Categories
Sports

[802] Of Ajacieden to the rescue

Fair useDe Oranje had a friendly match against Mexico earlier and I saw the highlight on TV. Thanks to Ajax, specifically Heitinga and Babel of AFC Ajax, de Oranje won the game 2-1:

Ajax came to the rescue of Netherlands, as the Dutch came from a goal down to beat fellow World Cup finalist Mexico.

The two nations are putting the finishing touches to their World Cup preparations and they served up three goals Eindhoven.

The __earthinc, as I had done so during Euro 2004 in post 361, 363, 364, 368, 369, 372, 373, 374 and 376, gives full support to the Dutch team. During the duration of the competitie, I’m willing to ignore that van Nistelrooy is at Manchester United and a former P$V player, there are a bunch of P$V and F-word players in the team. Hmmm. Did I say P$V and F-word?

Oh sorry. I meant PSV and Feyenoord.

From now on until the end of the World Cup, all players are part of the Oranje. On June 10, this blog will see orange .

And yet again, we declare hostility with the Italy.

Alright. Less than 7 days to go.

Categories
Photography

[801] Of steady, steady…

Yeah, no more runny nose! Still stuffy though but more importantly, I feel better! But right now, I’m just too tired to blog. So, another photo. This was taken at a chess tournament that I participated earlier in Kuala Lumpur.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

I love chess. Especially when I’m winning.

Categories
History & heritage Humor Photography

[800] Of to our glorious dead II

I wanted to blog something on economics and the environment but I unwarily caught myself some gems from my friends. Right now, I’m feeling terrible with a bad case of sore throat, a minor flu and an on and off headache. But I still want to blog. So, I cut down on the thinking part and post a picture instead.

Last April, I was at the Malaysian national monument complex. In Kuala Lumpur of course . Well, this is another picture from that complex. This time, it’s the actual picture of the main monument.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

At time of completion in February 1966, it was the largest bronze statue in the world. I’m uncertain which monument is the largest bronze statue in the world currently but one thing is certain though – Malaysians’ obsession with superlative is not of recent invention.The communist rebels really hated the Malaysians’ obsession that they bombed the monument in 1975. Nah. I’m kidding about the cause but the bombing did occur.

I like the silhouette against the blue sky. The burnt section however is not so admirable.

Finally, 20 squared times 2 is 800. God, I hate blowing my nose.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

p/s – Vegetarianism are conquering the world! Starting with India:

BOMBAY, India – Never mind pets, smokers or loud music at 2 a.m. House hunters in Bombay increasingly are being asked: “Do you eat meat?” If yes, the deal is off.

As this city of 16 million becomes the cosmopolitan main nerve of a booming Indian economy, real estate is increasingly intersecting with cuisine. More middle-class Indians are moving in, more of them are vegetarian, and the law is on their side.

“Some people are very strict. They won’t sell to a nonvegetarian even if he offers a higher price than a vegetarian,” said real estate broker Norbert Pinto.

Damn. Vegs are capable of discrimination! The shock! The horror!

I’ve had always thought vegetarians are the nicest people around. Well, that’s another one of my stereotypes smashed to pieces. Come to think of it, I wonder how I had developed a thinking that accepts vegetarians-are-the-nicest-people. It probably due to one of my political biases.

Categories
Environment Photography Travels

[799] Of Sultan Abdul Jalil Bridge, Kuala Kangsar

While at Kuala Kangsar , I and a few friends spent two nights at a resthouse by the Perak River. Roughly 200 meters away from our balcony was Sultan Abdul Jalil Bridge.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

The concrete bridge is different from those modern bridges of stainless steels and wires that are so prevalent nowadays. It’s a breath of fresh air.Kuala Kangsar has another bridge farther upstream. The name is Sultan Iskandar Bridge and it’s made out of steel. If I got my fact right, the concrete bridge was built because the locals complained that the steel bridge was too far away from the town.

Across the river is a village called Sayong. Before the newer bridge was constructed, those that planned to travel by land from Kuala Kangsar to Sayong, or Sayong to the town or to and fro had to suffer one huge U-turn with kilometer as the proper unit of measurement. Walking was simply not a good idea. Therefore as late as year 2000, boats still played an important mean of transportation between Kuala Kangsar and Sayong.

With the concrete bridge, I observed that the river’s role as a mean of transportation has diminished. Not completely though.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

p/s – last year, I said I expect Malaysia to see another bout of haze in 2006. Well, Indonesia promises that we won’t:

Indonesia promises this year will be less hazy

Sat May 27, 11:36 PM ET

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Indonesia has said the choking haze that annually blankets parts of Southeast Asia will be reduced this year as it cracks down on oil palm plantations that clear land by burning.

Indonesia’s Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said authorities would enforce a 2004 law that imposes stiff penalties on plantations that burn land, a practice largely blamed for contributing to the haze.

I’m skeptical. Especially that enforcement part. But if Indonesia needs Malaysia’s help, by all means, please ask. I don’t want another “no thank you but we can handle this by ourselves” again.

Categories
ASEAN Conflict & disaster

[798] Of ASEAN fails East Timor

East Timor is deep in crisis and they’re in need of help. I’m glad to hear that East Timor has requested assistance from Malaysia and even happier to know that Malaysia is responding to the request. My only regret is that Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) has neither been proactive nor responsive to the conflict. What’s more embarassing is to see Australia leading the expedition instead of ASEAN .

Those that have been reading my blog long enough would know that I advocate a stronger ASEAN. Since East Timor is part of Southeast Asia, I strongly feel that East Timor is part of ASEAN, regardless the fact that the country has yet to be granted an observer status, much less a membership. Therefore, I see the conflict as a trouble in ASEAN’s backyard. So, it’s only logical for me to want to see ASEAN to assist East Timor. Unfortunately, ASEAN has not and because of this, I believe ASEAN has failed East Timor.

I do understand that ASEAN is primarily an organization concerned with economic, political and cultural cooperation. It’s not a military alliance and ASEAN has no peacekeeping force of its own. However, I have no desire to see a failed state within Southeast Asia; ASEAN should feel the same way too. If ASEAN does feel the same way, then it should have the means to prevent states from falling into anarchy. That means must include a way to maintain law and order.

Perhaps, it’s time for ASEAN to have a formal body that could take police actions in time of crisis. If ASEAN had such body, it could have taken the lead in assisting East Timor and indirectly telling the world that we are capable of caring for our own welfare. More importantly, ASEAN wouldn’t have failed its small neighbor.