimensions of intelligence or thinking that require to be mastered in order to succeed. Gardner writes; “Winston Churchill: ‘The empires of the future will be empires of the mind”, [1] thus reinforcing his stand that the mind is indeed a powerful tool if only we can garner its expanse. The 5 minds he proposes are the discipline mind, synthesizing mind, creating mind, respectful mind and ethic mind. He emphasise on that these 5 minds are more into policy than psychology and should be approached as such.

Discipline Mind- can be developed via training to perfect a skill which means able to systematically approach problems in one’s area of expertise, as well as gathering and mastering the broad knowledge areas of one’s profession. The process to get the Discipline is lengthy and gruelling as it needs time and effort to master it and continue to hone it without stop beyond formal education. However, it can be fashioned if one is diligent enough.

Synthesizing Mind- able to gather up separate or seemingly unrelated parts of information and mesh them into a cohesive explanation that can be understood by one and other. This calls for the ability to analyse the data from vast sources of information which come in at a rapid rate, sort it accordingly and form it into something that make sense. Synthesizing will be mush efficient when one master the Discipline Mind as the information can be distinguished with expertise.

Creating Mind- going beyond the existing knowledge, able to look at the details of a situation or profession (product of synthesizing mind) and create incremental and significant changes that are original and out-of-the-box to benefit their organization or the profession as a whole. Creating mind is interlinked with Discipline and Synthesizing Mind. One must possess the first two before proceeding to the creating level.

Respectful Mind - ability to sidestep the common stereotypes of people or groups, acknowledge the differences and tolerate divergence. It’s tough to find the common ground with other but can be achieved through Discipline Mind.

Ethical Mind - how one interacts with oneself, trying to understand the role and act beyond self-interest, and society, doing what is the correct thing to be done for the good of all.

He is correct in his view that current education laid emphasis on science, technology and mathematics. Students are accumulating the factual or subject matter knowledge and memorizing formulae. Yet these students unable to answer when ask a question outside their familiar subject matter, meaning that they are unable to master it fully. The current concept of education needs to be revisit in hope to cope with the changing world. Students need to be exposed to social sciences, the humanities, arts, civics, ethics, health, safety as well with equal hours in the curriculum.

I however, personally disagree when Gardner claims that;

“Any talk of understanding the world- let alone adding to current understanding through further work in a discipline- would have seen exotic. Folklore, common sense, an occasional word from the wise sufficed. (Some varieties of Islamic education still embrace this vision.)”. [2]

Here, he assumes on the premise that education Islam relies on the Words of Holy Quran and Al-Hadith, passing the knowledge from generation to generation, accepting the knowledge uttered by the wise without any question, any judgement. Whereas in Islam, we know that the Words of Holy Quran are the truth and the knowledge in it explains the science which the world knows today. And to compare it to folklore or depending on the word of the wise is an erroneous judgement because those who study Al-Quran and analyse the words and the meaning it conveys would be successful in life just like those geniuses of the past, Al-Khwarizmi, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina and Al-Battani. Therefore, Muslim does not merely accepting the ‘words of the wise’ –as Gardner put it- because it’s the thing to do, since the knowledge in Al-Quran is proven to be the ultimate truth.

Gardner also acknowledges that there may be forces that could undermine his five approaches and the major set back is conservatism. He suggests countering this resistance by attempting to understand and approach it indirectly to mute the unrest it caused. Gardner summarizes, "Those who succeed in cultivating the pentad of minds are likely to thrive." [3]

Reviewed by Cipan 01 September 2009

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[1] Page 11

[2] Page 25

[3] Page 163

Maids to get one day off a week: THE DRAMA IT WILL ENTAILS

Maids to get one day off a week

2009/09/03

KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesians maids will be given one day off a week and be allowed to keep their passports during their stay in the country.

The Home Ministry, in a statement yesterday, stated that the rest day requirement would be enforced after amendments were made to the Employment Act 1955.

These terms were agreed on by Malaysia and Indonesia at the third meeting of the Working Committee on the Recruitment and Placement of Indonesian Maids on Aug 20, it added.

The Malaysian delegation was led by the ministry's secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam.


The meeting also agreed that the temporary work permits of Indonesian maids who ran away from their employers would be revoked immediately and the maids would not be allowed to enter Malaysia again to work. – Bernama

Wahhh… this is goin’ to be painful. Think I’d rather spend the day @ home than having to elbow my way through the throng…

Yes, in term of human rights or things like that, yes, it makes a whole lot of sense. These people come from Godforsaken places, in the search of a better life, to support their families back home. They have to bear the difficulties of being away from children, parents, husbands and well you get the drift. Not only that, coupled with the household chores and some unlucky enough to get impossible employer, who fusses over everything. Not only these maids get to be nanny, cooks, gardener, they also are the car washer, seamstress and other things as well.

Back then, in the British Victorian Era, the Lords employed hundreds of servants to manage his estate. Butler, footman, stable boy, nanny, chamber maid, cook, gardener, valet and maid for the mistress, just to name a few. They are specialized in their task. Nowadays, those maids are all in 1. untung jugak kan?

My sis used to have maid. After 4 of them, she called it quit. No more. Too many problem. Dapat yang baik ‘Seri’, after 2 tahun nak balik ke suami n anak2. then dapat yang ala2 gatal..couldn’t recall her name. Haha… After that, early forties widowed-Indonesian ‘Ida’. Good at work but she’s just sad. My heart went out for her everytime I looked at her…my mom told us she got problems at home with her in-laws… my mom ni, semua orang die nak buat sedara. Huhu…so last2 nanti kena pijak kepala. at last, Ida just ran away. The last 1 is younger than me whom my sis just couldn’t get along with…so off she went.


The negative side I’m mulling in my head is that, I just don’t think it’s the best way to approach this issue. Can you just imagine the crowd? People hanging around the malls, parks, every cemented place that can be found in KL… Yup, I can. It’ll be just like the last time I went to Medan. Packed, crammed, and jammed! Not to mention the new odour that’s gonna linger on your shirt….

Whatever pon, we just wait and see…. I bet it’s gonna be interesting.

Yummy

Dark Choc Brownies with Walnut!

m not strong enuff 2 resist!



On Tuesday nite, i went to Bukit Subang after berbuka with DarkSky demi gamba di atas... tang dark choc tu yang buat aku xsedap hati aku sepanjang hari. Actually aku kene siapkan Book Review on Howard Gardner's Five Mind for the Future... sangatla ZZzzzz...maka my sis dengan bermurah hati menawarkan aku gamba di atas.. segar bugar aku buat book review sampai siap dengan cemerlang! motivasi di kala puasa...huhuhu....

How Do You Decide Who To Marry?? (written by kids)

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?
(1) You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. - Alan, age 10

(2) No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry.God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with. - Kristen, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
(1) Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then. - Camille, age 10

(2) No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married. - Freddie, age 6 (very wise for his age)

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
(1) You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids. - Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
(1) Both don't want any more kids.- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
(1) Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)

(2) On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that Usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date. - Martin, age 10 (Who said boys do not have brains)

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
(1) I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns. -Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
(1) When they're rich.- Pam, age 7 (I could not have said it better myself)

(2) The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that. - Curt, age 7 (Good Point)

(3 ) The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.- Howard, age 8 (Who made the rule)

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
(1 ) I don't know which is better, but I'll tell you one thing. I'm never going to have sex with my wife. I don't want to be all grossed out.- Theodore, age 8 (Too much detail for his age)

(2 ) It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
(1 ) There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?- Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favourite is........

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
(1 ) Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.- Ricky, age 10 ( The boy already understands)

Kids just say the darndest things kan...hehe

My Cuppies Obsession

Roses tu mak buat, yg Hatiku Luka Lagi tu aku nyer..hehe

Blue Ribbon urs truly created, n yg White Frills tu aci lah...die yg terer pon

Berjaya gak finally..

Last wiken, me, aci, mak, alisha and ashbil bergelumang di dapur menghasilkan masterpiece masing2.. ade yang jadi cm bantut n bentan, ade yg mcm plastisin kene jemur bawah matahari, ade yg mcm nak bg kt org kawen buat hantaran n ade yg mcm dilanda heartbreak.. pape pon 1st attempt. fondant lagi tau, bukan butter cream.

I Dream of …. Part 1

Ever since I was lil’ gurl (yeah… do believe it), I’ve been watching this picturesque place in most of the Hindi films. The heroin dancing in the sloping green hill with yellow flowers softly swaying in the gentle breeze, the hero shouting at the top of his lung, happily calling out for his gurl, thus announcing his eternal love. Films such as Kashmir Ki Kali, Aap Aaye Bahar Aaye, Junglee, Kabhi-Kabhi, Jab Jab Phool Khile and Betaab have been forever etched in my memory, what with that romantic scenes in the snow clad hills and moving in the lush green plains that is rolling on and on. Simply breathtaking. That is the magic of Kashmir, the heaven on earth. Once dubbed the most beautiful place in the world. It's beauty is unrivaled.

The yesteryear film productions preferred to shot their film here rather than the foreign locales e.g Switzerland, Austria. Why wouldn’t they when they have such exquisite places like Sri Nagar, Pahalgam, Wuller Lake and so forth.

I Dreamed of This 20 Years Ago...

Hill Station Attraction

Kashmir...in Fall

Kashmir Ki Kali: Shammi is wooing Sharmila Tagore

Flowers in Bloom for Lovers in Love

Dreamin' of this while singing "Yeh Samaan Pyar Ke"

However, the land has been plagued by the territorial disputes between Pakistan, India, China and people of Kashmir. India's official position is that Kashmir is an "integral part" of India. Pakistan's official position is that Kashmir is a disputed territory whose final status must be determined by the people of Kashmir. Certain Kashmiri independence groups believe that Kashmir should be independent of both India and Pakistan. Kashmir’s population is made up hugely by Muslims as depicted in below figure.

So no wonder Pakistan is fighting like mad to get it. It belongs to the people and most of them are Muslim.

During the early days of the conflict somewhere in 1950, neighboring tribe in Pakistan decided to free those Muslim in Kashmir from India. The most prominent tribe was Pathan, my grandada’s clan! No wonder I love this place so much…hehe. Pathan tribesmen number was larger than the Mughal at that time, fought with bravery and determination to save their Muslim brothers. And here I thought my grandada was weaving carpets during his youth. Hehe

So it really is a waste that the conflict has torn the beautiful valley apart. The land was being shredded like a piece of meat thrown over to pack of hungry wolves by the British administration led my Mountbatten.

The timeless beauty had been compromised… and I never got the chance to realize my dream…