MY FRIDAY GUEST BLOGGER: ZAID IBRAHIM SAYS BARISAN HAS TO GO

“I for one would rather have a PR that is chaotic than live under a BN rule where bodyguards kill without motive, or where witnesses are forced to leave the country to save themselves. No democratic government anywhere in the world could have survived the kind of scandals we have witnessed under Najib’s rule. There is no greater ill than the obstruction of justice, especially when it is perpetrated by those in the higher echelons of power.”  - Zaid Ibrahim.

HIS JUSTIFICATIONS

RECALLING HOW I ENDED MY POST ON FRIDAY, 13 NOVEMBER 2009

The usually reticent PAS vice-president Husam Musa HERE said the statements made by carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan to three alternative media this week both "directly and indirectly" linked the prime minister's family to the murdered Mongolian national. He advises Najib to travel light, unload the baggage (if he is going to continue to pilot his sinking ship.) Parenthesis mine.

click on image

JUSTUS called this morning to refer me to one of my 2009 posting on Depak. Somebody did say something about things coming full circle. This was how I ended my Friday 13 Nov.2009 posting:

 However, I have this feeling that a time will come when Depak will reveal all but only on condition that he will be protected from the First Couple! This protector has to be Jib's RIVAL. Just one of those nasty thoughts I get ever so often now. HERE

ABANDON SHIP

MORE HERE

THINK OUT OF YOUR TANKS THINK-TANKS!

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I watched, (which you should later) this youtube at 7am and at the end of it I was wondering if some organisations, like think-tanks, ever thought of gathering the uniform chiefs of our the Armed Forces and PDRM and over some good coffee give us their professionally honest undertaking on how they would handle or promote an unbiased and nonpartisan demand for a smooth transition should the incumbent government fail to retain governance of the country after GE13.   

This is not a frivolous request, as 10 out of 10 ex-military and PDRM people I threw this situation at were not convinced that these incumbent Uniformed Chiefs would act in the interest of the country they pledged to protect. This is an outright and damning condemnation and only our Uniformed Chiefs can allay this fear of  probable “crushed bodies” and mayhem already publicly bandied about.

This is no time for pundits and know-alls to expound their feel-good or doomsday wares. This is the TIME the rakyat wants assurance that whichever way they exercise their vote, the outcome is for a better Malaysia through a smooth transition into Putra Jaya! And this assurance can only come out from the mouths of the Generals and the Police Inspector General as per the OATH they took. Would they be up to it or would they abdicate this call to duty? As titled and decorated men of honor they cannot chose the latter. Should they reject this offer, maybe an appropriate replacement would be the august Armed Forces Council.

What is left is the next question. Which THINKERS will THINK out of their TANKS to bring to fruition this pressing need?  

PAKATAN. BEST YOU LISTEN WELL. IT COULD BE YOUR LAST CHANCE.

Commander Thaya ended his three part INTERVIEW with Hindraf’s Uthayakumar thus:

“In the end if we (and by we, I mean Pakatan) win this election and the marginalised Indian poor are overlooked for a variety of reasons, those poor unfortunate souls can rest assured, that Uthayakumar, will never forget them, and will never stop fighting for them, no matter who the opponent is.”

My personal pledge: Include me in this fight no matter who the opponent is. I lived in Sentul and taught there for 10years 8 months. I knew how my Indian students lived. I was dissuaded by a former student from taking part in the HIndraf Rally because it was led by Uthyakumar. I retorted that I was not joining Uthyakumar but the marginalized abject poor that I remember in Sentul…..so poor that RM2 for school fees was too demanding. I joined the Rally to salute the   parents of my students who strived through adversities all those years.

 They were poor but their Sentul parents (laborers, mandores, clerks, mechanics, at Jalan Strachan railway yard) made sure that the kids never got tagged with the “you pitiful poor sod” tag. They were poor BUT they did not know that they were POOR. The Sentul Indian parents held sacred their self-respect….give the child his right to education even if two brothers had to share school shoes….the afternoon session brother coming in early in flops, and exchange shoes when the bell rang for dismissal.

At reunion gatherings I beam with pride when I hear about them owning their own houses and taking their aged parents out of Sentul. I reminded them of the abidingness, bravery, endurance, indefatigability, indomitability, patience, perseverance, persistence, staying power and stamina, their parents’ survivability and tenacity that saw them through grips of hopelessness. I am often asked at such gatherings how come I have not received any recognition or awards. “You all are living testimonies of the awards. I need no less.”

My Pa was an ordinary CEB (later LNN and now Tenaga) meter reader. My Mum sold cinema tickets at Carlton Cinema before she joined the British Army as clerk-typist. My Pa held three jobs, the last saw him closing the accounts at Coronation Park at midnight before cycling home to 729 Jalan Pauh, Assam Kumbang. He too did not want my brother and I then to believe that we were poor. He bought us Beano, Dandy, Captain Marvel and Superman comics and Enib Blyton. He bought us Monopoly  and Meccano sets.  Being deprived of the necessities, he believed would be detrimental to our development. He gave us the best he could afford. That money could not buy – self-respect. I MISS YOU, PA. That is why I can empathise with the LESS FORTUNATE and Pakatan bloody well do the same if they know what is good for them!

THE MAGIC BEHIND THIS HEADGEAR......

Last night Karen and I took a lift. A group of malay youths smiled at me and when the lift arrived said, “Silah, Pacik PAS”. Was definitely my PAS UNTUK SEMUA cap that caught their attention. I thanked them with “Takbir” and the response “Allah Akhbar” was enlightening. This morning as per appointment I went to UH’s Urology Dept but was greeted with a notice on the notice board “Urology Clinic Closed”. Quite used to such surprises Karen and I decided that we go to Emergency to have my cartether bag replaced. A young Malay HA told Karen that they do not provide such services. However, as I approached the counter, he beamed and said he would do the change himself. After the procedure I thanked him. He responded with “Takhbir”. My response of Allah Akhbar was rewarded with a firm handshake and a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

BETCHA, EVEN CESAR MILLAN HAS LOST HIS TEN FOOT POLE.

Alternative title to this post is: Too many PACK Leaders or UMNO power struggle as elections loom.

Whilst all eyes are on GE-13, the stage is being set for the next UMNO general assembly, where the signal for Muhyiddin's exit is being set.

The Mahathir camp is busy working out the strategy for this shift and the Muhyiddin camp is fully aware of this danger so both sides are preparing for battle - after the battle to wrest the government of this country.

Win or lose it is rumoured that BN will seize power, if they seize power after losing they reckon this process will be much easier in an emergency-like situation, where Najib will remove Muhyiddin in favour of his not so intelligent cousin Hishamuddin Hussein the stop gap deputy, and then get Mukhriz to step into his shoes by giving Hishamuddin a position outside the Federal Cabinet.

The recent talk about Mukhriz going for the position of Mentri Besar of Kedah was initiated by the Muhyiddin camp in an effort to force Mukhriz into accepting it to take Kedah out of PR's control, and then neutralise Mukhriz' ambitions for Muhyiddin's position, the plan seems to have backfired, because according to our sources Mahathir smelt the rat as soon as he got the news and got UMNO to immediately go into damage control and deny it before it got too big. Remember this item was reported in the government backed print media, both the suggestion and the denial.

There is talk about moving Muhyddin back to Johor as Mentri Besar, and the excuse will be that UMNO and BN is losing ground in this their strongest state. Muhyiddin will be touted as the right person to handle the job and the entire supreme council will be directed to back the plan, many of its members have already been approached.

The intrigue in UMNO today is greater than the intrigue in the forbidden city during the last days of Chinese Emperors, it is a sure sign of the decline of UMNO, it's a 'dog-eat-dog' situation according to an UMNO veteran, "never before in the history of UMNO, not since Razak went for Tengku in 1969, nor in 1977 when Mahathir went for Hussein Onn in proxy be unleashing his pet Sulaiman Palestine - the then UMNO information chief has UMNO gone into such dirty politics," said this UMNO veteran whose son is a very successful Malay and UMNO sponsored businessman.

"This will be played dirtier than when Mahathir cheated in the 1987 UMNO elections and supposedly won the elections, he knew he lost so he got the judiciary into a mess, if the appeal then had gone through unhindered and without government intervention, it would have been a totally different Malaysia today, totally different, maybe not so many foreigners in our country," said this gentleman who now resides in Penang.

"Probably we will not be sitting here for a drink it could have well been in a hotel in town this may not even have been built, and I would have been able to enjoy my scotch in the open like we used to before," he said in between sips after dinner in a place at the Straits Quay.

On the other front, Muhyiddin has asked his camp to play low key, if anything has to be unleashed against Najib and his "mentor" it has to be sudden and at a crucial time in UMNO that there will not be an opportunity for the Mahathirian camp to fight back, "it should be swift and decisive, there will be no turning back, " Muhyiddin was quoted as having said.

Muhyiddin is very uncomfortable with Mahathir, and he has to watch every step he takes, he can't have his plans leaked, he seems to be doing fine on that score, but you can never tell in UMNO as Mahathir is famous for buying out UMNO boys to get what he wants, and there are people in Johor UMNO who are willing to align with Mahathir in this war.

Mahathir has the funds or at least the sources from which he can squeeze it out, Muhyiddin has his back against the wall, normally an UMNO deputy will be able to muster funds at will, but now after the Sharizat affair it has been made very difficult for him and in UMNO today as it was during the good old days of Mike Tyson it's money that talks, not Bahasa Melayu, but money talk, in UMNO Bahasa Melayu is for showtime at the assembly, it is not understood; only money is understood loud and clear in that party.

Others may support you only on condition that they'll be given a significant part in government and money machines if he wins, so it is an uphill task for Muhyiddin, but sources say he has a good following and can turn the tables-money politics or not.

The not so intelligent Hishamuddin does not have enough money to spend so lavishly to win any position, he does not have the support of the grassroots to make himself invulnerable, so he goes the way of Mukhriz, whose father and siblings together with their cronies will outbid anyone on the scene, so Hisham will play the Mahathirian plan although he hates it, like his father he will be used by Mahathir as a stop gap premier and then moved out ungraciously.

Mukhriz has been rather quiet, he is said to be actually learning the ropes, and he is rather sure of himself in the seat of the prime minister in the next five years.

Mahathir is rushing for Najib to call for the next elections and Najib is in no hurry, if he loses he will be out sooner rather than later, but Mahathir is sure to secure the government by hook or by crook and Najib knows that, if he wins he will remain for another five year term.

On the other hand Najib is banking on the possibility that Mahathir may not live till then and Rosmah may do a number on Mukhriz and get him out so there is no real hurry on the part of Najib.

What is cooking in the Mahathirian camp is so secretive that even Najib who is being directed by it does not know the real details, all he has to do is follow instructions, and for the time being he is not, not all instructions at least, this has given Muhyiddin some breathing room, with a divided Mahathirian camp he is finding it easier to move as both Najib and Mukhriz look over their shoulders.

Trying to shut Anwar out is a Mahathirian plan through and through which has the tacit support of all camps in UMNO, with Anwar out they feel they can sweep the next elections and live to fight out their own battles another day, but in politics you can never say, will Muhyiddin look at the other side in desperation. In politics as we all know, "there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends."

So whilst they are worried about Anwar they are busy at the same time planning their own strategies in this huge UMNO power struggle.

If UMNO wins we will have another government fighting shadows and not governing, so please cast your vote wisely, PR has proven in all states they have controlled that they are capable of serving the people, so there is no alternative.

GO THE ABU WAY! VOTE FOR PAKATAN RAKYAT. THEY ARE NOT PERFECT BUT THEY ARE NOT ROTTEN. THEY HAVE A RECOGNISED PACK LEADER.

Posting courtesy of TOFEE'S TURN

PICK YOUR OWN GENDER IF INTENT ON BULLYING.

 I stay clear, as often as possible, of religion in my postings. However, being a Catholic, I do take “shots” at some compromising stands taken by our religion’s hierarchy. This time around, I am making an exception because I hate bullies, who pick on women, as in Nurul Izzah. If you turn and face the other way when someone is being bullied, you might as well be the bully too, thus this posting and Edmund Bon’s revelations.

I read somewhere that when people hurt you over and over, think of them like sandpaper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless. I remember a school bully living in Station Road during my early days at St George’s Taiping. He pushed everybody around, even my younger brother. We were no match as he was huge for his age. We waited for our time and used what my brother and I were good at…..our catapults. After being ball boys on the tennis court of the Kemp Club, we rested at a friend’s house in Jalan Padang. It was our day; earlier we had earned an extra ringgit each and as luck would have it we saw him cycling around the padang. One shot felled him off his bicycle and the other (we found out later on Monday in school) got him just below the temple. Dang, if it went an inch higher he would have been dead and if caught the Brothers Khoo of 729 Jalan Pauh would have been sent to the Boys Home in Tupai Road. So what happened to the bully of Station Road some ten years ago. An ambulance brought him to the Penang Lam Wah Ee hospital. He was still conscious but near death as CC described later over a few pints at the Penang Club. CC asked him, “Can you remember me CC your most favorite victim at SGI?” That would have killed him but CC’s surgical skill saved him.

Bullies usually need to make others feel insecure because they are insecure. It isn’t big to make others feel small.

It was Jim C Hines who said: “If your sincerely-held religious beliefs require you to bully children and women, then your beliefs, not your  religion,  are fucked up.”

So let’s leave bullying to bulls, blueblood or otherwise. We are humans, no?

*****

[Updated] Some States Allow For The Renunciation Of Islam HERE

AND A CHEAPER ANTI-CORRUPTION DEVICE YAH?

HOW’S THIS FOR EFFECTIVE SPEED CONTROL TO REPLACE OUR AES SPEED TRAPS?

 I  don't know about you, but this would certainly slow me  down! 

People slow down and actually try to "straddle" the hole.        

This  is an actual speed control device  that is currently in use. 

 It  is MUCH cheaper than speed cameras,  radar guns, and “paying” our police officers.  

PRETTY

CLEVER

ESPECIALLY

WHEN

IT CAN BE MOVED AROUND

EVERYDAY  

AND

ANYWHERE!

THANKS JONG..

DIRECTLY FROM THE HEART.

THE ONLY WAY TO END TAIB’S MISERY IS THE ABU WAY!

There is talk that Taib had unleashed his anger when he returned one afternoon to find that his young Syrian-born wife Ragad Waleed Alkurdi was not at home. Does he feel out of place in her young energetic life and is this making him more possessive?

Rugged Ragad is said to love fast cars. Is Taib up to it if she decides to try out one of the many fast automobiles at their homes by going 150 miles per hour?

Everyone is now waiting with bated breath to see if there is going to be a baby on the way. After all, the rich not only keep money in the banks, they can also have their own private sperm banks.

If Ragad were to have a baby coming along, close friends of the family say it would greatly upset his older children. Sulaiman is already at odds with his father and the one who was most unhappy with Taib’s marriage was Hanifah, the baby of the family until Ragad displaced her as the family’s youngest member.

After all, having lashed out at her husband in front of office staff at Wisma Bapa Malaysia on Friday 12th October by delivering a sharp kick on his shin, we now learn that Sarawak’s ‘First Lady’ was back publicly attacking him again in front of dinner guests last Friday evening!  According to reports:

”Ragad threw and smashed Taib’s head with her hand phone in front of many guests who came to his residence last Friday. Everyone left after the incident happened”.

How can Sarawakians allow a foreigner to brutalise their revered chief? How can they allow such humiliation to be inflicted on their  pak uban. Perhaps it also came to mind how his son Sulaiman was well known for his brutal attacks on former Deputy Chief Minister George Chan’s daughter, before she left her husband.  Perhaps he has more sympathy for her situation now?

Almost everyone in Sarawak can sympathise with Ragad’s feelings, but since they are a more peaceful people, they should consider the more effective and permanent way of relieving him of future beatings the ABU way!

Footnote: Since no Act has yet been passed on husband bashing, we homo sapien belong to the animal class classified as mammal. As such the ACT below might apply.

PUTRAJAYA: Veterinary Services director-general Datuk Dr Abd Aziz Jamaluddin said “Anyone caught being cruel to animals will face a fine of up to RM100,000 and a jail term of not more than six months under the Animal Welfare Act to be tabled in Parliament next year, (2012….. Ragad would escape prosecution if it is still not implemented.)

He said the Act covered all animals, including fish and insects, whether owned by individuals or businesses and would define as cruelty the failure to feed them.

LAMPAH! BN HAD 55YEARS AND WANT MORE?

One thing is certain. Obama had four years and the people decided he deserves another term and no more as per constitution. BN had 55 years and nothing to show except mega projects to line the deep pockets of their cronies. We will not give you ANOTHER TERM because we want to transform the EC, the PDRM, the MACC, the Judiciary, Education, and the various enforcement agencies that do shit all except to accept graft as a way of life.

Obama eliminated Osama and your cousin chastised the Indonesians for killing a Malaysian terrorist, claiming that if handed to him he could rehabilitate him. Dang, that would deprive the terrorist of his 72 virgins!

Obama was against Israel attacking Iran; he is calling back his troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

When Obama took over in 2008, the US economy was in tatters. BN had 55 years and we are in deficit for the last 14 years, lost trillions and continue to do so!

The CIA chief resigned because of a known misdemeanor and BN has a porn star as chief of MCA! Insanely incongruous right?

LANCHEOW, we will give your coalition another chance. My mother tongue Hokkien says it as it is. If anyone objects to this……just too bad, yah? 

WOULD HASSAN ALI AND REDUAN TEE THROW A FIT OVER THIS?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrhetrMHJoU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

A TRANSCRIPT FOR THE PM TO CONTEMPLATE….

Dear Datuk Seri Prime Minister,

I was watching the US Presidential Election and heard Mitt Romney’s concession speech when he conceded defeat yesterday. Mr Romney’s speech was sincere, appropriate, magnanimous, engaging and stimulating. It really takes a politician of rare exemplary stature to bear his raw feelings at a time of great disappointment at being defeated so narrowly in the popular votes. He maintained remarkable poise in the face of his dejected audience and mindful that he was going to be heard throughout the world!

Over five decades and 12 General Elections, your coalition was able to defeat the opposition. However, losing five states was admittedly a rude awakening to your Barisan Nasional. Your retaking of my home state of Perak was besides being detestable, was also wicked and immorally opprobrious. After being defeated in some 8 by elections your infamous uttering about defending Putrajaya with crushed bodies was shameful and viciously vile, unbecoming of a statesman of supposedly established distinguished lineage.

You would be calling for GE13 soon and just in case your coalition is ousted by us the rakyat, we hope you will be graceful in defeat like all great statesmen. As such I have retrieved Mitt Romney’s concession speech for your contemplation and soul searching(?):

ROMNEY: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you so very much.(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I have just called President Obama to congratulate him on his victory. His supporters and his campaign also deserve congratulations.

ROMNEY: His supporters and his campaign also deserve congratulations. I wish all of them well, but particularly the president, the first lady and their daughters.(APPLAUSE)

This is a time of great challenges for America, and I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation.(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: I want to thank Paul Ryan for all that he has done for our campaign. (APPLAUSE) And for our country. Besides my wife, Ann, Paul is the best choice I’ve ever made.(APPLAUSE) And I trust that his intellect and his hard work and his commitment to principle will continue to contribute to the good of our nation. (APPLAUSE) I also want to thank Ann, the love of my life. (APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: She would have been a wonderful first lady. She’s -- she has been that and more to me and to our family and to the many people that she has touched with her compassion and her care. I thank my sons for their tireless work on behalf of the campaign, and thank their wives and children for taking up the slack as their husbands and dads have spent so many weeks away from home. (APPLAUSE) I want to thank Matt Rhoades and the dedicated campaign team he led. (APPLAUSE) They have made an extraordinary effort not just for me, but also for the country that we love.

And to you here tonight, and to the team across the country -- the volunteers, the fundraisers, the donors, the surrogates -- I don’t believe that there’s ever been an effort in our party that can compare with what you have done over these past years. Thank you so very much. Thanks for all the hours of work, for the calls, for the speeches and appearances, for the resources and for the prayers. You gave deeply from yourselves and performed magnificently. And you inspired us and you humbled us. You’ve been the very best we could have imagined.

ROMNEY: The nation, as you know, is at a critical point. At a time like this, we can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work. And we citizens also have to rise to the occasion. We look to our teachers and professors, we count on you not just to teach, but to inspire our children with a passion for learning and discovery. We look to our pastors and priests and rabbis and counselors of all kinds to testify of the enduring principles upon which our society is built: honesty, charity, integrity and family. We look to our parents, for in the final analysis everything depends on the success of our homes.

ROMNEY: We look to job creators of all kinds. We’re counting on you to invest, to hire, to step forward. And we look to Democrats and Republicans in government at all levels to put the people before the politics. I believe in America. I believe in the people of America. (APPLAUSE)

And I ran for office because I’m concerned about America. This election is over, but our principles endure. I believe that the principles upon which this nation was founded are the only sure guide to a resurgent economy and to renewed greatness.

Like so many of you, Paul and I have left everything on the field. We have given our all to this campaign.(APPLAUSE)

I so wish -- I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader. And so Ann and I join with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation. Thank you, and God bless America. You guys are the best. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks, guys.

SEVEN UGLY MALAYSIANS.

While Mizi Rahim, Muhammad Izuan Zainuddin, Azuria Camalia Camel, Farah Koh and Jamie Tan Jia Nee - flew all the way from Kuala Lumpur while Fairul Ghani and his wife, Irma Ibrahim, flew from Auckland, to participate in the New York Marathon. Superstorm Sandy dictated otherwise and our seven UGLY MALAYSIANS  went on a whining whirlwind.  BERNAMA scavenged on the “plight” of the seven and the STAR gave it prominence, HERE.

This absence of empathy at such a difficult time for New Yorkers elicited this response from Malaysian DEBORAH AGUSTIN:

I AM a Malaysian student in New York, and I was disgusted to read the article titled, “Malaysians’ NY marathon preparations go down the drain with Hurricane Sandy” (The Star, Nov 4).

I find it in extremely poor taste publishing a report focusing on how a natural disaster inconvenienced seven Malaysians in light of the damage that Hurricane Sandy has wreaked on the city of New York.

While the Malaysians interviewed were disappointed that “nothing is functional”, they were able to leave and did not have to endure the worst of the damage.

This attitude shows a complete lack of empathy, especially in light of the death toll that presently stands at 42.

While these Malaysians are comfortably at home, millions of New Yorkers are facing loss of income and personal property, lack of clean water and food, and the emotional damage that accompanies a catastrophe like this.

What is even more shameful about this story is that none of these Malaysians thought of making the best of an unfortunate situation by volunteering in the relief efforts as many other would-be marathon runners from around the world did.

It reflects poorly on us as a nation that these Malaysians chose to complain about how they had been inconvenienced.

DEBORAH AUGUSTIN, Bronxville, New York

When a University in New York was cleared for resumption of classes  the President mobilized its students to distribute food from their cafeteria to those who were stranded and cared for the disabled and infirmed. 

I always reserve respect for marathon and long distance athletes, a very lonely exacting discipline. I appreciate their dedication and sacrifice but I believe that we as a nation have missed out on core values, one of which is empathy.

IN MEMORIAM – DR HAN SUYIN 1917-2012

Han Suyin, , was the pen name of Elizabeth Comber, born Rosalie Matilda Kuanghu Chow. She was a Chinese-born Eurasian author of several books on modern China, novels set in East Asia, and autobiographical works, and graduated as a physician from Peking Universit.

JOHOR BARU: (the STAR) Writer Han Suyin  may be known around the world for her novel A Many Splendoured Thing but some folk in Johor still remember her as the doctor at a clinic in Jalan Ibrahim here.

Dr Alice Loh, 84, who took over Han's clinic after she left the country, said the writer had moved to Johor Baru from Hong Kong after marrying Leon F. Comber, who was serving as a British officer in the Malayan Special Branch in 1952.

Han's popularity among her patients shot up shortly after her novel was adapted into an Oscar-winning film, recalled Dr Loh.

“Everyone wanted to be her patient so they could boast about how they were being treated by the famous Dr Han Suyin. Although I did not know her well, I remembered that she had striking features due to her mixed parentage and was popular, especially among the male patients,” she laughed.

The Eurasian writer, whose real name was Elizabeth Comber, died at the age of 95 in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday.

Besides being the author of several books on modern China and autobiographical novels, Han, who was born in Henan, China, had studied medicine in Brussels and trained as a physician in London.

It was while she was practising medicine in Hong Kong that she met and fell in love with Australian war correspondent Ian Morrison, which formed the basis for her novel.

Dr Loh said prior to taking over Han's clinic, she had also been tutored by Han while studying medicine in Hong Kong.

“I studied there in the 1940s and I remembered that my dormitory was right above her room. I could always hear her typing for hours but it was only later that I realised that she was writing her famous novel,” she said.

Expressing her sadness over Han's passing last Friday, Dr Loh described Han as a “charismatic woman”, who had contributed so much through her writing.

Retired nurse, Tham Poh Choo, 83, remembers Han, with whom she had worked in the 1950s while serving at the General Hospital here.

“Dr Han was a pleasant and friendly lady but the nurses never really had the opportunity to speak to her or any of the doctors,” she said.

In addition to being a brilliant writer, Tham recalled Han as a “hardworking woman”, whose dedication to her job made her popular among her patients.

Han, who was married three times, is survived by two daughters.

 By DESIREE TRESA GASPER

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ-vJI6jypM&feature=related

SO WHY DID WESTERN AUSTRALIA DISALLOW THIS IN THEIR BACKYARD?

A  Pahang doctor Datuk Looi Hoong Wah has rubbished concerted “lies” spread by the opposition among local residents on radioactive concerns from the recently completed RM2.5 billion Lynas rare earth plant near Kuantan, saying that the anti-Lynas campaign was purely politically motivated to win votes in the coming general election.

Chan Chee Khoon, ScD (Epidemiology) from the Centre for Poplation Health, Department Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya on March 27 2011 took exception to grape-grower Looi’s views. The SUN surprisingly did not publish his response to Looi, but the Malaysian Insider did HERE.

Earlier, on 26 December 2001 in a blog posting HERE, I told the same Dr Looi to stick to growing grapes!

BERNAMA, probably adept at doctoring photos have little time to read MI or blogs and thought their latest offering, quoting Looi HERE, as a scoop for BN. Good try yah, but a bit late.

WASN'T IT ALSO ANTI BERSIH 3.0?

HSBC has reportedly come under fire from activists over its alleged support of companies suspected of unsustainable logging and other environmental transgressions in Sarawak.

According to an article in The Economist today, an international campaigning group Global Witness has released a report that puts the bank in the spotlight for doing business with a number of companies that have allegedly failed to meet the bank’s green policies.

Global Witness has identified six HSBC loans totaling $25m to non-compliant Sarawak loggers, made since the bank introduced its forest policy announced in 2004 that it would not do business with companies who do not make “reasonable efforts” to comply by 2009 the REPORT stated.

CLICK ON SARAWAK REPORT ON MY RIGHT SIDEBAR FOR MORE SARAWAK UPDATES.

LEAVE US BE…..

By appointment I am back at UH and warded yesterday. Reason? The hospital authorities are onto it so I am not into it yet. Anyway the whole gamut and rigmarole of my medical history took precedence over why I am warded. Thus began the Q&A….my answers in italics:

You smoke? Sure!   When did you start officially?  Covertly and openly? What you mean? (I explained that covertly was a close relative of covered….she understood and continued:) So when covertly? 7 years old, smoked a rolled newspaper stuffed with coconut husks, in the jamban behind our government quarters. My grandma saw the smoke from the outhouse, panicked and formed her bucket brigade with a neighbor. The 7 year old choking TRUTH came out DRENCHED!  Then the covert got uncovered and a beating by Mum resulted. I quit practicing this theory of combustion….but OPENLY accepted a Matterhorn mentholated cigarette from one of my Form Five students when I called for a break in our extra evening English classes…..that was in the last quarter of 1965. How many packets a day? When I finally stopped smoking cigarettes and replaced it with pipe smoking, I would go thru 4 packets of Luckies non-filters a day! Your wife did not ask you to stop? My (ex-Salem) wife is a DECENT woman and knows better than to pursue a futile campaign. Mr Khoo, smoking kills! My younger cousin, the man behind Starbucks, Eric Khoo succumbed to a heart attack on the golf course two Fridays ago and he never smoked! Doc I know you are doing your duty dishing out this advice….dont waste it on me…. I am tired so leave me be.

She got my message but it would have been more effective, the way my friend Antares, my guest blogger this Friday, delivered it HERE!