View from the Cockpit

Flying through the mountain tops
I can see those people are tiny
Breathing in and breathing out
I can see those people around me

Who are flying, behind me?
Can I see those faces, behind me?

Who are flying, in front of me?
Can I see those faces, in front of me?

Wind is cold but I am bold
Flying through the beautiful trees
Heard some noise from mission control
Just ignore them, I am flying

Who are flying, behind me?
Can I see those faces, behind me?

Who are flying, in front of me?
Can I see those faces, in front of me?

--syamsulhasran

Plants/Flowers and Animals of Malaysia

Some of us didn't realize that we're living on a rich soil, and home to the the densely populated plants/flowers and animals. There are many plants that caught my interests here:

1. Rafflesia - the biggest flower in the world
2. Orchids - unique plants that produce very odd looking but feature rich flowers
3. Teratai (water lily) - one of the most amazing flowers floating on the lake
4. Spices and herbs - countless!

Some of the interesting animals:

1. Orang utan (jungle man) - speak for themselves
2. Harimau kumbang - black panther. Believe me, we have a very special species for that.
3. Tigers
4. Elephants
5. all sorts of monkeys

Some of these animals can frighten populations, but they add richness to our ecosystem. We live on a fertile soil where all sorts of plants and animals can survive, depending on their ability to reach out to their needed resources.

Think about it. Our land is unique.

UMNO: Way to go! (down the drain)

When good people go, UMNO can let it go
When good people come, UMNO can afford to ignore

When the damage is done, UMNO will dance
When the money is no more, UMNO will jump out of the window

When good people come, UMNO does not welcome
When good people go, UMNO says, "way to go!"

--syamsulhasran

Note: Datuk Shahrir Samad is to resign from his post

Keputusan Pilihanraya UMNO

This is just a rambling on UMNO election. I don't want to take this seriously (u bet!)

1. I love watching Puteri UMNO cheering like school kids during announcement of the results. Ahh, do we have SMS vote for Exco? Can I participate in the reality show? Wait, who won just now?

2. I'm saddened by Mohd Ali's disqualification. I like him because he did a great job as a Chief Minister of Melaka. Likewise, I would expect him to be a great implementor of big things. He might not be a very smart and cunning politician. Probably has bad PR too but he can do stuff. Who in UMNO can do stuff right now except Datuk Shahrir Samad and him? (of course and few others lah. of course of course). Some people don't like Mohd Ali, but that's alright, they're not from Melaka. Haha!.

3. KJ the smart joker made a very good stand-up comedy. Congrats KJ for this Youth Wing thing. You freaking rocks!. I feel sorry for Datuk Mukhriz. Honestly, I thought Datuk Mukhriz is gonna win so that the remnants of Tun Dr. M's legacy will creep back into UMNO, but looks like it's not gonna happen anytime soon, at least in the Youth wing.
It's a KJ show today! (but I don't think he can beat Jon Stewart. Maybe one day).

4. Datuk Khir Toyo, sorry, there's no more broom for you.

All aboard on UMNO ship!.

So who's the Captain now? Guess.

Everyday

Everything you say
Next step I should stay

Every single step
Ended up being trapped

Every single way
We keep going astray

Every single day
We are wasting away

Everyday,
We can't just be like this
Everyday, Everyday.

Wasting.
Pondering.
Living.
Staying.

Trailers

Trailers in movies are like abstracts in papers, we just show the overview so that the audience would want to watch the movie.

Here are some interesting things I would like to point out to designing nice trailers:

1. Introduce the "curious" elements in the movie. How? It depends on the movie. Curious elements can be characters, plots, or the "world" i.e the movie's "feel". What the movie is about? Why are such and such things happen? Why she cries?

2. Make the audience think. Usually, this is the message that you want to tell to the audience. Say you want to go green. You introduce theme of the movie about saving energy. How does the characters carry the mission? What are his obstacles?

3. Introduce "memorable shots" that let users "re-create" the scene even after they watch the trailers. We call it "recreation of motion". This is powerful.

3. Don't show the ending!.

The worst trailer is to show all the main characters, the plot, and how it ends. Why should I go watch it when I already know everything?

Betul tak?

PPSMI

I've been hearing a lot on why we should or should not abolished PPSMI.

For me, we should abolish it due to :

1. Practical reason - that the Malay kids generally don't know English (and don't speak) English at home. Asking them to interpret Physics and Maths in English is a hindrance to their conceptual understanding at a very early age. This will demoralized students and therefore unnecessarily killed students interests in learning. We need kids to have fun with science and math, not burdening them with scientific English words at early age.

2. Nationalistic reason - that the Malay language is now rapidly diverging from the path of intellectual domains, that the reason we use it is that, to tell stories to kampung folks, to bluff them, to ridicule them, and to poke fun at them.

I really don't get why TAR College can survive as the champion of Chinese language while the Malays are lamenting that we can't get anything out of our own language.

The fact is, we can learn and excel at both language, but not more than two.

The only reason that we should not introduce anymore languages is because they're too many.
We should just use Malay and English, that's it. Much like Canadian use French and English, but we don't have to declare our country to be bi-lingual.

I'm not saying that we should not learn English, in fact, we should also master it. But we make it secondary. Because we have our own language. I thought Dr. M is the one who thought me to "Look East". I'm now looking at Japan.

We pride ourselves to be having a national language, only to have all sorts of ideas to remove it from intellectual domains. It's true that it's hard to translate English to Malay on all scientific terms. The thing is, we don't have to - we should adapt it whenever possible, and use our language in our academic institutions for intellectual discussions as well as everyday conversations.

Another way is to have collaboration with our Indonesian counterpart - the Malay language was used both by Malaysia and Indonesia for this very practical reason that we can use it together. Malaysian alone do not have critical mass to be using Malay language to warrant books translations, etc.

That way, we grow as a nation, with soul.

Kerana , Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa.

Decoupling Theory

What? Decoupling Theory? Where is this coming from? I've never heard about it before.
So I'm confused when I read the news on Utusan today (Utusan is my primary source of news) that Malaysia is putting its money on this theory.

It's OK to believe on this theory, especially the one that boost the ego of Asian countries. But for what? I don't know much economics, but I know that since David Ricardo's era, we're becoming more and more interdependent. Especially in today's world where we can't ignore what is happening to economic powerhouses (U.S, Japan, Europe, China).

You can convince me that if Cuba or Zimbabwe screwed up their economy, there will be nothing happen in Asia. Or, - Latin America. It won't affect much, and therefore, we're "decoupled" from them.

But if our economic partners are relying heavily on the economic powerhouse i.e US, how can we decouple ourselves from them? Easy example - Singapore. Singapore has been hard hit and have taken measure to prevent recession. Singapore is one of our biggest trading partners. Therefore, can I say I've decoupled myself from the U.S?

The answer is no.

So this "Decoupling Theory" is new, and unproven. In fact, it's an old economics. You can say that China try to "decouple" itself from the world and stay relatively poor until one smart guy called Deng Xiaoping came and open up China.

Our economy are now interdependence. We're relying on specialization to earn comparative advantage.

This is Economics 101.

Tak ku hiraukan

Kepergianmu diakhiri dengan lambaian
Tapi nafasmu masih kedengaran
Jalan buntu, merasuk rindu
Menyelubungi kalbu, diam membisu

Langkahmu longlai
Tampak yakin, tetapi tidak
Ku mengerti apa yang bergolak
Di dalam benakmu
Tetapi tak ku hiraukan

Aku melangkah ke arah bertentangan
Terasa sepi,
Seperti berdiri seorang diri
Patah kaki bertongkat budi
Hilang budi, tempang naluri

Tak ku hiraukan
Aku berjalan maju ke hadapan
Walau arah bertentangan

Tak ku hiraukan
Aku berjalan tanpa menoleh kiri dan kanan
Walau tak sehaluan

Tak ku hiraukan
Aku menongkah arus deras bertentangan
Walau tiada tongkat budi
Untuk diri ini menagih simpati
Kepada engkau yang telah pergi

Kerana aku tahu,
Bahawa semuanya itu
Tak kau hiraukan

--syamsulhasran

Waves

Last few days ago, I've searched through a current trend on economic downturns. What is really causing it? I don't really want to believe about this "housing problem" in the US. It's true that that was the major factor. But that's not the whole story.

This economic downturn is the story of the problem of "unlimited human wants and limit".

Simple. If you're given RM1000, with the prospect of getting RM2000, would you go for RM2000? Yes, you would. And what if RM100,000, RM 1 Mil, RM 1 Bil, RM 1 Tril... let's change currency. USD 1 trillion.... it goes on.

That's it, that's it. This is our problem. We can't satisfy ourselves with what we have. We can only realize the limit of how far we could go. But you're actually the one who impose that limit. In reality, your "want" won't be satisfied.

So how do we go around this? We have policies and laws to govern our unlimited wants such that the scarce resources on this planet are accessible to all.

So when we have unlimited wants, we tend to go so far until we hit the limit, and then we back off. After things settle, we go there again - stronger. This in effect creates a "cycle" in our economy - growth and shrink. Hard landing, soft landing. You name it. It's the same thing.

So now, we know why there's an economic cycle?

But can't we have economic "flatness"? Price is stable - everyone is happy.
In ideal world, yes. In reality, no. Our desire fluctuate, often correlated with our limit.

The interesting observation is this: Small particles travel in waves.

Ocean creates waves, Particles travel in waves, Pendulum creates waves (simple harmonic motion). All this, if we plot will create a plotting pattern called "sinusoidal".

Once you have sinusoidal plot, you can use many apparatus and tools and mathematical techniques, and come up with all sorts of theories about life.

Particles, down to atom level, will have electron and proton. This is the determining factor of the behavior that we see, even at the "macro" level.

OK, you'll then argue with me that the law governing particles is different in atomic level. It's true that Newton's Law of motion conflict fundamentally with Quantum Mechanics. But if we zoom in and out, the essence - polarities created tension between two atomic particles, creates these "waves" even down at the field and atom level. The law is different, but the character is the same. This dynamic of particle polarities creates interesting phenomena in nature:

Hot and cold, Black and white, etc. It's basically "Ying and Yang".

My bottom line is this:
Our life work harmoniously with nature in waves.
Life because of "unlimited wants and human limit". Nature because of "ying" and "yang".

Happy Birthday (to me)

Happy birthday to me.

Today is my birthday. I would like to thank Allah for giving me the health and wealth that I need to continue living on this planet.

Next, I would like to thank my family for continuous support.
I pray for peaceful soul of my late mom and continuous health of my dad.

I'm glad that my little sisters are making progress in their lives, two of them got nice jobs (in today's difficult economic times), and one is finishing up her studies. My little brother started his way to become a pilot, and I need to guide him in any possible way. Currently, I'm trying to get everything in order - PC, and some electronics, Add Math and Physics coaching, etc. I try to come home once a month to catch up with them.

My elder siblings are doing fine in their lives. They have families to take care of, and they're also monitoring our "younger" generation. I'm in the middle, so I'm on both sides of hemisphere.

Thanks to all co-workers. I love my job.

To think that one is "older" when it comes to birthday is a misleading concept. We should just view it as our "next" step in life. In reality, we're getting older every picosecond in this world. So birthday is a "macro" view of our life's milestone, and nothing more than that.

Life goes on, and so are yours.

Jerry Maguire

What's unique about the movie Jerry Maguire?

1. The script
2. The casts
3. The characters

No, that's unique - what's unique? Here:

1. The script.

The story line is normal.

People remember this movie because of the script. If you're not one of those people, then watch it.

Perak - Crossovers should be banned

The situation that is happening in Perak simply solidify the reality that I'm looking for - that we need to make crossing over of MP (Ahli Parlimen) / ADUN (Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri) - illegal in this country's democracy.

Here are the reasons:

1. Crossovers making the elected representatives to join the side that may actually against what the people's wish.

2. Because it is potentially against the majority of the people's wish, this is undemocratic

3. Democracy is balancing public accountability and the interest of minority (you can define whatever "democracy" you want, but this is the definition that I settle for).

4. Crossing over could shift the balance that could biased towards majority's interest OR public "unaccountability".

5. Either way, the elected reps betrayed the trust of the people

6. Because the elected representatives betrayed the trust of the people, they're unethical to public. ( Note: This is not to be confused with their private lives i.e Elizabeth Wong can sleep half-naked but she's still accountable to the public so long she doesn't betray the trust of the people who elected her. For me, she did nothing wrong)

7. Because crossovers are unethical, it should be banned.

I can't think of making crossovers an exception unless the Government become ruthless and launch genocides and do some crazy things that the interest of the people need to be protected.
But I don't foresee this happening in our country. We are not like that. History shows that our people are living in harmony and are relatively peaceful.

However, we should have this exception just in case. That's the only exception that we should give, and nothing else.

Unless the government of Perak did crazy things like launching genocides to the people of Taiping for example, we should ban change of government due to crossovers.

Likewise, we should ban change of government of the Member of Parliament crossing overs to change Fed Govt.

We should be consistent in terms of principle. I can't say that it's OK to change Fed Govt via crossovers, but it's wrong to change the State Govt via crossovers. If that's the case, I'm just contradicting myself.

Misteri Gayung yang Hilang

Terperangkap dalam bayang
Terperangkap dalam angan
Gayung merah menyala
Terperap sepi di dalam baldi
Hilang pergi menghilang diri

Ku mula mencari
Si gayung sepi
Tak mengapa tak mengapa
Gayung hilang bisa diganti
Berus gigi yang hilang bisa dibeli
Sabun yang musnah bisa dicari

Gayung yang hilang muncul semula
Tetapi tidak mengapa
Gayung yang hilang bisa diganti
Hilangnya ia tidak memberi erti
Dalam hidup ini

-- syamsulhasran

Football: the EPL phenomena v. our country's football

I just came back from the makan stall again and this time, watching Man U. v. Tottenham while eating there. I watch half-way. I came back early because my "nasi goreng + telur mata" set was over and the match bores me.

Oh, why? Wasn't it that Man U. team was supposed to be the greatest on the earth football player team?

Wrong.

They're the most "popular" and the most commercialized football team in the world. They are heavily merchandized, and the players look like super-heroes.
I don't like how Tevez play btw. And I think they suck.

So when the play is boring, I mean it.

I'm not a football fan, so I have nothing to judge compared to you, the "otaku" of EPL. But hey, I don't like EPL, instead, I like Formula 1 better. So it's just that.

The number thing you have to ask yourself is this - do you like EPL, or do you like football?
Do you like EPL just because everyone is watching it, or do you like it because, you do?
I hope you like EPL because you like it, not because for some reason so many people watch it at mamak stall, and therefore, you should too.

I like football but not obsessed with it. I don't play football for centuries now and won't likely to play it anytime soon. The last serious venture into football was playing for my kampung primary school. But that's nothing.

So the number two question that I have is this: if there are so many people genuinely love football in this country (as demonstrated by their overwhelming interest in EPL) , why the heck that I see a lack of interest in Malaysia cup?

Another puzzle, why the Stadium Bandaraya was half empty the last time I went to Penang v. Negeri Sembilan match? Something is definitely wrong, and here's my reasoning:

1. People don't watch Malaysia cup match because the quality is "bad".

2. The quality is bad is because the players are badly trained

3. The players are badly trained because the state has limited funding to train them, and give attractive salaries

4. Players demotivated, and therefore play badly.

5. When the team play badly, people don't want to watch at stadium and say "I better spend my RM10 somewhere else. After all, I can watch EPL at mamak for free (well, a cup of teh tarik will do) and they play much better"

6. When the stadium generates less revenue, state has less funding.

7. The "state-funded" team go for "private-funded" and the Malaysia cup become a mess

8. The 'imported players' later are banned because they can't afford to pay that much.

9. All of the above created "bad Malaysia cup match".

10. The match now become so uncompetitive and "abandoned", even Singapore doesn't want to enter.

Somebody didn't do much thinking eh? I didn't either. It's easy to see that we're not competitive because we're blindfolded by protectionism. We failed to compete. We failed in the global world. The world has moved to become more "flat". Look at Singapore. Who are playing? A lot of their players are foreigners given Singaporean citizenship. Do we need to do that? No no.

All we need is just to devise competitive game plan - salary, more friendly matches, generate interest on Malaysia cup, get best players.

Then the match at Stadium Bandaraya is more rewarding than that EPL in mamak stall.

Sekian

MAJULAH SUKAN UNTUK NEGARA.