My Own Happiness Project

My Own Happiness Project
because happiness begins inside and flows out...

20080912

what a week........

It's not usual for me to be sitting in my office, like I am doing right now, at 11pm at night... but what makes tonight more unusual, spending a Friday night in my office in Beluran.

I've been transferred here since a couple of months ago, and every week I've found a reason to go back for the weekend -- a meeting or some sort of other excuses... But since I'm going to be missing in action for the next 2 weeks, I guess its only fair for the tax-payers that I put in a few extra hours tonight, hehe...

The week started well, I came back to Beluran by flight on Tuesday and straight to have a series of meetings on that day itself. I also found out that streamyx was down since the last weekend and we have would have some problem with reporting to the Ministry if the internet remains down.

On Wednesday, I chaired a meeting in Sandakan. We discussed the issue of Malaria outbreaks that were happening in the adjescent areas to Telupid that are under supervision of Beluran. So the meeting decided that Beluran should take over supervision of those areas, and it would be my business to make sure that cases go down... at first I was confident of the idea, but after I've learnt that my boss in the HQ is not yet aware of our decision, I was taken aback a little. I should be writing him an email now to prime him on the content of our discussion before the proper minute reaches him, but I'm still finding a way to fashion my words to him, hence the time out to do a bit of blogging now.

Yesterday was another lengthy day with MS ISO meeting, but after that we had majlis berbuka puasa together with the Inspectorate team, and later adjourned to another Dusun style open karaoke merry-making to celebrate sending off one of our team members who's getting transferred to Semporna.

Today was spent mostly on the road - 3 types of roads for that matter; proper sealed road, gravel road and Camel Trophy type of muddy road - on our journey to do preliminary supervision visit to Tongod and Entilibon, two of the three sub-districts that became our responsibility after the meeting on Wednesday. I've taken pictures along the way, but I can't upload them to my computer now, and I should be writing that email to my boss anyway...

Tomorrow will start early, as I plan to be in KK before 2pm... another long day in the car... sigh.

20080909

kahlil gibran: tentang persahabatan.......

Dan seorang remaja berkata, Bicaralah pada kami tentang Persahabatan.

Dan dia menjawab:
Sahabat adalah keperluan jiwa, yang mesti dipenuhi.
Dialah ladang hati, yang kau taburi dengan kasih dan kau tuai dengan penuh rasa terima kasih.
Dan dia pulalah naungan dan pendianganmu.
Kerana kau menghampirinya saat hati lupa dan mencarinya saat jiwa mahu kedamaian.

Bila dia berbicara, mengungkapkan fikirannya, kau tiada takut membisikkan kata “Tidak” di kalbumu sendiri, pun tiada kau menyembunyikan kata “Ya”.
Dan bilamana dia diam,hatimu berhenti dari mendengar hatinya; kerana tanpa ungkapan kata, dalam persahabatan, segala fikiran, hasrat, dan keinginan dilahirkan bersama dan dikongsi, dengan kegembiraan tiada terkirakan.
Di kala berpisah dengan sahabat, tiadalah kau berdukacita;
Kerana yang paling kau kasihi dalam dirinya, mungkin kau nampak lebih jelas dalam ketiadaannya, bagai sebuah gunung bagi seorang pendaki, nampak lebih agung daripada tanah ngarai dataran.

Dan tiada maksud lain dari persahabatan kecuali saling memperkaya roh kejiwaan.
Kerana cinta yang mencari sesuatu di luar jangkauan misterinya, bukanlah cinta , tetapi sebuah jala yang ditebarkan: hanya menangkap yang tiada diharapkan.

Dan persembahkanlah yang terindah bagi sahabatmu.
Jika dia harus tahu musim surutmu, biarlah dia mengenali pula musim pasangmu.
Gerangan apa sahabat itu jika kau sentiasa mencarinya, untuk sekadar bersama dalam membunuh waktu?
Carilah ia untuk bersama menghidupkan sang waktu!
Kerana dialah yang bisa mengisi kekuranganmu, bukan mengisi kekosonganmu.
Dan dalam manisnya persahabatan, biarkanlah ada tawa ria dan berkongsi kegembiraan..
Kerana dalam titisan kecil embun pagi, hati manusia menemui fajar dan ghairah segar kehidupan.

Gibran Kahlil Gibran bin Mikhael bin Saâd

an ode.....

For all the days of darkness gloom
O let the sun enter thy soul
The rays of light will brighten through
And weave thy heart, a heart of gold

The autumn leaves in mist are free
A winter changed, a season seen
Await thy spring in moment time
A life of song, in perfect rhyme

The arrow lanced within thy being
Like shattered glass, all lost in space
The pain endured, with eyes unseen
In total vanquish without a trace

Yet brave the blood that drenched thy soul
And wash the stains of past untold
Days draw near with peace and calm
In strength and love within a psalm

For now this cry that leads the day
Thy self ablaze, thy tears a flow
But take a vow that thy shall live
Against the storm in radiant glow

Sherena Nair
4th September, 2008

A beautiful piece written by a dear old friend, Sherena. And below is the official black and white proving that she allwed me to plagiarise her work here, hehe... with due credit of course!

*************************************************************************
Hi Roddy
Hope you are fine.... you're more than welcome to plagiarise my note!!!
Have a nice weekend
love,
Sherena x

erti kemerdekaan........

A piece written by Tun Mahathir few years back as he pondered the meaning of freedom... kemerdekaan....
Dan jatuhnya hanya beberapa hari
lalu terbelenggu 400 tahun
suatu tempoh yang amat payah dan panjang
pengabdian dan kehilangan yakin diri
43 tahun kita berdiri menebus maruah
merdeka mentafsir diri sendiri dan bangga pada apa yang ada
masih mahukan harga itu diperjudikan?

Kita tidak akan mempertaruhkan nasib itu
di tangan kita masih panas
keringat, tulang belulang dan tenaga fikir
menghayun langkah membina wawasan
waspada harimau di matahari terbenam
tidak akan hilang belangnya
mengisytiharkan dirinya yam tuan tunggal sejagat
yang lemah longlai
yang gagah gergasi
akan meruntuhkan segala sempadan rimba
atas nama membina perkampungan dunia
mahukah kita biarkan
mereka menginjak-injak dan menghancurkan taman kecil permai ini?

Rimba tanpa sempadan
atas nama “kebaikan” menyelinap menusuk matafikir
hidupan dunia ketiga terpaku takjub dengan slogan
‘kasih alam
ketelusan hukum
keadilan timbangan
kesatuan warga dunia
kebebasan mutlak’
lalu beraraklah anak-anak bumi ini meraikan kesatuan alam
dengan sorak sorai
‘runtuhkan sempadan!
runtuhkan sempadan!
runtuhkan korupsi
runtuhkan kolisi’

dan di belakang mereka tidak melihat
bayang-bayang belenggu halimunan
yang lebih ganas daripada segala yang ganas
kita pun akan kehilangan harga dan erti diri
mengapa diundang mereka
dan mereka tiba-tiba berada di depan pintu rumah kita?
Kita telah bangun dengan segala kepayahan
membuka belantara dan mempertahankan warisan
kita tafsir merdeka mengikut acuan sendiri
merdeka kita dengan fikiran
dan kita pertahankannya dengan fikiran
dunia sudah melihat kita
dunia sudah menghormati kita
Timur dan Selatan mengharapkan kita
mereka datang berbondong-bondong mencari bumi ini
perlindungan dan erti hidup
mengapa kita sendiri masih belum mahu melihat
dengan tangan masih terbelenggu ke belakang
dan hanya sesekali menjulangnya
mengikut rentak genderang dunia matahari terbenam?
Bijak pandai pernah berpesan
‘mereka yang tidak belajar dari sejarah mereka didera
dengan mengulangi kesalahan-kesalahan mereka berkali-kali’
sejarah mengajar kita betapa kukuh sesuatu bangsa
akan tetap kecundang bila ditikam dari belakang
mengapa kita mula halalkan sejarah hitam berulang?

Nasib kita genggam
dengan tangan sendiri dan segala kudrat kurniaan
kita jalin kekuatan sulaman kasih bangsa
kita didihkan dia dengan tradisi semangat juang
maruah bangsa kita julang ke mercu alam
kita bangunkan suatu tamadun cinta damai
di sini kita ajar anak-anak kita erti sayang
di sini kita tawarkan dunia menaja kemanusiaan
dan bukan alat peperangan
dunia belajar erti merdeka sejati
mempelajari dan menerima segala perbezaan
merdeka menafsir hidup tanpa paksaan kuasa

Di sini kita yakin segalanya boleh
Di sini kita yakin segalanya boleh
Itulah erti kemerdekaan

Perjuangan ini mesti diteruskan.

Tun Mahathir Mohamad

hukum fantasi dan realiti.......

Apakah hukum fantasi dan realiti sudah melanggar aturannya? Di kala aku cuba menghulurkan tangan ku di udara, apakah mampu kau mencapai hujung jariku?

Apabila ia bermain di akalku, maka dengan kuasa akan aku sedaya menzahirkannya. Di kala satu pertemuan itu kau letakkan ia pada landasan satu takdir, maka ingin juga aku bertanya, "apakah sudah kau usahakan?"

Tiap kali aku cuba menyusun kata, tiap kali juga aku ligat bersandiwara. Aku beralasan, aku beralas dan aku tertanya-tanya, mengapa harus aku menuturkan dusta?

Dan tiap kali aku menuju pada jawabnya, maka apakah adanya engkau di sisi ku membawa aku pada ertinya?

Aku sudah pula bermain-main. Bak anak kecil meloloskan dirinya dari satu kebenaran, begitu juga aku yang pasti mencari nikmat dan keseronokan hidupku.

Aku tahu aku masih jua mencari. Kerna hidup juga aku katakan ia terus berjalan. Maka walau tebal onar pasti aku redahi tanpa banyak bicara. Moga aku temui 'satu jawapan' nya. Satu destinasi yang akan ku adaptasi.
Continue reading Alamecarte

20080905

you must be kidding........

.....worst is, that it wasn't even funny....!
A PRIME EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE WHO SHOULD HAVE HIS SMELLY FOOT IN HIS MOUTH


AHMAD ELUSIVE AFTER RACIST TALK
thestar.com.my
GEORGE TOWN: Former senator Datuk Ahmad Ismail has become an elusive man.

Since allegedly uttering seditious remarks at a ceramah on the eve of the Permatang Pauh by-election, the Bukit Bendera Umno chief is nowhere to be found.

Police, who are investigating five police reports lodged against him in George Town, Bukit Mertajam, Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya over the past week over the offensive remark, are still waiting for him to turn up to give his statement.

Ahmad is currently being investigated under the Sedition Act for labelling Chinese as “immigrants” who do not deserve equal rights in the country.

State deputy police chief Senior Asst Comm I Datuk Salleh Mat Rasid said an investigating officer had contacted him early this week, asking him to turn up at the Bukit Mertajam district police headquarters on Tuesday.

“But he never turned up and the interview was rescheduled.

“Once Ahmad gives his statement, we will wrap our investigations by Friday as most of the statements have been taken. The file will then be sent to the Attorney-General in Putrajaya for further action,” he said.

Even Ahmad’s personal assistant and state Umno leaders are having difficulty trying to reach him.

The assistant, who did not want to be identified, said Ahmad returned from Bangkok on Aug 31 after leading a team to a sepak takraw tournament there.

“I have been trying to contact him since but there was no response. Even his voice mail is full. I think he does not want to be disturbed and thus we should leave him alone,” said the assistant.

A visit by The Star to his house in Taman Robina in Butterworth showed that his luxury bungalow, complete with a swimming pool, had been torn down. Letters were left uncollected in the letterbox.

It is learnt that Ahmad and his family are now staying at a penthouse in a guarded condominium in Tanjong Tokong, pending the construction of his new bungalow.

Bukit Mertajam Umno division chief Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir said several state Umno leaders had attempted to contact Ahmad to find out what actually transpired.

“We want to know the truth as we believe his remark was taken out of context. It is best that we hear his side of the story,” said Musa.
AHMAD: WHY SHOULD I APPOLOGISE?
By ANDREA FILMER
thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail has refused to apologise over his racist remark calling the Chinese community “immigrants who do not deserve equal rights”.

“Why should I apologise? I didn’t do anything wrong. Those who do wrong should apologise but I haven’t done anything,” Ahmad said when The Star met him outside his Bayan Baru office yesterday.

He, however, refused to comment on whether the press misquoted him.

Sounding calm and collected on the phone, he said a full statement on what transpired would be released after a Penang Umno liaison meeting tomorrow.
Man in the news: Ahmad gesturing as he replies to a question in Bayan Baru yesterday. He said he had been leading a sepak takraw team to a tournament in Bangkok.

He added that he would not say much at present, but wanted to clear up the issue of reporting to the police.

Police are currently investigating five reports lodged against Ahmad under the Sedition Act 1948 for uttering the remarks at a ceramah on the eve of the Permatang Pauh by-election.

He said there were reports of his going to the Bukit Mertajam police station on Wednesday night (to make a statement).

“I want to make it clear that I never told anyone or informed anyone that I would be there. It was their assumption,” he said.

Ahmad recorded a statement at the police contingent headquarters in Penang Road at about 10pm the same night while pressmen from television, online and print media were waiting for him on the mainland.

Asked where he had been over the last few days, Ahmad confirmed that he had been leading a sepak takraw team to a tournament in Bangkok.

“My phone has been on and off, but a lot of my anak buah (supporters) have been calling me, so maybe that’s why it has been hard to get through,” he said.

On the alleged misappropriation of funds involving now-defunct company Popular Profile Sdn Bhd (PPSB), Ahmad said he had resigned before any action was taken on the company.

“This issue has nothing to do with me. Action is taken on a company, not on a personal capacity. Moreover, I resigned from the company on Sept 1, 1998. What happened after that, I don’t know.

“The Chief Minister (Lim Guan Eng) shouldn’t be using his political muscle and power to attack me,” he said, adding that he would not say more on the land deal until he had checked the details.

Lim had recently attacked Ahmad on a 1997 land deal involving PPSB, in which Ahmad had been a director. Lim alleged that the company had cheated the state of RM500,000 in a deal involving 4.2ha of industrial land in Bukit Minyak.
ANTARA PENDATANG DAN PERKAUMAN
Syahredzan Johan 5.9.2008
refleksiminda.wordpress.com

Melawati laman web dan blog-blog di ruang siber, saya mendapati bahawa pandangan tentang kata-kata berbaur perkauman yang didakwa telah dituturkan oleh Saudara Ahmad Ismail, Ketua Bahagian UMNO Bukit Bendera berbeza mengikut etnik dan kepercayaan politik mereka yang memberi pandangan.

Secara keseluruhannya, orang bukan Melayu menganggap kata-kata Saudara Ahmad sebagai melampau dan racist. Manakala bagi orang Melayu, pandangannya terbahagi kepada dua mengikut kepercayaan politik. Bagi mereka yang pro-Pakatan dan pro-ketuanan rakyat, kata-kata Saudara Ahmad itu semamangnya berbaur perkauman dan tidak patut dikeluarkan. Manakala bagi mereka yang pro-UMNO dan pro-ketuanan Melayu, ramai yang menganggap bahawa Saudara Ahmad tidak membuat apa-apa kesalahan dan tidak perlu meminta maaf. Malahan, ada yang marah bahawa Saudara Ahmad ditekan untuk berbuat demikian, dikatakan bahawa inilah buktinya bahawa orang bukan Melayu semakin ‘tidak sedar diri’ dan ‘lupa akan sejarah’. Bagi mereka, sememangnya orang bukan Melayu adalah ‘pendatang’. Golongan ini juga memberi contoh-contoh di mana bukan Melayu juga telah bersikap racist, namun orang Melayu tidak menuntut kemaafan sekalipun. Mengikut logik mereka, adalah tidak wajar untuk pemimpin-pemimpin bukan Melayu untuk mendesak Saudara Ahmad untuk meminta maaf walhal perkara yang sama tidak didesak oleh orang Melayu ketika bukan Melayu melakukan sesuatu yang berbaur perkauman.

Bagi saya, sekiranya benar Saudara Ahmad mengeluarkan kata-kata tersebut, maka dia tidak sepatutnya berbuat demikian dan harus memohon maaf. Orang bukan Melayu juga adalah penduduk negara ini dan ini jelas termaktub di dalam perlembagaan persekutuan. Mungkin nenek moyang mereka datang dari tempat lain, tetapi berapa banyakkah orang Melayu sendiri yang nenek moyang mereka bukan berasal dari Tanah Melayu? Saya sendiri berketurunan Bugis yang suatu ketika dahulu datang dari kepulauan Sulawesi di Indonesia. Adakah saya juga harus dilabelkan sebagai pendatang? Ataupun label pendatang tersebut mempunyai cut off point? Hanya mereka yang nenek moyang mereka dibawa oleh British ke Tanah Melayu layak dipanggil pendatang? Atau hanya mereka yang nenek moyang mereka berasal dari negeri Cina dan India? Hendak juga saya bermuzakarah dengan golongon ini, untuk mendapat tahu justifikasi yang mereka berikan untuk perkataan ‘pendatang’ tersebut.

Berkenaan dengan hujah bahawa bukan Melayu juga bersifat perkauman. Tidak pernah dinafikan, racist berada di mana-mana, pada setiap lapisan masyarakat, dengan segenap bangsa dan keturunan. Mungkin rapper wannabe Namawee, yang telah menyanyikan lagu rap Negeraku boleh dikatakan sebagai racist. Mungkin juga sesetengah dakwaan HINDRAF seperti pembersihan etnik adalah racist. Tetapi, bak pepatah Inggeris, two wrongs don’t make a right. Adakah perlakuan racist yang didakwa dilakukan oleh bukan Melayu menghalalkan racisme Saudara Ahmad? Sudah tentu tidak. Perkauman harus dibenteras sama sekali dari bumi Malaysia ini, walau sesiapapun yang melakukannya.

Saya tidak tahu mengapa sesetengah rakyat Malaysia mempunyai pemikiran Assobiyah atau berpuak-puak yang amat kuat. Tidak cukupkah kita hidup bersama selama 51 tahun untuk kita menerima sesama sendiri sebagai anak Malaysia?

READ WHAT TUN MAHATHIR HAD TO SAY
READ WHAT LIM KIT SIANG HAD TO SAY


20080901

random juke: beijing welcomes you......

The last era when I last listened to A LOT of Chinese music was circa 1997-1998 when I was heavily influenced by my god-brother Albert Law, who was in turn very much involved in the national Chinese music industry at that time. Nowadays he is more involved in producing, while running his environmentally friendly business side by side.

Click on his name to visit him on Facebook.
(and that promo will cost you a bit, dude, hahaha)

Come the Beijing Olympics, it has reopened a lot of eyes on Chinese-everything, and brought back a lot of interest in its music industry, especially for myself too... and this one particular song has a haunting effect, nice haunting effect nonetheless.

It is called Beijing Welcomes You, and the lyrics (translation of it) gives me goosebumps still whenever I read it... it's been on TV for a while but I can never catch what the numerous artists were singing, but in this clip, it is accompanied by English translation, the pin-yin, name of artist and the location of the shot - all you've always wanted to know.

Download BEIJING WELCOMES YOU here
mp3 / 7:04 / 128kbps / 6.48Mb

Video clip on Youtube

random thoughts........