Melina Goes Home!

Dr. Jeswant, me, Melina, Lala and Mada before leaving IJN.


Dear folks, today Melina was discharged from hospital, armed with a newly repaired heart, a healthy future and lots of new friends. The whole story of Melina has been really a heartwarming one and I think really shows what Malaysians can be and do , and how politicians get it all so wrong.

As I have mentioned before, Melina is an orphan from Dili, Timor Leste. In the past two years Timor Leste has been racked by violence, essentially civil war, and Melina, her twin brother and two older siblings lost their parents in the violence. In order to help keep the peace, Malaysia sent army and police personnel to Dili and these army and police officers came to know the orphanage run by Lala Noronha, an Indonesian-born woman of Australian nationality. During their assignment in Timor Leste, these officers came to care for these orphans and while giving them medical attention, realised that some of these children were badly in need of treatment that was just not available in Dili. These ailments included holes in the heart, thyroid problems and in one case, almost fatal cryptococcal meningitis.

In October 2006, Lala brought seven of the most ill Timorese kids here to Malaysia for treatment and over the past year, under the care of the Malaysian army at Terendak Camp in Melaka and under the sponsorship of the Society of St Vincent de Paul Melaka Council, which helped to manage funds raised, each child has been getting the treatment they need. The very last one was Melina, who, because of some other illnesses, could not be operated on until now.

You know the rest of the story of how, through this blog, we raised over RM30,000 and got her operated on at IJN in KL. Throughout her stay at IJN and indeed here in Malaysia, Melina and her friends have felt the warm hospitality and generosity of Malaysians over and over again. There's Colonel Ismet Nayan bin Ismail, Deputy Commander, Briged Para, Kem Terendak , Melaka and Colonel Dr Malek Faisal b. Dato Seri Hj Ayob, surgeon at the Terendak Army Hospital, who have kept a watchful eye over the Timorese children all this time, after having first met them in Dili. There's Lieutenant-General Datuk Shahron bin Ibrahim, Chief of Staff at the headquarters of the Malaysian Armed Forces in KL who took the time to visit Melina at IJN. Also their Pak Tarmizi, who, as part of the Royal Malaysian Police contingent in Dili, cared for them for one year there and then continued to show his kindness when he returned to Malaysia by continually visiting them along with his wife and children. There's also Helen from St John's Cathedral in KL who has also been very kind in helping Lala with various things.

At IJN, Dato Dr Azhari Yaakob and Dr Jeswant Dhillon were the two surgeons who operated on her while Dr Ariffin Marzuki Mokhtar was the consultant anaesthesiologist and Dr Geetha Kandavello, the consultant paediatric cardiologist. I want to mention that IJN did their best to keep costs down so that in the end, Melina's surgery and stay did not cost as much as expected. For that, everybody is really thankful to IJN for their kindness.

Then of course, there was all of you who dug deep into your pockets to help a poor orphan from a foreign country who would never have survived had she not come to Malaysia. Back home, she would not have had all her other illnesses treated, let alone have heart surgery. So, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for responding so positively to my appeal on this blog. Just shows what good things blogs can do.

I think this whole story just shows that when it comes to people in need, Malaysians are completely race and colour-blind. All these people I mentioned above came together to help these orphans simply because they needed help. Not once did anyone ask or mention what religion these kids were before they helped them, and I think it is significant that so many Muslims lent a hand to these Roman Catholic children. Melina and her friends think that Malaysia is the best country in the world because of the amount of kindness, warmth and hospitality that has been shown to them.

Melina, the girl with two holes in the heart, meets Hui Yi, the girl who got two hearts.

Melina made many friends at IJN. But before she left, there was one person she wanted to meet, Tee Hui Yi, the girl who got a heart transplant after one year on a mechanical heart. So these two 14-year old girls met today for the first time, chatted a bit and exchanged email addresses so that they can keep in touch. A new friendship begins.

Lala, Melina, me, Hui Yi and her mother Dina happy that both girls are healthy.

Melina the soon-to-be Blogger

Look at this happy girl! Went to visit Melina today and she's getting better and better . The smile says everything.

Every day she's been getting stronger and going for physiotherapy. Today she said that she thinks she was doing her exercises next to IJN's second most famous patient (after my Dad), Hui Yi, the heart transplant girl. I've promised her that before she leaves IJN, I'll introduce the two girls to each other.

Today however I thought I would introduce Melina to the wonders of blogging. So we sat down and set up what is tentatively called Melina's Diary. It's not quite ready yet but when she does her first post, I'll let you know so you can talk directly to her. And she would certainly love to hear from you.

We expect Melina to be discharged from IJN this Friday already. She is really grateful for this chance to be like any other teenage girl, thanks to all of you. But she'll tell you that herself soon...

The Golden Handshake

A friend from abroad sent me this photo of a billboard which, despite being smack in the middle of downtown KL, has escaped the attention of everyone. He wonders how come this has survived at all because in Europe, it would have been defaced in no time.

I dunno, do you?

As for That Other Heart Patient...

Meantime....that other heart patient has been feeling a trifle bored at home and has started to visit his office. This was taken on Tuesday by Mum when he went to his office at the Petronas Twin Towers for the first time. Looking spiffy in his grey Nehru jacket, don't you think?

Melina Has a Whole New Heart

UPDATE:

Hi all, just went to visit Melina and she's doing very well indeed. Not as chirpy as before yet because she's feeling a bit of pain still but she's been given medication and she should feel better by tomorrow. The doctors are pleased with her progress.

We are expecting her to be ready to be discharged mid-next week or so, God willing. But she will need to come back for follow-up just to make sure that everything's ticking along nicely.

Meantime,thanks again for all your generosity. Lala Noronha, who is taking care of Melina, has emailed those of you who donated and gave your email addresses to thank you and to request for addresses to send receipts to. Those of you who didn't leave an address and would like a receipt, could you kindly give them to me via my comment box and I'll pass them on to her. Thanks a lot.



ORIGINAL POST:
Dear all, very sorry for this late update but I had to go to Singapore right after Melina went in for her op and then couldn't update on the run.

But anyway...Melina went into the operating room at about 9,30am on Wed Nov 21 morning and at around 1pm, I got word that the operation to repair her two holes in the heart and the leaky valve was successful. Here's a photo of her just before she went into the OT:



Yesterday morning, Thursday, she was taken off the ventilator and by evening she was already out of ICU and back in the ward! The joys of youth!! So now she is doing very well indeed. I am going to see her soon and will take more photos.

Thank you once again for all your help for a young orphan from Timor Leste. It would not have been possible without you. I also have to thank the doctors at IJN for their skill and care and for their kindness towards Melina.

Update on Melina

Hi folks, sorry I've been quiet but I'm in China and couldn't get through to Blogger somehow.

Anyway...you may remember Melina Jokita, the 14-year old East Timorese girl who has been here for some time waiting to have a heart operation. The only reason she could not have it at the time was lack of money. So I set up an appeal for her through this blog to try and get 1000 of you to donate RM20 each so that we could raise RM20,000.

Well, you responded so generously that we have managed to raise RM30,653!!! Woo hoo! Thank you all so much!! I knew Malaysians are kindhearted and you all have proved it.

So now Melina is set to have her heart operation. However she is no longer having in Melaka as originally planned. During the course of this fundraising, we found out that her case is a bit more complicated than a simple hole-in-the-heart. In fact she has two holes in the heart as well as leaky valve. After consultation with the doctors at IJN, it's been decided that she should have her op at IJN instead. So Wednesday Nov 21 will be the Big Day for Melina.

Here's a message from Melina for all of you:

Hi, I am Melina Jokita, 14 years old from Timor Leste
I would like to thank you for your thought and your donation now I would like to ask you to pray for me.

Aunty Marina organised my operation in Institute Jantung Negara (I J N) in Kuala Lumpur.

I will be admitted in I J N on the 19th Nov and operated on 21st Nov. 2007.
Your donation gave me a chance of a new life. I hope and wish that I will get better soon and one day I can meet my hero that is you!

THANK YOU!
MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS

And God bless you for your generosity and prayers too from me.

Spin, spin, spin...

How about these for an upside-down take on things?

Kids at illegal rally being ‘exploited’

KUALA LUMPUR: Children involved in the illegal assembly at Dataran Merdeka last Saturday were exploited by their parents.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said action could be taken against these parents, as it is an offence under the Child Protection Act. (uhuh...nothing else you can arrest them under, huh?)

Describing the parents as irresponsible, he said they should know the danger of getting their children involved in the rally. (Only if the police start firing teargas and watercannons. Otherwise, perfectly safe.)

The IGP also said that action would be taken against the 245 people who were detained and later released. (Why? If they are already released?)

“They have been released after questioning. We will take action later,” he said after witnessing the handing over of duty from retiring Deputy IGP Tan Sri Mohd Najib Abdul Aziz to his successor Datuk Ismail Omar.

Musa suggested the opposition parties have dialogues instead of getting involved in illegal assemblies.

“Illegal assemblies inconvenience the public,” he said, adding that shops and offices in the area had to close on Saturday due to the illegal assembly. ( Thought the public was inconveniencing the Government?)

Musa also said the roadblocks had to be set up for security checks to ensure no one was carrying any weapon and to weed out undesirable elements. (uhuh...50,000 undesirables...)

Police are bracing for another illegal assembly being planned by opposition parties in Kuala Terengganu in three weeks time.

“Yes, we will strengthen our security and we will see what they have planned,” Musa added.

And then there's this:

Adnan: Use the ISA to stop those who promote ill will

KUANTAN: Deterrent measures, including enforcing the Internal Security Act, should be taken against those who promote ill will and hostility, said Pahang Umno chief Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob. (Is 'ill will and hostility' an ISA crime?)

Referring to last Saturday’s illegal gathering in Kuala Lumpur organised by Bersih to demand for “clean and fair” elections, Adnan said national security took precedence over the demands raised by the opposition.

“National security is of utmost importance, more than legality or human rights,” he said. ( Funny, that's exactly what George W Bush says...)

“I am not prepared to see a society broken. If they have to use the ISA, then do so,” he added. ( Gee, society has really broken up since last Saturday...)

Adnan, who is the Mentri Besar, said there was a need to put to a stop all the unruly behaviour that only caused hardship to the people.

On the strong protest expected from the international media and opposition if Malaysia were to impose the ISA, he said: “Why must we take into consideration their views? Our own survival is more important.

“We can just ignore what they have to say about us.” ( why don't we ignore them when they say nice things about us too?)

In KUALA LUMPUR, Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said the international business communities were neither concerned with nor interested about the street demonstrations held by the opposition.

The International Trade and Industry Minister said the demonstrations had not altered foreign investors’ perception of doing business in Malaysia.

She said that during her many trade trips overseas, the business communities there had never asked about the opposition. (Of course not. But they would ask, not necessarily of Government officials, about how the Government treats its people.)

And the last word from Zam:

Zam slams Al Jazeera’s coverage

KUALA LUMPUR: Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin has strongly criticised satellite television station Al Jazeera’s coverage of Saturday’s illegal gathering here.

Describing the coverage as biased, unfair and confusing to people living overseas, he said he would write to the station stating that the Government was aware of what the station was trying to do. ( and your exemplary performance on the interview was really entertaining...)

“They also cited a blogger as an independent journalist when the blogger is actually a DAP member,” he said.

Thousands of demonstrators under the Bersih coalition gathered at various parts of Kuala Lumpur on Saturday before marching to Istana Negara to present a memorandum calling for fair and free elections.

Zainuddin said Al Jazeera’s coverage gave the impression that the police were violent when they actually took minimum action to control the crowd.

“The police only used water cannons and tear gas and did not shoot anyone,” he said. (well, thank God for that...)

Zainuddin also quoted the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia which commended the police for carrying out a good job in controlling the crowd.

“When faced with demonstrators, the police allowed them to march to the palace,” Zainuddin said. (So maybe should have just allowed them in the first place...)

Zainuddin said Al Jazeera should use its base in Malaysia as an opportunity to strengthen bonds with the West rather than to portray Malaysia as anti-West. (Sorry, what has the march got to do with being anti-West or not? You mean we are actually pro-West?)

Keep it up, guys! I wouldn't know what to blog about without you.

Pix You Might Not Find in the Papers

I meant to post these on Sunday but Blogger was being temperamental.




Photos by kind courtesy of Juana Jaafar. Thanks JJ!

Doesn't He Ever Get It?

---

Thanks to Penarik Beca for the tip. Is this guy a lost cause or what? And what did Wanita and Puteri do when he said this? Giggled along?

Sabah women slam Umno Speaker's 'tunnel vision'

DAILY EXPRESS NEWS

Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Women's Advisory Council (MPWS) took Umno Assembly Speaker Badruddin Amiruddin to task over his uncalled-for remarks about AirAsia stewardesses' uniforms at the party's General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur.

Chairperson Datin Asnimar Hj Sukardi said Saturday, it was most unbecoming of Badruddin to make fun of women in such a disrespectful manner.

"Apparently, some men have not learned a lesson from experiences in the past when MPs degraded women in Parliament. This time around, it happened during a political gathering of a dominant ruling party.

"We would have expected a man of his stature to give some sound advice on the dressing, instead of resorting to belittling women.

"We (MPWS) think he had gone too far in criticising women and should have been tactful," she said when contacted. The Umno Assembly Speaker drew laughter when he used a crude euphemism to refer to female genitalia. "For some of them you can even see their tunnel," he was quoted as saying in Malay.

Asnimar urged menfolk to be more sensitive and not to continue hurting the feelings of women in the country.

Sabah Law Association's Women and Children Rights sub-committee head Nilakrisna James said: 'I am appalled, disgusted and speechless. It becomes increasingly obvious that we need to send to Parliament only level-headed people instead of ones who love to discriminate.

"In other countries, the people would have demanded immediate resignation of the person who made such a statement. It must be disgraceful and embarrassing to Umno."

Zainaba Shukor, President of West Coast Single Mother Association also regretted Badruddin's comments.

"I don't think this is the right place for them to bring up the matter. There are also more important matters like the cost of living instead of making a big fuss about the skirt," she said.

The Umno Assembly heard that the AirAsia stewardesses skirts were too short and exposed the genitals.

"AirAsia stewardesses expose their calves, thighs and knees and this is inappropriate," delegate Zaleha Hussin, said. "Malaysia is an Islamic nation and Islam Hadhari is the basis for our lifestyle and this is inconsistent with it," she said, referring to the government's policy of promoting a version of the religion that emphasises economic and scientific development.

AirAsia stewardesses wear a red jacket, white blouse and above-the-knee red skirt.

In Case You Didn't See This...

Young Women Deserve Better, Don't They?

Hat-tip to Nuraina Samad for alerting us on Puteri UMNO chief Noraini Ahmad's dimwit speech at the UMNO GA.

At a time when young women are more than 60% of university students and are facing all sorts of challenges, what they need most are good leaders and examples. That means women who care about them and who inspire them with their intelligence and ideas. Noraini unfortunately is not it. Which disappoints me greatly because I have met her before and she seemed like a bright enough spark.

One thing I do know about leadership is that you can't come to the table with absolutely no ideas yourself. You have to have the ideas, you must be able to articulate and persuade people why you think they are good ideas and you must be open to criticism on them and work out some solution to those. You cannot simply repeat what has been said before and even then with the shallowest of introspection of whether those ideas are worth anything or not.

I happen to believe that the future of this country belongs to young women and will be driven by young women. In them I have seen the most eagerness and enthusiasm to do something good. None of the complacency that you find in many young men who think that the world owes them a living. There are many young women who have so much talent, creativity and drive...all they need is the opportunity to fulfil that potential.

What Puteri UMNO and other organisations should be doing is ensuring that the space that young women have to achieve their ambitions is constantly enlarged and made safe. That means ensuring that laws that discriminate against women are repealed, that violence against women is an issue that is taken very seriously as a blight on society, that women's voices are heard in every arena that affects them. Which is pretty much everywhere, including in politics.

But when a little girl is killed, what does Puteri do but blame the parents? How simplistic is that, not to mention insensitive?

When many women are bloggers, why does Puteri call on the government to come down hard on blogging as in this report in The Sun: She said the Sedition Act, Internal Security Act, Officials Secrets Act and Printing Presses and Publications Act must be enforced to the fullest as irresponsible acts by bloggers caused tension among people of different races and religions. Oh my, my! I'm surprised she didn't mention bloggers causing tension between the sexes (with her flag firmly planted on the male side of the fence!).

And how's this for a simpleton's analysis? On the brain drain experienced by Malaysia, Noraini said if students fail to come back and serve the country once they completed their studies, they should be penalised with higher interest on her loans.
"To avoid brain drain, local universities must be strengthened to be on par with international standards."

My dear, firstly, the brain drain is not caused by people not coming back. It's caused by people leaving. There is a subtle difference. You have to look at what's making them leave, not just not wanting to come back. And how do you even collect repayment of loans with higher interest (eh, isn't that unIslamic?) from people who aren't here?

Secondly, yes I do agree that local universities need to be strengthened and be on par with international standards. After all, most university students are young women and we should expect high standards from them. But that's not going to be enough to stop people leaving. We need academic freedom, we need a university environment that supports and celebrates diversity, we need wholistic university experiences that encourages students to participate in many activities and sports and one that that does not segregate by race. What is the point of having students who graduate with the inability to adapt themselves in a society that is socially diverse and competitive? One way to make sure there is no 'brain drain' is of course to make sure that nobody speaks English well. Then there is absolutely no hope of them leaving the country for greener pastures. Hey, how's that for a Puteri-worthy solution?

Read the blogs by young women, Noraini. There you will find a whole slew of different opinions and ideas, not just the type that your pink ladies will eagerly tell you. There are young women who are keen to change the world, and not in the Puteri way (not that Puteri wants to change the world anytime soon by the looks of it.). They are sharp and smart and they don't need the approval of men to affirm them.

How to Insult the Rakyat in One Fell Swoop

Another gem from our Nazri...

Nation
Monday November 5, 2007
MYT 3:17:13 PM

Instilling integrity will take time, says Nazri

By PAUL CHOO

KUALA LUMPUR: Efforts to instill integrity among the rakyat is still in its infancy stage, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

He said the National Integrity Plan (NIP) was only launched in 2004, and it would require at least five years before any change could be evident.

"The Malaysia Integrity Institute (IIM) will be preparing a report at the end of the five-year period to assess its achievements.

"It takes time for this concept to truly sink in. We hope there will be improvements very soon, especially among those in the public sector," he said.

Nazri was referring to the Attorney-General's report on mismanagement in government administration and the waste of taxpayers’ income and tax payments.

He however stressed that the report was not a fair reflection of the rakyat's level of integrity at present because the mismanagements were committed two to three years ago by a few black sheep.

Nazri said, "This does not mean that action should not be taken against them. These black sheep should be held responsible.

"Apart from that, I'm sure that within these few years we have improved well, but we will have to wait for IIM's report first before we can make any deductions," he said.

Speaking to reporters after opening the National Integrity Day at IIM here Monday, Nazri said Malaysians should not be pessimistic of the Government's efforts to instill integrity.

Such thinking, he said, would only dampen all efforts.


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

I looked up the word 'integrity' and this was the definition: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values. So in saying that instilling integrity among the rakyat will take time, Nazri is basically saying that right now, the rakyat don't have much adherence to moral or artistic values. Moral values such as honesty for instance.

I was not aware that the whole integrity issue involved the rakyat as such. As Nazri himself then goes on to say, it's about public servants and their integrity. The fact that they are not being honest in their dealings, as evidenced in the Auditor-General's report. So it's not about instilling these int eh rakyat, it's about instilling these in the public service. And he thinks it will take five years! And in the meantime, we'll have to put up with five more abysmal AG's reports?

Funny that he pre-empts the IIM's report! If the rest of us ever tried to do that, he'd say we were convicting people before they were found guilty!

Mind you he's not the only idiot. Here's another:



Sparks fly even before start of Umno assembly

KUALA LUMPUR: The Umno general assembly begins today but the sparks have started to fly with one politician hitting out at the English media for carrying opposition reports.

Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said some media were being used by the opposition to highlight their causes now that there was greater press freedom and transparency. (There is???!!!)

“Since it has been free, there are some mainstream papers which favour those who do not support the Government. (Which ones???!!!)

“Some are done in an indirect manner and some directly, especially in English papers,” he said when speaking to student leaders at the Overseas Umno Club leadership course here yesterday.

Citing the judiciary issue as an example, Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said the media had its own agenda.

“For example, (the Sultan of Perak) Sultan Azlan Shah’s speech talked about various issues but what was only highlighted was the teguran (warning) on the judiciary,” he said. (I saw his admonition on lawyers also reported. But anyway, must tegur those who need to be tegur'dlah kan?)

Zainuddin also claimed that young Malays such as Azmi Sharom and Amir Muhammad were being used by English papers to attack the Malays. (I don't remember anything these two ever did to attack Malays, do you? Guess I'm not young enough to be mentioned :-()

He said there was one case that raised “doubts over the media’s purpose” was the recent reporting of Port Klang assemblymen Datuk Zakaria Mat Deros’ new mansion although he had been cleared of corruption.

“The case is already over. He took orphans to his new house but what was highlighted was how big the house is,” he said. (Oh my my...but Zak said that these orphans would never have had a chance to sleep in such a big house otherwise...am sure the orphans were thrilled to then have to go back to their nice luxurious orphanage afterwards...)

Zainuddin also took a potshot at former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and claimed that he was not being truthful about the video clip on the alleged judge-brokering.

“The video clip is creating tunjuk perasaan (protest). This party has already been rejected by the community and only has one seat in Parliament yet they are trying to cause trouble.

“During his (Anwar’s) time, there was restrictions and he had his people in the media Now that the Prime Minister is more transparent, he is using that to attack the Malays,” he added. (Um, um, um...I can't top this....)

Funny how Zam only mentions English papers. You mean the BM and Chinese ones all very compliant, are they?

Not Another Nightmare...

I can't imagine losing a child. Nurin Jaslin's parents went through a terrible nightmare. Now Chin Kha Mun's parents are going through the same. Please, if you know anything about Kha Mun, call Ms Chew 012-5268862 or Mr Chin 012-6607722. For more information, please see this .

Rocky and Walski are already helping out. Hope other bloggers will also put out this notice.

Now now, young man...

This astounding admission came out in The Star today. Young man should really have come and consulted me, since I am an expert with some 25 years' experience of being up there. Poor show on the part of the reporter for swallowing whole all these answers. May I suggest some additional questions?

Khairy: I want to use ‘protection’ to change things

Is that sanitary, Khairy?

PETALING JAYA: Khairy Jamaluddin says that being the Prime Minister’s son-in-law has provided him “protection” which he wants to use to change things for the better.

(Hmmm...maybe in-laws get more protection than blood children. I don't remember feeling in the least bit protected, not even by bodyguards. Maybe I had less to be protected from...)

The Umno Youth deputy chief said he was able to “push the envelope now” partly because of that relationship with the prime minister.

("Push the envelope" huh? Really! The PM lets you push the envelope to do what exactly? I used to have to push the condom envelope but guess my relationship with the then PM wasn't as good as your relationship with the current one, since we still can't talk about condoms...)

“There’s a certain extent (to which) these people in Umno will not go after me. So it gives me ‘protection’ to change things.

(Oh wow! I don't recall them going after you about anything at all. That's a BIG extent, for certain. Does this mean you can get away with anything then?)

“If I don’t use this ‘protection’ to change things for the better, then I’m just wasting time and marking my time to go up the ladder of politics. That’s not what I am about.

(What things are being changed for the better exactly? So instead of marking time, we want to use protection to speed up that ladder?)

“I want to use this time that I have while I have this ‘protection’ to change things, to change Umno for the better,” he said yesterday during a question-and-answer session at the Kancil Awards Festival Speakers series.

(Oh I see. When are you going to start then?)

Khairy, who is married to Nori, the daughter of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said it was true that this relationship meant he knew which buttons to push and which leaders to pull in to make a particular programme a success.

(Ahah...and exactly which buttons , leaders and programmes are those?)

He was asked if his MyTeam football project would have received sponsorship and the wide TV3 coverage that it did had he not been the prime minister’s son-in-law.

Khairy said that even though he leveraged on the family ties, “it would have been embarrassing all-round if it didn’t work – I’d be finished.”

(So you did leverage family ties! What honesty!)

Thankfully though, he said, the idea was right and its execution worked well, so much so that viewership for the MyTeam programme even topped that of Siti Nurhaliza’s wedding.

(Sorry, was MyTeam a private project or some sort of national project?)

He said people opened doors in many different ways and sometimes for him people opened the door because his father-in-law is the Prime Minister.

(Sometimes...)

“People will tell you connections matter but at the end of the day, it’s the results (that matter).”

(Still waiting to see what results we're talking about here...)

He said his goal in life was to contribute in whatever way he could to make Malaysia reach its potential and this was not necessarily through politics.

(Business I guess...)

“I always tell my friends and family that if everything comes crashing down in politics, it’s not the end of the world.

“If after one day, my father-in-law retires and all of Umno decide to go after me, that’s reality ... politics is my profession and passion but I can live outside it,” he added.

(So you know they'll probably go after you then...)

He said that having a baby had put things in perspective.

(Which is what?)

“I hope to be in politics as long as possible to change as much as possible and see how things can be improved. But there’s always something else to life than going up the ‘greasy’ pole of politics,” he added.

(Repeat above question.)

Khairy also said that he felt strongly about wanting to start a genuine national conversation among people of different backgrounds, ethnicity and religions on Malaysians as a people.

“There must be a middle ground somewhere,” he added.

(And you've really helped find it, haven't you?)

He also wanted to push for Malaysians to become automatic voters upon reaching 21, without having to register.

Oh I can see all the MM-hater fingers poised over their keyboards already! But don't you think that if whoever the journalist was who wrote this had asked the questions I put up, it would have been a far more interesting interview?

The Tired Ranter

Hi folks, yes I've been quiet for a whole week. (Thank you for your patience.Also your impatience since it means you want to read what I think ;-)) I can't really specifically say why I've been quiet. Partly it's a case of bloggers' block I think. After posting almost every day for seven straight weeks, I just found I couldn't do it anymore. Plus I had only one subject, my Dad, for all that time, and I really cocooned myself into it and basked in the love that everyone sent. So it was really hard to pry open that warm safe shell and wander out into the dangerous world again. (Well actually I did venture into shark-infested waters here.)

Not that I haven't been keeping an eye on what was happening out there. But my priorities for a while were smaller things, all to do with human life at the most basic level. Of course, many of the big things happening are about our lives too but for the moment I was just concerned about people who are hanging on to life at its most basic meaning.I'll have to update you on what's happening with Melina soon.

Meantime my various blogger friends have more than adequately held forth on many issues so I didn't think I had a lot more to add. I read the rather incredible interview of Nazri Aziz which my friend Malik Imtiaz Sarwar has eloquently commented on. I might do my own take on Mr Incredible later on especially what he's said about blogs and bloggers. There are some people who really should not do interviews simply because they virtually give commenters the gift of just so many whips to flay at them. Nazri ranks among the 'best' of them. Zam would be another. Do these people listen to themselves? Or are they actually impressed by what they hear?

Meantime up in Penang, the Bangsa Malaysia event is taking place this weekend. Here are the details:

Event : Malam Bangsa Malaysia

Date : 3rd November, 2007

Time : 8.00pm

Venue : Room A, Dewan Sri Pinang, Pulau Pinang.

There will be a charge of RM10 per person to cover rental and refreshment costs.

The event can only accomodate 200 people and attendance is by invitation.

The organising team has also put together a forum entitled 'One People, One Nation' which is open to all who are registered to attend the get-together later that night.

The forum is scheduled to start at 5pm. Registration will start at 4.30pm.

Speakers for the forum are :

1. Dato Seri Lim Chong Keat

2. P. Ramakrishnan ( President, Aliran )

3. Khoo Kay Peng ( independent political analyst )

4. Malik Imtiaz Sarwar ( President HAKAM, prominent human rights lawyer )

5. Haris Ibrahim

During the get-together after the forum, the award winning documentary 'Sepuluh Tahun Sebelum Merdeka ' by Fahmi Reza will be screened. Fahmi will also be with us to share with us his motivation for the documentary.

To get yourself an invitation, please send your name and ic number to bangsamalaysiapenang@gmail.com

I won't be there, I'm afraid. But do go and have a listen.

Meantime, those of you in KL who haven't seen P.Ramlee:The Musical, do go and see it. It's fabulous. Wonderful music, singing and dancing. The set design is superb, thanks to Raja Maliq who is a great talent.And Atilia and Liza Hanim have the most fantastic voices. I am really hoping they'll release the soundtrack soon.

I need to catch up on many things. Go and see Hati Malaya:1957. Talk to Nuraina re the NURIN Alert. I'm going to see the new movie Flower in the Pocket by a 28-year old director, Liew Seng Tat. It's his first movie, made by Amir Muhammad's company, but it's already won two awards at the Pusan Film Festival earlier this year. Here's the trailer.

I also have to get down to some work, which means writing two papers, one for a public forum in Singapore later this month and one for the first-ever National AIDS Conference in KL early next month. Plus my column in the Star and my blog!!!

One thing I did want to ask all of you was about a suggestion that someone put to me, and that is to make a book out of all my postings during my Dad's stay at IJN plus selected comments. Some people felt that those who could not or did not access the blog missed out a lot. So what do you think? Should I?

More later, folks.