The Bangsar Boy: Looking Cool For School
May 31, 2008 The Bangsar Boy
Okay, so one thing I have never been associated with is the word “Cool”. Some people might disagree, considering the crowd that I hang around with, but back in my school days, I was anything but.
So I’m not sure why the sub-editors chose this headline for my The Bangsar Boy article published today. So, like I always do, I’ll just take it as a compliment and pretend that I am. ;)
Anywayssss, this week, I talk about the whole school uniform saga. I didn’t exactly touch on what my thoughts are about the call for a change of school uniforms for girls as the current white blouses are “too sexy” because, well, I’ve already vented here at my blog.
What this whole incident did do however is remind me about the weird thing us guys used to do in school, where our school uniforms were concerned. I don’t want to offend anyone lah but even I thought these modifications were to “beng” to be cool.
What are these “modifications” I’m talking about? Well, you’ll just have to click here to check my article out. As always, just come back here to leave any comments you may have.
4.14pm
Tags: column, school uniforms, The Bangsar Boy, The Star, uniforms
Martell VSOP Rising Personality of 2008
So, I spent the night with some friends (left work early, will suffer tomorrow - or rather, today) at the Martell Personality of the Year event held at KLpac.
Elaine, who was also there as JP’s guest (and one of four celebrity models for the auction segment), texted me earlier and said that the organisers had “raped” Pentas 1. It was quite a funny statement, but basically they covered all the seats with fabric (and projected their logo on them), and then the tables were set up where the stage usually is. It was rather interesting to be honest.
But it wasn’t the location that was the focus of the night - it was the 10 personalities of course. I was quite excited when I found out, when I got there that is, that a few of my friends were in the top 10 list including Bernard Chauly, Jaclyn Victor and of course, JP who invited me as one of his guests.
Anyway, to cut the long story short, none of my friend won the grand prize - violinist Joanne Yeoh took home the RM30,000 and trip for two to France.
But JP and Jac both were named second and first runners-up respectively, so am very happy for them! They each won a HUGE bottle of Martell (not sure if they get anything else, but all 10 nominees get like a trophy, a limited edition bottle of Martell as well as 10 bottles of the drink at some clubs or something). Not a bad deal at all.
So anyways, here is JP after he was named second runner up.
Congrats buddy, and to you too Jac!
Tags: Bernard Chauly, Elaine Daly, Jaclyn Victor, Joanne Yeoh, Jonathan Putra, JP, klpac, Martell, Rising Above
Struggling to understand politicians
May 29, 2008 News Breaks, Rantings
So I was reading this article today about Former Parti Keadilan Rakyat Youth leader Ezam Mohd Nor rejoining UMNO when I came across this quote by Pak Lah:
“He wants to come back to Umno and he will continue with the struggles of Umno according to the party’s goal and direction, and not Parti Keadilan.”
I don’t know what the implications are (if any) of this “rejoining” so I was rather disinterested in the news, but what got me wondering is the use of the word “Struggles”. This term has been used very frequently by local politicians and local media with relation to political parties.
Now, I really wonder what kinds of struggles these MPs and Ministers have. I mean, I know that the term is often used in the context of issues - the struggle for women’s rights, for example, or even class struggles - but politicians? I can’t be sure, but I really don’t recall this term being used by politicians in other countries - or at least I’ve not come across it to notice.
Is this even the proper term to use, does anyone know?
I only wonder because to be honest, it makes them sound rather kesian (or pitiful for those who don’t understand Bahasa Malaysia), no?
From what I see, the only thing these people seem to be struggling with is figuring out how to move up the political ladder. ;)
Although, after yesterday’s incident at Parliament where many MPs had to rush in for a block voting, they may have a new struggle - that is, the struggle to stay in Parliament when House is in session … especially if what Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar predicts might happen - that Parliament sits throughout the year.
And I wonder, since all political parties appear to be struggling to keep their members (either as a sign of protest ala Tun M or crossovers - New Malaysia broke news that another Anwar aide, Anuar Shaari, has joined UMNO, fellow former PKR leader Khairil Anuar did too), if it’s a smart move to ask your members to leave when they are given a job by your opponents as was the case with Gerakan’s Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong.
He is the second Gerakan leader to take on a post offered by an “opposition”-run state. The first was when former-Gerakan deputy secretary-general Lee Kah Choon was offered the posts of InvestPenang executive chairman and Penang Development Corporation director and accepted. Dr Tan, our former Deputy Land and Cooperative Development Minister, was named co-chairman of Selangor’s special task force on land issues.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib has said that Dr Tan, who is also FT Gerakan chief, cannot maintain his places as a Barisan Nasional leader since he has joined an opposition Government.
I wonder if we shouldn’t be judging these people so quickly, and be happy that people with the experience and know-how is given the opportunity to work, as opposed to just putting anyone there since he or she is correctly aligned politically? Maybe some politician are struggling to see beyond just politics and focus on the good for the people.
Maybe they are right after all. Maybe Malaysian politicians are strugglers after all.
Tags: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Anuar Shaari, Ezam Mohd Nor, Gerakan, Khairul Anuar, Malaysian Parliament, Najib Tun Razak, New Malaysia, Pak Lah, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, PKR, politicians, struggles, Tan Kee Kwong, Umno, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar
RIP Sydney Pollack
May 27, 2008 People
Got an SMS Alert from The Star this morning:
“Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack, of Tootsie and Out of Africa fame, dies of cancer at age 73.”
Yahoo! headlined this AP story.
I don’t know much about his work but I think I first heard about him when Tom Cruise starred in The Firm. Later, just a few years ago, he directed Nicole Kidman in The Interpreter.
He was also the director of The Way We Were.
Rest in peace.
Tags: nicole kidman, out of africa, sydney pollack, the firm, the interpreter, the way we were, tom cruise, tootsie
Election blues
May 26, 2008 Rantings
Running around today, I totally forgot that I hadn’t read the newspaper. I also forgot that the article on the BRATs programme which I am currently facilitating was out. So after I returned from an exciting trip on the Penang-Butterworth Ferry (the original subject I was going to blog about - later, perhaps), I took a walk out to buy a copy of today’s The Star.
The first thing that caught my eye (as it should) is the main headline:
The subhead read:
Everyone will have to register anew under EC’s proposal.
My first thought was, “What??!!”
I mean it had to be a joke right? Apparently not. The article quotes EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman saying that because the current electoral roll has come under heavy criticism, there is a need for a fresh list.
“The new registration exercise will be held if the Government accepts the proposal,” he was quoted as saying.
Poor man. Damned if he does something, damn if he doesn’t do anything.
I’m sure this is the first of a few other proposals to come, considering the kind of attention the EC has got over the past few months. Of course, to be fair, talk of a ‘rigged’ electoral roll have been going around way before he became chairman but you have to admit that it hit him pretty hard this year.
The thing is, in my humble opinion, the idea is ludicrous. How can he really belief that this would be a good way to improve the image of the EC?
Who’s to say, if the current roll is indeed fixed, that the new ones will be taint-free? What would they be doing now that’s different from the last time. And if what he’s been claiming all this while, that the roll is as accurate as it can possibly be, then why is there the need to change it?
Besides, wouldn’t it be easier to just spend all the two years (the Tan Sri said it will take that long to re-register the 10.9mil voters currrently on the list) updating the list? Maybe spend the resources that this “fresh list” project would take on just examining and fixing the current list?
In a country where there are so many ways to identify an individual - birth certificates, MyKad, driver’s license, school certs, credit cards, passports, death certificates etc etc etc - surely you will be able to fix it if you had the right resources?
It may sound overly simplistic, but I do think that it’s really simple.
I think that this new idea is rather problematic - I worry that you will not be able to inform all the current 10.9mil to re-register (and many people will show up at the next election - whenever it will be held - thinking that they are already on the list). The mass media does not reach out to everybody, and if the argument is that one will be able to contact them through letters/phone calls etc, then wouldn’t that be a verification process already?
I met so many people - youths especially - during the recent General Election who thought that you could just walk up to the booth, show your MyKad and vote. This will surely confuse people more.
Of course, lots of people have their own opinions with regards to the issue. The Star is running a poll to see what you think, click here to vote. Among the blogs I’ve seen, I Know What You Think feels that there are political motives involved.
Sorry for being cynical, but I wonder if maybe this is just ‘cosmetics’, a way to show that the EC is doing something to fix their reputation (whether or not the allegations are true), but they know something we don’t … as in this exercise won’t happen because … jeng jeng jeng … a snap election might be called soon.
I’m just assuming but along with this statement, the EC chairman also talked about how he has instructed his officers to be ready for any snap polls that might be called (there have been, after all, lots of talk about it). I know this is very conspiracy theorist but you never know, right? :o)
Susan Loone’s Blog said something funny about that …
“But me thinks, it is only for this reason a snap poll will be called - to make use of the 48,000 bottles of indelible ink!”
Heh heh. That cracked me up.
Tags: EC chairman, electoral commission, general election, snap election, snap elections, tan sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman
