Michael Jackson performed 2 concerts in Malaysia, on the 27th and 29th October 1996 at Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur.

But that’s across the South China Sea, about 1,000km away from Kota Kinabalu.

Much closer was the 2 concerts in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

The first on 16th July 1996, and the second on New Year’s Eve 1996.

The first concert was held about 2 months before the HIStory World Tour took off, his third and final worldwide solo concert tour. It was a free concert held at the Jerudong Park Amphitheatre, attended by 60,000 people, celebrating the 50th birthday of the Sultan of Brunei.

The following is the moment Jacko made his entrance during the first concert in Brunei, followed by the first song in the setlist, Jam.

Daily Express ran an article on 14th June 2012 entitled “Enter the Dragon?”

A day earlier, the ruse had already been exposed on Facebook, yet it was still used by the newspaper the next day:

This is so obviously contrived that if one even went so far as photoshopping an Olympia Nomad Jacket onto the second dragon it wouldn’t make much difference I suppose.

On 4th July 1966 the Beatles did 2 live concerts in Manila, the Philippines.

Unfortunately, what happened there snuffed out any hope of the world’s greatest ever group performing in Malaysia, or perhaps… even good old Sabah. The Beatles swore they’d never ever return – it was the most frightening moment in their entire career.

The incident described in more detail, and in the bandmembers’ own words, which includes accounts like:

They were literally kicked and jostled as they left their hotel and totally harassed all the way to the airport. Things were no better there where the airport manager has also removed all security for the Beatles. They went so far as to shut down the power to stop the escalators, forcing the boys to scale several flights of stairs with their own luggage, only to face an angry mob of 200 Filipinos brutally manhandling them! Ringo was literally floored by an uppercut and kicked on the ground. When they finally approached the plane, a large booing crowd jeered and mocked them chanting “Beatles Alis Dayan!” (Go Home Beatles!)

The following newsreport is off Saskatoon Star – Phoenix, originally published 8th July 1966.

Sometime in 2011, 45 years after the event, Imelda Marcos herself gave her side of the story:

Being a big fan of The Beatles, I made representation with the Philippine promoter to invite them to lunch at Malacañang Palace so that I can personally welcome them to our country together with my family and friends who are also big fans. Honestly, I was disappointed with their non-appearance but later understood that there was a miscommunication and bore no grudges.

When I heard they were being manhandled at the airport on their departure, I immediately ran to the airport to have it stopped. I remember reprimanding the airport manager Mr. Willy Jurado.

I would never dream of hurting the world’s No. 1 band. Whatever motivated the people to treat them that way was not my doing. They could have done it out of sympathy and I think it was wrong. I abhor violence.

It’s rather sad that in this day and age, some Malaysians are still thinking that Gawai is celebrated in Sabah, rather than Kaamatan.

Gawai Day is celebrated in Sarawak on 1st June every year.

The following was spotted inside the May 2012 issue of Astroview Traveller.

The use of the mandolin in rock music has always fascinated me, possibly after first hearing it on Rod Stewart’s Maggie May:

The other musical instrument on my list would be the steel guitar.

If ever I learn a new musical instrument, it would be these two, apart from piano which I’ve been trying hard to do for years.

The clincher was when I heard Roxette’s country version of “It Must Have Been Love”, off their 1992 Tourism album (starts at 2:03 here):

It seems that the A’Famosa Resort, Melaka records everything meticulously – even the complimentary water bottle has serial numbers.

At first I thought it was an item ID number but all the numbers on all the water bottles I encountered there were different.

To me, the word “safari” immediately conjures images of cedar furnitures.

At the entrance of A’ Famosa Resort, Melaka’s Animal World Safari / Water World, the following can be seen.

The resort has been around for quite some time (was founded in 1992), so really you would have expected that they should have nailed the spelling of the word “dinosaur” a long time ago.

This photo taken in June 2012.

Update 19 June 2012

In their next match, Sabah lost 0-4 to PKNS at home, prompting money throwing on the ground by black-clad Sabah supporters.

It was their 4th consecutive defeat – they have conceded 12 goals in their last 2 matches.

Coach Justin Ganai had been sacked earlier.

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Update 18 June 2012

In the post-match press conference, LionsXII coach V.Sundramoorthy said:

Definitely, I am surprised [that Sabah seemed to shut down]. The past few times I have seen Sabah play, they have been a good attacking team and they always give a good fight against all their opponents. But today, somehow, we played much better and had the better finishing.

Sabah coach Justin Ganai said:

We tried our best, but we knew Singapore [LionsXII] is a very good team. We just did not have an answer to them tonight. Some of them [Sabah players] did appear to give up, while some were still fighting not to be embarrassed. But we could not match Singapore. A few players cannot stand the pressure [from the relegation battle]. It is probably why we folded and gave up.

In a later interview, Justin Ganai said:

Nothing to do with match fixing, but rather injuries/suspensions to several key players: Reithaudin Awang Emran (captain & defender) & 3 midfielders: Fariss Azlan Mat Isa, Sumardi Hajalan [substituted after 17 minutes] & Zuraindey Jumai. Main striker Bobby Gonzales still unfit to play.

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16 June 2012

On the evening of the 16th June 2012, LionsXII (a Singapore football club) defeated Sabah 9-0 at home, condemning Sabah to their third straight defeat.

It is the biggest margin of victory in the Malaysian Super League (which started in 2004) this season, and possibly the biggest win in the history of the top tier of the Malaysian football league.

I don’t recognise any member of the Singporean team, while I at least remember having heard of Mafry Balang, Sumardi Hajalan, Bredan Gan, Rosdin Wasli and Zainizam Marjan in the Sabah lineup, so that’s really rubbing salt into gaping wounds.

Goals scored timeline:

Agu Casmir (19′)
Hariss Harun (22′)
Hariss Harun (41′)
Shahdan Sulaiman (62′)
Shahdan Sulaiman (64′)
Irwan Shah (68′)
Hariss Harun (73′)
Sufian Anuar (84′)
Shahrul Azhar (89′)

The Sabah starting XII with the dubious honour:

22 Irwan Jamil GK
02 Mafry Balang DF
03 Sumardi Hajalan DF
07 Bredan Gan MF
08 Zuraindey Jumai MF
09 Hendrik Helmke FW
11 Alto Linus DF
15 Rosdin Wasli DF
17 Shahrul Azhar MF
18 Shahrudin Yakup MF
20 Zainizam Marjan FW

Substitutions:

Ronny Harun for Sumardi Hajalan (15′)
Zulmansshah Aling for Ronny Harun (46′)
Leopold Otong for Bredan Gan (79′)

Yellow card:
Ronny Harun (26′)

While enjoying the sights in Dataran Pahlawan, Melaka, browsing souvenirs and perhaps even Cheap Bulk Candy on offer in the stalls is a common activity.

In the course of doing so, the following was spotted in early June 2012, which indicated that Sabahans are making their mark everywhere – outside it seems that all the trishaws are playing Jimmy Palikat’s Tanak Kampung, while inside, the distinctly Sabahan “Aramai Ti” was scribbled by a visitor. And no, it was not done by me.

Inside the building adjoining the 80m-110m high, RM24 million Menara Taming Sari, Melaka, the first Gyro tower in Malaysia.

Yes, to take photos, you may use a camera flash, but you are not allowed to use a flashlight?!

Photo taken in June 2012 at Coral Wonderland, Melaka, which claims to be the first coral park in Malaysia.