This is the other side of Malaysia we do not ussually see

Al Jazeera's David Hawkins meets the children of illegal immigrants from the Philippines living on the streets of Sabah.

Malaysian street children

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VOTE

To all the voters out there, remember not to vote barisan nasional. Be informed, it may not be most comfortable, the truth may hurt, but truth brings development and a future. Screw barisan nasional.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/
"malaysia elections" on youtube.com


Also, hear our information minister attempt informing international news with his 'perfect' english

As we all know, Opposition gave one hell of a blow to Barisan Nasional in the election results. That's good news.
This tuesday, I'll be facing another result that matters - stpm. Oh, if only my results will be as legendary/unexpected as opposition's achievement this recent election.

University Malaya, Malaysia's top public university is the world's 234th university.
We toil for 2 years to earn a place at our local university, 2 years of hard work, the world's 3rd hardest examination and this is what we get - the 234th uni in the world.

Excerpted from http://shermankuek.net/

Jesus betrayed his disciples.


We often spend much of our time reflecting on how his disciples betrayed and abandoned him, and how someone like Peter made lofty promises which he failed to keep. But the truth is, just as they had betrayed Jesus, perhaps they too felt that Jesus had betrayed them.


If we really think about it, perhaps he really did. He betrayed them by failing to have met the expectations they had of him. They were simple people who had trusted him with their lives. They had entrusted their futures into his hands. And for all that they had given up just to be his companions in the final part of his earthly journey, they had a right to have expected better things from him.


But he failed to deliver. He had to get crucified, suffer humiliation unto death, and consequently abandoned those who had been faithful to him.


Don't be too quick to judge the disciples. Imagine how painfully lost they must have felt throughout that brief season following Jesus' death and burial. Try to internalise how abandoned and cheated - how foolish - they must have felt.


Part of the paschal mystery is that for as long as we are called to live in community and have expectations on relationships we build in community, we are bound to fail and betray one another. So yes, just as his disciples had betrayed him, Jesus had betrayed them too.


This thought must be disturbing for some of us who have a perfect image of Jesus. I know. It disturbs me too. But it also challenges me to think through again how I have spent much of my life trying to avoid betrayals. Maybe it's just a necessary part of the paschal mystery that needs to be realised in community.


Perhaps the paschal mystery is such that only in betrayal and abandonment can we find the resurrected Christ awaiting in the light of the dawn.

New Straits Times

Only 25 students scored straight As in all five subjects that they sat for in the 2007 Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia examination, a drop from the 34 who obtained five As in 2006. Of this, 15 were from the Science stream while 10 were from Arts stream.

Meanwhile, 361 candidates scored As in all four subjects that they took. The number of those who obtained a four pointer CGPA also dropped to 437 from 503 in 2006.

These statistics were revealed by chairman of the Malaysian Examinations Board, Prof Datuk Dzulkifli Abdul Razak this morning. He added that the performance of candidates who managed to obtain CPGA of at least three points was lower this year - at 1.15% compared to 1.19 percent in 2006.

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And what happens when you give up.
Well, I've been asked many times about my results, so I'm just going to post it up

Chemistry - A-
PA - B+
Physics - B+
Pure Math - B

Happy? No. Not because I expected more. I expected worst. I'm disappointed with myself and my inability to be consistent and discipline. Truth is, I gave up the months before the examination, felt little meaning in excelling and went through a hell of a roller coaster ride attempting to figure out life. So, this is what happens when you give up - disappointment.

A good God is a good idea.
A good God with free will for men? I'm not too sure.

 
"Man who go to bed with problems, often wake up with solution at hand"
Confucius

Saturday Morning, Air Itam Market

Youth Meeting, Saturday Night

Children's church & Youth Bible Class, North Zone

Wedding Exhibition, Traders Hotel

Got my first official job at equatorial hotel last night. Photo-taking was quite fun except for the low lighting problem.




 

Tag: Dan and Euodia, thanks. No, I've yet to own my own professional camera. I am planning on investing on one soon, if things go alright.

Yesterday I had my second official job at the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

The place was picturesque. I've never been there or even heard about it - so much for living in Penang my whole life. So before the event, I decided to snap a few shots of the place.



So, why the sudden craze in photography? Well, I'm really inspired by photojournalism - which is the art of telling a story through pictures. It is about capturing those moments on camera - that reveal a story, an adventure or an emotion.

The receptionist handing a gift bag to the participant

Note: Photos were shot with a Nikon D70 DSLR camera with an 18-70mm, 3.5-4.6 Nikkor lense. Any kind souls out there who will invest in a D300 and a 70-200mm VR 2.8 lense for me?

Click here for the link
Raja Petra Kamarudin

Nordin Kardi, the VC (vice chancellor) of UUM (universiti utara malaysia), finally obtained judgement against me. When they first served the Writ of Summons on me it was for an amount of RM85 million. I was actually quite offended that it was a mere RM85 million and not a 'round figure' of RM100 million. I thought I was 'worth' more than that. However, when the court arrived at its decision, the amount was reduced to just RM4 million (RM2 million for him and RM2 million for UUM). So whether he sues me for RM100 million or RM85 million did not matter that much anyway.

The court's decision, however, is not based on what I am worth. It is based on what Nordin Kardi and UUM are worth, or rather what their reputations are worth. I was alleged to have smeared Nordin's reputation as well as that of all Malaysian universities plus the intellectuals who are heading them. In a way, Nordin filed a sort of 'class action suit' against me to defend not only his reputation, and not only UUM's reputation, but that of all Malaysian universities and all Malaysian intellectuals who are heading these universities. And the court has valued these combined reputations as a mere RM4 million.

The court has spoken and the court said that all these people's reputations are worth a mere RM4 million. I rest my case.

Oh God, spare me the shame of local university....