The peace / V / Victory hand gesture, i.e. first and second fingers raised & parted, with the other fingers clenched is a popular hand sign to be displayed when posing for photographs, conveying a generally positive meaning. Americans and Canadians generally don’t care much about which way the palm faces, but the British, Australian, New Zealander, South African and Irish do – with palm inwards, it is an obscene insulting gesture of the same gravity as The Finger itself.

Malaysia used to be ruled by the British, but perhaps, at this moment, equally culturally heavily influenced by the USA. Hence, it’s arguable whether the precise orientation of the V sign even matters. Needless to say, to most Asians, the idea that the direction of one’s palm is important is as alien as owning Outer Banks homes.

Still, I still find it cringe-worthy everytime I see the reverse V sign being flashed, especially by Malaysian celebrities and other public figures in glossy magazines, newspapers, official publications, and such like. My attitude to it was probably cemented when I saw it being regularly used at the British school I attended, and when I saw The Queen’s photo of inadvertently displaying the gesture while holding onto her bag having been turned into a postcard.

That is why I feel compelled to remind friends and colleagues of this fact whenever I see them doing the sign in photos – especially those made available online.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Around Kota Kinabalu, I found that the cheapest, yet reasonable-quality downlights can be found at CNK Lighting, Taman Millennium, along the Penampang bypass. They sell every kind of lighting and bulbs imaginable, including of course low voltage garden lights.

Earlier in the year I bought 38 units of 6″, white frame downlights for RM13 – that includes free China-made bulbs. These bulbs proved to be not so bright – but still suitable for balconies, storerooms and other places in the house where it doesn’t need to be so bright at night.

Later I bought brighter types (Philips, 18W, screw-on) for RM12 each.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Near the library in the town of Tamparuli is a small recreational area, some call it a park. It used to be just an open ground until it was developed a few years ago, and looks good at first glance.

Done with good intentions indeed, however, it was reported by Johary Indan in Berita Harian, a national daily a few days ago that in the past year, this area had become popular places for wayward youngsters, boys and girls alike, to get high on glue, get drunk on alcohol, litter and indulge in public displays of affection, something not acceptable in local culture. Even worse, they apparently did all these openly without seemingly any care for the world.

And perhaps worst of all, some of them allegedly robbed anybody who walked by that area, as well as harrassing passers-by with obscenities.

The reporting journalist wrote that he saw many empty bottles of liquor and broken glass scattered about.

As a result, it had become a no-go area for many people, with some suggesting that the place be closed.

His report has created some controversy, not least because if what he reported really are happening on a regular basis, the local police station is just across the road, perhaps even with an unobstructed line of sight, hence it should be no problems for them to monitor on act where necessary.

Whatever it is, I call upon all Tamparulians to keep up the good name of our little town. Let it be famous for the bridge, the tamu, Wun Chiap, the hill; heck, even perhaps the world sales headquarters for Epson tm-t88iv thermal printers, but not these kind of news.

Source
Berita Harian, 28 June 2010

Popularity: 2% [?]

Last Saturday my brother Ezbon got engaged with Leonie, the ceremony held at Leonie’s house in Kg Toboh Baru, Tuaran. Congratulations!

The formal proceedings were inevitably followed by lunch, and we were greeted by a glorious menu of Sabah’s traditional food. I think everything on the table was home grown and home prepared, none bought / catered, right down to the rice.

Of course the Fear Factor food of Sabah, the infamous “bosou” was there. You have not lived if you haven’t tried eating this stuff:

I think living in a quiet village and consuming food you harvested with your own hands is a prerequisite for a healthy lifestyle, Leonie’s family all looked fit and trim, unlike some of us city dwellers who have no qualms about reaching for noxycut when it comes to weight issues.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Apparently that’s what an officer of the National Registration Department (NRD) advised Siti Rosita Mustapah, 19, of Sandakan in 2007.

Summary of events:
- she applied for her MyKad at the NRD’s Sandakan branch in 2005.
- she repeatedly checked on the status since Dec 2005. Each time told it was not ready.
- Sandakan NRD office advised to check with NRD head office in Kota Kinabalu and upon checking on 5th Dec, was told that the card had been issued to someone else. She claimed that she was then accused of “being an impostor.”
- on 7th Dec 2007, she went to Sandakan NRD office and was told that she “can make a fresh application with a new identity to resolve the problem.”

Whoa, that would make even pregnant women on prenatal vitamins might get a nasty shock.

What do you think?

Source
The Star, 10th Dec 2007

Popularity: 2% [?]

I pass by this parking lot quite often these days to check on the generator set and surrounding areas. Many moons ago it looked OK, but a few days ago obviously something happened and this was the result:

Not a very nice thing to do eh?

Hmm, did the life ins premium of someone just went up?

And no, I am not the culprit…

Popularity: 1% [?]

Martha Stewart spent 3 days in Sabah (from 24-26th May 2010?) and visited Danum Valley.

On the 25th, she attended a dinner in Kota Kinabalu hosted by the state Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment.

There’s a photo of her during that dinner, in which she apparently mentioned that she had not combed her hair for 2 days, but what caught my attention was the fact that here’s Martha Stewart – lifestyle guru, domestic doyenne, former 3rd most powerful woman in the US (2001), a woman worth almost RM2 billion, someone who knows everything from recycling broken chairs to back acne treatments – has committed a basic, universal faux pas: putting one’s elbow on the table:

Popularity: 2% [?]

Before you go to any so-called medium to solve your problems, consider these 3 cases:

Case study I

Date of crime: April 2009
Date reported in the papers: 2nd December 2009
Victim: 20-year old female college student
Issue: unending bad luck
Name & age of perpetrator: “Master Choy”, 50
Reported “perscription”: have sex with a married man, like who else, “Master Choy” lah. But for good measure, he told her to pose for nude photos!
Result: not only had her luck not changed for the better, she’d contracted an STD from him!! Complaining to the medium, he slapped her, threatened to post her photos on the net, and threatened to kill her should she decide to expose her.

Case study II

Date of crime: 2003
Date reported in the papers: February 2007
Victim: Ms Chang, 40-year old tuition teacher
Issue: her body has bad aura & the need to retain good energy in her body
Name and age of perpetrator: 50+ year old man
Reported “perscription”: a tap on the head which made the woman unable to resist his sexual advances, and RM15,000 cash.
Result: Man denied he’d committed rape.

Case study III

Date of crime: 2008?
Date reported in the papers: January 2008
Victim: Ms Lai, 32-year old businesswoman
Issue: toxins in body caused by evil spirits
Name and age of perpetrator: [not mentioned]
Reported “perscription”: Told to strip in order for acupuncture to be performed, drank “holy water” that put her in a daze and unable to resist his amorous advances, and RM8,300 cash for “special prayers.”

You wouldn’t want to see birth announcements saying “fathered by a bogus Chinese medium,” do you?

Popularity: 2% [?]

At the end of February 2010, Utusan Malaysia reported that reasons for divorce in Malaysia are getting more and more trivial.

There’s the case of a woman who’d been married for only 3 days: apparently she’d asked her husband to purchase some food, the husband forgot, the wife got mad and declared she wanted out of the marriage!

Then there’s the man who divorced his wife because she was slow in making him a drink.

Other petty reason included a spouse spending too long to wake up in the morning, so one shouldn’t be too surprised if there’s a case of a couple divorcing over refusal to undergo eczema treatment.

Among Muslim couples, there were more than 20,000 divorces in 2007 and even more in 2008. One third of those were married less than 5 years.

Certainly worrying figures in a country of less than 30 million people.

Source
Utusan Malaysia, 28th Feb 2010

Popularity: 2% [?]

During the height of the 2-month drought there was fire everywhere, although mercifully not nearly as bad as the drought of 1997-8.

On 20th March 2010 around 10.20pm, I was driving from Kota Kinabalu towards Kiulu and as I approached Jambatan Tamparuli I could see something in the distance: St Veronica’s Hill / Bukit Perahu / Bukit Ruhiang, that spectacular, almost perfectly conical hill synonymous with Tamparuli was on fire!

So braving several menacingly barking dogs I jumped onto the hanging bridge and took several photos of the hill which was about a kilometer or so away, its silhouette clearly defined by the flames:

I thought: that’s it, by tomorrow the whole thing’s going to be a big black mess, because how on earth are we going to put out a fire that far up?

The next day, as I drove down from the direction of Kiulu, I was surprised to see that the hill suffered a mere graze:

Closeup:

Good old Bukit Perahu, looks like Tamparulians’ spa filters are going to last a little bit longer…

Popularity: 2% [?]