The most eligible bachelors

Plain and pretty girls will scream at the top of their lungs. Straight guys will look at them with envy. The not so straight ones will look at them with lustful wagging tongues. The makciks and pakciks can only dream on wishing that they will become their ultimate menantu idaman. They are almost perfect to a point of no fault. They make head turns wherever they go. Such were their strong magnetism.

Bachelor No 1

A jack of all trades. His impressive list of resume will make Dr McDreamy (from the grey's anatomy series) sound like Dr Doogie Howserish. Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al-Masrie bin Sheikh Mustapha (such a mouthful name) is not only an astronaut, he is also an orthopaedic surgeon, a restaurateur and a part-time model. And did I mention that he is good looking too? Wow!

Bachelor No 2

He was dubbed as lelaki melayu terakhir until Dr Sheikh came along. He even outshone Pak Lah's popularity (and also eligibility before he remarried mrs doubtfire) at the height of his stardom. His name is Asmawi Ani or fondly known as Mawi. He first became well known after appearing in Akademi Fantasia. The same academy that had churned out the best tone deaf singers in the history of malaysian tv entertainment.

Bachelor (or is it bachelorette) no 3

Err...nevermind!

What else is new?

‘English only’ ruling for Maths and Science in secondary schools put on hold
By TEH ENG HOCK

KLUANG (Johor): Following the Government's decision on the Mathematics and Science papers in the UPSR, secondary school students will not be forced to use English for these subjects in their examinations in the next two to three years.

The Education Ministry will review the teaching and learning syllabus as well as the co-curriculum and teachers’ education before deciding whether Malaysian students are ready for “English only” examinations.

The initial plan was to have Year Six pupils answer their Mathematics and Science papers completely in English from next year.

However, said minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, he had promised MCA leaders and Chinese educationists that he would make a decision by this year as to whether to go ahead with the plan.

“I am glad to have fulfilled that promise,” he told reporters at a Hari Raya open house at his home in Taman Sri Lambak here yesterday.

Present was Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, who had also voiced the view of the state Umno committee last year to put on hold the implementation of the “English only” ruling.

On Saturday, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that UPSR examination candidates would continue to have the choice of taking the two subjects in either English or Malay (or the vernacular language of their school.)

The Prime Minister explained that the schoolchildren had yet to attain proficiency in English. Hishammuddin said secondary students would also continue to have the dual-language option although many of them have a “decent command” of English.

He said the weak students were mostly from the rural areas.

“I will not do things on an ad hoc and piecemeal basis. I want to do it (using English) as a whole.

“I want the foundation to be solid (at the primary level) before we look at the secondary schools,” he said.

He added, however, that many secondary students chose to do the papers in English.

Citing matriculation students, he said 95% of them did their papers in English.

Abdul Ghani, who is Johor Umno chairman, said putting on hold the implementation of “English only” papers for Mathematics and Science would allow students to master both English and Malay.

At its state convention last year, the party voiced its concern over the use of English for the two subjects.

This drew comments from some quarters that it was a backward move and would not encourage young Malaysians to learn English. Asked about this, Abdul Ghani said: “Sometimes, it is a misconception. Sometimes, it is just some people trying to create issues.”

NURIN Alert!

Latest (not so by the time I'm writing this) update

Yes! She has been found - safe and sound! Thank god for that!

But there's a plausibility side of Recka's (thats her real spell-checked name) story that the police are investigating into. Donch know if she was telling the truth. Either she ran away or been kidnapped - it don't matter anymore.

But what I do know, Recka had learnt a very valuable lesson that day!

Have you seen her?

She was reportedly missing from home after going to the pasar malam to buy some vcds. Her name is Rekha Abdullah and she's 10 years old.

I don't know how long she's been missing but finding her is very CRUCIAL right now! We certainly don't want another Nurin tragedy befall on this innocent girl.

Forget those powers that be that has been dilly-dallying the process of materialising the Nurin Alert programme. They are as slow as a snail can be.

Another girl is missing and she DESPERATELY needs our help.

Let's find her!

Footnote: Read here for more reports.

My cubicle

Don't you just love that James Blunt's sickly sweet one-hit wonder song ? I do.

So famous is the song that a chinese bloke had made a spoof out of the song. Ahhh singaporeans, they don't call themselves kiasu for nothing.

Blogger's block

This is exactly what happen after a long break. 

I got nothing to write! 

When I have nothing to blog about I will change the template until I get bored! 

Google should better come up with new templates or I'm moving my blog elsewhere! (in my best little girl pout)

Someone once asked me why I keep changing my template like ever so often and my answer was;

Dah aku punya blog suka hati aku lah nak buat apa.

Kapisch.

Eidul Fitri

children in the 50's looking resplendent in their raya clothes

The signs are obvious aren't they? Barely two weeks of ramadhan we are hearing raya songs blasting from the shopping malls and radio stations for as longest as I can remember. Hordes of raya entertainment programmes are lining up on the cable and free tv channels filled to the brim with raya song of yesteryears. And not forgetting those raya-theme dramas with the usual wearisome storylines that I can predict the endings with my eyes closed. Between these, you can bet one or two Hindi films making their profound presence on the first week of raya. I mean hey, its hari raya for goodness sake and they're showing Bollywood movies?

I remember vividly about four years ago when the whole bunch of us (including the in-laws) balik kampung on first raya to visit close relatives and right smack in their living room, Khabi Khushi Khabie Gham was shown on the tube and needless to say people in the house were glued to it oblivious to their surroundings. Oh well, who can really blame them when Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol were the main attraction. As they say, if you can't beat them join them.

Of course hari raya isn't complete without the must haves mouth-watering dishes such as rendang, ketupat, lemang and raya cookies. Raya cookies either home-made or store-bought they are truly a sight to behold. Its really sad that not many households today have traditional cookies to offer during raya. Gone are the days when the likes of batang buruk, putu kacang, samperit, kuih ros (some people call it kuih loyang), kuih bakar, kuih makmur and bahulu adorn the cookie jars. They had been replaced with pineapple jam tart, almond london, cornflakes and so many other cookies with contemporary names.

And last but not least, duit raya is a must nowadays. And should be given in green angpows. It used to be 10 or 20 cents in good old days but if you give that kind of amount today you might get a surprise look on the childrens' face. How times have changed indeed.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my blogger friends Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and maaf zahir batin from the bottom of my heart.

Have a safe trip back home and come back in one piece!

Say a little prayer

I've never even met her before. I only got to know her from her blog. I can't really remember who discover who first but ever since then I will make it a weekly if not daily visit to her place. Her stories are so ordinary, delightful and yet sometimes thought-provoking mostly revolve around her family, friends and life in a foreign land. I felt entertained just by reading her musings on life itself.

But for this past couple of weeks her story had been different. The kind that would tear your heart apart. Its about her beloved husband who is stricken with cancer (advanced stage) recently. For many of us, the very mention of the word cancer bring an instant sombre mood. Its the one news that we are not happy to hear. No matter how hard it is for us to accept it its even harder for the person(s) concerned to come to terms with it.

D's latest posting about her husband's condition really sank in my heart. I sincerely hope that Mrs D is given utmost courage and strength to withstand this very trying times of her life. Her display of calmness and patience in coping with her husband's illness is truly remarkable and admirable. To D, I'm sending you my little prayers.