Category: Daily Whatevers

Any Malaysian reading this, digest this properly before listening to cocktalk by the likes of Ronnie Liu.

During the First Emergency of Malaya (1948-60), the people Ronnie Liu labeled as “freedom-my-ass fighters” did the following to the people they had wanted to liberate:

1. They killed 1,346 Malayan troops (police, para-military and military)and 519 British military personnel.

2. They killed 2,478 civilians while 810 have not been accounted for.

The “freedom-my-ass fighters” lost 6,710 murderers, 1,287 murderers captured, while 2,702 had a bit of brains and could think, and surrendered to government forces.

Freedom fighters my ass. Maybe while you are at it, Ronnie Liu, why don’t you stick a straw up my ass and suck it?

The Faces of Bangsa Baru

Interesting article in The Star today (read link above). I was hoping to see the face of one of my favourite babes, Marsha Milan Londoh (the others being Sarimah, Maya Karin, Paula Malai Ali, Asha Gill…and the list goes on and on and on).

Coming back to reality, it has been 48 years since Malaya gained independence from the Brits, and almost 42 years since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. We are still differentiating ourselves…malays, indians, chinese etc, etc. In fact, we tend to look at each other with some peculiarity. If I have a chinese girlfriend, people will cringe. And when I say people, I mean both malay and chinese people. I used to have a chinese girlfriend (coming to think of it, most of my ex-girlfriends are chinese). Her mother was totally opposed to the idea…especially so that I was a serving officer of the air force (somehow the stigma of the daughter marrying a military or police officer is still there). Oh well, Yoke Choo. At least you looked beautiful in that blue baju kurung at my Commissioning Ball.

Five years ago, when I was instructing parachuting students in Ipoh, my buddy Aziz, and I, used to walk into this chinese vegetarian restaurant at Green Town..and guess what…the moment we walked into that restaurant, everyine stopped eating and turned their head to look at us.

Now,as for the malays, I think this funny behaviour is also reciprocal. People used to ask me if there isn’t enough malay girls around in this country. Hey, my sister was married to a chinese. She is now remarried.. to an indian. My paternal aunt has been married to a very nice chinese man for the past 45 years at least. Last night, a very good chinese friend of mine told me that a relative would think of her as a prostitute if she were to go out with a malay man.What is wrong with mixed marriages?

After the race riots of May 1969, my father, who then became the Chief Police Officer of Malacca state, sent me to a chinese kindergarten. If I remember correctly, I was the only non-chinese kid there…five years old and spoke none of the chinese dialects. I know now why my father sent me there, less than a year after the May 1969 tragedy…for me to learn and understand other races better. I have not turned back since.

If things were better than they are now, my children would probably be of mixed parentage.

As I was driving to work today, I fumbled with the CDs in my glove compartment. Then I saw one particular CD that I have not played for some time…at least a year and a half. The album is actually a compilation of songs by LoSo, a Thai rock group. If I may quote the last two verses in MY version of romanised Thai, and I’ll translate the verses as best as I can:

Khae yak dai roo wa ter yoo nai
Jod cham wai chan yang huang ter
Ja yang khong rak rak ter seme
Ter kheu hua jai

Hak khae dai phob dai jeur iik thii
Hak wan nii dai mii sit phood pai
Yak hai ter roo khwam jing nai jai
Chan yang rak ter

Yak bork wa roo wa chan sia jai
Chan yang rak ter

Translation:

If possible I would like to know where you are
Remembering my concern for you
I still love, always love you
You are my heart

If it’s possible to meet one more time
If it’s right to say it today
I would like you to know the true feelings in my heart
I still love you

I’d like to tell you I’m sorry
I still love you

Heartbreaking, isn’t it?

Last Saturday, a colleague of mine, Robert Lee, went for the Astronauts’ Run – one of the early processes to eliminate applicants who are not up to mark. Around 10am that day, I received an SMS fro him saying that he failed to complete the given distance within the given time.

You should take up scuba diving, Robert, and become an AQUANUT like me.

Love is a funny thing. It makes people laugh, cry, happy, hurt. When two people share and love each other, they hope to die loving. In that, love can be dangerous.

My maternal grandfather passed away when I was preparing for my North Pole expedition back in 1998. My grandmother was totally devastated. Imagine spending the last three decades alone together, with the kids all away, building their own families. She was healthy. Then three months after the former’s passing, my grandmother fell ill and was diagnosed with colon cancer. I saw her…wasting away. The night before she passed, I held her hand. She smiled and told me that she could see my grandfather standing in front of her, smiling at her.

How she must have pined for him.

Then five years ago, my late friend, Siva, and I were with a recently-qualified freefall student, in a Cessna 172K, 8,000 feet above sea level at Mersing. Earlier that day, this former student from Australia had done something weird..out of the normal, like asking the drop zone manager to keep his belongings under lock etc., etc. So above the drop zone, he jumped, followed by late Siva, then I. This former student was supposed to deploy his main chute at 4,000 feet. He did not. Siva and I continued to watch him as we had 20 seconds before impacting the ground if we did not open our chutes. At 3,000 feet (15 seconds to impact), Siva hurriedly deployed his chute. This former student and I were still freefalling. I signaled for him to open his chute. He nodded but remained still. At 1,500 feet (7 seconds to impact), I opened my chute, and saw this former student zoom past me. To my relief, the CYPRESS automatic opening device activated and deployed his reseve chute at 700 feet (3 seconds from impact) above sea level. He landed safely at sea.

I learnt later that his wife was terminally ill with cancer in Australia, and he did not wish to live longer than necessary.

Love is beautiful….and dangerous.

I received an SMS from my father at 5.34am today telling me to look at the heavens and see Jupiter and Venus so close together. The last time he told me to look at the stars was 31 years ago as I sat on his lap, just before he became the “property of the Government of Malaysia as the Inspector-General of Police.

I saw this phenomenon last Sunday, and pointed the planets out to my 3 year-old son. I never realised the two heavenly bodies have come closer to each other since then. If you look out there, Venus is the brighter than the other. If you look to the left of Jupiter, you’d be able to see Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo. However, it is being outclassed by the two planets for now.

After last night, the two planets are now traveling apart. However, come September 6th, the slender crescent moon will join these two in making your sunset spellbinding.

I hope the new hotspots the Department of Environment spotted both in Malaysia and Indonesia will not spoil this show.

Guten Tag – Show Me What People Publish About Diving

Hmm..a site that monitors every blog on diving?

It’s time for the government to review its petrol-subsidy policy. Instead of the government forking out money to help the rakyat, the oil companies should do this out of their fat coffers.

Hmm…hate to bring your celebration spirits down. Malaysia will only be 42 years old next month. Tomorrow we’ll be celebrating the 48th anniversary of the independence of Malaya.

I’ll spend this day thinking of my friends, my squadmates, who are still patrolling the skies: Gabriel Buja Joel (my squadmate, ex-air force helicopter pilot, rescuer of British SAS at Mt Kinabalu, Hornbill Skyways pilot who died in a crash in Sarawak last year), Lt Hamir Fizar (my squadmate, died in PC-7 crash during a Light Attack Squadron exercise in the east coast in 1990), LtM Thulasiram a/l Subramaniam (my squadmate, very good friend of mine, died in the first fatal PC-7 crash in September 1989), Mohd Jamil Abdul Aziz (my squadmate, ex-air force transport pilot, passed away early this year while in employment with Air Asia), Sjn Ali Ahmad a.k.a Ali Boon (he helped me a lot in my preparation for the North Pole expedition, died in 2000, trying to help his student in distress while freefalling at Terendak/Sg Udang camp), Mej Kamarul (my former instructor who died in an Augusta helicopter crash on 31st December 1993), Mej Kamaruddin (my neighbour at the Officers Quarters in Alor Setar..I rescued him in a plane crash in 1994..he died in another plane crash with his student in 1995), and Mej Tan Boon Eap (cool guy, good pilot, devout Buddhist…died of lung cancer in 1996).

Of course we shouldn’t also forget the 6,000 over policemen, military personnel and civilians murdered by the communists during the first emergency (1948-1960)…and those murdered by them after that right up till 1989.

We shouldn’t also forget the unsung heroes of the Malaysian Security Forces..the ones who died in Somalia, Bosnia Herzegovina; and former members of the Home Guards and the Special Constabulary.

Remember, being free now does not mean being free forever. Always remember history, learn its lessons, and be prepared.

SELAMAT MENGHAYATI ERTI KEMERDEKAAN (Happy digesting the meaning of Independence).