Saturday, August 29, 2009

Set Kartika Free!




Malaysia has long tried to cultivate the image of being a moderate Muslim state that can serve as a model for others. Particularly in the wake of the attacks on the United States in September 2001, successive prime ministers have worked hard to ensure that Malaysia would remain on the list of moderate Muslim states that could serve as the bridge between the Western and Muslim worlds.


Today, that image stands to take a significant pounding, thanks to a relatively isolated incident that has managed to grab headlines worldwide: A Malay-Muslim woman by the name of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno is set to be caned for the offence of drinking alcohol in public. Kartika's case has bedevilled lawmakers of Malaysia for the simple reason that nobody seems to know what to do about it.


Kartika was found guilty of drinking beer in Pahang. The religious authorities in the state found her guilty of committing a syariah offence, and she was fined and sentenced to six strokes of the cane. Kartika herself pleaded guilty to the charges. But what baffles many observers is that the former model said she was prepared to be caned, and what is more, to be caned in public.


Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has asked if Malaysia would celebrate its independence day (on Aug 31) with the caning of a Muslim woman. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has himself asked Kartika to appeal against her sentence. Needless to say, the case has brought Malaysia to the world's attention for all the wrong reasons.


The problem that this case poses for Malaysia is complex. For a start, Kartika's case was handled by the Syariah Court of Pahang, raising the question of whether the federal government can intervene to save her.


Adding to the confusion is the problematic and complicated relationship between religion and politics in the country. The borderline between Islam and politics has grown increasingly blurred after three decades of state-driven Islamisation. The enfeebled ruling Umno is now trying its best to defend its own Islamic credentials in the face of the opposition PAS. At the same time, Umno would not like to gain the same reputation as the Taliban of Afghanistan.


PAS in turn is likewise split in its conscience, between moderates who wish to push the democratisation agenda and conservatives who want more Islamisation. Already in Selangor, where PAS came into power as part of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, moral policing has been introduced by the conservative PAS leader Datuk Hasan Ali, who has called for religious functionaries to arrest Muslims who go against Islamic law.


PAS conservatives may feel that their electoral gains have given them the green light to further Islamise the country. They have thus called for a ban on the sale of alcohol and music concerts.


But in the wider context of international politics, Malaysia is looking more and more like a parochial state where books are banned and people are whipped for doing things that would be regarded as perfectly normal elsewhere.


Malaysia's conservative Islamists, their religious convictions notwithstanding, do not seem to understand why the international community is upset with the idea of a woman being caned for drinking a pint. Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria, for instance, has wondered why a fuss should be made over a woman receiving six lashes when, in his opinion, she should be receiving 80 lashes.


It is this sense of disconnect that adds a surreal air to the goings-on in Malaysia today. The government is concerned that failure to enact Islamic law will compromise its standing in the eyes of conservative Muslims in the country. But to have Kartika caned would jeopardise the country's image internationally. Like it or not, Malaysia still depends on trade with the developed Western world, not Afghanistan.


This, then, is the dilemma that Malaysia faces at the moment, and there seems little consensus on how to proceed. Kartika's caning has been postponed for now. One thing, however, is certain: The costs of caning Kartika are simply too high. Should Malaysia cane her, it would have jumped one rung up the Islamisation ladder. After that, there may be no turning back. — Straits Times

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

MTV & Lurve

Thanks to Guinness, i got passes to the MTV World Stage at Sunway Lagoon. And just to clarify, this was like more than a week ago ;)

Not only was it my first time at a World Stage event, it was also my first time in Sunway Lagoon haha. You know, i aint a big fan of watching nipples poking out of mini bikinis.

And like every other popular event, you get sucked into an ugly queue and everytime that happens, its like the biggest test of patience in your life.

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Line-up was pretty alright - that's why i bothered. But i only made it for Hoobastank's The Reason and the the entire performance by The All American Rejects. That was the initial plan anyway.

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As usual, title sponsor was taken up by X - Got X, Got all the English concerts.
Cannot say "Got X, Got it All", unless you take the BPL package back from Maxis. Then i think u got it all.
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Concert had an amazing backdrop.

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And good lighting, but horrible sound system
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But i still enjoyed The All American Rejects. Brilliant stage performance, fantastic showmanship. Normally bands do not pull it off as well on stage, as compared to their recordings. For these guys, they fucking pulled it off.


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Was at an 8TV Quickie shooting last night where the finalists of the 'Lurve Affair' contest were brought on air.
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This is Alex, the rubik cube boy, Cindy, the Cotyledone girl, and behind her, Intan - the Twilight supermummy.
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At the waiting area before being ferried to the Quickie studio.

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This rubik boy - he got talent. You can mess up his rubik cube and mess it up as much as you want. He can get it back in 16 seconds.
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Getting comfortable with the hosts pre-shooting.


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Cindy came out as the winner - winning herself a Macbook Pro. 1st & 2nd runner ups got themselves an iPod Touch each. Congrats!



Friday, August 21, 2009

The state i live in now, Selangor

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More than a year ago in March 2008, the Barisan Nasional coalition - who has ruled the federal administration for more than 50 years - lost Selangor, the richest state in the country, to the hands of the opposition.

And that was when things started to get interesting.

The transition of power was not literally just a transition of power. The transition of power also meant that the former opposition now gets access to all pass records - monetary transactions or not - everything.

This became a big leverage for the opposition to topple the federal government, which has strongly been linked to corruption, cronysm, conspiracies, scandals and more scandals.

Things started to leak -

Starting with the misuse of state funds by former MB on family trips to Disneyland in Tokyo and such... supposedly worth millions of ringgit. http://bit.ly/gMZUS



Subsequently,

The Selangor Menteri Besar's office:
revealed that the Barisan Nasional state government made unauthorized investments for properties in Mecca, Saudi Arabia worth RM17.5 million in 2007.

Thereafter,

Azmin Ali:
The Director of PNSB only authorized the buying of 5 units of apartments but instead 12 units were bought and they were registered under a personal name. Seven of the units were then sold back to an identified person and there was no official receipt to legitimize the transaction.

If that already sounds bad to you, let me tell you that that was only the teaser campaign. The culmination of the series of 'leaks' was the revealing of Istana Khir Toyo, as termed by opposition supremo Lim Kit Siang, worth tens of millions of Ringgit.

Right in front of the eyes of all Selangor citizens. And all the Selangor citizens just closes an eye and live through the days of hell, working their socks off and putting porridge & salted fish on the table. Do you never wonder why?

I lived in Australia for a few years in Uni, and i saw hardworking blue collars in Australia drive expensive big bikes and eat whole pigs each in Chinese restaurants.

You ever wonder why your hard work pays you so little?

Anyway, I am derailing. Back to Istana Khir Toyo.

Courtesy of some aerial photographs that were posted online:


The revealing of the photographs was only phase 1 of the campaign. Quickly after phase 1, the opposition party at least prompted the interest of some rural folks to want to see the Istana Khir Toyo for themselves. When the interest was brushed up, they organized an "Educational visit" to the Istana. This was even endorsed by the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim http://bit.ly/4lS9sl

And that was just too necessary because a majority of Malaysians, especially those who reside in the rural areas, are still too unexposed, ignorant, and easily deceived.

As a result:



Anyway, at this point of time, i was like ahhhh... WTF. You guys (PR & BN) go dig on each other and spill out and expose all the corruption and cronysm and scandals and what the fucks not so we will benefit from the check and balance, bring more nutritious food back to the dinner table and drive more reliable cars to work & client meetings so it doesnt break down when you kill the engine registering yourself at the guard house of a client place.

And if you were neutral party reading this, im sure you'd be wondering why the fuck isnt Mr Khir Toyo retaliating? Is he gonna be an Abdullah to the vicious Mahathir?

Well, from the looks of him, i really dont think so.

Im not saying that Khir Toyo, or what opposition blogs term as Khir Toyol, is involved in this but shortly after the series of leaks and the opposition campaigns to raise awareness, Teoh Beng Hock died. Again, im not saying Khir is involved but this is just a chronology of events.

When Teoh Beng Hock died, it hit all the front pages of all media in the country. On the inaugural day, there were 2 million assumptions made

Suicide

Homicide

Half suicide half homicide

Accidental homicide

Accidental suicide

Homicide from internal conflicts

Homicide to stir shit

And in the midst of 2 million assumptions, government linked personals - pathalogists to labies to ministries to whatever shit went straight into the conclusion that it was suicide.

And that, for common sense, raised alot of SHIT. Alot of pecularity and alot of suspisions.

And the SHIT hit the fan when this mysterious letter was exposed. And now i say FUCKING READ THIS -> http://bit.ly/QtH5R

And if that is still to be rock solid proven, this is a reality:

Note: Again im not saying that this is linked to Khir Toyo. It's just a publicly announced project to "take down" Selangor. http://bit.ly/mlhUp

"Misi Tawan Selangor: Projek Selamatkan Umat Islam by Bloggers Patriot"



Im still not sure of their objectives but it sure sounds to be like they are waging some kinda holy war. Like what Palestine is waging on Israel.
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I mean come on you jack asses. Is the current admistration destroying your mosques? Are they hindering your Friday prayers? and your everyday prayers at the Suraus? Are they downplaying prophet Muhammad? Are they confusing the Islam faithfuls? Are they forcing alcohol into your throats? Are they throwing molokovs or stones at Muslims?
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No you fucking idiots... NO. So what the hell do you mean by "Selamatkan Umat Islam"??
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This is proof that this campaign has already kicked off, and FUCKING READ THIS TOO:
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What malicious & baseless accusations... for Jake's sake.
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And the funny thing is that it's called HOUSE PK, in opposition of R PK.
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HAHAHAH, again... grow up you little dicks.
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And the funniest thing is that the blog has very prominent links to ex pm Mahathir's blog, who they dont realize has contradicted so much of what they have claimed in all its past blog posts... man, be a bit more intelligent lah....
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And when the ENTIRE WORLD is battling the economic meltdown, we the citizens of Selangor dwell in all these kinda BULLLLL shit.
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Hey readers, you think we're fucked or what?








Saturday, August 15, 2009

Random things in the last week

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Was at Seri Pentas again, this time with Intan, the Malaysian supermummy! It's quite refreshing to see bloggers who do not camwhore for their traffic. When i say camwhore, i mean semi naked bathtub shots, lingerie shots, in suggestive positions.. u know... porno...

This was a mummy blogger! who admitted on national TV that she blogs during her work hours hahah. She didnt seem too concerned so here i am publicizing it again! haha

Anyway, she was on segment 2 and segment 1 was about the Mens Health magazine. They ran this Define & Refine campaign which put some men thru some physical and other trainings to make them "better man".

Anyway, when we went into the Quickie studio, it was pretty cold as the spotlights were not turned on. Those are heat machines that will warm up the place after a few tens of minutes.

I was nice when cold... alot more chilled.




This is how it is when the ligts come on.




There was a call during the Mens Health segment. This Chinese guy called and he went

"Hello"

Quickie host: "Hello, whats your name, and whr are you calling from"

"Err... my my name ahhh... the the lock, calling from Klang"

Quickie host: "Ah THE ROCKKKK... from Klang, now do you have any questions for the guest?"

"Ahhh.. yes ah... errr may i ask ah... how do I be ah...bigger man... stronger man?

Quickie host: "Ah.. you claim to be THE ROCK, and you want advise to be a stronger man huh?"

"Ahhh... yaaaa"

LOL

Anyway, then came the 2nd segment, which had Intan talk about her Lurve affair for Twilight. She's freaking watched it 30 times!!! as her blog name suggests - super mummy....



You can watch her video & vote for her if you think she's the favourite amongst the other 2 by "liking" it... It's at http://www.facebook.com/LURVE
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Random encounters
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I guess this is the Tiger beer ur daddy or grandpops got drunk wit in the past. It's called "Chop Rimau"!!!... what a classic... look at how far it has gone from there today.... now almost the top selling beer in town, definitely a contemporary brand.



This is supposedly popular in Taiwan but ive never been to Taiwan. I've seen ppl selling donuts, ice cream, cooked food on trucks. But i've never seen Chinese wok cooking on a truck... they wok fry marmite pork ribs, kong pow chicken and stuff on a truck.... on a hot afternoon.
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I tried... the food is edible but not that nice...
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They come by our office like twice a week.




This is the biggest built in projector i've seen in my life. If there was UFOs on earth, this would probably be a UFO bat.... hanging on the ceiling.

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This is a sign above some urinal basins in Sunway Pyramid.
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It says "press to wash yourself only" ... Errr wash yourself? and how? and can you wash someone else? ... LOL

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Tiger got back on Carlsberg... when Carlsberg pulled a stupid prank on them.

Carlsberg has recently ran a "Nice One" campaign, potraying Carlsberg as the nice one... which really, sounds a bit sissy... who cares if u look nice or not, its the beer we're after.
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Exactly what Tiger said in return.... who cares who's the nicety AHHAHA





Sunday, August 9, 2009

Lurve Affair at Seri Pentas

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I've been working with Lurve to do a lil corporate social responsibility (CSR) programe with the local bloggers.

We shortlisted more than half a dozen bloggers through a contest we co-ran with Nuffnang and we brought them on national TV.

They were given some air time to speak freely, promote their blogs and attract more readers. In return, the bloggers endorsed Lurve on national TV and populated content on our fan community on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/LURVE

Having content on the Lurve community on Facebook, the bloggers were also able to leverage traffic brought in from radio as these content (from bloggers) had links back to their personal Facebook pages.

Last week, i made some time to attend one of the shoots at Seri Pentas. Coincidentally, it was Cindy Tey's session and she would be going on air with Belinda Chee, host of the 8TV Quickie.

Btw, 2 days after the shoot, Sri Pentas was quarantined for H1N1. So whatever these means to you.... take it seriously.

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Anyway, I was indirectly tasked to calm Cindy down before the shoot so I very quickly switched into the 'citizen journalism' mode so i could get into the conversation.

I started snapping pictures and getting into conversations with her related to her earlier tweets (about how she was undecided about her nail colours). I think that made her quite comfy... she must've gone "phewww... lucky i found one blogger friend here"

I felt a lil gay, but i got quite used to it after a while.

This is Cindy on the waiting couch, waiting to be led to the make up room.


And here she is getting made up, by.... someone quite unexpected.

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Camwhored... this was quite awkward for me.

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This was the entire crew behind the shoot. (From left) planner, writer & account exec from agencies and a lady from media prima.


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The Quickie segment was at 11:30pm so by 11pm, we got into the studio. Cindy getting used to the place... and at the back of her are all the props they use for Quickie segments. I really liked the Pink Mini...
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This is Belinda Chee, who i used to swim with in the state team. She was snacking on some Lurve before the shoot.

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Hosts getting briefed.

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Camera men getting prepared...5 minutes and counting down to going on air



ON AIR!
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Unfortunately, i had to switch off my phone (coz my camera went low on batt), so it doesnt interfere with the incoming calls from the audience.
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Nevertheless, am attending more shoots in the weeks to come and will be providing more back stage scenes... hopefully, nicer ones! haha


Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Heineken Green Room 3

Thank God they went back to Zouk. Orange isn't a suitable club to host such exclusive events. Anyway, im proud i attended all the 3 Green Rooms, which is pretty much all of it. I've dropped out from Artistry parties because they create mega traffic jams & you kinda need to park 1km away and walk there. And I ain't a big fan.. ain't a fan at all of free alcohol parties. So it makes the walk & wait totally unworthy. At least Zouk, you get ample parking, you pay a couple of tens for a bucket of beer but hey come on, don't be a cheap-skate and expect free drinks all the time.



Anyway, Bling & Goldfish was spinnin when i got there.. not bad, nothin impressive. The ice cold Heineken was very nice though.


Now gettin these 2 buckets of beer on the table for my colleagues & partners wasnt easy. I went to the bar, asked for 10 bottles and the 2 bar clowns tried to ask me to donate 2 bottles to both of em. I could tell, that they were newbies - fuckin tryin to get drunk while on the job.
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Zouk - if you see this, i ain't blammin you, just your staff.
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And because i was in a really good mood, i just wanted to get the bottles on the table and start drinking, i tried to say no but the 2 baboons begged me. I then negotiated and offered to donate 1 so they could share. They took it... fucking prostitutes.
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The newbies didnt open the bottle caps too but i just cudnt be bothered. Got Edmund to take the caps off wit his teeth. Ugly sight but pretty impressive.
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Then Filthy Dukes came on and kept me entertained from there. They're pretty alright i must say.



Sunday, August 2, 2009

Sunday food blog

I do not usually write very long blogs and i kinda get teased for that wtf.. haha. I bump into ppl and they go, "hey i think i've came across your blog before".

And i'd go, "oh yeah? great, what do you think of it".

"Oh, i kinda remember you coz you write very short blog posts".

"Ah.. very nice. Maybe i should be on desmondkiu.shortblogs.com instead".

Compliment? or unsatisfaction?

Whichever it is, ive had in mind a very long blog post just for the sake of a long blog post. For this to happen, i had to consciencely remember to take pictures of food i eat for the last 2 weeks.

I call ppl "Blogger" in a negative way when i see them carrying heivy weight DSLR cameras walking in shopping malls, self snapping in unatural human poses.

When i was in the quest of this very long blog post, i was almost regarded as one at one time but i very smartly ignored & diverted the topic. Anyway, i took this pictures with my blackberry so it wasnt as obvious.

Ok, taking off now.

1) Bon Ga Korean BBQ restaurant in Mont Kiara (opposite Solaris)

Fucking good. Went twice in 2 weeks.

All ingredients are flown in from Korea by air.

Service is good. Serves beer. The only complaint might probably be the lack of more red meat options for BBQ but i was happy wit the available choices


Korean restaurants serve massive appertizers, which I absolutely love. Alot of pickles, tangy flavoured stuff, kimchi, salad, beancurd...




The duty of the massive appetizer is to make you feel so stuffed up with healthiness you feel like canibalizing a pig.

And so I did.



2) Chilis, One Utama.

Forgettable place... there's nothing in the food menu that will make you remember the place. What will, however, is how they serve Guinness Draught in a shopping mall! and from 3 - 7pm, there is a 40% price off. Drink it while chewing on some buffalo wings!

To married men, this is the place to be when your wife gets infected wit the shopping virus.



To Arthur Guinness!

3) Famous Claypot mice noodles Restaurant.
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If a Chinese appetite strikes you - if you get appetite for a ton of soy sauce coated flour wit a few slices of pork meat, you can try out this restaurant at TTDI. The township wit a Maxis Service Center & Pizza Hut.. and where TTDI plaza with Bamboo 9 is.
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Ever wondered why they call "Loh Su Fen", "Loh Su Fen"? It directly translates to mice noodles, doesnt sound very appetizing, but its ability to absorb tons of soy sauce & sugar makes it mouth watering. The spring onion, minced pork meat & raw egg helps alot in the taste too.


4) Oriental Kitchen, One Utama
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Rainy cold day? Go for the rice wine claypot chicken at Oriental Kitchen. It comes with fried eggs too - an absolute gourmet.
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You get a bit drunk after savouring it too. And pace out before Guinness Draught at Chilis, else be fucked.... unless you're Korean.. hahah
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5) You kinda get this everywhere, but this is Taiwanese Fried Chicken... which is personally much preferred to Kentuky Fried Chicken, which to me should be awarded the restaurant that serves the world's oiliest Chicken... and an innovation award for oil absorbing Chicken
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Pinkpau accuses me of blasphemy to KFC. But despite peer pressure & popular preference, i still stick to TFC.


6) SS2 durian buffet (near all the wedding boutiques)

D24, Raja Kunyit.... ? go to SS2. This is quite a new concept of durian dining - durian buffet!


Even durian sellers have realized the importance of the web.


7) Italianies, The Curve.
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Shrimp Aglio Olio... a dish worth remembering. I go there for the bread they serve too... dip it in olive oil & some vinegar... whoa...


If you get horny after spotting a juicy japanese bitch. go chew on some Japanese beef Teriyaki at Mizu TTDI
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8) Mizu, TTDI
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Good beef. No comment.

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9) Mizu, Bangsar Village.
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Getting lazy. Yellow Tail fish... served with caviar & chili paddi... wonder what you call that in english - Paddy Chilli.... or easier - fucking spicy chilli.
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10) Home Made fish head noodles.
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If you believe in the grandmother saying that eating fish head makes your more intelligent, you can try this restaurant in Kota Damansara and indulge in your conservativeness.
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It is however, really good! The best fish head noodles i've tasted in town.
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It's located at the side facing Giant Kota Damansara.
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11) Cinamon, One World Hotel...
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is bringing in the culture of eating cold crabs.. apparently, a pretty popular culture in Singapore, the land of a Chinese Prime Minister, 2 upcoming casinos & over-efficiency in a positive way.
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Wide variety of food.. from Italian to Chinese to Malay to Japanese to whatever's popular in Malaysia.

The third time i went to Cinamon, i had not stomache problems after. So eat at your own risk
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12) Mamak, SS2.
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If you ever craved for eating & smelling car fumes at the same time and also dodging running rats or cockroaches which could potentially happen, go to the mamak at SS2

Try the burger Ramly.... its really quite different from the other Ramly stores
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or the Char Kueh Tiaw

13) Ever wanted to see a row of food stalls in a war zone? Go the TTDI night market on Sunday evenings... makes you feel like you're in Iraq.



End.. phew... 2009's longest blog post