Aidil Adha & 2007.

Early morning breakfast together with the clan is a must for every Aidil Adha or Aidil Fitri.

As it was EARLY, no one would like their pictures taken… Muka mengantuk… Except for the beautiful baby in the house (my latest anak buah) the rest would say “Alah tunggulah orang mandi and lawa-lawa dulu, baru ambik gambar, apalah Pak Ngah ni”.






So I took pictures of the cats instead.

Anyway, Raya gathering with the clan is a fun time and also a time to reflect and be thankful to Allah for all the pleasures in life.


































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Malaysians are making waves overseas.

We are contributing a great deal in the development of Dubai, economic activities in Indonesia and Europe. We have experts in many fields in many parts of the world. Malaysian entrepreneurs are everywhere.

BUT… TV programmes in Malaysia seldom highlight these, instead producers are still stuck with programmes on dunia artis, artis kena santau, pelacuran di KL, ilmu hitam, mengubat resdung… ohh penat. And then dramatize them, get people to call in and discuss the issues – the reason? Kononnya untuk menyedarkan rakyat.. Please…. I know how trash can bring in the ratings… I was there once… But we have to be responsible broadcasters... Not merely rating hunters and money makers… Content pun ada ‘Fardu Kifayah’ beb.

If we keep on feeding our people with cerita-cerita lama (seolah-olah kerangka pemikiran kita tak berubah langsung), we will not know how to look for ilmu-ilmu baru. Janganlah buang masa prime time with programmes yang kononnya ada mass appeal tapi tak ada ‘inspiring’ values to make us great people (what was the word again… ‘towering’?) – atau memang ada movement supaya suruh penonton jangan pandai, supaya senang sikit nak digembalakan?.

A famous Malay surgeon working in California (who is also an old boy of Malay College and a columnist) will make a good story. Making big bucks in Pakistan (yes, my friend is there), is another good story. Making a living in the Caribbean would provide nice visuals to the audience. Raising a family in London is an interesting story too.

Infact, tak payah pergi jauh… in ASEAN countries, there are a lot of stories. Malaysian yang jaga plantations, yang buat construction, yang jadi venture capitalist – banyak bang oi….

I letihlah tengok cerita ilmu hitam, artis kena santau, pelacur, rempit.

OKlah enough, nanti ramai orang marah pulak… Malaysia ni tak boleh kritik, sensitive… Dulu I kritik ada satu program ni, kemudian dapat SMS daripada boss besar dia yang suruh I tengok Forum Perdana kalau tak suka tengok program dia orang… Ish ish ish… ada ker patut…

Dangdut’s obsession with things ‘bergoyang’.

Sometimes I wonder what it is …

Is the worldview of the lyricists so small that nothing else can beat the power of ‘bergoyang’ and that these two words must always be included in the lyrics of dangdut songs?

Pinggul bergoyang.
Mari bergoyang.
Goyang badan.
Enak bergoyang.

Christmas Eve with the Bargreaves Ballerz

I must get me a ‘real’ camera.

My Nokia camera-phone ni, kalau ambik gambar dalam gelap, hasilnya macam kena penangan semburan debu volcano Mount St Helens & Mount Pinatubo.

Anyway, on Christmas Eve, about 80 of us, gathered at St Bul’s (Nik Azmi’s) house in Ampang to celebrate the Ballerz’s brilliant performance at the MCOBA Annual Dinner held recently at Istana Besar Seri Menanti.



Food was obscenely sedap and with kambing golek spread eagle, our makan-makan jadi ‘hampir orgasm’.





















We had lots of fun watching the edited version of the sketch performed at Seri Menanti while exchanging PG and X-rated jokes.

And the MCOBAND, seperti biasa ‘effortlessly’, provided the entertainment. Best.



While the music was blasting, I sempat jugak discuss business with Hakim and a couple others.

MCOBs = pool yang penuh dengan talent. We have experts in almost all fields/areas. Oh BTW, MCOBs = Malay College Old Boys. And our network teramatlah kukuh.

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Moving on to other subjects,

Inspiration can come from anywhere, not necessary from leaders or big people. Over the weekend, I was inspired by my former student/staff who has been successful as a media rep. Congratulations NK Anuar.



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Percaturan Kuasa Planet

Hari ini, dua makhluk tuhan telah membuat keputusan tidak akan mandi dan terus ke kantor.

Pertama: Suhaimi bin Sulaiman (Sioux).
Kedua: Dzulfrizal Dzulkapli (Rizal)

Mungkin ini disebabkan oleh kedudukan planet-planet yang meniti orbit yang sedikit sebanyak mendorong dua makhluk tuhan ini menukar prioritas dalam kehidupan mereka.

Hujung minggu ini mereka berdua akan ke majlis ramah-mesra bersama-sama sekumpulan manusia yang bertamadun lagi kreatif hasil keluaran sebuah sekolah agung di Kuala Kangsar.

Hendaknya, percaturan kuasa cekerawala membantu mereka mendekati air.

Siapa bilang hidup ini mudah?

Rantau Abang

Yesterday, many places in Malaysia were inundated by flood waters, especially in Johor and some parts of Melaka and Negeri Sembilan.

And all of the sudden, I remembered a beautiful place that I visited and was trapped on the way back to KL because of the floods.

The place -- Rantau Abang in Terengganu.

And talking about Rantau Abang, I suddenly teringat lagu Allahyarham Datin Rafeah Buang – Rantau Abang.

Dengar ya… I nak cuba nyanyi sikit… Jangan baling tomato…




Suddenly I teringat pulak kat budak-budak Wind Orchestra MCKK main lagu ‘Awan Yang Terpilu”. Best amat…

Living in ‘semi denial’

Before and over breakfast today, the team and I sat and discussed an interesting topic “living in semi denial”.

At times it helps to live in denial. Not totally but semi-denial. It helps to uplift spirit and see things from many different perspectives.

So it’s not so bad to be in a ‘Hollywood state of mind” for a couple of hours before doing something about what’s real.

Not making sense? Yeah, that’s the whole idea. Valium anyone?

Note: Pic from www.fotosearch.com

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Getting things done…

I have many friends who would constantly express their frustrations to me because they have lousy bosses that they report to at work.

My ‘pesan’ to them, senang jer:

1. Do something about it, or
2. Quit and start your own company.



If you want to do something about it, try reading “Lateral Leadership – Getting Things Done When You Are Not the Boss” by Roger Fisher, and cuba cadangan mamat tu..

I bought the book in 1999 to help me survive the madness of the newsroom in TV3. No, not that my bosses were bad – hmmm, adalah satu dua yang macam _ _ _ _, but most of them professional, bagus, especially Puad Onah, Yunus Said, Mohd Musa, Hardev Kaur and most of all Datuk Kelly, Datuk Zahari Omar dan ramai lagi. And until today, they inspire me.

Anyway, the author has a few tips, among them:

1. Using our personal skills systematically.
2. Understanding the ‘big picture’.

When organizations become more horizontal, communicational problems become more acute. And lagi teruk, we have to work with others, most of whom we can’t tell what to do or how to do the required tasks/chores.

As such, conflict becomes inevitable.

I tried many of the suggestions and I came out a winner. It’s all about clear-thinking and creative persuasion and ‘influence’.

But why I left? Because I need to ‘grow’…


Me growing and growing


Selamat beramal.

Raindrops keep falling on my head...

Sempena musim hujan ni...

I just love the feel of air hujan on my face...



Dan nyanyi lagu lama from my dad's collection (dulu ada piring hitam and Cartridge yang besar) -- Raindrops keep falling on my head

Raindrops keep falling on my head...
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed, nothing seems to fit. Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling.

So I just did me some talking to the sun.
And I said I didn't like the way, he got things done...
sleeping on the job... those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling.

But there's one thing I know:
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me.
It won't be long till happiness sleps up to greet me.

Raindrops keep falling on my head.
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red.
Crying's not for me cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining.
Because I'm free.
Nothing's worrying me.

Note: Pix from www.fotosearch.com

The Toll is up again…

Yes, the toll rates at five highways in and around the Klang Valley will be raised between 30 sen and RM1, starting Jan 1 next year, Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu announced today.



The five highways involved are Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP), Lebuhraya Shah Alam, Lebuhraya Cheras-Kajang, Lebuhraya KL-Karak and Lebuhraya Koridor Guthrie.

And that’s a lot of money.



OK we know, someone somewhere somehow will have to pay for quality roads.

Anyway, I was traveling from Johor to KL the other day (yes, it’s the North South Highway – so it’s not part of the toll hike plan) and I was stuck in a massive jam from Senawang to Seremban exit, for hours due to upgrading works and all. And that area, macam forever sesaklah.

Well, if toll paying customers are forced to 'crawl' on the highway, don’t you think it’s only fair to give a discount when facilities and non-operational infrastructure lead to more man-hour loss? Well… just giving it a lateral thinking exercise. In the US, at Denny’s restaurant for example, I remember, if the food is not up to standard, customers do not have to pay for the meal.

Visual Therapy

Sometimes looking at beautiful things will make us feel so good.

Sometimes looking at abstract designs will make us look beyond ‘the normal self-created boundaries’.

That’s why I love abstracts…



Pix from www.fotosearch.com