Jeng Jeng!! Proton vs Mercedes = SAMAN!!

Yesterday night around 10:50pm, when my mum fetch me from my boyfriend's house, on the way to my house right after we were out from the traffic light junction at Arkib, opposite Taman Fortuna and next to Taman Rimba Tropika, we were stopped by policemen near Petronas and Shell Petrol Station because an accident had just happened.. It wasn't that terrible but for what me and my mum saw that night, we both consider it as serious accident though there's no one got hurt that night.. When there's a lot of policemen means that IS a serious case.. I bet, both car owner would get a ticket (saman) that night..

Now, here are some of the pictures that I manage to took last night.. Thank goodness that I've brought my digital camera with me.. =D


See how many policemen were there yesterday night.. So many.. Not forgetting the towing service also there, few of them.. So this was where my mum have to stop the car because the policeman in front ask us to.. So we stopped and then I remembered my camera so then I took it out and took this pic.. =) The other policeman was also taking picture at that moment.. May be for evidence, you'll never know.. The car that accident yesterday night in the picture was the white Proton (in the middle)..






Then I ask my mum to make a 'U' turn so I can get a closer look and took another picture of the incident.. By the time my mum made the 'U' turn, the white Proton has been pushed next to the Shell Petrol Station junction.. And this is how it looks like at the front of the vehicle.. The front (with the red circle) was smashed and I think the engine also hancur..







The one that involves in the accident was a Mercedes.. This was the time where my mum & I got the shocking look on our face as we saw the Mercedes' position at the incident and the back of the vehicle also smashed.. As you can see, the position of the car went up and one of the wheels tersangkut at the zink at the side of the road.. Can you imagine how big the impacted was until the car can be at that position with the vehicle's bumper smashed..

So this was the full scenario that night with the 2 vehicles (with the red pointing arrows)..

So folks out there, please remember to drive safely so no one gets hurt.. Also remind ourselves that we can only live once in the world and there would not be a second chance to live the life that you have today.. You may be safe from an accident when it happen but you will never know, you might lose something other than your life.. So appreciate what you have and live a life you would not want to regret the rest of your life.. Not forgetting, thank God for you are still alive today.. God bless everyone of you out there, including me..

Who should be blame??

This is an article that I've found while I saw surfing through the internet early this morning.. I never thought that Malaysia has a controversy with the Indonesian.. It is quite an interesting topic for as it attracts my attention and I read through it.. Please my fellow readers who EVER read whatever I've posted, feel free to leave up your comments as well because there are some earlier comments posted together with the article..

There has been a lot of hype and complaints from many Indonesians toward our fellow neighbor, Malaysia. It is an ongoing battle that seems to have no end. Currently, Indonesians are furious with Malaysia over the Pendet dance and its origins. Although there are new facts from the Discovery Channel that there was a third party involved with the misunderstanding, many Indonesia can't help but reject that notion. They strongly believe that it is the Malaysians' fault.

Lately, everywhere I go, I seem to hear people discussing this Malaysia-Indonesia dispute regarding the Pendet dance. More and more it seems that people are no longer fussing about Malaysia trying to steal the Pendet dance idea, but instead just clearly stating how much they hate Malaysia. Whether I'm in my dorm, at campus, or at a McDonald's, I hear the statement of "I hate Malaysia" constantly. People seem to hate talking about Malaysia, but can't help discussing them. That hate can be dated back to a long time ago. But the question in my mind still remains, Should We Hate Malaysia?

The earlier comments towards the issue :-

From a Malaysian...

Malaysia, as a nation, grew and thrives as a multicultural melting pot. Throughout its history, each new group of settlers from other shores brought along and practiced their culture and language in Malaysia.

Naturally, Malaysia has come to regard all these diverse cultures as an integral part of its national fabric, without denying the countries of origin as the source of those cultures. In a way, it is part of a historical globalization, long before globalization became a catchword.

As such, Malaysia's promotional and tourism material feature these diverse cultures, and I have never heard of any Malaysian saying that the current issue on the Pendet dance as raised by Indonesians is an issue at all. We heard about the controversy, but hardly any Malaysian has given it serious attention.

In any case, Malaysian tourism promotional material also show Chinese, Indian, Portuguese and other cultures, but we never heard of the people or governments of China, India, Portugal or other countries making a fuss or hating Malaysia for it. Personally, I think the root of the problem is that Indonesians consider their country as the center of gravity for the larger Nusantara (Indonesian archipelago) and has historically viewed Malaysia as a little brother.

As the economic and social progress of the two countries take different courses and fortunes, the little brother grew in prominence, to the displeasure of the big brother. For example, long ago, Malaysians go to Indonesia for university education. Now, it is the other way round.

This and other developments have given rise to a collective sense of insecurity on the part of Indonesians, and the ensuing emotionalization and sensationalization of the issue has led to a rather dangerous radicalization and loss of reality and proper perspective and pragmatism.

Indonesian political leadership, who have to take care of both their domestic constituencies and external relations, compared to opposition politicians who are more inward looking and not burdened with the responsibility of international relations, cannot handle the issue effectively. Frankly, I think this is a sad development for Indonesia.

From Thailand...

The various controversies between Indonesia and Malaysia over cultural issues fall outside the traditional issues of geographical sovereignty which normally lead to military action.

But continuing irritation could lead to an atmosphere of hostilities which cause border violations to explode into military confrontations. It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Why can't Indonesians just feel flattered when Malaysia adopts Indonesian cultural icons as its own? Why are Indonesians so insecure about their own identity?

3 From Jakarta replied but 1 seem to disagree with the other 2...

• I, too, am so tired of hearing about everyone's hatred. Hating Malaysia won't do us any good. It is just something like a "considerable byproduct" What led Indonesian to hate Malaysia? As the saying goes, there's no going back to the past. But here, we need to do so.

Indonesia and Malaysia seem to be getting on well. But still, don't be so sure about that! Indonesia-Malaysia disputes have been a part of our history (as you said), so it's not solely about the current issue, but also the accumulation of the malignity since Sukarno's era in the 1960s. In some ways, it is no wonder that Malaysia claimed our culture since they sensed we couldn't bring ours into the international market.

They will do anything necessary to promote their tourism industry, even if it means they have to claim our culture as theirs. All we have to do is to cast about for new ideas to fight against Malaysia's claims. Censuring Malaysia is somewhat unworthy.

• I'm sick and tired of the arguments over Pendet, wayang, rendang, tacky songs, etc. Do most Indonesians know that we (the Dutch) drew the territorial boundaries? Indonesians and Malaysians were part of Nusantara. You should start dealing with this issue from a different perspective. The way you are handling this issue shows how uneducated you are. The media, too, is responsible for this madness.

I appreciate the efforts of some young Malaysians and Indonesians who are promoting discussion through the Indonesia-Malaysia Damai on Facebook. This kind of group is much healthier, compared with following stupid politicians who demand "Down with Malaysia" (ganyang Malaysia).

The one that disagree...

The hatred of Malaysia is a reaction to their arrogance toward us. I have been to Malaysia several times and have observed their sickening racism. They say we are Malay brothers? It's a joke, let's stop this pretense.

It's there in the way that they treat you at the airport, in the five-star hotels; even the taxi driver gives you attitude. It's there if you walk into an expensive restaurant, they think you have made a mistake, or maybe you have come looking for a job washing dishes. I have seen how differently they treat Europeans, or Japanese, or someone from an affluent country. (by Mr A)

The reply to the above comment...

Mr A is to immense with the notion that Indonesian are always right.what a snob..When you talked about racism..do you think the Chinese in Indonesia are being oppressed by the pribumi... remember you have riot on the pribumi and the Chinese...you burnt their houses, killed them and yet you blame us as racist..get your house in order before making judgment... We Malaysian are professional in accepting foreigners..i do agree with the bad habits of our taxi drivers..even we as Malaysian feel tormented by our taxi drivers...but hey..why don't you try our "BLUE TAXI"..you be surprise... We are not arrogance..in fact you are... Remember you history..."GANYANG MALAYA" raise by Bung KARNO and now you guys... what a lame.. we never wants to ganyang anybody.. May be because you guys... I am well informed of the economic with the majority of your populations...most of them are being tormented with living condition, no jobs, poor hygiene.. All this lead to mental abrubtion.. think wisely before raise your voices and burning other people's flag.

Then reply to the above comment by another person who agrees with Mr A

Mr. B, this time this Indonesian is right. Regarding Indonesian Chinese, have you talked to them? To know what is actually going on? Have you not your own 13 May tragedy, in which, the reason of your wealth based on (NEP). That's how you legitimate your discrimination towards Chinese and Indians, and yet natives of Sabahans and Sarawakians don't feel they have the same portion of the cake. Yes, get your house in order first. Can you show some examples of professionalism in accepting foreigners in your case? Do you know history of Konfrontasi from sources other than your government provides? Ganyang Malaysia (not Malaya) was denounced because Malaysia was a puppet nation made by British to prevent Malaya by nationalist pro-Indonesia-socialist Malays joining Indonesia.

http://10tahun.blogspot.com/2008/02/pkmm-bidas-dato-onn.html If they joined socialist-leaning Indonesia, the Sultans would be unemployed. So, Sultans and British collaborated to form Malaysia. If you have no idea about Indonesia and Indonesians or even your own country, I'd suggest you write somewhere else.

Some others agree on each other...

While I am a Malaysian, I can never hate Indonesia. In fact I like so many things about Indonesia that I have a never-ending list, for instance, 1) I love Sambal Terasi, Nasi Padang, Nasi Goreng Indonesia, and especially the food at Pondok Laguna 2) I love Bahasa Indonesia, in that it is a constantly evolving language and it is much better than Bahasa Melayu in the everyday use. I learn to speak more Bahasa Indonesia in one year than I did in Bahasa Melayu in my entire education years 3) I love the fact that Bahasa Indonesia is one spoken language understood and used by all, unlike in Malaysia where we struggle constantly between choosing Malay, English, Mandarin, Tamil, etc. at all levels of society 4) I love my Indonesian friends whom I never fail to visit when I'm there, and whom I always look forward to host when they visit Malaysia 5) I love the humility and hospitality displayed by Indonesians in your country as well as abroad 6) I love the fact that our Indonesian house helper introduces so many Indonesia dishes that I've never tasted before, she is one of the best we ever had and we treat her like family 7) I love the fact that it is the ex-Indonesian badminton players who's coaching the Malaysian badminton national team and showing results And finally, without Indonesia, they would be no Bali, Borobudur, Lombok, Bandung, Manado, Medan, etc. Our lives are so much more enriched with Indonesia as our neighbor. Thank you, Indonesia. (by Mr C)

I agree with Mr C; there are so many things that I like about Malaysia, Nasi Kandar, Ice Kacang, Durian Kucing Tidur, Beef Rendang over Rice (when in Flushing, NY, tasted like the rendang my mother cooked). And I envy Mr C for being colonized by the British who are smarter than the Dutch, their ex-colonies are better off, with Commonwealth grouping, better educated. BTW, all these noises, come only from Jakarta, you don't hear them in Bukittinggi or Ternate or Kupang, so they don't represent Indonesia. (by Mr D)

Now that the issue is still on; which I think so, will there be a real conclusion? So my dear readers, feel free to do your part, comment on it, who knows, your voice may be heard this time.. =)

The picture below shows the main issue about.. It is the Pendet Dance.. My dad took this picture when we had our tour to Bali which is last year July 2008.. Just so people know what is Pendet Dance for those who doesn't know about it.. =)

Mothers Play A Crutial Role

An article about the current issue about "Mothers Play A Crucial Role" taken from The Sun..

It was the norm for a long time that the husband ventures out to earn the income for the family. Of the income earned, the bulk of it was spent on food, shelter and clothing.

The wife was given the honor and trust to take charge of the home, cooking and children. One should acknowledge that these are not easy tasks unless the wife is reasonably educated, dedicated, disciplined, and most importantly fulfills her responsibilities with love. It is really not an over-statement to call her the "queen of the house".

What is happening today is paving the way for the destruction of the family institution. The moral values and the discipline among children has dipped tremendously. The food (lunch) for the family is prepared in haste and often not as nutritious as it should be.

Now, in more than 75% of families both husband and wife are wage earners. This means the children are under the care of a maid (most of whom don’t speak English), nanny (who are reasonably educated) or with acquaintances.

Often, the amount earned by one of the wife is not significantly higher that than that paid for all the household chores.

The working parents are restless and not at peace away from home. Many call home frequently to check on their children and their maids. Some parents even install CCTVs in their homes to have a first-hand look at what is going on in their house.

Previously, the children spent less time with their fathers and it was treated as normal. However, today the time children spend with their mothers has been reduced too. As a result, the younger children are more attached to the maid, nanny or others in the house as compared to the mother.

Some children fall sick when the maid or nanny takes leave. Some mothers are envious or jealous of this scenario. Even if the maid or the nanny seems very caring, there is an element of doubt in the sincerity as there is no blood relationship between the child and the nanny.

Working couples claim that it is a necessity for both to work as the salary they get is low.

Why do wives shun being queen of the house, and opt to work? Many of them are now highly educated and it is seen as a waste of resources if they stay at home. The husbands too are to be blamed for not valuing, honoring and respecting the contributions of housewives.

There are a lot of mothers who are in dilemma between choosing their family’s well being and having a successful career. In the end they end up choosing one lackadaisically. I am sure if many half-day positions (four hours a day) are created, many such mothers would gladly accept such positions as it would give them more time to spend with their family. Some can work in the morning shift and the others in the evening.

I hope the Human Resource Ministry will allow half-day work for mothers.

My conclusion is that, the parents should assess whether there is a need for both of them to work. Serious consideration should be given to non-monetary aspects.

For mothers who does not be careful on their children surrounding, this might would happen to you if you're not being careful for your children instead you care more about yourself..
Also, be careful, your maid may look innocent to you but you would never know what would your maid be doing behind you when you're not around..