Abdul Fatah 'Gatal' Harun

Mack welcomes you to the 'Great Malaysian Slander' courtesy of Abdul Fatah 'Gatal' Harun and PAS.

Magic for the fuel tank?

With rising fuel prices, it is either sooner or later that someone comes to you with a magic device or a magic pill for your fuel tank to help you save on petrol consumption.

I would be very interested if anyone has either. Cannot tahan already lah!

The Spider & The Missing Axe

"A Tibetan story tells of a meditation student who, while meditating in his room, believed he saw a spider descending in front of him. Each day the menacing creature returned, growing larger and larger each time. So frightened was the student, that he went to his teacher to report his dilemma. He said he planned to place a knife in his lap during meditation, so when the spider appeared he would kill it. The teacher advised him against this plan. Instead, he suggested, bring a piece of chalk to meditation, and when the spider appeared, mark an X on its belly. Then report back.

The student returned to his meditation. When the spider again appeared, he resisted the urge to attack it, and instead did just what the master suggested. When he later reported back to the master, the teacher told him to lift up his shirt and look at his own belly. There was the X."

"Another version has it that a man lost his axe. He suspected that it had been stolen by his neighbour's son. He looked at him closely. The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief and talked like a thief. A few days later, the man found his axe while he was cutting wood in the valley.

The next day when he saw the boy, the boy walked, looked and talked like any other child."

The moral of the stories is, don't we all sometimes behave like the student and the man? That we see what we want to see?

That a US$100B industry can be seen as a scam by some is indeed laughable at times!

What's happening at the front?

There sure are alot they are not telling us, for reasons know only to a few. Tun M and Jeff Ooi, among others. Lesser beings like us are kept in the dark.

Who can be more dumberer ... (5)?

Some people are just plain dumb while some try too hard to be. Like the MB of a developed but soon to be under-water state.

Via The Star, 28 April 2006:

“When the local authority's officers approach these illegal operators they will say that the police issued them licences. If the police were to approach them, they would say the council gave them the licence. Full report here.

Look here, even my 9 year old son would know to ask for the f**king papers so just cut the crap! Don't try to justify the inefficiencies your subordinates with this dumb statement!

Semuanya TAK okey!

Who can be more dumberer ... (4)?

Not only is he dumb. He is also stubborn and unrepentent.

“I have proof, which is why I have no qualms about saying what I said.” Asked where he obtained the “facts” from, Abdul Fatah merely said that he had his sources.

What a silly joke, YB! Err ... the B can stand for Berhormat, Bodoh, Biadap, etc. Abdul Fatah appears to have chosen. Here's your firing squad, sir.

NST 28 April 2006: Fatah under fire for remark
Malay Mail 28 April 2006: Uproar over slur on divorcees & Public appalled by MP's insensitive remarks & 'Do tell me where the itch is'
Star 28 April 2006: Abdul Fatah slammed & Leaders must behave decently & PAS MP ‘should apologise’

Past Future

It is often said that if we continue to live in the past, it becomes our future!


We just have to let go if we wish to grasp something new. Easily said than done?

Another increase in interest rate!

Did you read the papers today?

Via The Star, 27 April 2006, Malaysia’s interest rate raised to 3.5%;

"PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara has raised the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25 basis points to 3.5%. The ceiling and floor rates of the corridor for the OPR are correspondingly increased to 3.75% and 3.25% respectively." Full report here.

And via The Edge Daily, Electricity tariff hikes could devastate industry;

"The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) believes a hike in electricity tariff rates would have a devastating effect on the manufacturing industry as it would squeeze profit margins." Full report here.

When the price of petrol increase, whose kena teruk-teruk? When inflation goes up, whose belt got tightened? When they raise the interest rate, who continues to service the loans? When electricity tariff increases, who will be at the receving end?

If only our employers are more compassionate and consider all the above factors in our annual salary adjustment .... Really, that would be wishful thinking. Didn't you just read that profit margins will be squeezed? And if you had read between the lines, so will the employees!

By the way, how many of you got an annual increment of the lucky 4.8% this year?

Who can be more dumberer ... (3)?

Politicians can say the dumberest things. Like this YB from Rantau Panjang.

"Most of these divorced women go to parties and are gatal. It is quite obvious why they ended up divorced or why their husbands left them. They are gatal," he said.

The YB has obviously missed the three fingers that are pointing back at his face when he said that in parliament yesterday. In that sense, I think it is fair to assume that he must have gone to quite a number of parties himself to discover this, no?

Women, not just divorcees, should demand a public apology from the YB because his statement insinuates that all of you who parties are gatal!

Worrying, worrying, worrying ... to have a leader having this kind of "senget" thinking.

Walk in another's moccasins, YB.

Check your nuts!

Check your nuts. They might be pirated fake!

NST reports 25 April 2006 that even your favourite groundnuts might be pirated. Pirates use the packaging of popular brands for lower quality groundnuts and sell them for a profit. Bet you were not even suspicious when they tasted different the last time you had them.

Full story here.

Oil spike raises fresh concerns

PETALING JAYA: The spike in the price of crude oil to US$75 a barrel has raised fresh concern over its impact on inflation and rising costs for companies.

Coupled with the rise in the prices of other commodities such as copper, tin and aluminium, it is feared there would be a big jump in the cost of doing business and profits would be eroded if the price of commodities remained high.

Full report via The Star 25 April 2006.

The US$100B Industry

Like it or not, this US$100B industry with more than 57 million members worldwide is coming of age. In Malaysia alone, 3 million members contribute US$1.4B distributing products through this channel in 2004.

Worldwide, experts are beginning to recognise the network marketing industry as the new paradigm in which businesses will be conducted in the future.

Fortune 100 companies are jumping onto the bandwagon. Companies like Microsoft, Gillete, Toyota, Xerox, AOL, General Motors, Sun Microsystem, Oracle, Skytel, General Electric, Time Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Citi Group, Nestle, Remington Industries, Unilever and AT&T, to name just a few.

Warren Buffet - you know who he is - also invests in the direct selling industry through one of his companies, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Economic adviser of two presidential administrations, Paul Zane Pilzer , a world-renowned economist, a multi-millionaire software entrepreneur, a part-time rabbi, a college professor and the author of three best selling books Other People's Money (Simon and Schuster, 1989), Unlimited Wealth (Crown Publishers, 1990), God Wants You to Be Rich (Simon and Schuster, 1995/1997) and most recently, The Wellness Revolution (Wiley, 2002) boldly predicts that The Next Millionaires will emerge from this industry!

Financial expert David Bach and author of six consecutive national bestsellers, including two consecutive No. 1 New York Times bestsellers, Start Late, Finish Rich and The Automatic Millionaire sees direct selling as a legitimate industry that can help people earn more money to improve their finances without quitting their job.

Jim Rohn who has been internationally hailed over the years as one of the most influential thinkers of our time is also the world's leading motivational speaker, philosopher and entrepreneur. He describes his involvement in the industry as life revolutionary.

One of America's leading authorities on the development of human potential and personal effectiveness, Brian Tracy considers the network marketing industry The Answer.

Denis Waitley, a most sought after keynote speaker and productivity consultant in the world today calls it The Greatest Trend in Business. Waitley goes further to say that "if you are not networking, you are not working!"

Best selling author, Robert Kiyosaki, of the Rich Dad Poor Dad fame and also an investor and businessman refers to it as The Perfect Business.

Robert G. Allen, in his best seller Mutiple Streams of Income suggests it as another way of generating wealth.

MLM guru Tim Sales calls it Brilliant Compensation.

Dr. Charles King, a graduate of the Harvard Business School and a professor of marketing at the University of Illinois refers to it as The New Profession.

What about you? How do you see this industry?

Despite all these testimonials, we have yet a small group of people associating the industry to scams and illegitimate pyramid schemes. I personally frown upon exploitative and unethical practices by members of this industry so it is fine with me if this group of self-proclaimed experts wishes to go to war with a certain company and its distributors over that. Those bastards have sullied the industry. Go get them!

But to generalise and sweep the whole industry together with the bad apples is itself as irresponsible.

You have noble intentions, I grant you that but ape not the anti-MLM zealots. These extremist appears to be either ignorant or vindictive. And most of the information they publish are just as misleading as what the bad apples are doing to this industry.

The Emperor's Seed

An emperor in the Far East was growing old and now it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day.

He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."

The kids were shocked!

But the emperor continued."I am going to give each one of you a seed today, one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"

One boy name Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helps him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Everyday he would water it watches to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by; still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed grow.

A year finally went by and all of the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection.

Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot but his mother said he must be honest about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace.

When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful -- in all shape and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try."

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back.

"My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!"

All of the sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified.

"The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"

When Ling got to the front, the emperor asked his name.

"My name is Ling," he replied.

All kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!"
Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor?

Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds, which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you will reap victory.
If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap intimacy.
If you plant patience, you will reap inner strength.
If you plant faith, you will reap miracles.
But if you plant dishonesty, you will reap distrust.
If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness.
If you plant pride, you will reap destruction.
If you plant envy, you will reap trouble.
If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation.
If you plant bitterness, you will reap isolation.
If you plant greed, you will reap loss.
If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies.
If you plant worries, you will reap wrinkles.
If you plant sin, you will reap guilt.
So be careful what you plant now, it will determine what you will reap tomorrow.

I DON'T KNOW ...

The Little Napoleon places the blame squarely on City Hall's insurance carrier, Takaful Nasional, for having to fork out RM500,910 in damages to the family of Putera Marzuqi Hue. Responding to reporters' queries at a Press conference in Menara Wawasan yesterday, Ruslin said the insurance company was at fault for not appearing in court at the appointed date.

"I DON'T KNOW why the company's representatives did not attend (the proceedings)," he said.

The mayor doesn't know? Wrong answer lah. Just be a man and be responsible for this screw up, can or not?

When the SHIT hits the fan

Making a promise is one thing. Making a promise to keep a promise is another. ;-)

"PUTRAJAYA, April 21 (Bernama) -- The government expects to be placed under more pressure by the continuing rise in world oil prices as it will have to allocate a higher subsidy for fuels, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Thursday.

He admitted that the price of crude oil which had exceeded US$70 (RM256.20) a barrel would cause much difficulty to the government.

The Prime Minister said the government was monitoring the situation closely before taking any decision to "make adjustments" so that certain domestic sectors would not be too adversely affected by the situation.

"I am aware that when we increased the price of fuel recently, we promised it would remain unchanged until the end of the year," he said after a meeting here with about 1,000 senior government officers on the implementation of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

The government raised the pump price of petrol and diesel by 30 sen a litre and liquefied petroleum gas by 30 sen a kilogramme in March to save RM4 billion in subsidies.

Abdullah said the RM4 billion subsidy saving might not be realised now with the latest increase in crude oil prices.

He also said that the government would not follow the path of Thailand which strengthened its currency as a strategy to curb inflation there which rose to 5.7 per cent last month.

The inflation rate in Malaysia in February increased to 4.8 per cent."

One thing leads to another to our transportation system which may remain screwed for a little longer.

This is getting shittier, man. And some is starting to hit the fan!

Bullshit Instinct 2

Basic Instinct 2 is now available in DVD - pirated version, what else?

Basically, I find this movie over-rated by the Stone lady herself. She promised more of herself, didn't she? Well, I must be a stone or a "batu" to believe that!

Basically, the movie is just watchable but enjoyable.

It was basically unerotic and there was only one nude scene if this is what you are expecting. In this respect, it was a basic letdown.

BS2 ended with the question - who is the serial killer? Could it be Dr. Michael Glass? Or is it still Catherine Trammel? Basically, for you to find out.

Truth be told, she had me basically "bulled" but I will still want to watch her movies. She already had me stoned since the day she appeared in Playboy many years ago.

The Famous Ape Story

Start with a cage containing five apes.

In the cage, hang a banana on a string and put stairs under it. Before long, an ape will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the apes with cold water.

After a while, another ape makes an attempt with the same result – all the apes are sprayed with cold water.

Turn off the cold water.

Later, if another ape tries to climb the stairs, the other apes will try to prevent it, even though no water sprays them.

Now, remove one ape from the cage and replace it with a new ape.

The new ape sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his horror, all of the other apes attack him.

After another attempt and attack, the ape knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five apes and replace it with a new ape.

The new ape goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous new ape takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm.

Again, replace a third original ape with a new one. The new one makes it to the stairs and is attacked as well.

Two of the four apes that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest ape.

After replacing the fourth and fifth original apes, all the original apes that were sprayed with cold water have been replaced.

Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs. Why not?

“Because that’s the way it’s always been around here.”

Seriously, don't we all sometimes behave just like the apes?

Little Napoleon

The actions of a Little Napoleon caused parts of DBKL to be sealed off for 2 hours yesterday.

It's time to walk your talk and wield the rod, Pak Lah.

The Writings on The Wall

Via Reuters, oil price hit a record $74 a barrel Wednesday reacting to fears of Iran's intensifying dispute with the West. Aisehman asks, "How much can the Government tahan without raising the price of petrol at the pump this year?"

In an earlier entry, he had warned;

"I think we will soon, if not now, need to know whether the Government will stand by its vow not to raise petrol prices again this year.

I'm thinking the Government will probably stick with the "freeze", but if crude oil prices go even higher and stay high, that would only mean that next year, we're gonna be hit by A BIG, FAT PRICE HIKE.

Remember how upset we were when they dumped the 30sen increase on our laps? Wouldn't it have been better if they did it in increments?

So if it were me and I needed to do it, this would be ONE PROMISE I WOULD BREAK." ... Note that the emphasis are mine.

Meanwhile, The Star reported today that higher transport costs (18%), consumer prices (3.7%) and food & non-alcoholic beverages (3.5%) pushed the consumer inflation to 4.8% in March, the highest level in 6 year;

"Malaysia's inflation rate accelerated by 4.8% in March from the same month last year after the Government reduced its subsidy for fuel prices. The Government had reduced fuel subsidies, which resulted in prices rising as much as 23% at the end of February."

The rise in the March CPI had further widened the gap between fixed deposit rates of about just above 3%, which means there was a negative interest rate relative to inflation. This could lead Bank Negara to raise interest rates (again) to cool inflation and restore a positive level of deposit rates;

"Meanwhile, a Bloomberg report quoted an economist as saying the rise in inflation may prompt Bank Negara to increase borrowing costs, possibly as soon as next month."

And just last week, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik dropped a clear hint that Malaysians would have to be prepared to pay more for electricity in the near future;

"We are going another round to the people to explain why TNB's long waiting tariff increase has to come but we are also giving the assurance that the lower income group would not be affected," he told reporters after officiating the PIKOM PC Fair 2006 at the KLCC building here, Friday.

Arrgh, do you not see the writings on the wall? Does it not appear inevitable that prices are set to increase some more?

Stealing a line from Aisehman, ARE YOU soaking wet now? Well, the rain hasn't stopped yet.

Just go get yourself a raincoat or an umbrella now if you haven't got one yet!

Selling Sickness: How drug companies are turning us all into patients

Ray Moynihan is one of the world's leading health writers, whose work has appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Financial Review, the British Medical Journal, and on ABC Radio.

Ray is a former Brisbane journalist who started out at community station 4ZZZ.

In his book Selling Sickness: How drug companies are turning us all into patients, Ray argues the modern world of medicine has convinced us we are a lot sicker than we really are. He says while it is true that many drugs are worth every cent in curing disease, he says pharmaceutical companies are marketing false illness to us with alarming success.

Listen to his interview with ABC Local Radio, Queensland in Windows Media format or Real Media format.

Read his Web Exclusive interview with Newsweek Health.

Trust And Integrity Survey

KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 (Bernama) -- Politicians, business leaders and government ministers were ranked in the bottom three occupations in the country in terms of trust and integrity, an independent survey by Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia (BIEM) revealed. Full report here.

Surprised? Don't be because integrity happens only when actions match words. Do we have this quality in our politicians? Name ONE!

You attract what you are!

When Harry Truman was thrust into the U.S. presidency upon the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn gave him some
fatherly advice: "From here on out you're going to have lots of people around you. They'll try to put a wall around you and cut you from any ideas but theirs. They'll tell you what a great man you are, Harry. But you and I both know you ain't."

Today someone finally speaks the obvious but politely. Dr Mahathir Mohamad's former political secretary Matthias Chang called on Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar to resign for having 'wrongly advised' Pak Lah over the half-bridge issue. Chang, who claimed to be speaking in his personal capacity, said Abdullah should not be blamed for the bridge fiasco because he was surrounded by 'bad advisers'.

If only we have a Sam Rayburn to dispense some advice to Pak Lah and hold him accountable. But then, he chose his own advisors, didn't he?

Malaysians for Clinical Trials of New Drugs

Kathirasen on Sunday (of The New Sunday Times) made some disturbing and spine chilling assertions against the pharmaceutical industry in his latest article "Trust my mother, you are not ill". In this compelling piece, he wrote:

"... Now, it appears, pharmaceutical firms have not only been manufacturing medicine but also some of the myriad ailments afflicting people.

Could that explain why the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most profitable in the world?

In 2000, worldwide drug sales reached an astronomical US$365 billion (RM1.5 trillion).

In the latest report in the journal Public Library of Science (Medicine), scientists and doctors accuse the pharmaceutical industry of disease-mongering.

The guest editors of the series of 11 papers, professor of clinical pharmocology at Australia’s Newcastle University, Dr David Henry, and journalist Ray Moynihan, describe disease-mongering as "the opportunistic exploitation of both a widespread anxiety about frailty and a faith in scientific advance and innovation".

Among the examples they cited: Menopause (a natural human phenomenon turned into a medical problem); mild problems portrayed as serious illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome; and risk factors, such as high cholesterol and osteoporosis, framed as diseases.

If the above doesn't scare the shit out of you, you should read Robin Cook and Michael Palmer's medical thrillers to know the "tricks" the HMOs and pharmaceutical industry are capable of resorting to, all in the interest of profitability.

Don't like to read? Then go watch John Le Carre's Constant Gardener in movie format. I watched it 2 weeks ago. In this movie, the young wife of a British diplomat (Tessa) was brutally murdered for going against a multinational drug company that uses helpless Africans as guinea pigs to test a tuberculosis remedy with unfortunately fatal side effects.

This "dark side of the industry" theory may be more real than we think.

Dr. Ray Strand in his book "What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You" suggested that the pharmaceutical industry has a hand in almost every aspect of a physician's practice, including his education. In the introduction pages of this book, Strand wrote:

"... the education of most physicians is disease-oriented with a heavy emphasis on pharmaceuticals - we learn about drugs and why and when to use them.

Back in 1998, The Journal of American Medical Association reported that properly prescribed medication, prescribed and taken properly, is the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S. If unprescribed medication is included, this becomes the third-leading cause of death! Caution?

It is no wonder that the Peter Parkers' spider sense are tingling. Unfortunately, not many have this super sense. Not our Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis, for sure. The closest credit I give him is a spider sized brain for this!

Further down in the book, Dr. Strand also wrote:

Take a look at the amount of money the medical community and the pharmaceutical industry have made by lowering cholestrol with synthetic drugs. Billions and billions of dollars roll in each and every year. Have you ever considered who educated you about the risk of high cholestrol? Who is taking out that full-page ad in USA Today to tell you the importance of lowering your cholesterol? Pharmaceutical companies. Why hasn't someone taken out a TV or newspaper ad to inform you about the importance of lowering your homocysteine? There is not nearly as much money to be made in the sale of vitamin B12, vitamin B6, and folic acid. Sad to say, we are caught in the ripple effects of the economics of medicine.

... "People don't make a profit preventing disease. They make a profit through medicine - treating critical, advanced stages of disease."

Read also Dr. Ray Strand's interview with Mike Adams of Truth Publishing.

As if the above isn't scary and disturbing enough, we now have our spider-sized brain of a Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis promoting Malaysia as a biotechnology destination, particularly as a place to conduct clinical trials for new drugs being developed by global pharmaceutical companies. This Minister must have been on dope when he made this invitation at the Bio ChicagoInternational Convention 2006.

Is he serious about offering Malaysians as guinea pigs to the industry? Did he think through, opps ... what can we possibly expect from a spider-sized brain, the ramifications of this sell-out?

We should all rally behind the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) who is calling on the Minister to rescind his invitation to global pharmaceutical firms to make clinical trials of their products in Malaysia.

The Power of Faith

Napoleon Hill, in his classic THINK AND GROW RICH, dedicated a full chapter on FAITH alone.

Hill says, "all thoughts that have been emotionalized (given feeling) and mixed with faith, begin immediately to translate themselves into their physical equivalent or counterpart."

He then wrote, "Have Faith in yourself; Faith in the Infinite. Before we begin, you should be reminded again that: FAITH is the "eternal elixir" which gives life, power, and action to the impulse of thought!"

"Faith is," indeed, to quote Christianity's greatest salesman, Paul, "the evidence of things not (yet) seen." Doubt can turn a molehill into a mountain. Faith can move mountains.

And in Nick's case, it has to be faith that "moved this man born without any limbs"

Disabled speaker proves the power of faith
By EMMELINE TAN

PENANG: Born without any limbs, Nick Vujicic is a shining example of what one can accomplish with faith and self-belief.

“When the doctor first laid me beside my mother’s bed, she just said: ‘Take him away’.

“If God loves us, why does he let us go through suffering? The whole church prayed for arms and legs for me but God didn’t give me arms and legs.

“He, however, gave me the strength to pull through,” said the Australian motivational speaker in the Charismatic Church of Penang.

The 24-year-old son of a pastor was in Malaysia for a five-day speaking tour that concluded here on Saturday. Some 350 people thronged the talk, held in conjunction with Easter Week.

Today, Vujicic, who stands about a metre tall and only has a seven-inch left foot that he cheerfully calls his little “chicken drumstick”, is an accomplished individual.

He has a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Financial Planning and Accounting. He can type 45 words a minute, walk, write, swim, answer the phone, comb his hair, brush his teeth and take care of personal needs himself with the help of his foot.

But what stands out even more is his joy for life, captivating everyone he meets.

Within two minutes of being carried and put on the table in front of the audience, Vujicic had the entire crowd in stitches.

“At the beach, I would sometimes smear myself with tomato sauce and come out of the water screaming ‘Shark, shark, shark!” he said.

Vujicic also does not let his disability get in the way of his ambitions. He said he hoped to become an international inspirational speaker and be financially independent by 25.

Hill went on to say that FAITH is a state of mind which may be induced by auto-suggestion. This law of auto-suggestion, through which any person may rise to altitudes of achievement which stagger the imagination, is well described in the following verse:

"If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't
If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.

"If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will—
It's all in the state of mind.

"If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

"Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!"

Observe the words which have been emphasized, and you will catch the deep meaning which the poet have in mind.

So the next time you fall, think of Nick and HAVE FAITH!

Swift Justice?

Swift justice, indeed! Nazri's thieving maids caught 5 April and sentenced 17 April. Via The Star, 17 April 2006: Nazri's maid jailed 30 months ...

PETALING JAYA: An Indonesian woman who worked as a maid for Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz was jailed 30 months after pleading guilty to stealing valuables worth RM350,000 from his Glenmarie Cove house on March 29.

Are you thinking what I am thinking?

It's never gonna be the same again

You know it's never gonna be the same again when ...

• You don't know who is running this country anymore but the people who are running it now have just run it down into the Johor Straits!
  x
• A public show of affection to a loved one could be deemed as indecent behaviour, an offence chargeable in court.
  x
• It's going to be back to square one when the money you are going to save from the recent reduction in car prices as a result of the National Automotive Policy (NAP) is going to be “lost” because of higher financing rates.
  x
• Your Member of Parliament speaks the obvious truth without fear or favour inside the August House and for that the YB was confronted in his service centre with some bully politics.
  x
• Your car's drink costs more than your own.
  
  
  Note: * Malaysian price of unleaded petrol on 1 April 2006 + Price of Giant USJ on 1 April 2006.

Hunt this animal down!

Another animal on the loose, as reported via The Star, 14 April 2006.

JITRA: A 15-month-old boy received 24 stitches on his head caused by a fall after a snatch thief kicked the motorcycle he was riding pillion on.

Iskandar Zulkarnain was sitting on the lap of his mother Norshaheila Hashim, 24, on the motorcycle ridden by his mother's friend Aida Royani Md Isa, 24, when the incident occurred at Kampung Putat, Jalan Kodiang, about 20km from here on Wednesday.

Norshaheila said they were on their way home from Jitra at about 12.30pm when a motorcyclist tried to snatch Aida’s handbag in the motorcycle carrier basket.

“When Aida tried to swerve away, the motorcyclist kicked our motorcycle causing us to fall off the machine,” she said.

She said the man fled empty-handed.

Norshaheila and Aida sustained minor injuries and received outpatient treatment while Iskandar was admitted to the Jitra Hospital.

She said her son sustained head injuries and bruises on his body.

Anger is an understatement towards this common crime around us. There are just too many of these animals out there with no regard for anything other than the few ringgit notes in the purse. Perish the thought but the next victim could be our loved ones.

I say that these animals be hunted them down and put behind bars for good before they hurt another human life!

It was a typo ...

"It was a typo, and it was not our mistake. Telekom Malaysia Berhad yesterday said that the RM800 trillion telephone bill sent to a meat importer recently was a typo made by a debt collection agency."

Just curious, has anyone ever heard of any accounting system that records transactions with up to 15 decimals? Dumb justification!

Who keeps the law ... (3)

Who keeps the law when the breakers are the enforcers themselves?

MMS Photo posted by Nishanth in NST Mobile Interactive Service, NST, Saturday 8 April 2006. This entry was captioned, EVERYTHING COMES BACK FULL CIRCLE ... AND BITES!
With this byline ...

"Imagine the shock this Subang Jaya Municipal Council enforcement officer felt when a council 4WD he drove was clamped, the kind of thing they impose on illegally-parked vehicles under their jurisdiction. Well, the Mid Valley Megamall boulevard is not under his jurisdiction, or so he must have forgotten, when he parked the vehicle in a No Parking Zone. It reinforces that aphorism "poetic justice".

This little emperor obviously forgets that he does not rule all.

Bar Council's Online Petition: Movement Towards A Better Police Force

Please CLICK HERE to sign the Bar Council's Petition on Movement Towards A Better Police Force to support the setting up of the IPCMC.

Thereafter, please forward this url http://www.petitiononline.com/betterpf to as many Malaysians as possible.

Thank you.

The Petition reads as follows:

RM800 trillion

Reported in the NST today. A RM800 trillion bill and Alor Star is in Penang? That's almost the total global market capitalization of NYSE stocks in December 2005. Truly, I am lost for words!

RM800 trillion bill!
Ahmad Fairuz Othman
Mon, April 10, 2006

PENDANG, KEDAH: A meat importer had a shock when he received a hefty telephone bill - for RM800 trillion. Yahaya Wahab, 63, said a debt-collection company, commissioned by Telekom Malaysia, had sent a bill for RM806,400,000,000,000.01 to his late father's house, which has been vacant since his death.

Yahaya, from Kampung Pauh, Kubur Panjang, said he nearly fainted when he saw the bill, which stated it was for outstanding arrears.

The letter, from a debt-collection agent based in Sungai Petani was dated April 3, and demanded that the house owner settle the bill within 10 days or face legal action.

He said he had settled the previous bill of RM84.82 at the Kedai Telekom on Jan 13 and requested that the telephone line be disconnected since no one was living in the house.

"If the company wants to seek legal action as mentioned in the letter, I'm ready to face it. In fact, I can't wait to face it," he said.

He said it was careless for the company to send a bill without checking, since the amount was larger than the total telephone bills of the whole country.

Yahaya said his parents were among the first in the whole kampung to fix a
telephone line.

He added that the bill was also addressed to Alor Star, Penang instead of Kedah.

"It's illogical. There is no Alor Star in Penang," he said.

Who keeps the law ... (2)

Who keeps the law when the breakers are the enforcers themselves?

Via The Star Metro: Open burning at MPSJ lot:

LAST Thursday night, at about 9.30pm, open burning was carried out inside an MPSJ lot in SS15.

This MPSJ lot in Subang Jaya is near Asia Cafe, beside Inti College and across from Starbucks.

If MPSJ workers are not following the rules, what can be expected of the general population?

FIRED UP AND FED UP, Subang Jaya

Another good show of example!

Selangor okays Subang flyover

How not to get KOed when there wasn't never any unified voice from the various interest groups in this fight? The leader of the pack, i.e. the USJRA has been a BIG letdown to the residents who supported it. Via the Sun, Selangor okays Subang flyover was a foregone conclusion to some who followed this issue very closely.

SUBANG JAYA: The controversial Batu Tiga-USJ 3 flyover link has been approved by the Selangor government.

Additional features have been incorporated into the project, taking into account the residents' concerns with noise pollution, intrusion of heavy vehicles from Batu Tiga and the safety of students of nearby schools.

These include a sound barrier, a pedestrian bridge for the school in USJ 12 and a gantry to prevent heavy vehicles from using the route.

Subang Jaya Municipal Council president Datuk Mohd Arif Ab Rahman said the link will also be connected to the Kesas Highway.

"Motorists from USJ 3 can get on and off the Kesas Highway, while those from USJ 19 (sic) can get onto the highway but will not have access from the highway to USJ 19 (sic)," he said after the council's March full board meeting.

The flyover linking Subang Heights and USJ Heights to Persiaran Tujuan received fierce opposition from USJ 3 residents, who are nearest to the link.

The residents said the link would add to traffic woes in Subang Jaya and affect their quality of life.

However, Subang Heights residents welcomed the additional link to their present, and only, access road to Batu Tiga.

Several other residents in Subang Jaya also felt that the link would be an additional access road and traffic dispersal system to reduce the infamous traffic congestion in their township.

Man marries goat

This isn't an April Fool's joke. Via BBC News, Sudan man forced to 'marry' goat

Sudanese man has been forced to take a goat as his "wife", after he was caught having sex with the animal.

The goat's owner, Mr Alifi, said he surprised the man with his goat and took him to a council of elders.

They ordered the man, Mr Tombe, to pay a dowry of 15,000 Sudanese dinars ($50) to Mr Alifi.

"We have given him the goat, and as far as we know they are still together," Mr Alifi said.

Mr Alifi, Hai Malakal in Upper Nile State, told the Juba Post newspaper that he heard a loud noise around midnight on 13 February and immediately rushed outside to find Mr Tombe with his goat.

"When I asked him: 'What are you doing there?', he fell off the back of the goat, so I captured and tied him up".

Mr Alifi then called elders to decide how to deal with the case.

"They said I should not take him to the police, but rather let him pay a dowry for my goat because he used it as his wife," Mr Alifi told the newspaper.

Order in the Court...

Defense Attorney: What is your age?

Little old Woman: I am 86 years old.

Defence Attorney: Will you tell us, in your own words, what happened to you on the first of April of this year?

Little old Woman: There I was, sitting there in my swing on my front porch on a warm spring evening, when a young man comes creeping up on the porch and sat down beside me.

Defence Attorney: Did you know him?

Little old Woman: No, but he sure was friendly.

Defence Attorney: What happened after he sat down?

Little old Woman: He started to rub my thigh.

Defence Attorney: Did you stop him?

Little old Woman: No, I didn't stop him.

Defence Attorney: Why not?

Little old Woman: It felt good. Nobody had done that since my Abner passed away some 30 years ago.

Defence Attorney: What happened next?

Little old Woman: He began to rub my breasts.

Defence Attorney: Did you stop him then?

Little old Woman: No, I did not stop him.

Defence Attorney: Why not?

Little old Woman: Why, Your Honour, his rubbing made me feel all alive and excited. Haven't felt that good in years!

Defence Attorney: What happened next?

Little old Woman: Well, I was feeling so spicy that I just laid down and said to him..."Take me, young man...Take me!"

Defence Attorney: Did he take you?

Little old Woman: Hell, no. He just yelled, "April Fool!" And that's when I shot the little b*st*rd!