Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! 2006

Last year on the eve of Merdeka, I wrote an entry.

I was advocating, celebration of Merdeka, going more for the long term than just merely celebrating the day itself.

The way we think, is all.

As they say, 'We are what we think.'

Last Merdeka, I was championing, the philosophy of 'being independent of anything out-dated in terms of thoughts and actions.' For more of my previous Merdeka thoughts last year, (click here) Merdeka!

How about this year?

While I gather my thoughts, I would like you to read Zainah Anwar's interesting piece, on her take as to what 'Merdeka' means to her, in (click here) 'How much I Love thee, Malaysia.'

Since we are propagating the philosophy of 'being independent of anything out-dated in terms of thoughts and actions', therefore to celebrate Merdeka this year, let's realise this in baby steps. Let's get out of our comfort zone. Let's do this...

Aah...let's learn a new skill.

A skill that will break sheer day to day monotony.

A skill that you fancy.

A skill that will be value-added to you.

A skill that would complement or enhance what you are doing, and therefore be a tad up-to-date!

Hmm...lemme list some possible skills, in no particular order of importance. Skills to me, that can increase 'happy hormones' as we learn them. It is of course the individual's choice. You are most welcome to make your own list of skills that interest you. Consider anyone of these:

Defensive driving
Capoeira
Ballroom dacing
Photography
Shooting
Flying
Speed reading
Self defense
Knitting
Salsa

Interesting enough? The list goes on.

Believe me, just get into something new and you will notice some positive changes in you. Anything new, increases the adrenalin flow and that is exciting!

Imagine if everyone of the 23 million of us acquired a new skill, we get a nation of talented people!!

Certainly, there would be no time for petty crimes. People are busy acquiring and practising new skills.

Pehaps this should be a national drive (with special funds for marginalised group)!

Before I sign off, I would like us to ponder for a bit, these few days before Merdeka day. I would like us to think and internalise as to how lucky we are still, to be able to wake-up to the availability of clean fresh water, electricity and abundance of food, at a mere snap (yeah! sure, we certainly have taken this for granted, haven't we?!), to name just a few basic needs (which are really sheer 'luxuries' in some current war-torn countries). We are still in the midst of relative peace, prosperity and tranquility. On this note, I would like to say again, what I said last year...

Our thank you, is to be the best we can, for ourselves and at the same time for Negara Ku...Malaysia.

We must do our all, to appreciate and perpetuate what good we have in our country!

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!



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TUNZA

We have only one planet.

Treat nature with respect. Use resources carefully. Conserve today for a better tomorrow.

This is the essence of the Fifth UNEP (click here) Tunza International Children's Conference (ICC) in Putrajaya, Malaysia held from 26-30 August 2006. About 3000 children from more than 60 countries took part.

Tunza means “to nurture or to treat with care and affection” in Kiswahili, (An African language).

The Conference aims to increase children's understanding of environmental issues and of the most up-to-date technology. It provides an opportunity to build new and lasting friendships between children from different countries. A number of workshops, field trips and entertainment activities have been incorporated into the programme.

I attended the opening ceremony on the 27th August, officiated by DYMM Seri Paduka Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tuanku Fauziah binti Al-Marhum Tengku Abdul Rashid.

I was invited to attend this conference by Zuhairah Ali (Noi, my ex-classmate at TKC).

When I saw how international were the mix of the nationalities of the kids with my own eyes, I simply felt, this was such a dynamic conference for our kids, the leaders of tomorrow. I could detect and sense, how enriching was the intellectual exposure through their various superb interactions and activities.

This conference was organized by Yayasan anak Warisan Alam or (click here) YAWA, chaired by Puan Khadijah Abd Rahman.

The mission of YAWA is to open the hearts and minds of young Malaysians to the beauty of the environment, instilling an appreciation for the environment, committing themselves to the protection of the natural heritage of Mother earth.

‘YAWA is committed to changing young lives.’

That sounds promising.

I just wish such an affirmation could go right across the board and not only within a select small group, in the Klang Valley. It is about time I think, parents, guardians, educationists, got together, (even for the umpteenth time, if they must), to make concerted effort and start thinking out of the box and work collectively towards making the current school curriculum more dynamic and practical. Please do include interesting value-added subjects into the curriculum. 'Saving the environment' could be one practical subject.

I think it is imperative that going to school for kids should be an interesting and fun experience.

I find the current curriculum is quite punishing. The kids are overloaded with massive homework, to the point there is no time for play.

Playtime is key to health.

Playtime is key to creative thinking.

Cut homework to a minimal! That’s what I would suggest. Allow them to play when they get home and therefore, the possibility of becoming creative.


Aah..I met Aishah Sinclair (or rather we sat together for the event), an 8tv presenter who happens to be Puan Khadijah Abdul Rahman's daughter and btw, she's one of the earliest members of YAWA. We spoke at length as to the current education system and we both shared the same sentiment and discussed what are some of the ways we could help.

Hmm..some digression, and ok let's get back to Tunza.

There were other numerous talks on various aspects of the environment, on conservation, recycling, forest and biodiversity.

Some of the speakers were, Bayer Representative, Mr Michael Schade, Professor Datin Dr Maryati Mohamed, Director of the Institute for Tropical Biology & Conservation from the University of Sabah, Ian Kiernan (CUW), Dr Mark Orams from the Sir Peter Blake Trust and a few more.

I read quite a number of interesting and thought provoking essays by young kids in the souvenir program and one that caught my attention was of Jes Ebrahim Izaidin's. Here’s an extract that carried powerful message from someone still so young:

‘It takes a village to grow a child. It takes the world to grow a tree. It is not man’s need rather it is man’s greed that trees are being cut down, that animals have no homes, that crystal clear water turns murky and blue skies turn grey.’

On that note too, it is Tunza’s theme this year :

SAVE A TREE
SAVE OUR LUNGS
SAVE HUMANITY

There were a few plays presented on stage depicting the importance of us being more caring towards our environment. One particular play was quite captivating in that they were making music using recycled items such as pails, plastic bottles, brooms, wooden spoons, and more. Such talented young kids I must say.

These 3000-strong participants would be involved in various workshops for 5 days, desperately discussing ways and means to save our dying earth, due to massive pollution created by irresponsible parties from around the world.

Plant a tree everybody. Let's collectively green the earth again.


Pix 1: DYMM The Queen officiating the function
Pix 2: me with Japanese participants
Pix 3: Play perfomed by kids using recycled items
Pix 4: Adaugo Nunchukwu from Nigeria, Catherine Kittony from Kenya (age between 10 to 14)
Pix 5: me, Gurveen K Bassan from Kenya (age between 10 to 14)
Pix 6: me, Aishah Sinclair
Pix 7: Plenary room
Pix 8: Bayer Representative, Mr Michael Schade
Pix 9: Another play presentation





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The Women's Summit 2006

'I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it’s only a choice of attitude.' Judith M Knowlton

This is such a powerful quote. In life the choice of attitude is the key to success. This is quite the central focus of this recent women summit held at Sime Darby Mont Kiara, on 24th Aug.

Sometimes after the numerous seminars and summits on women issues that I've been I could be smug and think I know enough. After every new summit that I attended, I found out there's always something new to learn. Sigh!

Minister of Women, Family and Community development, YB Dato Sharizat Jalil (K Ijat, TKC-OG), officiated the summit.

She said that almost everyday we hear of women acquiring top positions. Recently we had some coup that two top posts in academia were filled by two brilliant ladies. Two Vice Chancellors are, Y Bhg Datuk Rafiah Salim (University Malaya, TKC-OG) and Y Bhg Datuk Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hassan Shahabuddin (University Kebangsaan Malaysia).

Dato Shahrizat also believes that success recognizes no gender. When women are not allowed to realize their full potential, this is a loss for the nation at the end of the day.


At this summit the key question is: Are women ready for key positions? In order to answer this question we need to answer other connected issues of Choices, Chances and Challenges.

Dato Sharizat made affirmations that the aim is not just to talk but to take action.

There were numerous world class speakers. Well, I came only for the afternoon session and met personally these speakers:



Dr Noeleen Heyer, executive Director, UNIFEM
Elizabeth Carlassare, author of dotcomdivas.net
Diana Rose, founder of Lamin Dana, Sarawak
David Fuller, partner, CEO Solutions
Mohamed Ashraf Iqbal, partner, CEO Solutions
Rose Ismail, Managing Director, Salt Media Consultancy

There are other speakers as well, too many to list here.

I managed two talks, that of Elizabeth Carlassare and Diana Rose. Both were interesting.

Elizabeth Carlassare, author of dotcomdivas.net, spoke on 'Jumping out of your comfort zone':

1 For heaven’s sake THINK BIG, she said.
2 As we move around, learn to recognize opportunities, seize them and see them through.
3 Remember to NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK as a lot of times it is about WHO you know.
4 If we were to dream, please DREAM BIG.
5 Take (click here) RISKS! Do not be discouraged by setbacks as they make us learn and the next time we will do better.
6 Be brave, choose to work with the BEST.
7 Jump out of our comfort zone and get going.

Elizabeth was named one of the ‘Net’s 25 Movers and Shakers’ in February 2001 by interactive Week Magazine.

Now Diana Rose, the founder of Lamin Dana, is a different success story altogether. She was fighting for a forgotten Heritage, her Melanau Heritage. She spoke on 'Rowing Upstream.'

Her dictum: ‘No matter how people re-settle you, if you know your roots and culture, you won’t be mentally and emotionally affected.’

Her talk was peppered with stories of her struggle to get her 200 000 strong Melanaus out of oblivion.

On this belief, she embarked on an uphill task all by herself with a few relatives to build the Lamin Dana, a traditional Melanau tallhouse where visitors can stay for an authentic experience of life in Tellian. Diana and 5 dear relatives, forked out all their lifesavings and poured into this dream, where she felt, the idea, could put them back on the map and thus grow.

She told us to succeed she found out we needed:

1 Vision
2 Planning
3 Strong will power
4 Mentally, emotionally and physically ready
5 Tons of good (click here) humour and (click) here

What Diana did was to open endless opportunities for the forgotten Melanaus. The kids are once again taught dance and music. They could embark on massive improvements in the craft industry and more, now.

The house, Lamin Danau, was completed in 1999, is today mentioned in the Lonely Planet and attracts a number of tourists.

Diana told us for two months during her research and fund raising activities in Indonesia, money was scarce, she sacrificed..she only ate once a day for that whole two months and that was a only a daily diet of ‘pecal’ (Indonesian sald). Tears weld up in her eyes at this point, as the malay saying goes, ‘Berat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu memikul’ (easier said than done). Only she knew the exact pain that she went through. She could explain to us till she's blue, we'd never know.

Banks rejected her plea, this is quite common knowledge, to most of us who have struggled in business. Funny, usually it is when we don't need the money (read: when we've made it!), somehow the banks are always available...ha ha ha.

To think these are but a few of her struggles that I managed to write about here. There were others too and what she told us, was just the tip of the iceberg.

She said, ‘Before, I knocked and knocked on doors and even kicked on doors even. Now after much blood, sweat and tears, that Lamin Dana is up and successful, opportunities come incessantly knocking on her door. Too many opportunities, in fact.’

I pondered a little and internalised what would be the one single trait for success. I came to a conclusion if it were one trait only, ...well... RESILLIENCE then. Right?

K Pi, K Umi, Noi, Shimi, Dina and I, came together as a gang. We had an enlightening time. Met friends and made new friends. In other words we networked!

Oh our President Puan Sri Fauzah Darus (K Fauzah) attended as well. I met K Ruhani Abdul Rahman, organising chairperson of the recent FFM19. We were together in another association before. I told her I would love to attend next year's film fest, smiling from ear to ear. Hmm..I have to ready my 'Hollywood-esque' evening-wear!! Ha ha ha. Met Tom Abang Saufi again. I liken her to Donna Karan, as Tom has the ability to dress anyone with a slightly bigger body frame rather elegantly.

Tom and I went a long way. Some years back my gal pal and I did a fashion show in Japan, I brought some of Tom's pieces together with Rebecca Owen's, Datin Mavis Masri's and some others. Heyy...talking about one getting out of one's comfort zone...I have, haven't I? *proud smile*

Btw, there was this interesting study on Women Leaders by (click here) Caliper at the back of our souvenir program on the qualities that distinguish women leaders.

We managed to have a chat with K Ijat (DS Shahrizat), after the summit. She told us actually there are so many stories of women who struggled beyond our comprehension, yet they were single minded and still made it.

The gang of us went home, humbled.







Top most header are some women speakers for the summit, from left:
The Hon Mrs Renuka Chowdhury
Yb Dato Dr Ng Yen Yen
Dr Noeleen Heyzer
Dr Hamidah marican
Elizabeth Carlassare
Diane Rose


Pix 1: Shimi, me, DS Shahrizat Jalil, Noi
Pix 2: Mohamad Ashraf Iqbal, David Fuller, DS Shahrizat Jalil, Dr Noeleen Heyzer
Pix 3: me, Farhani Grace
Pix 4: Elizabeth Carlassare amongst fans
Pix 5: Diana Rose signing autographs
Pix 6: Noi, me, Ruhani Abdul Rahman
Pix 7: Umi, me , Noi, Shimi
Pix 8: me, Elizabeth Carlassare, Noi
Pix 9: Stage and backdrop


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Emily of Emerald hill

Venue: Shangri-la. Date: 20th Aug. Dresscode: Nyonya Kebaya.


...I was sobbing quite silently, between me and myself, as I did not want anyone to notice. I just felt so sad for her somehow.

I saw the play some umpteen years ago, about this Singaporean nyonya matriarch, Emily of Emerald Hill, at Shell HQ, Damansara, with my friend who was working there then. I did not cry, before.

Between then and now, I must have grown since, I guess. I understood the depth of her sorrow somehow, as she unfolded the different stages of her life, with various flashbacks.

Emily of Emerald Hill that I saw some years back, was played by Leow Puay Tin.

Abandoned, by her mother as a child. Raised, devoid of love by her own relatives. Married off, at fourteen into a wealthy family. Even at such a tender age, she had to maneuver her way, using her wits, to survive in the web of family intrigues at Emerald Hill.

She did love. Only, love to her, meant being rather 'domineering' to put it mildly, as she had no one to show her how to love. To me, it was sad indeed, as she was a victim of circumstance. Poor Emily! My heart went out to her that night and even now as I cast my mind, how she tried and failed.

She was, unbeknown to her, quite dominating. It was only natural, for a person who has gone through what she did, (she lost people whom she loved, when she was little) to have incessant fear of losing people you love, you want to make sure no one left you again. Only, she did it the way she knew...'control'!

She had to pay the price dearly. Her eldest son, Richard, committed suicide in England, soon after she arrived back at Emerald Hill, after she visited him there. She went to England in a huff, to discuss (or rather, to give him some firm order) with Richard, that he should not quit University. That he should not throw away a potential career in law to pursue his dream of teaching horse riding!

She was devastated.

She was shattered when her husband died, not the death itself, but the mere fact that the time before his death at hospital, he refused to see her. She lamented, ‘How could he not want to see me? I’m his wife?’ Oh…give me a minute, I need to blow my nose...

I felt it was so tragic, that all these had to happen to Emily, after all, she was not embraced with love when she was little.

If only I could re-write it a little, make it less painful, perhaps.

So there you go, just a peek at the intensely heart rending plot. Too much to narrate the full story, here, but suffice to say Emily did have some fabulously happy moments, especially with her best gal pal, Bee choo.

Pearlly Chua gave a magnificently, sterling performance, as Emily, at Shangri la. At almost two hours, I have to take my hat off to her, how she could hold our attention. That certainly takes sheer dedication and most of all stamina. This is quite a test of one's story-telling prowess. Two hours of non stop talking, I'd get a sorethroat..ha ha ha! But I tell ya, I was attentive second to second. I did not want to miss any event that Pearlly was presenting to us. It was fabulous story-telling.

How Pearlly Chua could change our moods at a snap, with her rivetting incarnation as Emily Gan. We felt her pain, her joy, her delight, her concerns, her desires, her anger, her irritations, her passion. She shared them so intensely with us. There are so many facets to Emily. Someone said this was beautiful engineering of our emotions... Ha ha ha.

The sprinkling of Peranakan doses of 'gasak', 'cekek darah' and 'cheh'! drew hearty laughter from the crowd together with her other jolly antics with her household staff kept us tickled.

It was said that Pearlly Chua would have made theatre history by playing a single role 100 times over the past 12 years. Now, I must say that is magnificently amazing, indeed.

The lyrical journey was testimony of stella Kon's superb writing skill. Stella crafted a brilliant monologue. It was said that this served as an important documentation of a vanishing sub-culture in a bygone era.

This play was superbly directed by Chin San Sooi, as one the Five Arts Centre founders.

I must say there is timeless appeal about this play especially when Emily is such an engaging character and how it was all artfully presented with unpretentious skill and panache.

After the play we were all invited to supper.

I was definitely ready for food then, especially nyonya food...nasi lemak in authentic banana leaves at Shangri la..?? Wow! All the kueh and teh tarrrrik! Splendid. Nyonya food in the midst of theatre connoisseurs!

This was a charity show and both Lutfiah Ismail (K Pi) and I, were invited by Raja Datin Azma. There I caught up with Dato Jimmy Choo again (the last time I saw him was at Engelbert Hunperdink's), and I found out he's opening ready-to-wear Choos (pun intended) at the Pavillion soon. Aaa...that sounds affordable, doesn't it??

In the midst of my tracks, a boutique owner at Lot 10, Annie I think (if my memory served me well, owner of Annie Wong Couture), introduced herself and requested politely if I could twirl around as her European guests liked my kebaya ensemble. With pride I obliged, feeling rather like a model..(a not-too-tall model..he he..and to think I've worn this kebaya a million times before as I like it too...hmm).

The icing of the night was when Pearlly Chua joined us, as K Pi knew her. They both grew up together. Aaah...up close and personal with Pearlly. Then we met Chin San sooi. It was awesome talking with them like old friends and Pearlly mentioned tea with us sometime...o-o-h (coo like Marilyn Monroe)!

Pearlly you were simply fantabulous that night. Thanks for giving a wonderful dose of pychedelic emotional experience.


Pix 1: me, Pearlly Chua, Lutfiah Ismail (K Pi, ex-Chairman of Alliance Bank)
Pix 3: Chin San Sooi



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Madam Chair

Dato Seri Rafidah Aziz launched the latest Berita Publishing magazine Madam Chair, at Istana Hotel, 17th August.


It was certainly launched with much pomp and pageant. There was the fabulous visual presentation as to how the magazine was conceptualized. We had Sharizan Borhan crooning some romantic english songs. Oh believe me some people I know swooned! Duh!


The emcee that day was the professional and smooth, Suhaimi Sulaiman. At last we met. We were connected to do some work on TKCOGA-MCOBA platform, before.




As usual, for such a function, the guest list was out-of-charts. There were the beautiful set, captains of industry, gang of journalists extraodinaire, entrepreuners, socialites, professionals, the works. Normally one sees stars from up above, not that afternoon, stars were at Istana Hotel.




We even had the energetic performance by Philip Wain. Hmm..if we could dance that way daily, we’d get such divine silhouette too in no time.



Dato Seri Rafidah spoke after the opening speech by the Senior General Manager, Zaini Zainuddin. Dato Paduka Rafidah urged us women to believe in ourselves. She said ‘we are what we think’. She insisted that there is no gender divide to SUCCESS! We must not believe there is any ceiling, if there were any we are capable of breaking it, even a concrete ceiling for that matter.



Liberated successful men, are men, who are able to celebrate successes of women. Men need successful women and vise versa and we should work together. Women should endeavour to be firm yet feminine. We must embrace our ladylike traits and not be apologetic about it.


She felt amused how women are being celebrated and pampered these days. There are now cars specially dedicated to women right down to colours. Phones too. I immediately cast my mind to the Vertu Ascent, the Pink Edition. Hmm…so we should enjoy our status as women.



Aah...a digression, come to think of it, I read a few days ago, that Dubai will be rolling out 50 pink taxis for women, driven by women for women. Awww...dunno what to say about this really (the driven by women bit..)? But there you go...pink taxis.




She believes we must be the driver, but not necessarily be driving. Oh I had to ponder over that for a moment! Maybe what she meant was we must have ideas and concepts in our heads and lead the way. We must stand firm with our beliefs and ideas that people look up to us as exemplars. Whoa! I must say this lady minister who walks fast, talks fast and yup thinks fast too. I even heard she cooks fast too..that someone saw her on a culinary program before and she said, 'Saya suka masakan yang ringkas dan cepat dimasak', in other words, FAST! To be honest I enjoyed being up close and personal with this tough lady that afternoon.



I was talking with some people, that Malaysia has no gender issues. We should perpetuate this healthy environment where both genders network and connect so brillianlty well. We are lucky indeed.



It was, all in all, a good afternoon meeting many old friends and meeting new people. I met Hisham Harun the director Of Madam Chair, whom I knew from way back his Nst days. There was the ever elegant Datin Rose Ismail (Salt media) whom I met at a friend's house sometime back. I also met some other dear old friends, like Aishah Ali also former Nst writer, Dato Hafsah Hashim, the CEO of Smidec, (my ex-classmate, OG), Mariam Tun Suleiman (OG), Intaan Tun Suleman (knew her during Peniagawati days), Datin Mavis Masri Azman (MD Holiday Villa, used to be a client of her boutique at Holliday Villa then), Hazimah Zainuddin (President Peniagawati), Azlin Shaharbi (VP Peniagawati), and many more. Made new friends in Sopiah Suid, Ross Kamaruddin and Chan Siew Lian all from CIMA. Wonderful indeed.















Pix 1: seated, Dato Paduka Rafidah Aziz, Aishah Ali (Writer)
Standing, Muhaiyani (In Black, writer), Ruby Ahmad
Pix 2: Ruby Ahmad, DP Rafidah, Mariam Tun Suleiman
Pix 3: Dato Hafsah Hashim CEO Smidec), Ruby Ahmad
Pix 4: Ruby Ahmad, Suhaimi Sulaiman (Emcee)
Pix 5: Hazimah Zainuddin (President Peniagawati), Dato Kalsom Abd Rahman (Chairman Smidec)
Pix 6: Ruby Ahmad, Hisham Harun (Director of Madam Chair)
Pix 7: Philip Wain performers


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Husbands VS Wives!!

I think it is about time we get serious and review the virtues of the institution of marriage or the 'Spoken For Club' (SFC). Hmm..but..but..I'm feeling a tad lazy and so I'm just happy to let you guys read some 'wonderful' conversations between some husbands and wives from SFC, here (and go on..be your own judge...*chuckle*), sent to me by Ir Hjh Azura Mahayudin (TQ dear), who herself received it from her hubby who belongs to VIOBA (Victoria Institution Old Boys Association, hey! you guys took part in our recent inter alumni bowling, kudos!).

This is the second time I have read these conversations, but somehow I found myself laughing a second time, hmm...so I decided to post nevertheless. There is absolutely no harm in any overdose of laughter. Extra flow of serotonin is good, I heard. It makes you look youthful.

After having read the conversations, I would not want to be in any way responsible to friends, like fizzy or seen_er as to their views of the institution that might hasten their decision especially seen_er to go to the altar sooner than December, as the conversations, truly depicted absolutely-out-of-this-world fabulous banters between couples belonging to SFC!! Ha ha ha...

Btw, when it comes to our other friend Stupe erm...he is already a member of SFC, err...Stupe pleez do not go beyong this point. Please read 3 WORDS (my fav 3 WORDS today 'Please forgive me' and 'I miss YOU' and 'I'll be there') instead, as a distraction for now, till I post something more approriate for confirmed SFC members. Remember, you've been warned! Ha ha ha.

Aah...a slight digression guys, just for your information, I belum lagi masuk movies, but I already got famous l-a-a-h today, as someone I have just met (but have been in contact on a TKCOGA-MCOBA platform via emails) at a recent function, has mentioned me on his famous
suhaimisulaiman blog (Launch of Madam Chair, 17th August). Yayy! I'm famous at last!!! Ha ha ha.

Enjoy and cheers,

Ruby.

p/s As you may have noticed I do hyperlinks now!! He he. One never stops learning even kinda late. As they say better late than never. Rather proud with myself this morning..So do click away.



The Silent Treatment

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight.

Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM " He left it where he knew she would find it.

The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up."

Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.


HUSBAND VS WIVES

A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position.

As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?"

"Yep," the wife replied , "in-laws".


WOMEN'S REVENGE

"Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase.

As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse. "So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked.

"No," she replied, " but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally."


UNDERSTANDING WOMEN (A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)

I know I'm not going to understand women. I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax, pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root, and still be afraid of a spider.


W O R D S

A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day... 30,000 to a man's 15,000.

The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men... "

The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"


CREATION

A man said t o his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time.

" The wife responded, "Allow me to explain............

God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me;

God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you! "


WHO DOES WHAT

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning.

The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee.."

The husband said, " You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."

Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee."

Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me."

So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says.........."HEBREWS"




God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.

Ha ha ha...




www.proposingmarriage.com

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Gol and Gincu

My dearest gang,

TKC old girl, Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir (DPMM) won an award for the film, 'Gol and Gincu' during the recent 19th Malaysia Film Festival (FFM19) for 'Most Popular Film'. Gol and Gincu also grabbed 'Best Supporting Actress' award in Sazzy Falak. Kudos.

DPMM who is my old TKC friend, is the co-executive producer of Gol and Gincu. I was watching FFM19 that night, 13th of August, and when I saw DPMM receiving the award, I was most excited!! I was clapping and jumping up and down (worse than a child!!)...ha ha ha...and immediately sent my message of happiness to her. Lovely really.

Ok then, so what is Gol and Gincu all about? Well here's a short synopsis from Kakiseni.com for those who have not seen it, (maybe now you should!!):

'From self-centered fashion diva to heroic futsal captain - Gol & Gincu follows the journey of Putri as she discovers what really matters in life. Dumped unceremoniously by her sports-crazy boyfriend, Putri schemes of winning him back by becoming a futsal player herself. Initially she is deemed clueless and rather bimbo-esque and has to take a few hard knocks along the way. Working with her futsal team, she learns the difficulties and prejudices faced by women athletes. Ultimately she comes out victorious, as she becomes a stronger person and discovers the winner in her, both on and off the pitch'.

Still full of excitement, I got in touch with DPMM recently and managed to talk about her recent success. Here's an excerpt in Q and A style for easy reading:

Q:Why Gol and Gincu, my dear?

A:I read the script by Rafidah Abdullah on a flight from Singapore to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and just loved it. It made me laugh and cry. I thought that, although not perfect, it was different and reflected the reality of urban young people's lives better than most Malay films. To me, everything starts with the script. So I decided that I would help produce it with my 3R partner Lina Tan.

Q:What was the most difficult part of making GnG?

A:All the bureacractic things you have to do. Getting it past the Censor Board for instance. There wasn't anything to censor really but we thought we'd better make sure so we went to see the Board early and gave them an outline of the story and asked them about the one thing we thought they might be sensitive about which was one of the side stories about incest. Since we didn't actually show anything, they were fine about it. Then there was the whole thing about getting a screening date from FINAS. We needed a certain date because we were planning our premiere but we weren't sure of getting it because there were other films also slated for release around the same time. So I had to call and talk to them and in the end they said OK.

Q:What was the message you wanted to get across to our youths?

A:Basically, just like 3R, it was a movie for young women to show them that they should stand up for themselves, that everything did not depend on the approval of others, especially men. Also we wanted to show women playing a very popular sport, futsal. It was really funny because when we had the premiere, one of the Sports Commissioners came to represent the Minister for Youth and Sports and afterwards he said he didn't realise that futsal was so popular with women. But every year for International Women's Day, 3R organises the 3R All-Women's Futsal Tournament and we get something like 65 all-women's teams from all over the country participating!

Q:Were you successful?

A:It's hard to know if the messages were successful but the feedback from audiences have been good. We did a roadshow to promote the movie and it was really interesting how different audiences in different parts of the country responded to it. Obviously urban audiences responded to it better because they related to it better. I was asked a lot why we made such an urban movie. I said, why not? If you try and make a movie which the entire country relates to, then you're going to get an unrealistic wishy-washy movie. Better to make a good urban movie this time, and a good rural movie next time. In any case, winning the Most Popular Movie award must say something about the appeal of GnG!

Q:What's your next movie?

A:I don't know yet. I'm not in the business fulltime. Lina, my partner, is producing films all the time with her Red Films company and I know there are some interesting ones coming up.If she needs me to help, I will. We are both interested in making good Malaysian movies, in any language.

Q:What message this time DPMM?

A:I believe movies should always have a social message of some kind so I am interested in movies that make people think, that empowers them especially women. Yet 'thinking' movies are what people in power find challenging, they'd rather have the sort that lulls people into complacency or are just idiotic entertainment. Yet so many Malay movies have damaging messages which nobody challenges. I asked the Censor Board why they let go a movie in which the female perpetrator was raped at the end. And they said, "But she liked to talk about people!". I pointed out that rape is a crime in our country and is the movie saying that if you don't like someone, you can break the law by raping them? They had no answer to that!

Thank you my dear. I can't wait for your next movie.

Q:Can I make a cameo appearance in your next movie, sweetie?

A:Ruby, erm, we will see.

Aah...potential stardom at last!!

Thanks and luv ya.


movies
events
rubyahmad

Positioning Malaysia in the World Arena

Perdana Leadership Foundation was set up in 2003 with the aim of preserving, developing and disseminating materials by and on Malaysia’s past Prime Ministers. Believing that past leadership can yield valuable insights for future development, the Foundation’s objective is to increase awareness and appreciation of Malaysia’s rich intellectual heritage.



The Foundation’s broader objective is to promote global understanding by providing a channel for scholars and thinkers to undertake research and idea-sharing for lasting, peaceful resolutions


I was invited to attend a discourse on 'Positioning Malaysia in the World Arena' held at Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya on the 9th of August, the keynote address was delivered by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.


Aah...Tun Mahathir never fails to astound me.


Here I was listening to him on ‘Positioning Malaysia in the World Arena’, a very challenging topic yet it coming from Tun it sounded so interesting and arresting.


Tun has this skill of making a serious and complicated matter sound so utterly simple. That is what makes him a great speaker. I have always admired him for this quality and to this, we have to add presence and so it was that I was mesmerized listening to his narration that morning.


Tun touched on various previous policies that shaped the country such as the South-South policy where developing countries ie Malaysia for one would help less developing countries. Assistance in the form of, say training, were given to such countries and at that time there were a lot of questions asked as to the feasibility of such policies. Yet, today, such countries like Sudan look to Malaysia for investments and hence the presence of companies such as Petronas and Sime Darby.


It occurred to me then that it took great foresight and forward thinking in pushing the agenda as the fruits came a lot later. Surely the mark of a true leader is one where he pushes for a policy and ensures its safe execution despite all obstacles. Malaysia has surely been fortunate in having all those leaders in the past.


There was also the plenary session. The speakers were Haron Siraj, former Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, Dr Zulaiha Ismail, former Dean of the Centre for Graduate Studies UiTM and Professor Azman Awang, former Deputy Vice Chancellor of University Technology Malaysia.


Among the audience were captains of industries, University lecturers and students.


I was thoroughly inspired that day.


Pix courtesy Perdana Leadership Foundation.
Pix 1: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
Pix 2: Tun Dr Mahathir and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah with audience
Pix 3: University students and some friends I met there
P1x 4: Plenary session
Pix 5: Invited guests
Pix 6: Tun Dr Siti Hasmah and a guest

events
current affairs
rubyahmad

Wangi Jadi Saksi

Hang Tuah did not kill Jebat!!


What a twist?



This was what Dang Wangi witnessed or rather 'saksi' in bahasa, in the recent
theatrical piece, by U-Wei Shaari, at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) Auditorium titled, 'Wangi Jadi Saksi' that I saw, on the 4th Aug.


My jaw dropped with a thud on the floor. I never went as far as this, all these years since my form five. It has always been Tuah, Tuah and Tuah, till the night I saw the play, with a wonderful gang of friends, all seated in a row, Dato Dahan, Datin Aida, Dato Johan Jaafar, Dato Halimah Mohd Sadique, Noridah, Ismail Karim and a few more from JB. Four TKCOGA girls were spotted a few rows away and they were Hasni, Mala, Shimi and Neme.

Neme screamed when she spotted me, with the usual 'TKC effect' attracting attention from around. Of course, she would. She did not expect to meet the very TKC blogger (yours truly) that very night, whom she's been leaving some commments on our TKCOGA blog from as far away as Dubai, blowing kisses and sending her love and all the cute and funny comments. (Neme, just came back from Dubai, for a short holiday. We have not met before). I screamed back with equal excitement, but with higher decibels!! Ha ha ha. What a blog milestone for me that meeting. Yet to meet some other bloggers soon, I hope. *wink*

A little digression as usual! *chuckle*

This piece, somehow did not allow me to quote a favourite trivia from Casablanca, 'Round up the usual suspects' unfortunately...but instead, 'Round up the un-usual suspects' as I quote from Dato Johan Jaafar's Point Blank: Who really was responsible for slaying Jebat? 05 Aug 2006 in the NST.


Tuah (Khir Rahman), has been a hero from time immemorial up till now. In a flash-back, as this was the mode U-Wei employed time and again, to narrate the story to the audience, so many aspects of loyalty to the leader were discussed between the two brothers, as to where Jebat went wrong from Tuah's perspective and as to where Jebat felt Tuah went wrong, from Jebat's (Sobri Annuar) perspective. This dialogue between them made me so sad, as I could see how much intense love they had for each other. They had genuine sibling affection and earnest bondage. What a tragedy for these two brothers to be caught up in an ugly conspiracy.



The dialogue was rich with nuances and innuendos as to how two parties rulers and subjects should behave and treat one another. Tuah is the epitome of old thinking that the leader is to be obeyed at all cost, right or wrong, without reason or counter advice, or so he was portrayed all these years, maybe until another, re-visit perhaps. Whereas Jebat is the new revolutionary hero who insisted that we should apply some thought-process when asked to implement our duties by the ruler. To Jebat it was imperative that we weighed things out through our gift of our faculty of thinking. So there's the difference between the two heroes, well or so we were made to believe for now.


Nevertheless, Jebat lost his sense of reasoning, when he found out Tuah was grossly mis-treated by the law.


The central theme of this play was that Jebat's love interest, Wangi, was in their vicinity. It was alleged that she witnessed the scene, the murder of Jebat. This was quite like a whodunnit? piece.


I found this play sometimes quite challenging to the mind. One needed to listen and ponder to understand the plot. At the same time, I do find some of the scenes were stretched, that a tad of boredom crept in every now and then, but quickly vanished whenever Pateh Kerma Wijaya, entered in the various scenes. Pateh was played by the humorous Khalid Salleh, who I must say, has such a powerful arresting voice. Pateh held the position of Seri Bija Diraja, a post, which quickly diminished, when Tuah was appointed Laksamana. Hmm...I'm beginning to throw some light here.


Khalid salleh gave a rivetting performance. His funny antiques drew laughter from the audience which was most times a much welcomed relief. After the show when we were ushered for teh tarik with the other vip guests, Dato Johan explained to us that the late Datuk Krishen Jit, a renowned personality in theatre and plays, discovered Khalid Salleh who was in action selling medicine at Chow Kit (hope I got this right..oops). Imagine how the late Dato Krishen could smell talent. He was right indeed!! Khalid Salleh made our night, as the entertaining and colourful, Pateh.

At the wonderful 'teh tarik' (tea) session too, I had the pleasure to have a little chat with Julia Fraser, the creative producer. Julia has 12 years of experience in filmaking and with her passion in varied aspects of cinema she founded le Brocquy Fraser Productions. I could see such a collaboration between the talented Julia and our theatrical team, will definitely enrich our local art scene by leaps and bounds.


Yet more digressions here, apologies. Lets get back to the plot...


The play started with Wangi played by (Vanida Imran), lamenting and in deep melancholia as to her inconsolable grief over Jebat's untimely death. She was pining and missing the love of her life. Wangi sought Pateh to avenge her lover's death. But being a woman, her word did not carry much weigth. But we were to indulge with her, as U-Wei, I felt enjoyed, teasing us with his long-time-research-findings through Wangi.


There they had fierce, intense dialogue to get to the truth but Wangi was convinced Pateh had a hand in this. It was in their dialogue we needed to listen intently and soak in the messages that U-Wei wanted us to think about. It was alleged perhaps the King was displeased with Jebat's and Wangi's union that led to the demise of Jebat. I dunno, I got this message hard and clear but not quite some others. Some saw a bigger plot than this, but not me. It boiled down to some basic human emotional issues that drew the King's wrath, that's all. The King wanted Jebat to be punished and Pateh saw an opportunity perhaps in this intrigue. What really happened I shall not divulge now as the play is still on. I will not tell you as to who actually slayed our Jebat. It will not be fair, huh...for me to spill anymore than this!! But I have indicated some conspirators here for you to ponder!


This re-visit by U-Wei depicted various relevant political intrigue, conspiracy and life drama. The Bendahara (Rahim Razali, who I agree with some people, whose great talent was not utilised fully, for he was given a tiny part here), hid Tuah when he was sentenced to death by the King, again due to his liaison with one of the King's maidens. Again it was depicted Pateh already made moves to damage the reputation of the Laksamana Hang Tuah, when Pateh lost the King's favour when Tuah entered the scene. Typical...then and now, things never change!


Half way through, when I feared my mind wanted to meander elsewhere, I quickly stretched to take a better peek at the superbly talented gang of musicians tucked in a corner, in front of the stage, that created the ambience of each scene, led by Y Subowo from Indonesia. The sound of pure traditional beats from the live gongs and windpipes and singers, live, created lingering rustic authenticity to the play.


U-Wei leaned heavily on sheer dialogue and was very economical on trappings of backdrops and I somehow found this refreshing as there were minimal distractions and I could listen more intently and clearly to the script. It was intended to be an intellectual evening with 'Time' (Masa) played by Sobri Yunus depicting that 'Time' had a hand with the unfolding of changes in drama and intrigues and it's survival in our lives till the end of time.


This play was quite intellectualised, typical of U-Wei, that sometimes I thought I understood and sometimes I don't. Must have a teh tarik session with my gang who saw the play with me and do some group surgery together. Aaaah...another excuse for a social session.

I dare say I did detect some improvement in our Malay theatre. Go and see it just for some provocation of the mind. It ends 21st Aug.


All photos courtesy of Dato Dahan.
Pix 1 Ruby, U-Wei, Datin Aida, Noridah
Pix 2 Dato Johan, Dato Halimah, Dato Dahan
Pix 3 Datin Aida, Noridah, Dato Rahim (Bendahara), Dato Halimah, ruby Ahmad
Pix 4 Ruby Ahmad, Dato Johan, Noridah
Pix 5 Neme, Hasni, Ruby Ahmad, Mala, Shimi, Noridah
Pix 6 Dato Dahan, Datin Aida, Vanida (Wangi)
Pix 7 Datin Aida, Khir Rahman (Tuah), Noridah

theatre
history
rubyahmad

MGC/TKCOGA Inter Alumni Bowling Challenge 2006

My dearest gang,

What a fabulous sight seeing all the participants busying themselves in all the 22 lanes. Yes! All warming up ferociously, for the first MGC/TKCOGA inter- alumni bowling challenge 2006 held at Sunway Pyramid, on Sunday 6th August.

Eleven alumni took part in this challenge and they were (in no particular order) :

1 Sekolah Seri Puteri
2 Sekolah Tun Fatimah
3 SMS Sultan Hj Ahmad Shah
4 SMS Selangor
5 Tunku Kurshiah College
6 Penang Free School
7 Malay College
8 Sekolah Dato’ Abdul razak
9 Sekolah Alam Shah
10 Sultan Abdul Hamid College
11 Victoria Institution


Bowling is certainly one of the few games that can be played irrespective of gender at competition level.

The President, Puan Sri Fauzah Darus (K Fauzah) welcomed everyone with a wonderful ‘KISS’ (keep it short sweetheart) speech. She was heartened by the wonderful response from the respective alumni. She felt this was a good platform for us to interact and network. She expressed the importance of extending the hand of friendship and keeping in touch to enable us to work together towards common goals especially in the areas of improving the standards of our alma mater. As the old malay saying goes, ‘Bersatu kita teguh’ (United we stand).

With the President’s speech the bowling competition was officiated.

Before participants started, it was heard that the emcee (yours truly) gave some word of advice to the already anxious and excited participants:

1 The objective was to hit the pins in front of them as many as possible. It was repeated, IN FRONT and not behind them!

2 For those who persisted in sending the ball down the ‘longkang’ as we call it..ha ha the exit door was shown, should the participant(s) wish to disappear discreetly out in utter shame.

3 The emcee had it on good intelligence that some or rather a particular woman’s team tried to convince Shalin Zulkifli that she belonged to their alumni (illegally)..and if Shalin was spotted, that team would be severely dealt with!

4 Participants were philosophically cajoled by the emcee, into believing the old saying that ‘Winning is not everything’ but almost immediately in the same breath, some parties heard the emcee whispered to the TKC teams that ‘Winning is the only thing’!! Ha ha ha!

While I was mingling, Ghazali Abd Rahman from SDARA, in hushed tones, told me he noticed that whenever any of the men’s team were positioned to bowl beside any women’s team, somehow the men’s team did not score very well. We thought hard together and wondered why? We could not somehow get any answer as to why indeed!

Then there was some kerfuffle with individuals who belonged to two alumni that day, and could not decide as to which jersey he should don on. One such person I happened to catch in action of being severely grilled by his team was Nasir Ali (Penang Free Scool and Malay College). Ha ha ha.

The lovely President from Sekolah Seri Puteri, Datin Hamidah, graciously donated special gifts for Presidents of respective alumni as token of friendship.

Also spotted was Stupe (Lim Ee-Van, who came with his lovely wife), who made special effort to attend our function even though his RMCOPA troop could not participate in the challenge. That was sweet of him.



Whenever I felt the strain in my eyes after long hours of peeping at the results on the monitors, anxious as to who was leading, I would look out for any Penang Free School team member (only from the men's team). Don't get me wrong!! I simply needed to gaze at their soothing cool baby blue team-tees that they all donned on for the challenge. They were quite a stunning looking team, that would probably make their President, Dato Abu Huraira, who was present, so proud as Penang Frees men's team (..now you know why I was looking out for them? He he) grabbed the 'Best Dressed Team'. As Mark Twain said, 'Clothes make the man'...Hmm..I will have to re-think about my clothes now!



As the emcee aptly said, when we go to war, the 'proud' drumbeats motivated the soldiers. Similarly in this modern day, it was the 'proud' cheering that pushed the competing bowlers to do their best. It was Sekolah Seri Puteri who cheered the best to win the 'Best Cheering Team'.

All around we saw handshakes of introduction and friendship, exchanges of cards in view of meeting up again, laughter, chuckles, mirth, camaraderie, shouts of excitement exchanging hot gossips, the works.

We certainly left Pyramid Mega Lanes, happy.

Congratulations to the MGC/TKCOGA Inter Alumni Bowling Challenge 2006 sub-committee for a superb job!

Hip hip hooray! 3x

Cheers,

Ruby Ahmad.

p/s Apologies to bowling sub-comm as pix from photographer did not arrive on time, therefore I have to use my own un-professional pix, which is very limited. Once photographer sends to me, I will post the sub-comm pix here.


RESULTS:

Men's Team:

First.....MCOBA-Team 3
Second....SMS Selangor-Strikeforce
Third.....Penang Free School-Team 1-STORM

Women's Team:

First.....SMS Selangor-Pinscrackers
Second....Sekolah Seri Puteri-SSPians
Third.....Penang Free School-OLD FREES 3

Individual Highest Scores:

Men's team.....Yusof-SMS Selangor.....score...669
Women's team...Noraliza-SMS Selangor..score...491

Highest Total of Strikes

Men's team.....Yusof-SMS Selangor
Women's team...Siti Hawa-SMS Selangor

Best Dressed Team.....Penang Free School-Men's Team
Best Cheering Team....Sekolah seri Puteri

Click on pix for larger view
Main Pix: TKC OGs who worked hard for the event ('cept the one in red, she only emceed...he he)
Pix 1: Best Dressed Team (men's team that is)-Penang Free School
Pix 2: Anxious on scores
Pix3: Ruby, Lim Ee-Van (Stupe), Mrs Lim Ee-Van
Pix 4: Puan Sri Fauzah (President, K Fauzah), K Sherry
Pix 5: K Zu, Ahmad Helmy, K Che Nor
PiX 6: Crowd cheering
PIx 7: K Fauzah, Ruby and K Akmar frolicking in between duties
Pix 8: Excitement, anxiety
Pix 9: Ruby, Puan Sri Akmar (V President, K Akmar), K Che Nor


sports
events
alumni
rubyahmad

Do Not Try To Win Awards

My dearest gang,



Oh dear me...I think I am suffering from the writer's block today, (not that I am a writer in that sense)! So, what do I do? I do the next best thing, or rather the best thing, is to extract a wonderful thought from 'The world's best-selling book' by Paul Arden, my current best buddy. How wrong can one go? Ha ha ha.

I think of this thought, as quite controversial. Not many people dare think like Paul Arden, here. It is indeed a brave concept. Well...thought-provoking enough? What do you think?






Here goes:

Nearly everybody tries to win awards.

Awards create glamour and glamour creates income.

But beware.

Awards are judged in committee by consensus of what is known.

In other words, what is in fashion.

But originality can’t be fashionable, because it hasn’t as yet had the approval of the committee. Do not try to follow fashion.

Be true to your subject and you will be far more likely to create something that is timeless.

That’s where the true art lies.

'AWARDS ARE MERELY BADGES OF MEDIOCRITY' Charles Ives

Cheers,

Ruby.



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