Day 4 in Beijing

Hope nobody falls. There are 3 ladders joined by ropes.

Silk Road Shoppin centre- the much liked place among participants - daily excursion happened.

Well , nothing happens the last 2/3 days except going to class and out. There are some exciting moments , but mostly happening in conversation and during food.

Today is the last day of the training. WE managed to rush of to Tian An Men and Forbidden city.

Omigosh the hair.

How ironic that i got to capture this photo when the ladies wanted to show of their 'women is always right"

Ah ... Spring is the best time to come here

My 30th Birthday

So, i finally made it. The 30th Benchmark that i tot will not reach at all. And for the first time, a birthday celebration without friends or loved ones physically nearby. How i miss these little things.

Anyway, let me summarize what happened today -

What does the member do? Relax?

11:55 - still typing and working on laptop. did not realised "THE" time till 12.05 am. I guess that sums out how 30s creep up on me.

Ah , but did felt much better during dinner to know that I am the last second youngest person. Met with Chris and Yeelu prior to that and a bunch of girls ( Yeen Li, Siow Lee, She Ai, Chee Chin, May Peng and surprisingly Yin Han). It was fun knowing that they have charted the 30s path earlier than me. haha. Ai Leng , wish u are around to add to the club. haho.

The gang at Starbucks. Got my cake and got fed some more.The mysterious person's hand does look manyly in this photo.

12.30 - Iskandar, Raju and myself are the latest to board the plane but not much stares from those in business class. Would imagine the glare if in economy. I think I managed to persuade the steward/dess that i am a hard to please person with all the personal requests. Had my Tawny Port and a new Sauvignion Semillon uncorked. And the delicious teh tarik.

0615- first glimpse of Beijing airport .. and the sulfur smelled air. And we waited for our bags not knowing that they have been lifted down from the conveyer. Had to tell the Petronas delegation as they were still waiting way after we found the discrepancy.

Super rooms in Traders Hotel. Chic and modern, with full spec. Kudos to Mr Kuok. Even the power plug is compatible with Commonweath plugs.

0940 - Got our rooms at last. We enjoyed walking down the road against the traffic flow of human and bikes.

And cut myself with glass fragments that are not totally cleaned.

1030 - slept .. i think. Oh, quite a few calls.

1430 - out to get some food. We end up in Mc D and i got this steak burger. turn out to be the lousier half of Big Mac. Dun trust the marketting photos.

Lousy stuff and expensive.

1500 - walking down the Jianguaman to find Wan Fiu Jiang Street.

1530 -still walking..


1600 - and... WE are there finally. It looked very big and full of people.

Super huge

1630- Found it finally!! Huge . Talked to the Beijing Olypmic Mascot to inquire if there are any real merchandize around. She seemed happy to take photoes only. Anyway, the place is huge with lots of visitors, overwhelmingly Koreans..

Supposed to say " Business as usual inside".

Scorpion eating time!! And the oyster with garlic. Verdic: Scorpion tastes better.

And here, is another milestone of " 1 country, 1 weird food". This time, it is scorpions. They tasted very crunchy and salty. As i had my first bite, a gwailo shrieked in horror. The husband even took a picture of me while proclaiming his shock. I finish the other 2. Oh, there are snakes, starfish, seahorses, seacows ( i really dun know what it is ) , bugs and others ... which does give up a pretty nasty smell.

Where the food are displayed and sold.

1824 - Found the salon that is affordable and uses Loreal products. RMB300 just for cut and dye. Well, if i have more time...

1840 - Decided to have dinner at the muslim restaurant. Bad choice as the food is very .. un appetizing. Would not go to that place again.

I was dead tired at the end of the long day. Well, my last hour of twenties are quite relaxing in the room. Guess i just slept the youthfulness away, along hopefully comes wisdom. Yet, I thank God for his providence and giving me a life till this age.

The Spa at Andana, Glenmarie

Shi enjoying herself after the bath and some food. Yum

As part of Shi's birthday celebration theme this year of 'experience' , she got a nice spa package. In fact, i knew that she will not enjoy it without me ( ahem), so got a nice "couples package' worked out.

All day eat and drink to our stomach's content. Indeed , the food was good and the spread is wonderful. Had 3 servings of Haagen Daaz. Enough, not over. And we catch 3 movies at one go.

Wonder if they ever change the water? Looked black. The water tempreture is ideal for bacteria breeding..:)

Never been to a public bath before. The first time I went to the changing room and was asked to change into new clothes, I went to the bathing area instead on the pretext of taking a bath so that i can change my clothes. Aiyah, shy la go naked in public. Overally , very hot and humid. Hot water is not too good for the..... ehmm.. body .. sometimes.

Oh .. handsem man...
Had a 80 minute massage. My lady masseur was called Jen ... I tot it was John and she does look and has the strength like one. But honestly, she gave the best massage that i have ever tried. And for the first time, got stepped over. It was not easy agreeing for it in that situation. But it turned out ok.Not that I have done a lot yet.

Black toes . Nah des kah!!!

Ladies, check out my new manicure and padicure. Oh, and got my nails coloured black. Well, in defiance of Ecclesiastes chapter 2 , must experience nail colouring at least once. It was quite cold. And good tool to scare little kids to scamper away.

Oh, my .. she did not know that her T-shirt says " I know whatboys like ...me".

2006 Formula One Sepang Experience

The Shell Corner in Grandstand. Anybody got extra caps?

The weather was HOT HOT HOT.

And I was HOT HOT HOT in getting there. Have to park my car at the wrong area only to be told that it was in another place. The practice session has begun and I was late. Anyway, it was still an enjoyable experience with ear splitting revs ( you can actually feel the ear drum vibrating in sync). I went to the grandstand area that is sponsored by my company. I think a few big shots were around but it was just too loud to say "Hi, my name...".

For the first time, I have also decided to buy a real FI- Ferrari Shirt. It costs me RM250 and it was bright red. Nice. And also got my Schumi ( Schumarker) name tag. I guess there is not many more around so took out RM50 for it. Really hope that is real merchandise as advertised.

Choice 1: Basic t-shirt with a simple logo. Ahemm.. RM300 ... was shocked.

Ha.. more worth the money. Can wear to office and official engagements!!

The suffering sales lady to temp guys like me. She was very 'hot' , facing the sun with eyes twitch... and i don't fancy her job then. And, she is chinese. Oh ya, boss ask her to wear this shirt to enhance sales. I guess it worked.

Oh, remind me the Li Shuan ( one of the cute little girl in church) said on Sunday. She noted that her parents are in F1 that morning. And added that " my mother will buy me merchandize back". Wow, 6 yrs old using that word? Amazing. Apparently it is a jacket of grey , red and black. Mclaren.

Oh .. why am I in the Petronas booth?

Perhaps that is the premonition that McLaren will win over Ferrari. Dang.

Hitting 30 for my friends - and I

Well, i had a taste of what is creeping on. It is my 30th birthday and I ain't too happy that it is so near. It honestly is one of the benchmark that I do not like to cross over, yet. I guess my only failure in my dream of " Things to do before 30" is in not doing the bungy jump. I tried looking for it in Melbourne two months ago but ...

Anyway, many thanks to God for a great 30 ( to be).


1. Love ones are around still , minus Great grandma and Grandpa. And parents are still healthy. Sister getting married .. so that is a good thing. ha. And have 2 year once vacation with them.

2. Able to contribute stuff of my dreams - in young adults, youth, in social works, in organisation, in work.

3. Good friends that is still around from primary school till now. and many more ...

4. Climbed mount Kinabalu last year.

5. Got to be a manager at 28 years old in a foreign multinational .

6. Car got, condo got, credit card got, Christ got. Got got la.


The only roses among thorn. :)

Anyway, to celebrate She Ai, Ai Leng, Chee Chin and May Peng's birthday at La Bodega in Bangsar. Was late as usual coming up from PD and it was fun. And had my fav. Hoegarden beer. Then adjourned to Alexis upstairs. We had tiramisu and some carrot cake. Carrot cake is much better.


This carrot cake is pretty good.


Ai Leng ( TV3 Presenter), Chee Chin (high career woman) & Yeen Li ( highly paid business analyst)
May Peng looking engaged, and Chi Ern from Korea

Lack of confidence in the local court

This is a grave misdirection of the Malaysia court. In fact, how did our court system come to such an estate?


STATEMENT ON COURT OF APPEAL DECISION ON SARAVANAN v. SUBASHINIIn the wake of the majority decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Saravanan A/L Thangathony v. Subashini A/P Rajasingam [Rayuan Sivil No. W-02-955-2006] we, the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, are greatly disappointed that once again, the non-converting non-Muslim wife of a convert to Islam has failed to get relief from our Civil Courts. Hitherto, in the case of Shamala a/p Sathiaseelan she was told by the High Court that it had no jurisdiction to declare as unlawful her young children's conversion into Islam without her knowledge or consent and was advised to seek the assistance of the Islamic authorities. Then the widow of Everest hero, Sgt. M. Moorthy also failed to get relief from the High Court on the ground of jurisdiction. Following an uproar from civil society, the Right Honorable Prime Minister had declared that although Article 121(1A) of the Constitution would not be amended, laws will be amended to remedy the situation. Though it has been more than a year since then, there have been no amendments to any law as yet to clarify the jurisdiction of the Courts. It is our duty to inform the authorities that there is growing discomfort amongst the non Muslim citizens of Malaysia, who form 45% of the population, many of whom feel that the judiciary are failing in their constitutional duty to ensure the equal protection of the law for all Malaysians.

In Subashini's case, the husband converted to Islam and converted the eldest son, aged 3, to Islam without the wife's knowledge or consent. The husband then applied to the Syariah Court for custody of the son, again with no notice to the wife. The wife then presented a petition for divorce and ancillary relief and applied to the High Court for an injunction restraining the husband from (i) converting the children of the marriage to Islam and (ii) commencing or continuing with any proceedings in any Syariah Court with regard to the marriage or the children of the marriage. The High Court initially granted an injunction after hearing only the wife who at that time did not know of the substance of the Husband's applications in the Syariah courts. This injunction was continued whilst the case was heard in the High Court. After the husband submitted his evidence, and after the High Court heard both parties, it refused to give the injunction. However, the High Court granted an interim injunction to the wife pending the hearing of an appeal to the Court of Appeal, known as an "Erinford Injunction".The majority decision of the Court of Appeal dismissed the wife's appeal and set aside the Erinford Injunction with costs, effectively shutting the door on Subashini's rights as a mother to prevent the Syariah court making a determination as to her marriage and as to the custody of her children. To add to her problem, the majority have ruled that Subashini, a non-Muslim, must apply to the Syariah Court, instead of applying to the High Court. Of particular concern to us is the statement by YA Dato' Hasan Lah, JCA that the High Court and the Syariah Court must be regarded as having the same standing in this country.

We are also concerned to note that in his grounds of judgment YA Datuk Suriyadi Halim Omar, JCA quoted a verse from the Quran and appeared to be elevating the role and prominence of Islamic law and the Islamic judicial system in Malaysia.

We would respectfully remind members of the Judiciary that the Federal Court, Court of Appeal and the High Courts in Malaya and in Sabah and Sarawak are all civil courts and Judges of those courts take an oath of office to uphold the Federal Constitution, which guarantees all persons, including non Muslims, the fundamental liberty of professing and practising their faiths in peace and harmony.

It is very clear and specific in the State legislative list in the 9th Schedule of the Federal Constitution that the "Syariah Courts … shall have jurisdiction only over persons professing the religion of Islam …". The learned Judges in the majority appear to note that requirement in their judgments, but with respect appear to contradict themselves by then requiring the non Muslim wife to go to the Syariah courts.

We express our objection to any requirement for non-Muslims to have to go to the Syariah Court for relief as such courts apply Islamic theological law. Religious laws cannot be applied to people who do not profess that religion. The Court of Appeal in this case and civil courts are expanding Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution.

We are also concerned that Syariah Courts are usurping functions which are not theirs. Consequently, non-Muslims are unable to obtain relief when the Syariah Court makes an order which interferes with their fundamental liberties guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

The Federal Constitution is the supreme law of Malaysia. Our highest court had declared in the case of Che Omar bin Che Soh v. P.P. (1988) 2 MLJ 55 that Article 3 of the Constitution was never intended to extend the application of Syaria to the sphere of public law.We object to any interpretation of our Constitution or our laws that deprive any person of his fundamental liberties, and deny access to a non Muslim to the High Court applying the general civil law. We urgently call on the Government to immediately make the necessary legislative amendments to safeguard the rights of all Malaysians and to ensure non Muslims have full and proper access to justice in the civil courts.

Dato' Chee Peck Kiat,President23.03.2007

Here is one potential reason..

UK Immigration Officer: Purpose of your visit please?
Visitor: I'm here to study law, sir.
Officer: You know, you must have a lot of lawyers in Malaysia.
Visitor: Why do you say that?
Officer: Well, i've been here for a good twenty years, and I'd say 80% of Malaysians I see here say they're here to read law.
Visitor: Oh, really? That's really something i never knew. Hard to believe in fact.
Officer: Just you watch, then. You just stand here until the next Malaysian comes along, and I'll bet he's here to read law.
*Visitor waits for 5 mins, Ah Chong from Malaysia comes to immigration counter*
Officer: Mr. Ah Chong, purpose of visit?
Ah Chong: Study lorr..................... (typical Chinaman way of speaking!)