Freemasons in Malaysia

The Star Wars fever is still running high and I plan to catch it this weekend (finally). I wanted to watch it on the big screen and is the reason why I avoided the temptation of buying a shaky pirated DVD copy.

However, I am also eagerly awaiting 3 other movies, namely Batman Begins, Fantastic Four and the Da Vinci code.

In case you are not aware, the last movie is based on Dan Brown’s bestseller about a Harvard professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) who stumbles on a thousand’s year old conspiracy.

Anyway, last week as I was going through Ipoh (again), I noticed this regal building. The thing that caught my eye was a conspicuous symbol on the compound walls - symbol of the compass.

"What has this got to do with the Da Vinci Code?" you may ask.

Well, during the height of the Da Vinci Code craze, I did some research on my own and found out that the Freemasons (the secret society mentioned in the book) have branches and members in Malaysia. Before you think that I have gone bonkers, there was an article in the Star, whereby their Grand Master came out to talk about their “Fraternity”.

It was mentioned that they have branches in all states in Malaysia apart from Kelantan and another.

Their contact address in Kuala Lumpur:
Dewan Freemason, 213 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400, Kuala Lumpur

Update:

DEWAN FREEMASON, No.15, Jalan 18/16,
Taman Kanagapuram
46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

I found out that there is another Dewan Freemason (Emerald Lodge) at Bukit OUG, Jalan 3/155, 58200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

I am not sure about that building in Ipoh though. Very little is known about the society even though there is a lot of information about them on the net. Like for example, some mention that almost all the American Presidents were a member of the society as well (However, excluding George Bush Sr and Jr),  as were most of those who wrote the US Constitution.

Really makes me wonder who these people are and what they do.

Links on Freemasons in Malaysia:
- Freemasonry in Malaysia
- Unveiling the history of the highly secretive Freemasons in Malaysia
- The truth about Freemasonry

(Several dead links were removed and other new ones added on 29th of Oct, 2020)
Updated: 29/10/2020.

Star Wars and American Politics

I was reading this article in Yahoo UK talking about the "political messages" in the latest and final episode of Star Wars.

I found it interesting that some people read into Anakin Skywalker's warning to Obi-Wan Kenobi "If you're not with me, you're my enemy". The article mentions that it reminded many of Bush's post-September 11 declaration: "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

However, it was not the first time such a phrase was used in movies. In the epic MGM Technicolor blockbuster Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1959) Roman Tribune Messala (Stephen Boyd) offers Juda Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston)and ultimatum: either Ben Hur was with him in eliminating the Jewish rebellion or against him.

See the movie (if you have not) for the rest of the story.

A Great Guy

Yesterday afternoon, I was engrossed in my work when I received a call from a friend (and distant relative). He said, “I have some bad news. Dato’ has passed away.” I was shocked for a while and even though I knew whom he was talking about, replied “Who?”

Brigadier-general Professor Dato' Dr. Ahmad Fawzi Mohd Basri passed away at 4.47pm yesterday afternoon at Hospital Selayang, Kuala Lumpur. He was buried around 11am this morning at the Muslim cemetery at Kampung Hijrah, Jitra, Kedah. He was 56.


He was also one of the hardest working people I had ever known in my life. Even though some people accused him of being too strict, I guess one needs to be if you were in a position like his.

He was the vice-chancellor of Universiti Utara Malaysia, a position he has held since Oct 2, 2001. He was also the National Service Training Council chairman.

He is the first vice-chancellor of a public university to hold the rank of brigadier-general in the Territorial Army, which he had served for 30 years. According to him, one thing he learnt from the Army, was loyalty to the organisation (UUM) and giving it the highest commitment.

Dr Ahmad Fawzi's started his academic career in 1972 as a tutor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He joined Universiti Utara Malaysia as a lecturer in 1984. He became UUM's deputy vice-chancellor (student affairs) in 1997 and was later promoted to vice-chancellor in May 2001.

You can view his profile in the university website here (It might not be active for long).

His death really took me by surprise because he was recovering the last time I saw him. He put his full faith in me when others thought otherwise and I tried my best not to let him down. I will always be indebted to him.

Al-Fatihah.

Rebranding Telekom

I was not sure what Telekom's new logo meant or what their rebranding exercise was about. Some of my friends thought that it represnted Telekom malaysia with the symbol of either a bird or a turtle on the top. We were all wrong.

According to Jalilah, who's an Assistant Manager with Telekom at Melacca, the new logo with the alphabets "TM" represents the new group image comprising of three colours of orange, blue and red. Orange represents TM Net while the red represents Celcom. I didn't even realise that the two curves were of different colours.

Their website emphasizes that "this change emphasises a more fundamental approach towards instilling a customer service oriented culture amongst TM employees".

I was really pleased to note that they have placed "Customer satisfaction" as the "cornerstone of this new brand identity". I really hope that this is not mere talk and really translates into action.

One change which I really hope for is faster and cheaper broadband access. Or if they can't, let others who can, into the market.

Recyled Old Handphone

I spend most of my time working in Kedah and spend weekends with my wife and kid in KL. My parents stay in Kota Baru, Kelantan and I do contact them several times a week. As a result my phone bill is killing me. RM50 lasts only about a week. This is because I am still using my old Celcom number, which was registered in KL. So all calls I make here is treated as outstation.

In the end I finally got myself a Digi prepaid card, which only cost me RM18. No I can stretch RM30 for about a month. I was also pleasantly surprised when I discovered that International calls made using Digi were also considerably cheaper. For example, a few minutes call to Norway cost me only about RM2. However, the only problem was when I had to change sim cards. I would have to shut off the phone, disassemble everything and then exchange cards. I had an impulse to buy a cheap phone from the several handphone shops around here but put it off.

Last week while going through my storeroom, I noticed my old handphones in a box. The last one I had used was a very tough Siemens M35i, which was a present from my wife before we got married. It been with me through thick and thin and had even survived a dunking in water after it slipped from my hands into a drain once. Eventually like most handphones, it outlived its fashionable life. And I finally joined the rest of the crowd by buying a Nokia.

I suddenly had a thought – why not use this phone for the Digi sim card. I checked it and it was still working but the battery even when fully charged ran out after about half an hour. Yesterday, I went around a bit, going from one handphone shop to another searching for a replacement battery. I finally bought a lithium-ion battery (the original was nickel-hydride) for RM25. I was delighted. The phone still works fine. Now I have two phones - one to make calls in Kedah and the other for use in KL. However, I leave the Siemens in the office as I don't want to go around lugging two phones.

Abandoned Houses in Ipoh

I usually stop at Ipoh on my weekly trips back to KL. Over the years, I have noticed the development that has taken place there. It is still a small and sleepy town but they have a new bus stand away from the town now. I have heard that the recreational water park is quite popular. New housing estates are coming up everywhere. The Jaya Jusco supermarket has been running for quite sometime. They also have a brand new Tesco hypermarket. On the outskirts of the city I can see that the limestone hills are gradually disappearing.

Looking out of the bus window, I realized that Ipoh has quite a number of abandoned houses scattered around town. Most of these are colonial type bungalows. Some are old Malay houses on stilts. Their compounds are overgrown with undergrowth and they look a bit creepy. I would just imagine what happened to the owners of the houses. Did they move overseas and leave the place neglected. Or maybe all the residents died in an accident or something. Did the residents commit suicide and people refused to live in the place after that?

Yes! I realize that I have an overactive imagination but yes what else can I do on a boring 7 hours journey.

Project Pudu

Yesterday evening as I arrived in Kuala Lumpur by bus, I noticed that work on the Plaza Rakyat has resumed after several years. This project next to the Pudu Raya bus station, stalled during the Asian crisis and was left vacant since then.

This might change Jalan (Street) Pudu's reputation as the most ugliest road in KL. However, I am am a bit worried that a new shopping centre might not do anything to improve the terrible traffic jams so common along this road. In fact it might get worse.

Besides, the various buses coming to and fro, the traffic jam is caused by Taxis and private vehiles parking illegaly in the front of the bus station dropping up and picking up passengers. I guess I am guilty too as my wife would sometimes just park in front to drop me off. However, the taxis (most of them don't use the meter)are worse as they have made it their official pick up point. I often see poiceman there, some of them handing out tickets but it seems that it is not working.

Any suggestions?