HRH Prince Cheah

This morning I was at my desk top in the bedroom, tweaking the FirstLife site and Prince Cheah was comfortably under the table snoozing as he usually does.

Being at the table for more than a few hours I accidentally kicked him lightly a couple of times when I stretched my legs. The third time I did that was the last time today! Prince Cheah bit one of my toes! But that was to be expected of Prince these days. He never used to bite anyone before Jeannie passed on.

However, he is still the same measured old dog who can give you two chances before whacking you. The guy is almost human! How else can one explain the actions of a dog who a couple of years back took a full two minutes after I had accidentally kicked him particularly hard (under the table too) before attacking me! Prince's responses are always measured; he is even better than many humans.

So today, this post is about Prince Cheah Ah Kow and the words are mainly from Jeannie. One piece entitled, "More Than A Dream" is a blogpost dated 15th November 2006 that Jeannie adapted from the Net for her blog and another, entitled "My Beloved Prince", also from her blog is dated 27th July, 2006. They say it all.

More Than A Dream

He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds; my other ears that hear above the winds.
He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea. He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason for being: by the way he rests against my leg; by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him. (I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not along to care for me.)He has taught me the meaning of devotion. With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace. He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant.

His head on my knee can heal my human hurts. His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things. He has promised to be with me... whenever... wherever -- in case I need him. And I expect I will -- as I always have. I love my Royal Highness.....The Prince.


My Beloved Prince

A bad migraine is no fun.

Was lying in bed and Prince came up to me, staring right into my eyes.
Something wrong baby? I asked him.
He looked miserable and disappointed.

I was thinking what is it that he wanted?

Oh yes!...Very quickly I got up and said to him.
Its your birthday Prince, with or without a migraine, mummy is going to bake your favourite walnut/banana bread ok?

His tail was wagging and he seemed pleased.

I went down into the kitchen and started to make his birthday bread (cake) hahhaahha!

He was waiting impatiently while I was talking to him. I was also thinking, baking for a dog?

Well, why not? He is our baby and a member of the family.

A lot of things went through my mind while I was still busy with the ingredients. I am a woman who never liked dogs. No way!

The kids have always wanted a pet and I will always say NO! Now 2 years ago, a friend of my daughter wanted to give up her pet and of course, my daughter had to do her sweetest talk with this mom of hers. I still say NO!

What changed my mind was, when she came to the part where this little Prince is not being well taken care of by his former owners. Guess they have no time or whatever.

My heart skipped a beat and I said to my daughter. Well, okay. Let's go take a look and see if there is any chemistry between us. One big step.............got into the car and still not sure.

When we arrived at the apartment, I saw for the first time a dog that looked more like a cat.

What kind of species is this? I asked.
Oh..he is a Shih Tzu and his name is Prince.
Got introduced to Prince and I was still deciding.

Shall we or shall we not.

As I sat down, I saw the most beautiful, sparkling pair of eyes staring at me. I could almost hear him say.......would you please? Awwww........that's it. I said YES! We'll take you home and we'll give you a home.

Prince got settled with us nicely and quickly I must say.

Start grooming that dirty fella was the first thing I said to my kids.

Well, mummy gave him his 1st bath.

My 1st time bathing a dog? Geez.....I must be mad.

I set something like ten thousand rules?

No this and no to that and that.

Guess what?

Today Prince sleeps with me on my bed, eats with me, has his own chair next to mine.

Listening to mantras every morning and meditating with me.

Prince is now mine more than anyone else in the family. We cannot live without each other, not even for a day.

Ever heard of someone calling her dog while away?

I do that now or he will not do anything. He will be so miserable, they do not know what to do with him. My phone calls always set his/my mood back to normal.

I thank the Universe and Masters for they have put this message into me.

That you can do anything even if you do not like it...for the 1st time.
Now I cannot see myself living life without my dear Prince. His presence is always comforting and loving.
I cannot ask for any other than Prince.

We all adore him and literally made him a King.

Happy Birthday Prince.

You deserve many many more birthdays.

Long Live Prince Cheah.

We are grateful to have Prince and even more so to have him make Jeannie's last few years that much more special. The two were inseparable. Special appreciation to Eva and Andrew for taking care of him in his first three years.

I Like This...

Thanks Sdr Hussein for the heads up.

“Just as we should reject the thoughtless equation of progress and hope, so we need to distinguish between nostalgia and the reassuring memory of happy times, which serves to link the present to the past and to provide a sense of continuity. The emotional appeal of happy memories does not depend on disparagement of the present, the hallmark of the nostalgic attitude.

Nostalgia appeals to the feeling that the past offered delights no longer obtainable. Nostalgic representations of the past evoke a time irretrievably lost and for that reason timeless and unchanging. Strictly speaking, nostalgia does not entail the exercise of memory at all, since the past it idealizes stands outside time, frozen in unchanging perfection.

Memory too may idealize the past, but not in order to condemn the present. It draws hope and comfort from the past in order to enrich the present and to face what comes with good cheer. It sees past, present, and future as continuous. It is less concerned with loss than with our continuing indebtedness to a past the formative influence of which lives on in our patterns of speech, our gestures, our standards of honor, our expectations, our basic disposition toward the world around us.”


Christopher Lasch, The True and Only Heaven: Progress and Its Critics (New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1991) 82-3.

Teoh Beng Hock Death: Defying Binary Rationality

My good friend who shares the same initials as me, Kamarul Shahrin is an analyst (he sometimes refers to himself as ANALyst) with a GLC. And the analyst being the ANALyst that he says he sometimes is, has come up with another explanation for TBH's death that belongs somewhere between The Twilight Zone and One Step Beyond. Well, analyse this from his blog:

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2011

Cause of Teoh’s death unknown - The Star

The Star reported "The lengthy Teoh Beng Hock inquest ended with coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas ruling that the political aide did not commit suicide. Azmil Muntapha, however, also said there was insufficient evidence to prove that Teoh’s death was homicide".

At most times, I think in terms of binary rationality, that if a parameter does not fit, then it must be the other. One or Zero. Yes or No. The coroner's statement above is perplexing, suicide was not committed by Teoh. And so, to my mind, his death must have been brought about by an external party. If you don't die from your own actions, then you must have died from other people's actions, in that context. So, it is perplexing indeed. Perhaps, I have been watching too many CSI shows, if there had been a murder, there should be a murderer. That is how I tend to see things.

But then, I cannot manage to grasp a conclusion. Teoh's death did not reach the classification of murder. It is somewhere in the space between the words suicide and murder. Death was the certainty but its cause is not. I am confounded by the apparent ambiguity in the equation. It scares me as it is not just about the case, but about the ambiguity in determining the murder. It tells me that it can happen to just about any Malaysian. Yes, I am afraid. If science cannot explain it, then it will normally categorise it as paranormal until such time, that it can be explained by science. So, is Teoh's death paranormal? I dare to stand firm by my opinion, until such time that the coroner classifies Teoh's death as murder. And I have sufficient cause to worry.

One can die from paranormal activity here. I can be in a building in one minute and in the next minute, I will be falling out through the window, meeting death on the pavement. Paranormal indeed. I have a firm reason to be afraid. Of what can become of future deaths. Not suicide but not murder. It can happen to you.

If There Are More Muslims Like Art Harun, There Would Be More Muslims

Life imitating Art. This is a must read:

But Dr Ridhuan, I beg to differ

Salam Doctor,

Allow me to  begin by wishing you a happy new Gregorian year. May this new (Gregorian) year bring with it God's goodness for all of us.

I am writing in response to your article, "Politik murahan yang memualkan" .

I have disagreed with you before and I must say, this time, with respect, I disagree with you even more.

First of all, let me say that I do not know for sure whether the Prime Minister's minders did in fact ask the Bishop to remove all crucifixes and prohibit the Christians from reciting hymns at the function attended by the Prime Minister. There are reports which say that that happened. And there are also reports which say that it did not happen.

Whatever it is, assuming that it did take place, one thing is for sure. The instruction or request did not come from the Prime Minister.

I am really disappointed that you viewed the Prime Minister's visit to the function at hand was a lowly act of besmirching his feet with dirt. This is what you said:

"Kesediaan dan kesudian PM yang sanggup ‘mencemar duli’ pergi ke ‘rumah ibadat’ tersebut sepatut diberikan penghargaan dan pujian, bukannya dilacurpolitikkan." (emphasis is mine).

The expression "mencemar duli", loosely translated means to dirty one's feet or sole. That expression is normally used to express gratitude to our Rulers for having graced any of our function with their Highness' presence. It is expressed thus;

"Patik menjunjung kasih Tuanku kerana sudi mencemar duli Tuanku ke upacara ini."

By using that expression to describe the Prime Minister's visit to the function at hand, you are implying that it was actually beneath the Prime Minister to attend such a function and that  the Prime Minister was actually going out of his way to lower himself to attend the said function.

Doctor, with all due respect, that was unbecoming of you as an ulamak.

We live in a multi-ethnic-faith society. It was none other than the Prime Minister himself who is advocating the concept of 1Malaysia. That concept, as I understand it, would among others, entail the acceptance by all of us, regardless of breed, creed and faith that we should, as the people of Malaysia, live in harmony and respect for each other.

The Prime Minister is the Prime Minister of Malaysia. He is not the Prime Minister of the Muslims or Malays only. As President of UMNO, he may be the leader of the Malays who are members of UMNO. As President of the Barisan Nasional, he is the leader of everybody who is a member of the component parties of the BN. But as the Prime Minister of Malaysia, he acts for all of us Malaysians.

In that capacity, he has to attend to the interests of all of us, regardless of our faith and race. If he attends a hari raya celebration, he must also attend a Deepavali and Chinese New Year celebration. The same goes with the Christmas celebration. He just has to attend it because he is the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

It is not beneath him to do so. By attending a Christmas function, he is not "mencemar" his "duli" or dirtying his feet or sole. He is performing his social duty as a Prime Minister. If he did not perform such action, than it is his reputation as a leader which is going to be "tercemar".

Your argument that Muslims are prohibited from attending religious celebrations of other faith than Islam is simplistic at its core. To my mind Islam is all about one's closeness to God and His will. What problem would God have against anybody who attend a non-Muslim celebration if his faith in God and His way is unshakeable?

Are you saying that by attending the function that night, the Prime Minister's faith in God would in any way diminish? I think we should all give the Prime Minister a little bit more credit here.

In fact, the latest pronouncement on this issue was made by Dr Ghaith bin Muhammad al-Sheikh al-Mubarak, a member of the Council of Senior Ulamak of Saudi Arabia. He opined on 23rd December 2010 that Muslims can take part in religious festivals of other faiths if the purpose of their attendance is to attract non-Muslims to Islam.

According to local daily the Saudi Gazette, he said "by attending festivals of other faiths Muslims could help to “pacify their souls” and when a Muslim rejects an invitation to attend such a festival it could alienate non-Muslims and divert them from the right path.

And so Doctor, it would appear now that it all boils down to one's intention. Was the Prime Minister intending to be a Christian by attending that function or was he making a move for unity that night?

While I was studying at King's College, my law library was housed in an old church. Are you saying that I should not have gone to the library because it was in a church Doctor? Are you saying that before entering the library I should have requested the librarian or College authority to respect me by removing all crucifixes adorning the walls?

You cite the example of Caliph Omar not wanting to pray in a Church as an example. This is what you said:

"Sudah tentu kita masih ingat kisah Khalifah Islam kedua, Saidina Omar Al-Khattab yang pernah melawat gereja. Ketika tiba waktu sembahyang, paderi tersebut menawarkan Omar untuk solat di gereja. Namun, Saidina Omar menolak dan memilih untuk tidak solat di dalam gereja kerana ditakuti boleh menimbulkan fitnah. Mungkin orang Kristian akan beranggapan Omar mahu menukarkan gereja menjadi masjid. Semua ini dilakukan atas kebijaksanaan seseorang pemimpin."

With respect Doctor, that is not the true historical account of the incident. Caliph Omar declined to pray in the Church of Holy Sepulchre not because he feared unwarranted aspersions or he did not want the Christians to think that he (Omar) would want to turn the church into a mosque. That was a twisted view.

For the record, Caliph Omar captured Jerusalem after a brief and bloodless seige,  from the Byzantines in February 638. Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab accepted the city's surrender from Patriarch Sophronius in person.

Omar was shown the great Church of the Holy Sepulchre and offered a place to pray in it, but he refused. He declined out of absolute respect for the Christians and their church and not out of fear as you stated. He declined because he thought that if he did so, a precedent would be set and that future generations of Muslims might say that Omar prayed there and then they might convert that Church into a Mosque. It was out of that concern and respect that he refused to pray there.

He then proceeded to pray at the steps outside the Church. By doing so he averted the possibility of the Church being turned into a mosque. Such was his great respect for Christians, Christianity and churches.

Fair enough, Omar's fears almost came to reality when in 1193 Saladin's son Aphdal Ali build a mosque near the site of that incident although the location is not exact, for the entrance to the Church was on the east in Omar's time and the present entrance was only inaugurated in the 11th century.

You made a big issue on the apparent Christmas celebration in Malaysia which according to you is way out of proportion considering Christians constitute only about 10% of our populations. Are they to blame if shops and shopping complexes, and in fact the whole commercial world in the whole universe, view Christmas and its celebration as a commercial activity rather than a pure religious event?

The thing about Christmas "celebration" which is way out of proportion in our country and any other country in the world is this. It is not about religion at all. It is the capitalism god at work. You should realise that dear Doctor.

As a Muslim, I am in fact thankful that our Hari Raya is not celebrated in such a big way as Christmas is. At least Hari Raya is preserved as a pure religious event where Muslims would go to the mosque and visit each other and undertake charitable work. Even then, our Hari Raya has, nowadays, morphed into a cultural and social event. Notice for example, dear Doctor, how we have open houses which really in effect not "open" anymore nowadays?

Caliph Omar, for example, refused to build a huge mosque after capturing Jerusalem. He opted to build a modest mosque on the Temple Mount instead. Clearly, size and quantity was not important to him. What matters is his faith I suppose.

Complaining on the number of churches and how big Christmas celebration is in our country is, to me - and I say this with the greatest of respect to you - childish. It is reflective of the inferiority complex which we Muslims are imbued with nowadays. It makes us want to retire into our cocoon, sulking and whining at how big and prettier other people are and how we should resent them and how unfair this whole new world is to us. If the Prophet were to behave like that in his early days in Mekah, I wonder whether Islam would be a great way of life it is now.

The great way of life that we know as Islam is not about public holidays or the size of our mosques. If you are going to compare the number of public holidays we have, are you going to equate football with our religion just because we have a public holiday after winning the Suzuki Cup recently, just as we have a public holiday for hari raya every year? We have more and bigger office complexes than mosques. Don't you feel these office complexes are more important than mosques and thus conclude that our people place office complexes on a higher plane than mosques?

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was well known for his respect to other religions, especially to the kitabiyyah (the people of the book, namely, the Jews and Christians). In a letter from him to Negus, the king of Abyssinia, he wrote:

From Muhammad, God’s Messenger, to the Negus Asham, the King of Abyssinia;

Peace be upon you! On this occasion, I praise God, the Sovereign, the Holy One free from all defects, the Giver of security, the Watcher over His creatures, and I bear witness that Jesus is a spirit from God, and a word from Him, whom He bestowed upon Mary, who was chaste, pure and virgin. I call you to God, One with no partner. (Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya 3.104).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was not only respectful to a Christian King but he in fact acknowledged Jesus and Mary in his letter. Such was the message of one-ness which the Prophet (peace be upon him) was advocating.

It is known that in Islam, we are allowed to marry the ahlil-kitab (people of the book) without them having to convert to Islam. I would ask, if this is so, would our Christian spouse be required to remove her crucifix before we sleep with her every night? How would she pray in our house in that event?

The contemporary approach towards achieving the globalisation of Islam is one of inclusiveness, dear Doctor. As such, it comes as no surprise, for instance, for Sheikh Ahmed Hassoun, the Mufti of Syria to declare that Islam commands its followers to protect Judaism early last year.

While the world is fast moving into an era of inter-faith acceptance and embrace inter-religious accord, it is disheartening to see Malaysia regressing into medieval insecurity and inferiority complex. It is this complex which causes the likes of the Mufti of Johor to issue a fatwa saying Islam forbids Muslims from dressing up as Santa forgetting that Santa is not a religious icon but rather a commercial icon which has been elevated to a cultural one (which is similar to the act of giving away "duit raya" on hari raya in Malaysia).

You make known your concern of the visit by the Prime Minister being politisised and reminded of an incident where a former leader was undermine by a picture before. That was of course referring to the picture of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who was pictured wearing a Kadazan headgear with a crucifix symbol in 1990.

How sad. That picture was misused as a character assassination by none other than the government- controlled mainstream newspapers in an election to defeat the Tengku.

If that happens to the Prime Minister just because he attends the Christmas function recently, don't you think Doctor that it is your duty as an ulamak to educate the Muslim public, as part of your dakwah, to ignore such irresponsible and gutter politics?

By condoning the alleged action in requesting the removal of the crucifix, I am afraid to say that you are in fact indirectly promoting that kind of silly politicisation of theocratic phobias. 

As Muslims, we make noises when people of other faiths perceivably treat our religion with disrespect. If non-Muslims could be asked to wear tudung before entering the mosque to observe the sanctity of our mosque, why can't we Muslims, reciprocate and accord the same respect to other faiths by at least allowing them to bear their objects of faith?

Islam, from the very beginning - and I mean to say from day one - was inextricably connected to Christianity in many ways than we would even care to admit. On the very day the Prophet (peace be upon him) was revealed the first verse Iqra', he did not know what had happened to him. He ran back home in fear, trembling in shock. Do you remember who told him that he had been appointed God's messenger?

It was none other than Khadija's (the Prophet's wife) cousin, Warqa bin Naufal, a Christian with knowledge of biblical lore, who told Muhammad (peace be upon him) that he had been revealed a divine message, just like Moses before him. Such was the close association between Islam and Christian on the very first day of its existence.

Why can't we Muslims acknowledge that and stop being in fear and stop disbelieving in our ability to be true to our faith?

Why can't we work towards inclusiveness, towards unity, towards acceptance and towards one-ness.

Or does God really want us to remind ourselves of how different we are from the rest of the world all the time?

Salam.

Message For 1.1.11 And 2011

"...which would you choose?...which do you choose?...and...WHEN?"



Nevermind that this video is 2 years old. The message remains the same.

The Taste Of Victory

The year was 1978 and I was in Upper Six at King Edward VII School, Taiping. We had a fantastic rugby team for the first time in years and were fresh from victories in two friendlies (Bukit Mertajam High School and Sultan Abdul Hamid College) and two district games (Vocational School and St Georges Taiping). The team had scored a total of more than 200 points and not only had no team crossed our try-line, none managed to score a single point! We were formidable but we were next to play Malay College Kuala Kangsar; a team we had not beaten since the early sixties! 15 years to be exact.

Just before the game, our charismatic new coach Mr Yew Siew Seng showed up with a bottle of what looked like plain water. He said the water was air jampi from a bomoh in nearby Kampung Air Kuning and he was serious in that only the Muslim players be allowed to take a sip each. The rest of us pork-eating players were not supposed to. The team created history that day. We beat MCKK 26-12 to lift the Perak schools title officially for the first time, enroute to winning the national championship. It was our toughest game that season but needless to say, the boys played like they had raging fire in their bellies.

I found out later that the water actually came from a school tap and of course with nary any chlorine let alone incantations from a shaman!

Now you will understand Seth Godin's snippet below better.


Folk wisdom and proofiness

"Is it feed a cold, starve a fever, or the other way around, I can never remember?"

Does it matter if you get the rhyme wrong? A folk remedy that doesn't work doesn't work whether or not you say it right.

Zig Ziglar used to tell a story about a baseball team on a losing streak. On the road for a doubleheader, the team visited a town that was home to a famous faith healer. While the guys were warming up, the manager disappeared. He came back an hour later with a big handful of bats. "Guys, these bats were blessed and healed by the guru. Our problems are over."

According to the story, the team snapped out of their streak and won a bunch of games. Some people wonder, "did the faith healer really touch the bats, or was the manager making it up?" Huh? Does it matter?

Mass marketers have traditionally abhorred measurement, preferring rules of thumb, casting calls and alchohol instead. Yet, there's no real correlation between how the ad was made and how well it works.

As the number of apparently significant digits in the data available to us goes up (traffic was up .1% yesterday!) we continually seek causation, even if we're looking in the wrong places. As the amount of data we get continues to increase, we need people who can help us turn that data into information.

It's important, I think, to understand when a placebo is helpful and when it's not. We shouldn't look to politicians to tell us whether or not the world is getting warmer (and what's causing it). They're not qualified or motivated to turn the data into information. We also shouldn't look to a fortune teller on the corner to read our x-rays or our blood tests.

Proofiness is a tricky thing. Data is not information, and confusing numbers with truth can help you make some bad decisions.

FirstLife Advertisements In The KOSMO! Online

Click on the image:

FirstLife Advert In The Star Online

Click on the image:

FirstLife...Has Arrived!!!

http://www.firstlife.com.my/

FirstLife

***********************************************************

Sunday December 5, 2010

Takaful for all By TEE SHIAO EEK

Unlike conventional insurance, this scheme is about the intention to help one another in financial protection.

BEFORE Prophet Muhammad and the coming of Islam, tribes in the Arab desert lived by a social code whereby a group would bind together, in good times and bad.

If an individual member of their unit suffered harm, loss of property or death, the unit would cover such loss by revenge, blood-letting, or payment of blood money.

“Bound by these principles of al-aqilah (societal responsibility) and diat (blood money), they believed that if you harm somebody, you have to recompense another person for the harm caused. But if you cannot pay, then the community will come together to pay,” says Datuk Syed Moheeb Syed Kamarulzaman, chairman of the Malaysian Takaful Association.

Syed Moheeb adds that the concept of a group sharing in one’s misfortune was also prevalent among Chinese traders of yore.

“For instance, if those in a caravan group were attacked by bandits, if something happened to their camels, or if they faced trouble on their ship, then the rest of the group would chip in to pay for any losses.”

These age-old practices form the basis of the Takaful insurance system, which became more clearly defined under the spiritual beliefs of Islam, guided by the rules and regulations of Syariah.

Driven by the value of mutual protection, a Takaful scheme is similar to conventional insurance in many ways.

“In Takaful, many pay into a pool and funds from the pool are used to help the unfortunate few,” says Syed Moheeb.

“The difference is that, in Takaful, people put their money into the pool with the specific intention of helping the unfortunate.”

As illustrated by the historical perspective above, Takaful is based on the simple community practice of coming together to help one another.

“In Takaful, there are many edicts that encourage us to take care of other people, to ensure the financial stability of our kin, as well as to ensure that there is responsibility and bond with the society as a whole. In conventional insurance, which is purely a commercial transaction, these values are absent.”

The belief is that if you join a Takaful scheme with the pure intention of protecting the unfortunate, such good will be recompensed to you in the form of divine blessings later on.

Although Syed Moheeb quotes the Quran – “Help ye one another in righteousness and piety but help ye not one another in sin and rancour” (Al Maidah: 2) – he also notes that the concept of divine blessing is shared by all religions and philosophical beliefs.

However, he is not out to make Takaful sound more noble than conventional insurance.

“Insurance companies provide a service. They take heavy risks, and aim to be compensated for that. It is simply that the altruistic nature of Takaful works to the advantage of participants because it promotes the spirit of cooperation and brotherhood. If there is a surplus, then the participants will get something back.

“In Takaful, everyone’s risk is shared. So, the pool of money does not belong to the Takaful operator, who is only managing it. It belongs to all those who participate in the scheme,” he explains.

On the other hand, when you buy conventional insurance, you are transferring your risk to the insurance company. Hence, your money belongs to the company, which will use the funds to pay the unfortunate and keep the balance.

In practice, there are also other differences between Takaful and conventional insurance policies.

Although the types of available Takaful products are similar to conventional insurance in terms of classes (life, family, motor, medical), they are based on Syariah-compliant principles that create differences in the way a person contributes to the fund and receives benefits.

Syed Moheeb explains: “In Islamic law, any exchange must be fair in value (fair exchange or equality), and it must take place within a stipulated time frame (certainty).

“Therefore, to make the concept of insurance applicable under Syariah law, the wording of the contract is changed, so that it is not a contract of exchange, but a contract of donation.

“In the proposal form, the policyholder declares that ‘I donate into this pool and appoint a Takaful operator as the managing agent to handle the funds according to the best practices’.”

Malaysia is the No.2 Takaful market in the world, second only to Saudi Arabia. With eight companies and four more to come, the Takaful industry here has been growing at an average rate of 40% per year, compared with 12% for the conventional insurance industry, he adds.

It is significant that Syed Moheeb uses the phrase “joining a Takaful scheme”, instead of “buying Takaful”. “We do not sell Takaful, but we invite people to participate in the scheme or the fund.”

He is also quick to refute the perception that Takaful is only for Muslims.

“This was never the case. Perhaps this perception came about because our target market was Muslims, due to the fact that only one in 20 Muslims had any life insurance, so it made more sense to sell family or life Takaful to them.

“But of course, non-Muslims can join the Takaful scheme as well. Anybody who wants to protect his financial risk can benefit from Takaful.”

In most Takaful companies in Malaysia, an average of three or four out of 10 policyholders are non-Muslims, demonstrating their increasing interest in Takaful products, of which there is a wide range of choices.

Syed Moheeb advises consumers to do their research well before choosing which fund to join.

Even if you have already purchased conventional insurance for life, family, medical, or motor coverage, you can still consider Takaful funds to plug any gaps in your existing coverage.

“One should compare the product features, ensure the pricing is commensurate with that and look for a company that is able to provide good service.

“Do check the claims-paying capabilities of the company, as well as its reputation.

“Make sure you have a good and responsible Takaful broker or agent who will help you determine if you have protected yourself to the optimum level. Our priority is helping you ensure that all your needs are addressed,” he assures.

Sons Of Two Ibrahims; A Parody By Ibrahim's Grandson

Just Remembering You Standing There...

You loved and sang this song so well Darling.

An Open Secret...

You've seen or heard this at least once before...it was not a secret then, it's still not a secret now. That's why it is so strange.

Of Sycophants And Harlots; Both Suck!

This post is about the minions in mainstream media and it is a Google Post i.e. google a topic (in this case Joseline Tan) and see what comes up most often.

Here are some of the most common tack about JT; just read the hyperlink titles and click if you want. I suppose a leech can be expected to suck her way to the top of an editorial shit pile!    

Rocky's Bru said: OH, JOCELINE TAN!

and Joceline Tan and the two SILs


Seventh Rangers (Mechanized) said:

Joceline Tan desperately spinning ...


Cuit Sikit said:

Tahniah Joceline Tan (Jose the Special One)


This by politics2politics takes a big slice of the cake:

JOCELINE TAN, THE STAR the schoolgirl behaving ...


The above are all old stuff in Google on JT but the following is a response to her article, "End of the road or a new beginning?":

Unethical journalism and a blatant lie by Joceline Tan

How can so many be wrong or perhaps this is a conspiracy by Google! Google must be running an anti-JT campaign. I wonder how she can sleep at night.

Anyway, the following blogpost by drrafick puts things succinctly:


Keadilan adil?
November 20, 2010 by drrafick

The attack on Zaid Ibrahim has not stopped. The way I see it is that Zaid case will be spun by the MSM with the aim to crack the strength of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. One such attempt is an article published in The Star written by Jocelyn Tan under the heading “End of the road or a new beginning?

To counter what appeared in the papers, Muhammad Firdaus Christopher and Rashid Azad Khan who are known Associates of Datuk Zaid Ibrahim today sent me a letter of rebuttal on the article. I am not like most newspaper readers. Most of the time when I read a political news in the MSM, I tend to keep an open mind. At the moment my analysis shows that the MSM reporters are doing what their political masters want them to do.

My hope is that bloggers and the alternative media in Malaysia are different. Right now, I can say only some are truly different. Majority of them whom are pro Pakatan Rakyat do not take the criticism leveled against Azmin or Anwar kindly. Many can’t differentiate between the party and Anwar or Azmin.

A state Exco in her SMS exchange with me says that Azmin despite his warts won Sabah fairly because of his hard work and Zaid was a sore loser that had lost his position despite spending a lot of money there. I don’t know about the money involved but from what I gather, Zaid is popular figure in Sabah and going by the nomination he had received it is unlikely that he would be spending much money to buy votes. Chances are the underdog would likely to do so and the open and continuous campaign by Anwar on the members in Sabah does not gel for a “de facto leader”.

I have said it before that there are serious flaws in PKR election process. The election machinery is supposed to be run by the Chairman of JPP but it appears that it is run by the Sec Gen of PKR. The votes do not tally in many places and many ordinary members have challenged the validity of the election in many areas but without real and proper investigations most of these allegations were dismissed.

I can appreciate and relate to Zahid frustration on the whole thing that led to his announcement to leave the party. I am not a politician and would unlikely to be one in the near future but I have been through similar predicaments before. Party is an association. It has rules. Members need to follow these rules. It is simple as that. Unfortunately man made rules are manipulated by the experts and party leader. Many members who don’t know the rules tend to accept whatever is told by their leaders as gospel truth without even a blink. Many don’t know the constitution.

Keadilan is no longer about Anwar. In fact I would say that Keadilan should not be about Anwar. It should be about the country. I would like every Malaysian to ask themselves whether they want change because they hate BN or because they think Keadilan can really make a difference in governing the country. If one cannot run the party in a fair (ADIL) manner than can we expect them to run the country in the way that we want.

Affable Ezra Being Effing Self-Effacing With Something Effable On The Effing Show

Ezra's full name is Ezra Mohd Zaid...go figure lah.

These guys are great! Next would be to get Nurul Izzah on Fahmi Fadzil's Fairly Current Show.

As the saying goes, "Does the fruit fall far from the tree?" Whether we want this to be true depends in this case on how we view the fruit.

Anwar: Down But Not Under

An old friend from Taiping now residing in Sydney sent me this video of Anwar Ibrahim speaking at the Sydney University yesterday. Very obviously, Anwar the accomplished public speaker knows how to play to his audience and in this case, I would assume would be the largely disenchanted, educated and savvy non-Malay emigrant crowd who probably still have familial links in Malaysia. It is almost textbook stuff for Public Speaking 101.

Watch the video; he is basically saying nothing new except the part about his recent conversation with RPK.

Special thanks to Tiger Dr Vinnie Chin

Analytics And The Third Force

There is now a lot of chatter in Malaysia cyberspace about the "Third Force" in Malaysian politics. RPK sums it up in his latest Malaysia Today posting, "So you want to rumble, let's rumble". This was a reposte to Anwar Ibrahim's statement in Singapore about fielding younger candidates in GE13. 

Incidentally, I posted the following blogpost in September last year:

 BMI - The Third Force?

16th September is Malaysia Day and recent history tells us it was Anwar Ibrahim's non-starting East Malaysia Frogs Day. This year, it was marked by the official launch of Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia Movement (SABM) after having had its soft launch on 25th August 2007. I attended both occasions and this time around, it was obvious that Haris Ibrahim and his team had put in a lot of effort in the last two years but still have their work cut out for them.

From what was briefed to attendees, this was only the proverbial tip of the iceberg and much, much more effort had to be put into spreading the message and getting the buy-in of the rakyat at large, to the concept. This political but non-partisan entity (SABM) has roadshows, dialogue sessions, rallies in the pipeline to engage both the rakyat (community groups, NGOs, etc.) and politicians from both the ruling coalition and opposition alliance...

Read complete post HERE...

I think the BMI is an idea whose time has come. The use of Analytics to determine BMI may be ideal. 

Effing Funny Effing Show

#38 Letters to That Effing Host: Deepavali, Hillary Clinton and Humble Pie



#37 The UMNO Party, Partay, & POOOOODAH!

Anwar Ibrahim's 7 "Deadly Sins"?

Parti Keadilan Rakyat...The People's Justice Party. A political party founded on the social justice. Wikipedia has this to say: The People's Justice Party (PKR) is a centrist political party in Malaysia formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party. Keadilan was led by Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and increased its parliamentary representation from 1 seat to 31 seats in the Malaysian general election, 2008 until the five-year political ban imposed on former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was lifted on April 14, 2008.

Keadilan promotes an agenda with a strong social justice and anti-corruption emphasis. Recently the party adopted a platform that seeks to abolish the New Economic Policy and replace it with a policy that emphasises on a non-ethnic approach in poverty eradication and correcting economic imbalances. 

A party supposedly grounded in justice and integrity yet is inherently flawed when its spiritual leader and key personality chooses to remain on a pedestal and insist on being de facto for reasons best known to himself. This was all well and fine before the party held its ongoing first direct elections; where each and every member is given the democratic right and opportunity to vote for their leaders. In my opinion, Anwar has a moral right to claim leadership (de facto or otherwise) only if the vast majority of PKR members acknowledge him as their ultimate leader. How can this acknowledgement be proven? Through the ballot box, of course. Anything short of that will make a mockery of democracy in PKR. 

However, Anwar though nominated has not run for Presidency of PKR. To compound matters, he has by act or omission, interfered in the elections and showed his bias by throwing his support behind his "beloved" Azmin Ali to be Deputy President. Anybody else as Wan Azizah's number two would threaten Anwar's de facto status. Against this backdrop, who can be surprised by the alleged wide scale rigging? 

Ultimately, the irreverence for Anwar that is emerging within PKR ranks stems from doubt on the minds of Anwar's detractors as to whether he still deserves to be on that pedestal. Anwar has not turned out to be the messiah of change that he held himself out to be pre-2008. His "anak semua, anak saya" sounds like another hollow slogan and apart from making too many mistakes, his performance as leader borders on insignificance. Anwar seems to be only good at and interested in politicking.      

More PKR people should read the following SinChew article:

Anwar's seven costly mistakes

Anwar was very bold before the 2008 general election and it was he who managed to put the three parties together to form the Pakatan Rakyat. But he has changed since the sodomy charges were filed against him, and the embarrassing failure of a purported regime change scheduled for 16 September 2008.

By LIM SUE GOAN, My Sinchew. Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE

I am not sure who is behind the "Oust Anwar” campaign" mentioned by PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

But. I do agree that Anwar is surely not truly qualified to lead the Pakatan Rakyat based on an assessment on his performance over the past two years.

Anwar has made at least seven costly mistakes.

First, he has not responded to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's transformation plans.

Najib has been going all out to conduct reforms since he took the office in April last year. He introduced the 1Malaysia concept, Key Performance Indicators (KPI), National Key Result Areas (NKRA), Government Transformation Plan (GTP) and Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

As the Pakatan Rakyat supremo, Anwar should have a counter-strategy to the Najib blueprint, but he has not responded at all so far, but just let swing voters gradually lured by the BN.

Secondly, he has allowed the Pakatan Rakyat morale to sink. Although the Pakatan Rakyat won eight of the 13 by-elections, it has been defeated in the recent ones, except in Sibu because of Chinese votes.

The Pakatan Rakyat has been facing both internal and external problems and its members have lost their high morale of the 2008 general election. Anwar has not come out with new strategies to boost morale.

Thirdly, Anwar has no plan to implement reforms. The Pakatan Rakyat was able to gain control of five states after the 2008 general election because it has promised to carry out reforms. Anwar has apparently taken the people's support for granted and does not fulfill his election commitments, making the promised reforms remaining as mere slogans.

Fourthly, the Pakatan Rakyat is still a loose organization, and there is no effort to consolidate and strengthen the coalition. Compared with the BN, the Pakatan Rakyat lacks an effective structure and organisation, and its discipline is in a mess.

The Pakatan Rakyat is also facing contradictions and conflicts in terms of political ideology and has failed to introduce new policies.

Fifthly, there is no no political resource intergration. Anwar should apply his administrative experience as the deputy prime minister in integrating the resources of the four Pakatan Rakyat state governments and introducing a plan to stimulate economy in the four states. The blank in this area has caused the Pakatan Rakyat state governments to lack performance to retain confidence of their supporters.

As the economic adviser for Selangor, Anwar has shown no achievement so far.

Sixth, Anwar seems helpless to quell the PKR infighting. Internal problems of the PKR had been started since the 2008 general election, including choosing inappropriate election candidates and resolving problems by creating by-election through resignations. The people will not be cheated again and again.

The withdrawal of Perak state assembly members from the party has caused the collapse of the Perak Pakatan Rakyat state government. A few MPs and state assembly members have also quit the party after that. Anwar claimed it as a plot by Umno, but he has never seriously put any effort in resolving the factional, personnel and power struggle problems in the party.

Eventually, it leads to the outbreak of a major crisis in the party. Again, Anwar puts the blame on a conspiracy outside the party. He is too lazy even to find a more decent reason.

Finally, Anwar lacks the ability to lead and judge: A leader should be responsible, fair and unbiased. Anwar's stand in the party election is ambiguous.

For the direct election mechanism, even outsiders have expected problems, but why did an experienced leaders like Anwar fail to anticipate them? Isn't the situation not serious enough to cause concern when 165 complaints about unfairness of the party election had been received?

Anwar was very bold before the 2008 general election and it was he who managed to put the three parties together to form the Pakatan Rakyat. But he has changed since the sodomy charges were filed against him, and the embarrassing failure of a purported regime change scheduled for 16 September 2008.

Leaders can always be replaced and the most important thing is achieving the main goals. Replacing the leaders might bring an opportunity to change. However, the plight of the Pakatan Rakyat is that there is at present no visible suitable candidate to replace Anwar.

Two Problems With Whining

Wise words from Seth Godin:

The first is that it doesn't work. You can whine about the government or your friends or your job or your family, but nothing will happen except that you'll waste time.

Worse... far worse... is that whining is a reverse placebo. When you get good at whining, you start noticing evidence that makes your whining more true. So you amplify that and immerse yourself in it, thus creating more evidence, more stuff worth complaining about.

If you spent the same time prattling on about how optimistic you are, you'd have to work hard to make that true...

Dr Rafick Says It Right

Dr Rafick is an insurance industry veteran so I am told. So he is a kindred spirit and a comrade-in-arms as the industry goes but there is also another common factor. We are both registered to vote in the Ulu Kelang area where Azmin Ali is an MP.

The following is a post from his blog, Rights2Write and I believe he has said it right. It looks like Azmin Ali will have at least two votes less in the next GE. I have only one thing to add; "Anwar, Don't kill Nurul Izzah's spirit!". Please read:

Who is important: Zaid, Azmin or PKR?
November 8, 2010 by drrafick

Zaid Ibrahim critics called him by many names. Among others these include being a coward, a non team player and someone who runs away from problems. Others say that this is his trademark. He ran away once in UMNO when he faces obstacles and now he is running away again. I remember reading it from somewhere that when ZI joined PKR, his critics said that he wouldn’t last. History has shown to be true.

It is not easy being newcomer especially one that has a strong character and has high expectation in making a change. Having a strong principles and strong attitude can be regarded as arrogant by some especially people those opponent that wants to make an issue out of it. Fact remains that if the party cannot govern itself professionally then how can one expect it to govern the nation. Zaid resignation has greater impact on the party and the people than the cumulative impact of Zulkifli Noordin and Zahrain Hashim leaving the party months ago.

Mustaffa Kamil Ayub who was my classmate in UKM has also been sending mixed signals. He has also expressed his dissatisfaction over the election process. Like Azmin, Mustaffa also emigrated from UMNO when Anwar was kicked out from the party. If two deputy president contenders are raising the same issues surely there is some credibility to the argument that has been put forward.

Anwar initial reaction was disappointing. His indirect defense of Azmin Ali by saying that ZI left because of the poor results in election result in Sabah. He had also asked Zaid to give proof on his allegations that the election was rigged. Anwar must accept that officially he has no post in PKR. His wife does. A de-facto leader is not something that is recognized in any party constitution. He does not have the rights to question or demand answers from ZI. Right now the JPP Chair person, Molly Cheah and the party Sec Gen which has powers to demand such explanation has not done so.

PKR formation at its onset was about Anwar. It grew beyond Anwar to a certain extent where people start saying the injustice towards Anwar is a symbolic gesture to the injustice that happens in this country. However PKR has not been able to shed its core struggle that it is about Anwar and that is bad for the party. Allah forbids but what will happen if Anwar drop dead tomorrow? Can the party leaders continue the struggle? Can Azmin who grew as a loyalist but without going through serious political challenge hold the party together? In my honest opinion this is something that is debatable.

PKR is not about Anwar anymore. It has become the aspiration of the people to bring changes. Right now it has failed to show that it can hold his house together in a professional manner. It has failed to perform in many areas. I say ZI withdrew because he felt that is the best for him. The question is whether AA will do the same for the best interest of the party. Who is important, the party or the individuals who has craving for a “deputy premiership”?