Two weddings and a sunset

It was a packed day today. The first wedding was at Rengit in Batu Pahat while the second one was at Muar. After the second wedding, I headed out to Masjid Sultan Ibrahim by the south bank of Sungai Muar. I had hoped to catch some good sunset pics at Tanjung Emas near the river mouth but unfortunately the clouds were dark and overcast.

1st wedding : Bride is my colleague named Zurainah

Proof of attendance at 2nd wedding : gift boxes and a telur pindang

Masjid Sultan Ibrahim, Muar

Muar's second mosque, across the river

Dark clouds indicating heavy rains on the way

You never knew it had a name

"Sometimes it is," she said.
I nodded. Watched the rapid blinking of her eyes, shiny with unspilled tears. Watched the moisture that had pooled in the little valley above her top lip. What was that indentation called? I always forgot. But God, didn't it feel nice the way her fingertips were grazing the veins on the back of my hand?

The above passage comes from a novel that I just finished reading last night. It is the latest book written by Wally Lamb and is titled `The Hour I First Believed'. I bought the book at Popular Book Store's fair a few months back and it has taken me this long to finish reading it. At two and a half inches thick, it is one of the thickest novels I have held in my hands. And it has a great story. Pure human drama that spans a few generations from the 1800's to the modern day. But this post is not a book review... I may do that a bit later, if I do manage to digest and summarize the multiple-layered stories into a few lines.

A very good read but only for those with patience

Let's go back to the passage above, specifically to the part about the groove in the middle of our upper lip right below the nose. I am sure the author knows what it is called but he wrote it as a question, perhaps to prod his readers to actually find out for themselves.

The moment I read the sentence, I became agitated with myself... because just a few weeks before, I had read an amusing website link shared by a friend that shows a list of `25 everyday things you never knew had names', and that groove on the upper lip was one of the 25... but I could not remember. Feeling a bit peeved at my poor memory, I put down the book, fired up my laptop and went online to search for the link.

Philtrum... that's what it is called. So now you know...

Don't book a judge by his cover

Firstly... make sure you have read the title right. No, I did not type it wrongly.

I came across a comic strip in The Sunday Times of Singapore yesterday which gave me a chuckle. The strip is called Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley, and it was about a certain fable that makes a twist of a well-known English proverb. I did a search and found that the strip is also available online. Click on the image below for a larger view :

Source from -> gocomics.com

While googling for the comic strip, I came across a limerick which touches on the same subject but at a different angle :

An old British justice named Glover
Once murdered his wife and her lover.
A clue was then found:
His wig on the ground!
But you can't book a judge by his cover.

Heheheh... This lovely pun came from Mr Graham Lester, whose website has other funny poems.

If you find the above two pieces amusing, then you might be interested to know that there is another cheeky version that deals with `don't cover a judge by his book'. But we'll leave that story for another day...

Filthy rich

The well-known phrase `filthy rich' must have been originally used by the not-so-rich people to describe the overwhelmingly rich ones who gained their wealth by unfair or improper means. Nowadays, the negative connotation of the phrase is somewhat muted and labelling some people as filthy rich simply means that they are exceedingly wealthy, no insult intended. I wouldn't mind if someone calls me as such... except that I do not qualify.

A few days ago, the Malaysian Business magazine reported that Robert Kuok is still the country's richest man. The staff of that magazine have been doing complex calculations over a number of years and comes out with an annual list of Malaysia billionaires, based on their reported holdings in listed companies. Kuok is said to be worth RM45.7 billion. The richest bumiputera is Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, who comes in at no. 5 with RM9.53 billion.

Wow.... billions, huh? Let's just try put that into perspective, shall we?

Let us just look at RM1 billion... that's a One with nine Zeros behind it. Assume for simplicity's sake, that I have worked 50 years of my life to get that RM1B. On average that works out to RM20 million a year or RM1.67 million a month... and we are not talking about gross salary here. At present, I'm taking home less than 0.5% of that monthly figure. In other words, those billionaires are waaaaaay out of my league! Can dream only meh....

But if we don't dream, we'd never achieve reality, right? Yeah, that's what I thought. There was this one time I was listening to this particular guy talking about how to become rich. He was asking his audience if we knew anyone in particular who wakes up every morning and have thousands of ringgit coming his way without doing anything? Of course we didn't. It's Robert Kuok, he said. And do we want to be rich like him? Of course we do. So let's join this new amazing business programme that would help us realize our dreams, he pitched. Many others have participated and made it big, so what are we waiting for?

It was a multi-level marketing recruitment seminar and I was duped. Yeah... don't be surprised, I did try MLM once. I guess the dream of hitting my quick million had dulled my senses. I quickly learned that sales is not my skill at all. I doubt any of those guys in the annual billionaire list got rich from being involved in direct-selling. *Sigh* Enough of the dreaming... and back to the grind.

Halal Steamboat BBQ in JB

There are quite a number of Steamboat BBQ restaurants in Johor Bahru today that are operated by Muslims. You know... the type where you pay a single-cost per person all you can eat until your tummy is totally full and you don't waste food by taking too much on your plate because you think you can eat everything and end up not cooking the extra stuff that you took and run the risk of being charged for the excess at RM5 per 100g. So don't be greedy...

I have been to a number of these places, some of which I discovered from food blogs while some were simply spotted while driving past a particular place. These restaurants are typically located in shophouses in the many new housing areas that have sprouted all over JB city. They are of budget standard... not to be compared with the likes of Seoul Garden but good enough for a simple family dinner if you have kids with huge appetites.

Making comparisons among the many steamboat restaurants is quite easy really... because they all fall under the concept of own cooking and grilling. I judge them on the following aspects :

• The spread and variety of the fresh and frozen food selection. This normally consist of the customary meat cuts (beef, mutton and chicken), seafood and shellfish (fish, prawns, squids, crabs, mussels, cockles), vegetables (kailan, cauliflower, bell peppers, kangkong) and the yong-taufu stuff (bean curd, fishballs, meatballs, crab-sticks etc.). Most places offer some form of noodles and rice vermicelli. Plain rice and fried rice are also normally available.
• The tastiness of the broth. Most places nowadays offer two types : tom-yam soup and chicken soup. They now have boiling pots with two compartments so that you can have both soups.
• The choice of drinks. Generally the drinks on offer are two or three types of squash-cordial drinks. Some offer carbonated drinks dispensed from those fizzy machines. Most places offer hot drinks but at extra charge.
• The choice of sauces. The good restaurants offer three or four tasty homemade sauces.
• The seating arrangement and general restaurant layout. Since the cook-your-own-food concept will involve a lot of walking to and fro the food counters, a good layout would be very convenient, especially when the dinner crowd is large.

To date, me and my family have tried eating at five (5) such steamboat & grill restaurants, and they are :

1. D'Terrace BBQ Steamboat. Located at Jalan Md Amin in the Kolam Air area of JB. RM20.90 per pax, the last time we went there over a year ago.
2. Kapten Steamboat & Grill, located in a new shophouse block near the State Education Department at Jalan Tasik Utara. When it first opened last year, they charged a fixed price per person. Nowadays they charge based on a fixed set menu, which sort of takes away the fun.
3. Otai Steamboat & Grill at Larkin Impian, near the Larkin Stadium.RM19.00 per pax.
4. Steamboat & Grill Cottage at Taman Austin Perdana, not far from Sultan Ismail Hospital in Pandan. The published price was RM17.50 per pax, but when I paid the bill I noted the hidden charge of the wet towels added to the total.
5. Tropika Steamboat & BBQ at Taman Setia Tropika in Kempas, near the new Home Ministry complex. RM18.80 per person.

The last one on the list above was the latest one we tried and which I would recommend. They have a somewhat limited spread of meats but a reasonable variety of seafood and shellfish. The vegetables and frozen stuff is quite varied. Both the tom-yam and chicken soup have a thick taste, not the thin watery stuff at some other places.

Actually, the thing that make me like this place has nothing to do with taste. It's the crockery... they use quality Claytan stoneware plates and bowls. Most of the other places use cheap melamine plates which get deformed when exposed to the heat of the grill stove. Bent and distorted plates really take away a lot of the good impression of a restaurant.

If there is a single minus point that I may say of Tropika Steamboat is that they only have two sauces ; a homemade black pepper sauce and a commercially produced chilli sauce. Perhaps when I have become a regular customer of this place, I might drop a hint or two to the owner.

Okay then.... that's my post for `Another Good Makan Spot in JB - Part 5'.

The boys do most of the grilling

Coolers where the foodstuff are

Stove placed on a thick marble tile to protect the table

Al Qamar

The full moon as captured tonight Tuesday 07.02.12

Blessed is He who has placed in the sky great stars and placed therein a (burning) lamp and luminous moon - Surah Al-Furqan : Verse 61.

Real old school

The boarding school that I went to, MRSM Kuantan, is 38-years old this year. Not quite as old as some of the more established boarding schools in our country but reasonably old when you consider that the first generation of students who came out of that place have passed the half-century mark in terms of age. And to further to illustrate this point on successive generations, two of my former classmates have/had children study at this same school.

1975 photo of a partially completed school. Pic lifted from Capt Norhisham Kassim's FB.

Maktab Rendah Sains MARA Kuantan, to give the school its full name, took in the first batch of students in 1974. The school facilities were not fully completed at that time but MARA pressed on and the us students persevered. The first intake of students, now known as Kuatagh Pioneers, were all boys. I guess they wanted to make sure the school was at least decently ready before bringing in the girls. The second batch who registered the following year had a mix of both boys and girls. You can imagine the excitement of the seniors at having younger sisters to watch over... you know, teenage puberty and adolescent hormones :-)

I enrolled at MRSM Kuantan in 1978 at the 4th Form level, so I am considered as the second batch, with K79 being our alumni identification number (1979 being the year we took our MCE/SPM exams). In the short two years I was there, I have plenty of memories, both good and bad. But we should not dwell on the bad for too long... better to think of the happy events and experiences that helped shape what we are today. All of us have moved on in our lives. Some of us are pretty successful in their respective careers while some are doing okay. But this disparity in achievement has never prevented any of us to reunite and have some coffee together. Whenever some of us meet up for a specific occasion, it is always happy chatting about stories of those mischievous years, of carefree days and youthful adventures. And then we would ask about some of our friends who've been missing... if anyone knows where this particular he or she is, or what he/she is doing today.

In 1979 when we were in Form 5, there were 121 of us who took the MCE/SPM exams, 34 girls and 87 guys. Although most of us regularly meet and do keep in touch, there are still a number of our friends whose whereabouts are unknown. Understandably, some of them prefer to remain isolated... and we respect such decisions, but we still harbour hope of at least knowing a piece of news that he/she is alive somewhere. This is important because we are brothers and sisters. Of the 121 total, seven of our batch have been called by the Almighty. These are the ones that we know... it could be more.

I am thinking of my K79 brothers and sisters at this moment because a reunion is being held for today and tomorrow at our old school in Kuantan. Unfortunately, I am not able to make it to the event although I very much want to. The last similar occasion I attended was the Aidilfitri reunion in 2010. I hear that the turnout may be larger this time, with some friends turning up after being MIA for 33 years.

This event is actually the 37th anniversary of enrolment of the second batch at MRSM Kuantan but the ocassion is not to celebrate the 37 years, rather the fact that Batch No. 2 students are 50-years old this year. This is somewhat a continuation of the effort by our seniors who held their reunion at the school last year. Whether this trend will continue with the K80 batch, we'll have to wait for next year.

To all my brothers and sisters who are in the old school today and tomorrow, do have a wonderful time catching up with each other. Don't embarrass yourselves in front of our younger brothers and sisters (who'd most probably call you pakcik and makcik). Take care and I love you all.

Interlude

I hope I won't get kicked by my friend Versedanggerik for this...

Three kicks


A lawyer was out shooting and shot a duck. As he was about to pick it up, a farmer appeared. "This is my land", said the farmer, "so that is my duck".


"I shot it," said the lawyer. "That means it is my duck and I will sue you to prove it."


"Round here, we don’t hold with court cases," said the farmer. "We go by the Three Kicks Law. I kick you three times; and if you can get back on your feet and kick me three times, the duck is yours."


The lawyer, reckoning he could kick far harder than any farmer, said: "Fair enough." So the farmer kicked him once in the knee, then in the ribs and finally in the groin. "All right," groaned the lawyer, stumbling back on his feet, "now it's my turn."


"Oh, forget it," said the farmer. "You can have the duck."

Arab food in a malay village

My first taste of an arabic dish was when I was a small boy. For breakfast one day, my mother cooked some mashed green-coloured beans with spices and toasted a few french loaf slices to go with it. The dish was eaten with an egg fried in ghee plus some roughly-chopped onions and green chillies as garnish.

At first try, the thing had a spicy-bitter taste that was hard to describe... but I loved it. Mom said that the dish is called `kacang pol'. Funny name, I thought... but later on in life I noted that there are variants to the name : pol, pool, ful and even phool. All these from translating the original arabic name of foul medames.

In my trip to Cairo in 2004, I had my first taste of authentic foul medames. The buffet breakfast spread at the hotel had two versions of the dish, Egyptian-style and Lebanese-style... of course I tried both. Slightly different tasting compared to mom's version but delicious all the same.

My exposure to middle-eastern cuisine further broadened during my short stint working in the United Arab Emirates. The tough pressure of work was somewhat compensated by food-tasting adventures. That was where I developed an affection for lamb mandey and lovely fresh salad dishes. Nowadays, whenever I hear of an Arabic restaurant opening up in KL, I would make an effort to try it out. To date, Saba Restaurant at Jelatek is still the best in my book.

Of late, Johor Bahru is seeing a few genuine Arabic restaurants opening for business... genuine in this sense, meaning with real Arab cooks. Not those run by locals who cook from recipes they learned when they were students in Egypt or Jordan or wherever. The latest one is called Wadi El-Arab Restaurant located right here in my district of Kg Melayu Majidee. It just opened a few weeks ago and I must say the owner is taking a huge gamble in opening a speciality restaurant out of the city centre.

It was our youngest son's 17th birthday on Friday and so I decided to have the celebration dinner at this new eating place. Wadi El-Arab is located just across the Medan Selera Kg Melayu (where you can get the best ABC in all of JB). The place used to be someone's house and was renovated into a restaurant. Decor-wise, there is nothing to shout about. The front part of the dining area is carpeted and has low tables for that sitting-on-the-floor experience. The inner dining area has simple round tables of the kopitiam type, not quite to my liking.

The menu choices is about average I guess, but sufficient enough for those not familiar with arabian food to try out some variety. They have bokhari rice, makloubeh, kofta, shawarma, shish tawok plus some salads and soups. Most importantly (to me, at least) they have mandey.

The birthday boy and his elder brother had grilled lamb kofta while the missus ordered the same but beef. These are spiced minced meat rolled onto metal skewers, grilled over charcoal fire, served with roasted eggplant and homous, and eaten with arab flat bread. I ordered what else but lamb mandey... at RM19.80 per plate, the most expensive rice dish on the main course menu. Wasn't the best that I had (which would still be at a restaurant somewhere in Muscat, Oman) but still on the okay side. The kofta dishes are the tasty ones. Overall not too bad... but they really need to pull in more crowd to make the long haul.

The cover menu card

Mandey lamb rice

Lamb kofta

And I honestly hope they do because it is now so easy for me to satisfy my craving for a mid-eastern dish with this place at my doorstep. I'm already thinking of the next dish to try.... perhaps their makloubeh, the upside-down rice and lamb/chicken combo.

Popular negatives

In the English language, the opposite meaning of many words are created by the addition of prefixes. For example :

• de : form / deform
• dis : able / disable
• il : legible / illegible
• im : potent / impotent
• in : direct / indirect
• un : true / untrue

If you observe carefully, the application of such prefixes are onto words that are generally in the positive sense. Adding the prefix makes them negative - happy to unhappy, pleased to displeased, practical to impractical and so on. There are not many inherently negative words that become antonyms by simply adding a prefix. Let's try out some :

Would un-ugly mean pretty?
Does dis-cheat mean we are being honest?
Or would im-messy clothes mean we are smartly-dressed?

There are however, a few words that break this convention. I was reading a news article the other day and realised that the reporter had used such a word. The word is - impeccable. Apparently, there is such a word as `peccable', which means `liable to sin or error'. Adding the prefix im- makes the word carry a positive meaning. Another example that comes to mind is `indefatigable', which in itself, is quite unique because it has double prefixes.

`Impeccable' and `indefatigable' also fall into another category which I'd like to call as `popular negatives'. These are words where the prefixed form are in more common use than the root form. Here are some examples, plus a sample sentence I've written using the base form of the word, and you tell me if I don't sound awkward  :

1. illicit : I passed through airport customs without any problems because I only carried licit goods in my baggage.

2. unscrupulous : I employed that young lady to handle the company accounts because of her scrupulous behaviour.

3. dismantle : I've lost the original instruction guide so now I don't know how to mantle all these parts back together.

4. incontinent : Of course these diapers are not for me, I'm continent!

I am sure there are other examples. Perhaps you know of some more. Enjoy the long weekend, my friends...

Can register to vote

Our second son, who studies at a university in Indonesia, is back at home for a short term-break. We picked him at LCCT last Sunday. Yesterday, January 18th, was his 21st birthday.

We missed celebrating his previous birthday together because he was away at school. The year before that, I took him and some of his friends for dinner at Shah Alam. That event made it into this blog and was posted here -> Two birthdays.

Last night, we had a celebration dinner at Banafee Village Restaurant, a lovely makan place I've previously written about. My wife bought a cake from Secret Recipe and brought it along for the dinner. The cake box was placed at the edge of the table and we had not thought of doing anything special. A sharp-eyed waiter saw the box and offered to keep the cake in their cooler until it's time for dessert.

As expected, the birthday boy ordered a lamb dish but our youngest son surprised me by ordering grilled salmon. The missus had grilled chicken chop while yours truly could not resist trying another Arabic menu, lamb kabsah. I broke my own self-imposed rule of not eating lamb/mutton more than once a week. Just the night before, I went out for dinner with an ex-colleague from KL. We went to a newly-opened restaurant selling western-style dishes where I had lamb chops while my friend had chicken chop. Quite delicious... I should write a blog-post about this place soon.

Lamb kabsah

Two large candles and a smaller one in between

As we finished eating our main meal, the waiter came back with the birthday cake and also gave us four small plates. He then produced a pen and a piece of paper, and asked my wife to write down the birthday boy's name. She asked, why? To pass to the singer, he said. I hadn't noticed that the two-member live singing team were on stage and making preparations to perform.

And so yesterday, a young man named Harith Shahiran got to blow out the candles on his birthday cake at the end of the most recognized song in the world, sung by a professional singer. May good things always come your way, my son...

Coarse bamboo

In the late 1980s at my first workplace in Johor Bahru, I was in charge of the construction of the Islamic religious schools throughout the state. The project was funded by the State Government and the organisation I worked in acted as Project Managers.

Most of these schools were located in rural towns and villages where access were sometimes a problem. I loved my short stint while being involved in the project. It gave me the opportunity to travel to all corners of Johor state and reach the remotest of places in all 8 districts.

In the district of Segamat, there is a small town on the main road heading north to Kuala Lumpur, called Buloh Kasap. I have passed by this place a few times on my trips to KL but the first time I actually made a stop was when I attended a handing-over ceremony of a completed school. In the days before the North-South Expressway, a trip to Segamat from JB would take up to 3 hours. That can be considered as a very far distance but I was a young man then... any outstation trip to visit projects was always fun and worth the drive.

Buloh Kasap got its name from a certain type bamboo plant that is said to have grown abundantly in the area... at least, that's what historical reference sources tell us. Buloh is bamboo while kasap means coarse or rough. I take it that this refers to the skin or surface of the bamboo. I don't actually know how a coarse bamboo plant looks like. The ones I see growing in jungles or by river banks are normally dark green and have smooth outer surface. These are the type that lemang-makers use.

This clump of bamboo is certainly not the kasap variety. Definitely not suitable for making lemang.

The term `buloh kasap' is also widely-known as being used in a Malay proverb. According to Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka, the full proverb goes like this -> Berniaga bagai buloh kasap, hujungnya hilang, pangkalnya lesap. The Malay saying means wasteful work being done by someone who doesn't have the knowledge or skills to do it. In particular, it refers to a loss-making business venture caused by the person's own weakness.

As always, I like to ask the mystery question. How does a particular type of bamboo plant gets connected to poor business decisions?

The idea for this post came after I heard my mother use the saying the other day. My youngest sister has started a small makan business selling nasi lemak, satay, mee siam and a few other stuff from a rented stall. She has asked our mother for some cooking tips on how to make her dishes more tasty. Mom would of course, share her secrets... but not before nagging to my sister to be careful about this, be aware about that, take care about the cash collection, don't pamper your workers, don't hutang too much, plus a whole lot of other business advice. She knows what she's talking about, being a small-time businesswoman herself when she was younger. `Jangan berniaga macam buloh kasap,' she warned, `Untung tak ada, modal pun lesap.'

Mothers... they may nag non-stop, but they have the welfare of their children at heart :-)

Songs from yesteryear

In a reply to a comment from blogger-friend Dr Wati in the previous post, I mentioned that I got stuck in assembling 12 photos for compilation as my annual review of `The Previous Year In Pictures'. I have done the series twice already, for 2009 and 2010.

Apparently, there were certain times during 2011 that my camera slept soundly in its bag and wasn't doing any duty. After browsing through my photo files, there were 2 months last year when I did not take any pics, not even from the mobile phone camera. Sadly, this edition of TPYIP has to be skipped.

As a substitute, I've decided to compile all the Youtube songs that I shared on my FB wall in 2011 . There were 7 of them and there was one that I've also shared in this blog, so I apologise for the repetition. Looking and listening to the full list, you can probably can guess the type of person that I sometimes am.... mushy :-)

1. April 10 : (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons - Rod Stewart

I hope you do believe me
I've given you my heart...




2. July 10 : Crazy - Diane Krall, Elvis Costello & Willie Nelson

I'm crazy... crazy for feeling so blue...



3. September 16 : My Love - Julio Iglesias & Stevie Wonder

Say words of love to all we see,
To rich or poor for love is equal,
Let us lift up humanity,
Spread love all over...



4. October 25 : Foolish Heart - Steve Perry

You've been wrong before,
Don't be wrong anymore...



5. November 4 : Reminiscing - The Little River Band

Each time we hear our favourite song,
The memories come along...



6. December 22 : Ain't No Sunshine - Joe Cocker

And this house just ain't no home,
Anytime she goes away...



7. December 31 : Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow - Carole King & James Taylor

So tell me now and I won't ask again,
Will you still love me tomorrow?




Thanks to all the original uploaders of the vids. I do hope you enjoy them...

A rolling stone...

Wow, it's the new year already. On New Year's Day last year, I was in Temerloh attending a friend's wedding before heading to Kuantan where I spend the night. An unplanned exchange of messages during breakfast the next day saw me having afternoon tea with blogger Versedanggerik and her family. Later on the way back to Kuala Lumpur, I made a detour to Triang, somewhere deep in the Pahang heartland, to visit a nephew whose wife had just given birth.

For the first post of 2012, let's have a discussion on English proverbs for a change.

I spent the first half of last year based in KL, with my family rooted in JB. It was a regular trip up and down the North-South Expressway every other weekend. Sometimes driving but mostly on the express buses. It wasn't something I particularly liked but what to do? Later on in June, a friend introduced me to a job opportunity in Pontian and after a quick interview, I was offered the post. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, that job didn't last... but I decided to remain in Johor Bahru and look for something new. Alhamdulillah, I recently received an offer for a job that would put me back at familiar grounds.

I am what you call, a rolling stone. The full English proverb goes like this : A rolling stone gathers no moss. Now why would we want to gather moss, you may ask. Why not gather something more valuable? Well... proverbs being based on metaphors, are not meant to be understood literally. The meaning of this particular proverb is that if we move around too much (as opposed to sticking around for a long time), then we wouldn't be gaining much experience. Jumping from job to job is an obvious example.

I hadn't actually made a count of how many companies I have worked for since I graduated, until a few days ago. While updating my resume to include this latest appointment, I realised that I have been employed at eleven (11) different firms throughout my 27 years of working life. That number does not include a few short stints at companies owned by friends and relatives. Some people say that this hopping around is not a good thing. Perhaps they are right... but it is not that I purposely seek new jobs every few years just for the fun of it. Each and every job resignation I went through has its own story. Sometimes, things happen that are not within our control. But I'm not the type to live in regret although I admit that the constant job changes had caused difficulties.

I therefore do not fully agree with meaning of the proverb about rolling stones. While I may not have gained a deep knowledge of one particular field, my different job postings have afforded me with a varied exposure of civil engineering disciplines. In which case, another familiar English proverb would apply : a jack of all trades but the master of none. It's okay... I have accepted that I'm not a master, but the little that I know of a few specialised areas are valuable enough for me to survive on. Nonetheless, I do hope this present job will last for some time. A rolling stone can't go on rolling forever.

I may not have gathered moss by not staying still but I can tell you what I've gathered over the years... bank accounts. For the purpose of salary payment, different employers want me to open account at banks of their choice. To date, I have/had accounts at the following financial institutions :

- Malaysia Credit Finance (now defunct)
- HSBC Bank
- Bank Bumiputera (a/c revived as Bank Muamalat when BB went kaput)
- Public Bank
- Maybank
- CIMB Bank (this is the latest)

As I have mentioned previously, nak harapkan akaun bank je yang banyak, duit dalamnya tak se berapa...

The stones in Sungai Bernam that no longer roll...

School child harvest

There is a small rambutan tree in the front compound of our house. It was planted by my mother quite a number of years ago, I can't remember. A few years ago it started to bear fruit but the quantity wasn't that much. Last year was not very good at all, with most of the fruits falling off the tree before they were fully ripe.

This year is different. Seems to be the best produce of all... a bumper harvest. Part of the tree's branches overhang past our front fence and the neighbourhood kids are having a field day plucking the fruits as they please. Some of them ask our permission while others do not. To those who asked, I say go ahead. There's plenty to share.

Since last Monday was a holiday and it wasn't raining continuously like previous days, I decided to do some rambutan-harvesting. My son and his cousin pitched in to help. I climbed part way up the tree to trim some of the branches using a saw. The fallen branches were then gathered by the boys who then pluck off the abundant fruits at the tips. Trimming the branches help new leaves to sprout for the next season.

As my son started to gather the branches, three of the neighbour's kids came around to help... and this kind Pakcik then rewarded them with a plastic bag-full of their pickings. I had trimmed maybe four or five small branches when I felt too tired to continue. We had already collected 2 large bucketful of the fruits. There are still plenty more up there on the tree. Maybe I'll continue the harvest this weekend.

The rambutan my mother planted is of the variety known as `anak sekolah'. Strange name for a fruit but very sweet and juicy with a reasonably thick flesh. I wondered how the name came about. According to a friend, this type of rambutan is well-known in Kelantan state since many years ago. Moktea anok skoloh, that's the way they say it.

The young man using a stick and ladder to pick the lower fruits

The plucked fruits are gathered in a bundle and then shared

Red hairy skin...

...with white juicy flesh.

The day after Christmas

The first time I spent my Christmas holidays at a place where most of the people actually celebrated Christmas, was in 1980 in the small town of Wrexham, in the northern part of Wales, in the United Kingdom. The bunch of us students from Malaysia didn't actually do very much during that term break. It was freezing cold outside so we just stayed at home, kept warm and watch TV. No snow though, so it wasn't a white Christmas.

It was the first time I heard the term Boxing Day, the day after the 25th of December. It is also a public holiday in the UK. If we in Malaysia can have 2 days off for Aidilfitri plus another 2 days off for Chinese New Year, then it is not difficult to understand why the Matsallehs cannot have 2 days off too.

I was puzzled why they called the 26th of December as Boxing Day, so I asked my British friends. None of them could give me a definitive answer. Even today, trying to search for the origin of the name via online sources does not give clear results. The name has nothing to do with the sport of boxing (you know, the game where one man punch another man, in a ring which is actually square in shape). The most accepted theory is that it has to do with boxes (the thing that we keep stuff in), whereby charity boxes containing donations from the public during the Christmas service the previous day are collected and then shared with the poor.

Well, what ever the origin of the name, I remember Boxing Day for another reason. It is a full day programme for English league football. So I'll be tied in front of the telly tonight.

Hoping my friends had a lovely day-off yesterday. Me and the missus had a quiet day resting at home. Our son with a number of his cousins, had a blast spending the whole day at Universal Studios in Singapore.

Once a lifetime experience...

Swift as an arrow

I drive to work this morning (yes, I work on Saturdays). The traffic on the highway to Pasir Gudang is lighter today compared to the weekdays, but still busy nonetheless.

I am on the right lane of the two-lane road, driving at a leisurely 70km/h. A few cars are not far in front, at the same pace. The left lane is conquered by the slow heavy lorries, as usual. I glance at the rear-view mirror and see a car in the distance, speeding towards me. Pretty soon it is right up on my tail and I see it is a red Suzuki Swift. It is so close. The sight of the car fills the whole rear-view mirror. The driver seems to be bugging me to move over but not poking my bum with his headlights. I buat bodo aje...

Image borrowed from
Suzuki Malaysia website

A gap in between the trucks on the left-hand side appears. The Swift makes a quick lane switch, overtakes me on the left and weaves in back in front of me. I see a young man driving and a young lady in the passenger seat... a prick impressing his girlfriend, no doubt. He continues to weave in and out to overtake the other cars in front.

As I watch him fly away in the distance, I realise that another car is close behind my tail. Another Swift! This one is black. It has a lone driver. The same thing happens... as gaps on the left lane present itself, blackie makes swift lane-switch manoeuvres to get to the front. Crap, I thought. I'm being hit for a double trouble this morning. Tak boleh jadi ni...

A thought crosses my mind... I should give them a chase. But then I realise that this old car of mine is no longer a sprinter but a long-distance runner. A few years ago, I would've stepped on the accelerator and perform them nifty moves myself. Age is catching up on me.

Turns out to be a good decision. As if on cue, I hear the sound of a siren behind me. A police patrol car is crawling on my back. I move to the left when I see a safe gap. The coppers zoom past, switch on the flashing blue lights and catch up to the two Swifts. Both Suzuki cars are directed to pull over to the road shoulder.

As I pass them, I note that it could've been three cars in the police summons book. God is kind to me today...

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

The original singer of this song, Bill Withers, released it in 1971. The song became a classic hit. Since then, a number of other singers have performed cover versions. A few months back, I discovered this youtube video of Joe Cocker singing the hit in his distinctively raspy style and I like it very much. I thought it appropriate to share at this present time... what with the weather being gloomy and rainy for the past few weeks.

Youtube credit to : Andranik Azizbekyan



"It's not warm when she's away...."

Yeah, you're right Joe. The missus has been away at the hospital for ten days now. The doctor says she may be discharged tomorrow if everything's okay.

Common and self-admiration

As a young boy in primary school, my interest in reading was sustained by poring over Enid Blyton's books, particularly the Famous Five and Secret Seven series. Whenever I come across a new word, I would borrow my father's pocket-sized Collins English-Malay dictionary. That tiny book became my reference companion for a few years until my father, either on seeing my keen reading habit or wanting his own dictionary back, bought me a thick full-fledged dictionary published by Larousse. I was in awe when I received it as a present. It must have cost my father a bomb to buy it and I treasured it very much.

From reading Blyton, I went on to read more classical authors like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. Reading Dickens was tough. He used so many words I didn't understand that I had to refer to the dictionary too often. This took out the fun in reading so I went back to reading mystery and adventure stories. The Three Investigators and The Hardy Boys were among my favourites. As I entered late teens, my reading scope expanded to include horror by Stephen King and spy thrillers by Frederick Forsyth and Robert Ludlum. Most of the thrillers that I read are fast-paced and I can become so engrossed as to miss dinners and postpone sleep. Unputdownable, if there is such a word.

If I come across new words while reading such thrillers, I never stop to check their meaning in the dictionary. It spoils the momentum. Usually I just try to guess what they mean from the context of the sentence. Only after finishing the book would I flip the dictionary to check if my guess was right... but I'll do that only if I remember or if the word interests me. Sometimes I wouldn't bother... especially if I think the word is too complicated and that I'd never use it myself, either in speech or in writing. Sounds like I'm limiting my vocabulary, but hey... there are millions of words out there, so it's okay if we don't know a few.

I was listening to a classic song recently when I heard a particular word that I didn't know the meaning of. I googled the lyrics and part of it I reproduce here :

You drove me, nearly drove me, out of my head
While you never shed a tear
Remember, I remember, all that you said
You told me love was too plebeian
Told me you were through with me and...

The word that stumped me is plebeian. According to my dictionary, the word means something relating to ordinary people or the common folk. If used as a noun, it is a degrading word for someone of low social class. Now how's that for an insult.

Click on this link to have a listen to the Susan Boyle version of the song -> Cry Me A River

Ok then, for good measure, I'll give you another word that is in my `hard to understand' category - narcissistic. I'm having trouble even pronouncing it. I first came across this word in a novel but I can't remember the novel's title. It means having an obsession with one's own image and ego.

So there you have it - plebeian and narcissistic. Two words I doubt I'll ever use...

A Good Makan Spot in JB (4)

With the missus lodged in the 1st Class Ward of Hospital Sultanah Aminah, it has been consecutive dining out experience for my youngest son and me for the past three nights. Not that I don't know how to cook... but with the rush back from work, battling the evening traffic and trying to reach the hospital before end of visiting hours, I can't be bothered to spend time in the kitchen.

What I've been doing is to get home as early as I can, pick up my son and then head off to the hospital to visit his mother. On the way back, we stop by any convenient makan place to grab a bite to eat.

For our dinner tonight, I decided to re-visit a classy restaurant located at Jalan Abdullah Tahir, not far from JB city centre. Actually, the main reason for dinner at this place is because I wanted to wash my car. Jalan Abdullah Tahir is the carwash centre of JB.... there are maybe 7 or 8 places (I've lost count) where you can have your car cleaned.

Banafee Village Restaurant is located next to such a carwash and so it's terribly convenient to let your car have a shower while you have some chow. We first tried out this restaurant when it opened for business around two years ago. It was a Ramadhan buffet spread and I wasn't very much impressed at that time because the food wasn't that tasty. As such, it never crossed my mind to give the place another try.... until tonight.

This time around, I am happy to note that there have been improvements. The menu now is quite extensive. They offer Chinese, Western and even Arabic cuisine. I decided to try out the Lamb Hanith, a traditional Yemeni dish while my young man went  for the Baked Lamb Leg. I believe I've mentioned this before... father and son are both lamb enthusiasts.

The leg arrived first and my son quickly tucked into it. I asked him if it tasted good and he simply nodded. I always trust his judgement when it comes to the taste of lamb dishes. I cut off a piece of the meat from his plate and tried it myself and sure enough, the dish was cooked by a pro.

My order of lamb and rice arrived. When I opened the foil package containing the lamb, my first impression was that it looked a bit dry. Upon the actual eating of it, I decided that the taste was not too bad. Maybe slightly below my favourite lamb hanith dish at Saba Restaurant in KL, but I'll give Banafee the thumbs up. My plate of rice and the accompanying salad was wiped clean.

I believe Banafee Village also offer live music entertainment but we didn't stay to watch. My car is already washed and it was time to head home and blog about it.

Baked lamb leg

Hot and cold. Teh halia in the mug and choco milkshake for the young man

Lamb hanith... delicious.

Chances are...

My better half suffers from a skin ailment which afflicted her just after we got married. The cause of the disease is still not known and scientists have yet to find a definitive cure.

In September of last year, the situation became a bit serious and she had to spend a week in hospital. After a regime of antibiotics and other medication, her condition improved but the specialist doctor still could not pinpoint the exact cause.

Six months ago, the skin inflammation recurred and she had to be warded again. As I was helping her `check-in' at the time, it surprised me a bit that she was assigned the same bed in the same room of the 1st Class Ward at Hospital Sultanah Aminah, here in Johor Bahru. The HSA is the oldest government hospital in the city. Its 1st Class ward is located in a new wing and the rooms are quite comfortable. Nearly on par with that of private hospitals. The sad thing is that, admission to 1st Class is quite restricted and upon direction of the specialist doctors only. The rest of the common folk have to make do with beds in the lower classes. The Malay proverb of `duduk sama rendah, berdiri sama tinggi' does not apply in this case. How I wish that one day, all Malaysians can have access to equal health treatment.

The duration of my wife's second stay at the hospital was as long the the first. Again, still no clues as to what caused the recurrence.

Last night, her skin flared up again and I took time off from work to accompany her to the hospital earlier this afternoon. While waiting for the administrative work at the admissions counter, I casually mention that it would be a very slim chance indeed if she gets the same bed again. Once registration is cleared, a nurse leads the way to the room, and lo and behold.... it is the same bed, three times in a row! What a coincidence. My wife shares this fact with the nurse and we are all amused. I jokingly add that my wife has signed a long term tenancy with the hospital for that particular bed.

I did a quick mental calculation on the probability of such an event happening. The women's first class ward at HSA JB has 16 beds. That means 1 in 16 chance (or 6.25%) of being assigned the same bed on the second visit. If my memory of Probability Theory serves me right, the chances of the same thing happening the third time is not doubled but squared.... i.e. 1 in 256 or a teeny-weeny 0.39% only. How's that for great odds.

Well.... the jesting aside, I wouldn't want my missus to be spending time in that bed (or any other hospital bed for that matter) longer than necessary. I hope she gets well soon.

Original blogger creations

Two separate packages from two different bloggers came in the mail for me yesterday. I hadn't expected the items to arrive that early because I just placed the orders and made payment the day before. I salute my two blogger friends for their efficiency.

1. Emila's Illustrated Calender 2012

When illustrator-blogger Emila Yusof announced last month that she may produce a calender for next year, I immediately sent her a message that I'll buy one. She had previously made a calendar for 2010 which consisted of 12 pages of her own drawings. I was the owner of a copy and had written about it here -> 2010 calender. There wasn't one for 2011and so, when she was mulling about her second calender product, I was among the earliest fans to say yes.


Emila's calender is still available for purchase from her website or you can click on the following link to visit her online webstore -> Emila's Littleshop. The price is RM15.00 per copy not inclusive of postage. Pop over to her shop to see larger sample images and maybe also browse the other unique items on offer.

2. Coretan Xnuripilot

I first became acquainted with blogger Major (Rtd) Nor Ibrahim Sulaiman when he dropped a comment in the post where I wrote about Mee Banjir Udang Kuala Sepetang in May 2010. Following that comment, I made occasional visits to his blog to read stories and recollections about life in the Air Force. Major Ibrahim is a retired helicopter pilot who used to serve our country during the communist insurgency. His stories about struggles and confrontations with the enemy make very interesting reading.

I had missed dropping by his blog for quite some time and somehow late last month, I made a chance re-visit. The retired Air Force Major had apparently went on a mission to self-publish his collection of stories in book form. He is attempting to get the support of Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka to assist in a 2nd re-print.

I requested the Major to reserve a copy for me should DBP agree to help him out. He quickly replied that he still has a few odd copies in hand and would sell one to me if I don't mind some minor defects on the cover. No problem, I said... and after a few further exchanges of information and cash, I am now in possession of a book containing first-hand accounts of life as a pilot flying the Nuri (Sikorsky) military helicopters.

Thank you, Pak Ibrahim for sharing your stories with us... and thank you too, for your service and sacrifice in defence of our nation.

Inside cover of the book has the author's biodata and autograph

The spreader of false news

In the days before there were social networking websites, dubious and misleading news tend to make their way across cyberspace via forwarded emails. Usually such news sound sensational in the first instance and carry some form of warning or community advice. The forwarders of such emails normally do not care to check the authenticity of the piece being passed on, preferring to resort to the maxim of `better safe than sorry' or `no harm to let others know'. It is as if by forwarding the news gives them this `feel-good' feeling of having done a great service to society.

Unfortunately, quite a number of such forwarded news are plain false, misleading and in some cases, carry ill-intent. The Malay word that applies to this situation is `fitnah'.

An example of such an erroneous email is the one I received in June 2009 about the so-called humiliation that Apple is bringing to the religion of Islam by opening a bar in New York resembling the holy Kaabah in Makkah. A simple google search on `Apple Mecca Bar' will yield the true story. The perpetrator of this piece is not a dumb fellow. He was banking on the emotions and naivety of a section of cyberspace citizens by touching on the sensitive subject of religion. The people who blindly forwarded his message are the dumb ones.

I replied to the person who sent me the mail, saying that the story is a hoax and to check the truth before forwarding. She still forwards me similar stuff, although not as often as before... probably because such news have found a new medium of transmission. Facebook.

Last week, I spotted a niece of mine posting a link from her friend's wall, warning readers not to partake drinks from a certain manufacturer. The message goes like this :

Untk beberape hari akn dtg,jgn ambil mnuman dr mana2 produk dr syarikat PEPSI spt pepsi,tropicana juice,slice,7up,coca cola dll kerana ada pekerja dr syarikat itu tlh menambah darahnya yg trcemar dgn HIV.Keluar berita dlm NTV7.Tlg sebarkn kpd org yg anda sygi.

I immediately posted a comment to my niece, asking if this is true. For starters, Pepsi and Coca-cola are 2 different companies. She then posted a similar query on her friend's link. The reply from the friend was a nonchalant, `Better xpayah minumla.. Lgkh brjaga2..'. So disappointing.

Since there was mention of NTV7 in the message, I sent an email to them asking about it. The television station replied that they had never broadcasted such news. And as if on cue, the very next day The Star Online carried an article quoting the response from Pepsi, saying that it was a hoax. The story originated as an sms in India since July this year. The full news article can be read here -> Rumours of HIV-infected drinks untrue, says Pepsi. This same link was given to my niece, who then extended it to her friend. I had a peek at this person's wall to see what her response was. Sadly... nothing. The least she could have done is to say sorry for perpetuating the lie.

I guess the spread of such khabar angin will not end any time soon, if at all. Information nowadays, travel at the speed of light. And we will continue to have ignorant and arrogant people who think they have done a good thing by being the spreader of false news.

Ditelan mati emak...

Back to another posting about Malay proverbs. In a previous post, I had mentioned how the late Pak Sako gave excellent commentaries on the use of peribahasa Melayu to suit any given situation. In general, the old Malay proverbs make use of metaphor to get the message across. Most of such sayings have deep and sometimes sarcastic meanings, but there are some that actually sound a bit inappropriate, whether used in the distant past or mentioned in the present day. Pak Sako took swipes at some of these and the following is an example.

`Duduk sama rendah, berdiri sama tinggi' or its equivalent `Hati gajah sama dilapah, hati kuman sama dicecah'.

The underlying message behind both these proverbs is equality. Not of the sexes, but of class. The Malay word for it is darjat. More often than not, the users of such sayings are those who are well-to-do and they apply the usage to curry favour or empathy from those who are not. According to Pak Sako, in almost all occasions (events, ceremonies, wedding receptions), persons of a certain standing will always be treated a bit special compared to the common folk. No such thing as equality. Which sort of reminds me of the quote from George Orwell : All animals are equal... but some animals are more equal than others.

So why am I again writing on this subject of perumpamaan Melayu? Dah takde idea lain ke?

Well.... earlier today, an old schoolmate named Zaim Mahmood, posted on his FB wall, a list of modified peribahasa purportedly uttered by the TV3 news reporter Karam Singh Walia, who's famous for such idiomatic quotes. Most of the sayings are hilarious and I doubt if Mr Walia actually said them, but even if he didn't, I'm sure he wouldn't mind the credit. I have chosen some real classical samples to share :

1. Terlajak perahu boleh diundur, terlajak kereta pun boleh undur. Terlajak kapal terbang takde gear reverse, sori.
2. Sudahlah jatuh ditimpa pula tangga, lepas tu tercium pulak tahi ayam.
3. Biar mati bini jangan mati anak (boleh kahwin lagi ape...)
4. Kalau tiada rotan, pelempang ajelah....
5. Hujan emas di negeri orang, hujan batu di negeri sendiri. Kalau macam tu lebih baik tak payah hujan.

There is plenty more from where that came from. Muahaha!

Ok then..... let's end this post with another of my own contribution : Ditelan mati emak, diluah mati bapak. Habis tu, kalau tak telan atau tak luah, sendiri yang mati lah ye....

Sour and spicy

In the days before there was the North-South Expressway, a trip by car from Johor Bahru to Kuala Lumpur would eat up time in the region of 6 hours. You have two main routes which you can choose; the first is by way of Yong Peng - Segamat - Tampin - Seremban on the Federal Route1 while the second involve turning on to Federal Route5 at Air Hitam and onwards to Batu Pahat - Muar - Melaka before rejoining the route at Tampin.

I usually prefer to take the 2nd alternative even though it means passing through more small towns and villages (i.e. a longer journey time). I like to travel this way because I can break my journey at a few places of choice where I get to taste some lovely foodstuff. Depending on the time of travel, I could either stop for makan at Batu Pahat for mouth-watering nasi beriyani, or at Muar for some delicious mee bandung.

Ever since the completion of the highway, it has been ages since we last drove on the Batu Pahat - Muar road. That meant that it has been quite a while since we last sampled the original beriyani Batu Pahat or mee bandung Muar. Over the years, we hear more recommendations from friends about good makan places in BP, Muar and even Melaka but unless we have specific reasons to make a detour, we were unable to try them out.

On our journey to KL last Friday however, we decided to take the old road, just so we can try and taste a dish that has been highly recommended by a few friends and relatives. It is a dish that both Johor and Melaka folks claim to cook better than people from other states in Malaysia, and it is called Asam Pedas. According to word-of-mouth and also TV reports, the place to get the tastiest asam pedas is at the small town of Parit Jawa in Muar.

We have never been to this place before, so our decision to check it out is purely based on trial and error. Driving from south, Parit Jawa is located a few kilometres before reaching Muar town. As we approached Parit Jawa, we spotted a signboard saying `Medan Selera Asam Pedas'. We followed the sign and later reached an area by the river that looks like the place where fishermen unload their catch from the sea. There are a few food stalls claiming to sell the famous asam pedas so we simply chose one that seems to have more customers.

The stall we patronised is called Asam Pedas Mak Ngah. I left it to my better half to pick the dishes and she chose kepala ikan jenahak, kupang (mussels) goreng cili, tauge masak lemak, telur asin and ulam sambal belacan. It was a lovely spread and the taste was not disappointing. The trick to delicious asam pedas is in using fresh fish. The three of us (wife, son and myself) wiped the plates clean. Truly worth the extra miles in making the detour and the damage was only RM48. Now that's real value for money.

A view of the spread

Jenahak fish head

Tasty fresh mussels

The fishermen's jetty at Parit Jawa

The new Hijri year 1433

Today is the the final day in the month of Dzulhijjah in the Muslim calendar for the year 1432 Hijrah.

Dua at end of Hijri year
“In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful and Allah swt bless our teacher Muhammad and his family and companions and grant them peace. O Allah, whatever actions I have committed this past year which have not pleased You, which I may have forgotten though You do not forget, while You are forbearing with me, though fully capable of punishing me, while You called me to relent and atone even after my audaciousness before You. O Allah, I surely seek Your forgiveness for that, so forgive me! O Allah, as for my actions that have pleased You and for which recompense and forgiveness has been promised, please accept them from me. And do not dash my hopes in You, O Generous, O Most Merciful of the Merciful. And Allah, the Exalted, bless our Master Muhammad and his family and companions and grant them peace.”

Sunset this evening will mark the start of 1433H. May the Almighty grant all my Muslim friends the blessings and protection for the coming year, InsyaAllah.

Give it back

I am still on the subject of Malay proverbs, this time touching on the short phrase form known as Simpulan Bahasa. The phrase I choose today is buruk siku. There seems to be no direct or proper translation for this idiom, nor is there an equivalent English saying that I can think of.

`Buruk' can be translated to bad, decayed, foul or worn out. `Siku' is literally the elbow but can sometimes be used to refer to a sharp corner or edge. The direct translation of `bad elbow' is not correct because in Malay, the adjective normally follows the noun. However the order is reversed when the words are used as an idiom. A few other examples : keras kepala, buah hati and panjang tangan.

The meaning of buruk siku is asking a recipient to return something that was previously given. Don't ask me why the human elbow is connected to such deplorable behaviour. I've tried to research the origin of this simpulan bahasa but have not been successful so far. In fact, I have yet to find a website or book that explains the origin of Malay sayings.

Anyway, why am I talking of this phrase? Because it aptly describes the extraordinary action of the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) in revoking the Best Song award given to singer/songwriter Yuna during the 18th Anugerah Industry Music (AIM) ceremony held almost 2 weeks ago. Read the news report on Malaysian Insider here -> Yuna loses award.

It seems that RIM and their professional auditors made a blunder while tallying up the scores for the best song. Apparently, the winning song should have been Anuar Zain's Sedetik Lebih.

Maybe Sedetik Lebih is a better song than Penakut.... it doesn't matter to me because I like both songs, but it goes to show that even experienced professionals make the most basic of mistakes.

I feel sorry for Yuna because I know she is very talented. I was lucky enough to watch her perform live during an impromptu session some time last year. My friend invited me to join him and his staff for a simple company dinner at a restaurant in Subang Jaya. This restaurant has a small stage where live music is performed. My friend also invited Yuna's father who is his friend from student days. Yuna's father in turn, brought along his family but never promised if his daughter is willing to sing. The young lady was sporting enough to come on stage and entertain us with 4 songs, including her famous debut hit, Dan Sebenarnya.

Adakah perasaan benci ini sebenarnya.... cinta...

With her young fans...

Don't fret too much about the buruk siku action of RIM, young lady. With your kembang sayap efforts to popularise your music overseas, I am sure you'll go very far.