Lost a book

I was searching high and low for a novel I just picked up from a 2nd hand book store in Bangsar. It was a science fiction story called the First Immortal about a dying man who is cryogenically frozen and is brought back to live in the distant future. I was reading it on the bus on the way to Kuala Lumpur. I thought that I had put it in my bag. I suddenly realised that I must have left it behind in bus. I was reading it before the driver shut off the lights and I slipped it into the pocket in the back of the seat in front of me. It was quite early in the morning when I reached KL and in the hurry left it behind.
Just when I was getting to the interesting part. There is nothing I hate more than an interesting novel where I don't know the ending. Now I have to try and find a copy somewhere. Anyway I was planning to sit in front of the idot box tonight. Finally got a copy of Kill Bill (pirated?) from a friend.

1st ride on the monorail

Had some work in Menera Prudential KL today. Not being very familiar with the roads and being forewarned that the jam in KL can be deadly plus exorbitant parking rates made me decide to take the Putra LRT instead. So I left my car at KL central and then took the Putra LRT from there. I got down at Dang Wangi station and walked towards the Hard Rock Café/ Concorde Hotel and Menera Prudential was a little further down. About 10 minutes walk which made me sweat quite a bit. On the way I noticed that the KL monorail had a station there and wondered why the person I was going to visit hadn’t mentioned it. So on the way back I took the KL monorail from Bukit Nanas back to KL central (RM2.10). As this was first trip, it found it quite interesting. I had to wait quite sometime (about 10 minutes) and it was very crowded by the time the monorail arrived. The ride was quite bumpy and I shuddered when I recalled the incident where one of the wheels feel off and hit a journalist. Fortunately nothing like that happened this time. The route served by the monorail passes the famous Bukit Bintang area and of course the new Berjaya Times Square shopping mall (Another place I haven't visited yet). I expect it to do great business. However, I have to note that it is not elderly or handicapped friendly. The Putra LRT is still tops in terms of that. They don't have a lift and I don't think a person on wheel chairs would be able to get onto the monorail, considering that you have to climb some steps too. Well got off at Brickfields and that was it - my first trip on the KL monorail. Until next time. Now got to get back to Rahil and her mum.

Latest Malaysian Heartrob

Twenty five year old Waheeda, whose real name is Norwahidah Abd Wahad, is the latest Malaysian darling. Her song 'Wassini' which is a combination of Latin as well as Arabic music with some Malay lyrics has become such a big hit in Malaysia. She hails from Johor and speaks Arabic, Mandarin, English, Malay as well as Hindi (learnt from her mother). She is of Indian, Malay, Chinese and Bugis heritage. Thats not all. She also has a degree in Business Administration.
My friend reported that conservative elders who normally frown on all types of modern music, don't mind her as the lyrics contain arabic and she wears a "tudung". Good role model, what!

Tudung or Not

I was going through Primary Basic’s latest blog on the age-old Tudung issue. "Not again!" I can hear some of you crying.
For those who did not know, tudung is the Malay word for the veil that Muslim women use to cover their hair. Here its more like the head covering worn by Christian nuns and not just a simple scarf over the head.
Anway back to the issue, PB was just pointing out that people didn’t accept her personal choice/ beliefs regarding the tudung issue. Of course like all religious issues, which are very personal, this issue will also generate a lot of heat.
There are a few questions nagging my head for which I haven’t been able to obtain any suitable answer. The problem, I guess is that people will always have different opinions. What is good for you may not be good for someone else. Of course, many of my Muslim friends (mostly guys) applauded PAS’s efforts to persuade women to wear the tudung in Kelantan - including imposing fines on women not wearing it in the work place. However, is this the right approach. Do you think it is right when people wear the tudung because they are forced/under compulsion?
Does it mean that women who don’t wear the tudung are less Islamic? Several of my friends (girls) who don’t wear the tudung continuously complain that other people (Muslims, mostly men) tend to look down on them and think that they are “Easy”. In fact many of them are quite knowledgeable about the religion.
Also does it mean that tudung clad girls are not beautiful? I beg to differ. Look at the new sensation Waheeda. What is beauty? As they say, it lies in the eyes of the beholder. It may be the hair, the eyes or the lips or even the neck that attracts someone or a combination. Can you completely cover beauty? Again how much covering is enough? Is the simple scarf OK or do we need a long one that covers the top part of the body till the waist (long tudung) or do we need something like the Taliban’s recommended style? I don’t know about Afghans or other people but I definitely do not go wild after seeing women’s hair.
Looking at the latest styles/trends going around, it seems to be OK if you cover your hair only but wear a low cut dress or tight fitting clothes or a skirt with a slit right up to your thighs. Is that wrong? Not to me but some may not agree.
There are some who wear it normally but take it off every time they go clubbing. Notice a few taking out their tudung and leaving it behind in their cars before entering Hard Rock Café. Why I asked. They said it makes them more comfortable. I have noticed that many who used to wear the tudund have since taken it off after they came to KL. Of course many others who didn't wear it before have started wearing it, mostly as they get older and have kids.
Are tudung clad girls slow? I don’t think so. I know several who are really hard working, creative and as career minded as the rest. However, some companies refuse to hire them. This is of course, sad.
For me the wearing of tudung is a personal issue, something that must come from within and not because of culture or compulsion. If others decide not to wear it, well that's their personal choice too.

Malaysian Stonehenge

If you were among the few people who was wondering where the megaliths at a park off Jalan Tugu went, then we finally have an answer.
The what? Where is Jln Tugu anyway?
Well if you are among the more observant people (like me), you would have noticed that there was an arrangement of big stones arranged in a circle near the old railway station in KL (near the roundabout near Dayabumi).
When I asked, none of my friends knew what they were, some thought that they had been put up as a road side decoration by DBKL. Others said that they were tombstones. In fact, I was the only one to go up and read the sign put up by Petronas. I found out they were a collection of 84 ancient menhirs from Negri Sembilan which were discovered in 1989 by archelogists from Universi Sains Malaysia. It was moved here to KL by Petronas. The local people belived that these stones were living and grew and were called by batu hidup in malay.
Anyway I was shocked when I noticed that these stones were no longer there. The first thought that came to my mind were that some Islamic fanatics might have destroyed them saying they were unislamic like the Taliban who destroyed the giant
Buddha Statues in Bamian, Afghanistan. I only lrealised that my mind had been working on overdrive after I read today's NST Nuance that they had been moved yet again to Putrajaya's Putra Perdana Park. Thousands of people visit England's Stonehenge everyday and here we have our own similar example, though not as grand (or as old?). It a part of the Malaysian heritage.

Sad news during the festive season

Its the same news every year. People dying on the roads every festive season when they should be at home and enjoying themselves with their families. In fact during Ops Sikap 5, there was not a single day without a fatal accident this year. And it started even before the Hari Raya break. My dad really hates this period. As a pathologist at the USM hospital in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan - it would usually be his turn at the morgue during this time. According to him, maximum fatal accidents took place during the fasting month and Hari raya break. They would sometimes call him up in the middle of the night to say that there has been an accident and he would have to go to the hospital to perform a post mortem examination. It is of course a gruesome experience. Just imagine cutting open bodies of dead people especially youths, their life cut off at their prime. According to him people seem to go wild during this period. Sometimes they are speeding to reach their homes or eating stalls for breaking of their fast. Of course another reason may be that they are weak and tired from the fasting and their reflexes are slower. On the other hand, the major reason during the Hari Raya break may be due to the fact that people are trying to reach their homes as soon as possible during balik kampung. Or overeating which makes them feel drowsy on the driver's seat with the same fatal effects. Fortunately, they have a proper forensics man down at the morgue now and my dad doesn't have to perform post mortem examinations anymore. Can we all make the promise to start driving more carefully from now on and put an end to this annual deadly phenomenon. Better later than never (reaching your loved ones).

Adults refusing to get old

Just read this interesting piece in the Life & Times pull out of the NST. It says that adults nowadays are clinging to youth and that there is a trend for immaturity everywhere. I never thought about it but looking around me, I think that it is kind of true. My friends in their late twenties and some in their early thirties are still acting as if they are teenagers. Some of them were among the first to Q up outside the book stores for the latest Harry Potter book along with the teenagers and pre-teens. Frank Furedi, a sociologist at the University of Kent refers to this phenomenon as the "infatilism" of adulthood.
What happeded to getting old gracefully? I remember my teenage days when I couldn't wait to get out of school, go to Univ. then get a job and drive a nice car. Well now that I am "here", I tend to look back with a lot of nostalgia at my teenage life. I guess many of us refuse to accept that we are getting older. Go to any cinema hall or disco and you will find lot of these not so young people (including moi) mixing around with the teenagers. Look around and you will see similar tastes including clothing styles. I have noticed some mothers shopping for clothes with their teenage daughters acting as their fashion advisors rather than the other way around. Nothing wrong with that or is there? Is there a truth in what a friend said "kids now are more mature than us". I don't really know.