Blogger's Meet: The Finals

As expected, the Bloggers's Meet on Nov29 was quite, shall we say, explosive? It was, like The Finals of a Championship - Makan Championship, that is. It was, after all, the final meet for the year 2008. InsyAllah, many more meets will be planned for next year. Perhaps, as Jeejah of ...in deep thots and Doc Toakasid mentioned, the Melaka Bloggers will host it next. The pictures below were taken from different cameras, but many, off course, from our bro, Mat Salo. Download speed may be affected as I try to put in as many pictures of everyone, my apologies.


The Finals.
Continuing from the first Bloggers' Meet in Asam Pedas, the Knights and Knighties reassembled again, but this time at The Terrace, opposite their old castle Asam Pedas which has been torn down.

One for the album:
(l to r) Pak Idrus, Tok Mummy, Nuraina, Fauziah, Doc TA, Pi Bani,
Dato' Kadir Jasin, Jeejah, Queen Raden, Elina, and kerpie.

Then the Championship began.
Ansara and MCOBA however, seem to patch their difference here through bangkai and Mat Salo.

A Yellow T-shirt guy reporting for duty while bangkai and Jeejah notes his particulars.
Hey! Didn't this guy wore the same yellow T-shirt at the last meet?
Think, that t-shirt is his only wardrobe.

A Bookie arrives.
On being told of the Championship, how can a bookie not?
Salah is warmly greeted by
(l to r) Mat Salo, Yellow T-shit guy, Cikgu Nazir, Doc TA, kerpie, and Razlin.
Wonder what the odds were.

One can take the profession away from a man, but not the man from the profession.
Cikgu Nazir seen here seeking volunteers to help him with the marking of his students works.
Mrs Nazir however, seem preoccupied in a conversation (left).

Champions mesti ada gaya!
Haslizam seen giving Doc TA the finer tips of wearing Bally shoes.

Million Dollar Babe!
"I'm gonna beat you to a pulp!", Elviza seem to be saying as she picks up a camera,
perhaps mistaking it for a pair of boxing gloves. MS, her trainer echoes her sentiment while the YTG - one of the officials - looks on.

"I'm ready!"
says kerpie, in response to Elviza, and getting the support of wanshana,
who's telling her hubby-doctor to give kerpie a clean bill of health for the Final Match.

The match begins.
Saiful (hubby Queen Raden), DocTA (kerpie's trainer)
and an official watch from afar.

The spectators.
(l to r) Fauziah, Queen Raden, Nuraina, and Elina,
totally immersed watching the match.

A Free-for-all?
A tussle nearly breaks out during the match.
(l to r) kerpie and MS (partly hidden), Doc TA and son, Hafiz.

Match over.
Melvin and Galadriel, as match officials, explaining the decisions made to MS.
Jeejah stated a rumour that Melvin may soon head the Kelab Penyokong Sarkas,
due to his in-depth knowledge.


The Champion's Pose.
(l to r): Jeejah (partly hidden) and hubby, Saiful, Cikgu Nazir (match promoter, ala Don King),
Doc TA, Cikgu Ali, and the Champ, kerpie.


A Sad YB.
YB Khalid Samad feeling sad at the outcome of the match,
while the Ipoh-mali fans try to console him.
(l to r): Cikgu Ali, YB Khalid, Zainal and Azizul.


A Happier YB.
In an effort to cheer him up, he was given the honour to blow the candles on Elina's birthday cake.
However, someone forgot to bring the cake. (Elina did celebrate her birthday a week earlier).


The Dispute.
Players and officials in disagreement about the match outcome.
In the background, 2 ladies hug each other in joy. (No fair! They did not hug me).


The Appeal.
Pak Idrus, presenting his case to former High Court Judge, Dato' Syed Ahmad Idid.
Looking on is Pi Bani and MS.


The Evidence.
Pokku, as the appointed Independent Investigator, looking at the evidence MS presented,
while Dato' Syed Ahmad looks on.


The Denial.
"I'm innocent!" cries Nuraina as the former Judge listens on.
The court was adjourned and will resume at the next meet.


When the dust settled.
A brotherhood of bloggers got together the night after at Ayam Golek Halim.
(l to r) MS, Muteaudio, Doc TA, kerpie, cakapaje, and Cikgu Nazir.

To all: while the pictures are real, the accompanying text are not. Should anyone feel offended, do forgive me - the text were written in humour and nothing more.

A Man and His Needles

In my previous posting, I mentioned of going to a Dr. Nasir's office. Reading his profile at The Star Online, he did get his doctorate in International Nurition. And though now a Selangor State Assemblyman, he still practice another form of treatment, one which he studied soon after being freed from the Internal Security Act, Acupunture.

The first time I met Dr Nasir, was during the 10th General Elections campaign period in Subang Jaya. A soft spoken man, I was attracted to his polite and humble manner. Every now and then, I would try to follow up on his latest news, but never did know he was into Acupunture. That, I only came to know yesterday when I was introduced to one of his assistants in the Constituent's Office. Having a friend or two in mind, I visited his office today in hope of learning more about his treatment. You do have to excuse that cakapaje guy, for apart from light reading materials, the only other thing he knows about acupunture was through a 1970's movie 'The Golden Needles'. But that, was a very long time ago.

Anyway, Dr Nasir has devoted one day a week to treat patients at his clinic in Pandan Jaya. Unless there are matter of arising from Local Councils or the State Government, off course. He normally charges a nominal fee to cover his treatment costs, and I was told by his assistant, had refused a huge sum from a Singaporean whom he treated. However, please bear in mind that like all things in this world, it is subjected to the will of Allah s.w.t.

The kind Doctor did give me his name card, one which I seem to have misplaced for now. But should anyone be interested to get in touch with him, insyAllah, I will try to get another. Or, one could always try to call the number as listed in The Star Online.

Disaster Talk

Muha, in his latest entry, mentioned a small tremor at his home in Kajang, sometime late last night. He is not sure whether it caused by soil movement or some structural fault, but it seem the entire residents of the block felt it too and rushed out of their building. Alhamdulillah, though the fault has not been identified, no untoward incident occurred. In light of this, I would like to share with my friends, several tips which I received via email more than 3 years ago.

Before I put the link and the article, I would like to advise caution - I do not know, nor can I verify the website owner. Still, the tips are good and may be a lifesaver. Undoubtedly, living in a country that has had very minimal natural disaster, one may argue some of the points stated. But do remember, our authorities and we ourselves, have almost no experience on such matters, relying on our so called logic and nothing more. Whatever the case, it is up to the individual whether to heed or not.

The website mentioned belongs to Survival Supply at http://www.survival-supply.com/, and the page for the natural disaster tips is http://www.survival-supply.com/info_pages.php?pages_id=9 or as below:

Earthquake Survial Tips

Critical Earthquake Safety Information!!! My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake. I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation (UNX051 -UNIENET) for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters. The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under their desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life". The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the "triangles" you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building. They are everywhere. I trained the Fire Department of Trujillo (population 750,000) in how to survive, take care of their families, and to rescue others in earthquakes.

The chief of rescue in the Trujillo Fire Department is a professor at Trujillo University. He accompanied me everywhere. He gave personal testimony: "My name is Roberto Rosales. I am Chief of Rescue in Trujillo. When I was 11 years old, I was trapped inside of a collapsed building. My entrapment occurred during the earthquake of 1972 that killed 70,000 people. I survived in the "triangle of life" that existed next to my brother's motorcycle. My friends who got under the bed and under desks were crushed to death [he gives more details, names, addresses etc.]...I am the living example of the "triangle of life". My dead friends are the example of "duck and cover".

TIPS DOUG COPP PROVIDES:

1) Everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE is crushed to death -- Every time, without exception. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are always crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies all naturally often curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. The reason is simple: the wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room, telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens while you are watching television and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Everybody who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of frequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building).The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads. They are horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn'tt collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by screaming, fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked;

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles, says the author. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Have You Ever Been In WL's Situation?

Marinie, or Water Lilly, my friend and also an adik angkat, went ranting today about the unfairness of fellow human beings, or rather their insensitiveness to the wellbeing of WL and her friends. Reading her post, I sense anguish and frustration boiling and I feel for her. Maybe, to many of us, life has been easy. And by many standards, it has.

I am not a good writer. But if you would bear with me, let me try to give you a glimpse of a day in the life of those who not as lucky as many of us are. And what I will be attempting, it may not even suffice to raise the consciousness nor the hardship WL may face each passing day.


Waking up early morning to catch the bus to school, I walk the dark streets to the bus stop. The school bus had come by earlier than normal, and I had to give it a miss. Its either that, or missing Subuh.

I have to walk fast or miss the 6.15am bus to KL. But he road is uneven and barely 200 meters walking, my left leg began to feel pain along the calf, so I slow down my steps and begin to hobble. No matter how I try to hide it, some people began taking notice of the awkward steps I am making. Due to the extra energy I have to use, I begin to sweat. By the time I reach the bus stop, my forehead and hair is wet. A smart looking guy at the bus stop could not help himself with his words "Hai...main hujan ke?", when the nights has been dry for many days now. I look at him and just smile in return.

The bus stop is full of people, and I can only lean on the stand, lifting my left leg a tad above ground to rest it, and putting all the pressure on my right. My face must have shown a grimace of pain or two, as another guy keep turning and looking at me. I begin to feel awkward, like I am the butt of a sick joke, and the feeling of awkwardness shifts to embarrassment and soon, humiliation. Luck was with me as the bus arrive and all of us clamber aboard. Yes, clamber. For this is still a trait in this self declared (by that toyol) Developed State of Islam Hadhari nation, passengers jostle with each other boarding a public transport - a scene quite like any 3rd World Country.

Afraid of having my foot stepped on as it already has a pain of its own, I wait. Soon as the last few is in, I climb aboard. Expectedly by then, all the seats have already been taken. With my bag slung across my shoulder, I clutch the rubbery handhold dangling from a metal bar. I then notice the man who was looking at me at the bus stop, is sitting right in front. I ignore him as he is similar to the pain on my left leg that refuse to go away.

The pain in both legs now begins to throb even more as my body sways with the bus movements as it negotiates corners, bends, and even when it stops to pick up more passengers. With more people, the bus becomes crowded and I stand almost rigid, adding yet more pressures to the left leg. For 40 minutes, I endure the ride to KL.

In KL, I begin the treacherous walk to the school. On mornings such as this, I am faced with a dilemma: either use the road which has a long steep staircase, or use the further route where the gradient of the hill is kinder to my legs but not the distance. Several times in the future of this past, I decide not to use any.

I am now in my classroom with my shirt soaking wet. A mindless schoolmate pass a remark similar to those at the bus stop earlier. Again I choose to ignore. And slowly as the hours pass by, the pain subsides and I can now move around, but as normal as any cripple would. For some reasons, some other mindless students would let out a jeer or two. Later in future life, the jeers would be like 'cendana', quite like Allahyarham Nordin Ahmad's character in the Patung Cendana movie some very many years ago. Sometimes, the pain of these name-calling can be worse than the physical pains of my left leg.

At 1.10pm, the school bell begins to ring, and many of the lower form students begin walking out; their school day has ended while for several others and I, it is time to rest. At 2.30, each of us who have not walked out, will begin our extra curriculum activity.

Even as a toddler, I was fascinated with the Army. Back in Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan, the road in front of our house was regularly used by soldiers from a nearby camp en route to their foot patrols at a secondary jungle a short distance away. Perhaps, the sight of those soldiers later enticed me to join the School's Army Cadet Corp, thinking my leg condition is as normal just as anyone.

For 3 years, another friend and I had to endure the taunts and shouts of especially a certain senior who was a Sergeant in the Cadet Corp. And because the 2 of us could not execute the 'pacak' drill without the military boots, we became the target of more verbal abuse by the Sergeant and several NCOs. But time pass by too fast, and before we knew it, both of us became 5th year seniors and outlasting many other 'fit' cadets.

Still, the adult life was not kind enough for both of us.


As I mentioned in the beginning, I write this for my friend and 'lift' sister (adik angkat), WL. The pain she and many other people similar to her has to endure in their daily lives may not be visible nor felt by other people. They ask not for pity, but the simple courtesy and kind thoughts one would bestow upon another. Are we, the physically able, mentally handicapped not able to do so? (This is meant for those inconsiderate people mentioned in WL's entry.)

WL, Muha, kerpie, and even Pak Kassim, forgive me if I am unable to portray the true situation each of you face daily.

Komuniti Muda

It was only last night I commented on Muha's blog about about how when one have the intention to do good, Allah s.w.t. would open avenues to make it convenient for the person to do so. SubhanAllah, earlier this morning, such an avenue was shown.

Sometime last week, Encik Mohamed, one of my neighbours, invited me for supper at Halim's Ayam Golek. Having not gone out with him for sometime, I gladly accepted and soon we were enjoying the Ayam Golek, and were deep into a conversation regarding a social ailment which seem to be going out of hand. As the President of the PIBG at a nearby school, and quite active in the activities of a surau, Encik Mohamed touched on the problem of truancy amongst the schoolchildren within Kota Damansara.

It seems, one of the methods to be adopted by the PIBG is to place signboards in strategic areas declaring those designated spots as 'Zon Bebas Ponteng'. Not a bad idea, I said, but countered that such signboards are static and would not do much to deter anyone since it cannot be enforced by either the police nor the public. We then mulled different approaches when Abang Halim proposed that the schools invite various sections of the public to give a short talk about their life during and after school, which led to where they are now - both, successful and the not so successful people - the latter who in their younger days should be truant students themselves. It, Halim said, would allow the students to judge for themselves which of the2 roads would be the wiser: studying for the future, or play truant now and live the consequence later. Encik Mohamed like the idea and would propose it to his PIBG. I was not thoroughly satisfied, as I think there are more to it than just meet the eye but decided to let it go.

Late last night, I received a phone call from Doctor Lo'Lo' Political Secretary, inviting webtv8 to attend an event which would be officiated by the Doctor herself. And what a coincidence it was, as the event was organised by a new Non-Government Organisation called Komuniti Muda.

Komuniti Muda is peopled by young individuals with the intention of assisting trouble students in their studies and approach to life. Formed early March 2008, Komuniti Muda now has about 40 active members, each with a special knowledge, talent, or insight of their own. More importantly, they each have a want to contribute to the society. Currently, they are already assisting several student and are also conducting special classes for 30 students in Kuala Lumpur.

Soon as the event was over, I approached one of the Committee Member and gave him Encik Mohamed's number to contact. InsyAllah, Komuniti Muda will be calling him and that they would be able to work together for the betterment of those trouble students, especially within Kota Damansara.

Any parents interested to know about Komuniti Muda, may call its Advisor, Herman Shamsudeen at 019 216 8577.