Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone

I have been receiving some brickbats - some anonymously, over my previous entry.

Some were questioning on the need for me to rush (what's the rush?) and overtook the convoy. I should not have overtaken, and should just stay in line and queue behind the convoy. Most likely they want me to stay behind the zig-zagging van for over 200 km. Another would comment that I should be getting a ticket for over-speeding.

I can only laugh at such insinuation. As if that they had never been in similar situations themselves. 

All I was asking was the protocol of overtaking such convoy, and not whether I should get a ticket or not. I was aware of what I was doing in term of speed, and I have fully stated of the possibility of infringing some (obscure) laws, if we were to follow the law to the letter. If I need to overtake them legally, what do I need to do? That's the question I was asking.

Then again, do you know that none of our measured instruments are 100% accurate. There will always be errors, even in the best of instruments used in the industry. Measuring devices are often checked against 'repeatability' and 'reproducibility'. Repeatability is an inherent precision of the measuring instrument as as the car's speedometer.

Most speedometers have an accuracy of 10% on either side. Sources of error includes nominal tyre diameter, pressure, temperature and vehicle load. Car manufacturers usually calibrate speedometer to read high to ensure that speedometers would never indicate a lower speed that the actual speed of vehicle to ensure that they are not liable for drivers violating speed limits. Read here.

If this is true, it means that our actual speed is actually lower that the speed our speedometer is showing.

Federal Standards in the US only allow 5% inaccuracy of the speedometer. In the UK, it must not show more than 110% of actual speed, plus 10 kmph. Meaning at 110, it should not show more than 131 kmph.

And my speedometer was way below that!

Do you think vehicles in Malaysia have higher specs than those in US and UK?

As for the 'What's the rush?' remark, let me just say that I was driving a Ferrari, and Ferrari is not meant to be driven at 110!

Let just say I was driving this that Wednesday when I decided
to overtake the immigration convoy! ;-)

Is that good enough an explanation? Yeah, stupid answer for stupid questions.

Have they not ever gone beyond 110 to overtake a vehicle, and then only after overtaking reduce their speed to maintain 110? Ever? Not even exceeding by one kmph?

No? You must be a saint. Hahaha, joke joke, funny indeed.

People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

What's the protocol in overtaking a police-led convoy?

How do you overtake an official 'police-led' convoy driven on the right side of the road at 110 km per hour?

I am not sure of the protocol, to be honest. But that was the predicament I was in last Wednesday at The East Coast Hiway driving back to Kuala Lumpur after attending a meeting in Kerteh.

We saw the blinking light ahead of us and thought it was an ambulance. We were wondering why the buses in front of it would not let them pass through. But as we closed them in, we realized that it was an immigration convoy led by a police patrol car, consisting of 2 buses and 2 vans.

I presume they were carrying the illegal immigrants to be deported.

The convoy was driving on the right lane at about 110 km per hour, and there is no way you would be able to pass through on right. Eventhough it was driven at 110, I was in no mood to sit behind and be part of long queue behind the convoy.

I was not paid by the government to be part of the convoy!

So I decided to overtake from the left. (I know, I know, it is supposed to be illegal, but they left me with no choice). 

The last van in the convoy - the first vehicle for me to overtake, started to swerve to his left and entering the left lane, presumably trying to prohibit me from overtaking. He started sounding the siren too, which I ignored.

I managed to overtake half of the convoy. With only 3 more vehicles to go, I was stopped on my track by slow moving car on the left lane.

And the whole convoy overtook me. Gleefully, I presume. ;-)

The second time I tried again, the same happened. The van started sounding his siren as I passed by him on the left and with only one more bus and the police car ahead to overtake, I tried to sneak in in between the bus and the police escort on the right lane, as again my (left) lane was blocked by a slow moving vehicle.

There was a gap between the police car and the bus for me to sneak in on the right lane.

Immediately the bus gave chase to me, and as he started closing in on me,  he gave me the high beam, and gave me on big honk. I got no choice then but to back off and move back to the left, and the whole convoy would then (re) overtake me.

I was bit furious. It seems that they would not want to let you pass through for whatever reasons. I realized that they were driving at 110 including the bus, and I guess eventhough they were both commercial buses, but under police escort they could be driven at 110.

Legally may be, I am not sure.

But what's the protocol actually? Under such circumstances, are we supposed to slow down and follow the convoy over a few hundred kilometers, which I thought would be a dangerous thing to do. We are still far from the exit, and the whole hiway might be jammed up by vehicles all driving at the same speed.

I wanted to use my 10% flexibility in speed to overtake them. At 115 or up to 121 km per hour, I believe the police would not give me a ticket for speeding.

This was our third attempt to overtake them, and we had the camera ready, just in case if anything were to happen. You can see the last van practically driving on both lanes, as if trying to prohibit or discourage overtaking, and as we were about to overtake the second van, the first van sounded its siren (at 1:30), I presume, to let me know of his displeasure of my overtaking.

Or a show of power?

Should I be waiting for my saman ekor anytime soon? ;-)

I should not tempt fate, I supposed. Hahaha...

The story of Asmara Terkenang

You know, I have a profound dislike for male singer to be singing song originally sung by female singer.

For one, I hate the version of Unbreak My Heart by Il Divo. To me, the song is owned, and only owned, by Toni Braxton. And with its melodramatic melody and lyric, I would never be able to comprehend or tolerate this song by any male singer.

Yuck.

When Aman Shah starts singing Asmara Terkenang, there was no Youtube and internet. Obviously Klasik Nasional is a non-entity in 1980. So there was no way we would know about the original song by Neng Yatimah. Then again, digitally remastered was not something we would know by then, so unless RTM has a fantastic record player, we would not be hearing this song on air.

It was late 1980. SPM was done with  - we were waiting for our next posting I guess. With nothing else to do, I would listening to the radio mid-day that day. We didn't have too many choices of radio station I guess.

It was airing Asmara Terkenang by Aman Shah. I thought it was lovely original song by him. I was humming along when I overhead the conversation between Mak and Bapak, who were resting in their room. (Yeah, our government quarters, right in the middle of Kuala Kangsar town, is  a wooden barrack house, so you would hear every squeak in the house, so to speak.)

Bila ku ingat, bila ku kenang

Bila ku ingat, bila ku kenang

Masa dulu kita berdua

Merayu berbisik hidup bersama

Hidup bersama

Sungguh lama tak nampak rupamu

Tetapi tetap aku setia

Aku setia

"Ton, sapa nyanyi lagu ni?" I overheard bapak asking Mak.

"Budak baru, tak tau pulak sapa nama," jawab Mak.

"Ni lagu lama kan?

Turut serentak dalam hatiku

Turut serentak dalam hatiku

Dengan segera engkau menjelma

Menghibur hati yang sangat duka

hatiku duka

"Lagu Neng Yatimah, isteri Jasni,"

There was only silence after that. I guess may be by then I was concentrating on the song on the radio. Bapak perhaps had satisfied his curiosity on Asmara Terkenangl perhaps this song was something from his childhood days. It was an old song, and not a new one as I had thought that day.

I had enjoyed both song. I love the Aman Shah version. The violins were excellent; the trumpets and the horn section was not intrusive. Lovely combination.

Only yesterday I saw the actual version of Neng Yatimah on Youtube, and I was touched. I didn't realize that Mak Neng was still alive amongst us. She was the wife of the composer, and singer Jasni. I thought it was romantic of him to have given the song to his own wife to sing.

Lucky her. And him too, I guess.

If you want to read more about them and how they got married, do go to Wiki. I thought it was a romantic story - a knight in shining armor, so to speak.

May Allah bless the soul of Jasni and Moga Allah merahmati dan memberi kesihatan kepada Mak Neng Yatimah. And not to mention their daughter Roseyatimah (of Pendekar Bujang Lapok fame).

Shall we wait for her death before we honour them?

EPILOGUE


So what is my point here?


NOthing much, I guess. Just to highlight that I love Asmara Terkenang. That we should reward all our veteran singers from the 50s and 60s now, rather than when they are dead. That even bapak was touched in some sense by this song, and that I would remember their conversation 31 years on!

King Edward VII-1 School in dilapidated state

It is supposed to be the one of the most, if not the most, beautiful school in the country.

The building is majestic. The pillars are unlike any school built by Kementerian; kurus and cikeding and looks like they will fall apart the moment you lean against it, while the King Edward school was build by the Brit in 1905, so they are so massive that you will need Badang to carry and build them, and will withstand the tsunamis and earthquakes.

Apparently Aishawarya Rai was here
a couple of years ago or at least
that is what I was told by the security.

The ceiling is at least two-storey high; you would be able to play the badminton in the classroom, and you would never be able to hit the ceiling with the shuttlecock. At least as a 12-year old, I guess.

Beautiful, shady rain-trees adorn the compound to complement colonial building. Somehow the British colonial building supposedly from temperate climate and the raintrees from the tropic - a mismatch, may be an oxymoron even, and yet the two had co-existed over 100 years, and look like they were meant for each other. It was underneath these trees that we - then pre-teens -  had our fun under the shade. Guli batu, popia and takraw were some of our fav then. It was at this Padang too we secured our Perak U-12 rugby title in 1975.

Tough kids we were then.

The building should be a Heritage building. I am not sure if it is. Then again, with Taiping declared as Bandar Warisan, everything should be heritage in Taiping.

The raintrees and the padang with the rugby post.
This is Taiping and King Edward at their best; blue
sky with the equally blue and majestic Maxwell Hill
in thebackground.

But it is in dilapidated state, and in dire need of maintenance. Many renovations were done without adhering to a heritage building guideline. The newer non-descript building built by Kementerian should be torn down. It is ugly.

Sometimes I do wonder why the British built majestic building in their colonies, while after independence, as lord of the land in our own country, we build school like we were the stingy colonials ourselves.

The buildings on the surface are still majestic. But underneath, I noticed that it in dire need to a good maintenance.

Look at the pillars, and the pathetic and unkempt conditions it is in.
Do note at the ugly steel  grill on the balcony.
An eye sore basically. Twice in Std 5 and Std 6, we were placed in
the upper level, and nothing untoward had happened
to kids of the yesteryears, and yet they had to do it to
protect the kids today. They can, but complement it
with the architecture of the  building please.

Help save King Edwards VII school before it crumbles to the ground. Here are what I thought should be done:

1. Call on restorer(s) to restore not only the facade, but to look at everything that requires maintenance - wiring, piping, structure
2. Demolish all ancillary and auxiliary buildings that did not conform to the architecture of the building. This include, the 3-storey Kementerian built building at the back of the school, and the equally eye-sore canteen in front of the school, and whatever the reban ayam in the middle of the compound.
3. There is no need to replace the removed buildings; to ensure that there are enough places for students, make King Edward VII-1 a select school that all students attending it will go through stringent tests that include both academic and extra curricular activities.
4. Declare the whole compound of King Edward VII-1 primary school a national heritage
5. Declare Taiping as a national heritage town (similar status as Penang and Melaka), and we don't have to wait for UNESCO declaration.

What say you Old Edwardians?

Ugly grill

Oh my God, ni reban ayam ke? Is
this the best the government can come up with? Look at
what the British build in the background. Used
to be very green on this part of the school.

Another ugly store room aka canteen at the front of the school.
Come on la kementerian - both Pelajaran and Warisan.
Eye sore betul2 depan sekolah. Where art thou?

There used to be no ceiling, just beams and wood planks
of the above floor, and I am not sure how many fans
we had then.

Talent is 99 percent perspiration

I hope it is not premature for me to talk about this, but I need to update my blog.

Badly.

And urgently.

And I am running out of topics, and ideas. But I certainly hope that I am not tempting fate.

For the past months, a few of my friends have been commenting - and complimenting, on the videos we have been churning out lately - at our Youtube channel and Facebook account. Actually I have been hearing about it for quite sometimes now, especially from strangers. (Funnily, I seldom got it from my own siblings or relatives. I even had a friend who after commenting positively about them, decided to delete it, not realizing that FB has sent that message over to my FB account.) Most of the time I would just dismiss it, without batting an eyelid. Much I like their compliments - make it that I love them, I prefer not to dwell on it too much. You can't bask on glory alone. It won't pay the bills, and there is much work to be done ahead of them. 

I remember the occasion very well, almost like it was yesterday. Like I know the back of my hand, so to speak. It was a profound moment in my life as a father.

The year was 2000. We had just returned from Houston, after my second tour of duty there.

"Abah, Arif nak belajar violin."

I looked up to him with raised eye brows. I had not cajoled him into saying that, nor have I been pestering about it to him. To be honest, until today I have no idea where he got the idea, and desire, to learn the violin. I am quite sure that there was no MPO then, so he could not have been listening to the classical.

I was not listening to dead men's music. I was too young for that then.

Instead of answering him (Arif), I asked his brother Akmal, "What about you? What do you want to play?"

The piano. Akmal's response was swift. There was no two ways about it. Not from him anyway. He knew what he wanted to do even as a six years old.

"OK, I want the both of you to take up piano first. After you have mastered the piano, then you can learn the violin."

To my surprise, I was decisive then. There was no hesitation on my part. I was a willing supporter in their quest. They didn't argue with me, fortunately. They didn't have too many choices; in fact they didn't have any.

The next step was to find a music centre a.k.a. music school for them.

There was a music school near the house in Taman Kosas Ampang. It is not a Yamaha music school; it was just a mom and pop's music school. But then again, Arif was nine and Akmal was even younger ato six; any teacher would be able to teach to these kids with no music background; much more than their musically illiterate dad would be able to offer them.

Akmal playing on the RM600
keyboard in 2007. El cheapo me.

Unlike Bapak who purchased a RM6,000 Yamaha organ when he wanted his daughters to learn music in the early 80s, I decided to minimize my risk, and only bought a RM600 keyboard a couple of months later for them to practice. By then they had gone through many lesson in their school, and they were only able to practice when in school.

Arif and the RM600
keyboard. I can't
tell you enough how
cheap I was then
compared to my
own bapak

I was adamant to not let what happened to Bapak, happen to me.

If Arif and Akmal were serious about it, they would cross any hurdle with determination. If not, their foray into the music world will die a natural death.

I was not too worried about hindering their progress with music. I had no objectives, and thought that as long as they were enjoying it, that's more than good enough a reason to do it. In hindsight, may be they would have been a faster learner had I bought them the real thing early in the beginning of their musical life and had targets set for them.

It was only two years later - in 2002, that I decided that they are serious music students, and bought them a reconditioned piano, at that time costing me RM4,500. Still cheaper than the RM6,000.00 organ that my dad bought, mind you, in the early 80s. 

So how much would RM6000 (in 1982) be worth twenty years later?  A lot more than I had spent, I guess.

I am sure I was earning then multiples of what bapak was earning, and yet he would spent much more for his kids' musical education.

God bless bapak for he loves music so much, despite being a very religious person. I guess he was probably interested in music when he was a kid, and circumstances prevented him from from pursuing it - not much different from my own, I guess. My uncle PC Ya told me recently that bapak has a melodious and soothing voice.

I had never heard him singing, to be honest, but he has for many years when he was in Lenggong been calling for the prayers at the nearby mosque, and I have to admit I love it when he said the azan, especially for the dawn prayer.

Unfortunately, his investment was one without a payback - even if I said so myself, and even then by mere observations, and not to find fault with his decisions 30 years ago. Both his two daughters did it half way, though his untimely death may have some impacts on their progress for sure.

Then again, if they so desired, they could have self-taught themselves beyond their formal education. But they didn't. I guess they weren't really interested, but it was bapak pushing them to do it. 

Sorry but I digress. In my case, I didn't ask Arif and Akmal to learn the piano. They did it on they own accord, and in the end, it shows.

I knew that Arif and Akmal would work hard to succeed. There was no two ways about it. There was no one in the family with musical talent - not that I know of anyway. I know they would have to work hard, but I do know too that I had never put the pressure on them. 

If they were to succeed, Alhamdulillah. If not, well...we were (really) not a musical family, so there was no risk.

In the beginning, Arif was the more prodigious son, and he was much quicker in progressing to the next level. He would pound the cheap plastic keyboard for years, before he got his hand on the real one. He even won the Oustanding Student Award during the year end concert, when he was only 14.  Akmal was much slower, but I can't think of a time I would have to shout at them to get them to practice.

They were diligent students, and I had an easy job as a father.

On the other hand, I didn't put extra pressure by asking them to play this or that songs, other then the classical songs they had learned at school. I totally leave it to them to absorb all those in front of them.

However, since taking up flying, Arif has not be doing much music. Akmal on the other hand has improved by leaps and bounds, and has left me breathless with his musical proficiency. I remember him being the slower learner; I remember him that he would do his practice when I was not around, or after we bought a digital piano, using the headphone, so that I would not be able to hear him practice and hence I would not be able to criticise.

I think all these whiles he has been living under his brother's shadow, and without him around, he was under no pressure for him to excel.

And excel he did, and I must say I am proud of him with the high quality of music that he has been churning out.

It didn't come out naturally at first, and effortlessly on their side. They are skillful, but certainly not gifted. They are good, but certainly they weren't prodigies when they were kids. They put a lot of hours in front of the piano.

On the piano stool, which can't be the most comfortable of chairs, I must say.

The only evidence that we have to show that we do have music in our blood. Well, a little bit I guess.
The girl, second from left, is the great grandmother of Arif & Akmal. Apparently
according to her son - my uncle PC Ya - she played the violin too. 

I am not sure if I had planned for them to become musicians. In some sense, may be I did. Afterall,  I had bought a piano book in 1985, just before I returned from Melbourne, thinking that one day, I would have someone to play it for me. The book is still intact; and now I have two sons who could play them for me.

Note for note.

In reflection, I am not sure if the both of them had any talent. I guess it does not matter. In the end, I know they have put in their heart and soul into learning music for the past 10 years. There was no easy shortcut for them; they put in long hours in their musical pursuit.

The picture is PC Ya with the Kilat band, who beat
Najib Hanif in a singing competition. Taken without
his permission from his FB.

Talent is, after all, ninety nine percent perspiration, if we are to be believe Edison. (Actually I twisted his statement a bit. Genius is 99% perspiration is the actual saying attributed to Edison.)

I am very sure I can't dispute him. Not with him being the most prolific scientist, and engineer.

Obviously Arif and Akmal have a long way ahead of them. They are still nobody in the industry - I am sure that was not the target when they first started. They were supposed to be able to entertain us. But since they are here, no one can say that they should not go far. They have the passion to do it.

Well, enjoy Akmal playing the Beatles. Now after 10 years, it is payback time. How many were able to enjoy live piano music at one's behest and fancy?

My sympathy and condolence with the Japanese people

If there is one country I admire the most; a country that I think the world of; that country would be Japan.

When I graduated with an engineering degree in 1985, I first worked with Korean engineers. My boss was Korean. Most of the equipment were made in Korea; there were only a couple of items that were made in Japan.

But it was the Japanese who stole my heart with their brilliance, engineering ingenuity and sheer dedication. And it is a lifetime admiration. I got to know about them and their traits first hand when I was sent to Japan under the Japan Cooperation Centre for Petroleum (JCCP) in 1988, and in the early 90s I nearly made Japan my second home by going there every few months for nearly two years.

Me as a young engineer in Chiba on Sept 28, 1988. I was the youngest
engineer in the group 9 engineers from Africa and Asia being
trained in Japan by JCCP.

Tokyo, Yokohama, Chiba, Kobe, Kyoto and the southern city of Tokuyama were some of the cities I spent time in while I was in Japan.

My admiration grew every time I was there.

The Chiba refinery in the background in 1988. Chiba
will rise again, insyaAllah.

In this difficult time for Japan and her people, I would like to reminisce on my time in Japan and the sweet memories I have of friends and colleagues from the Japanese archipelago, and I would like to wish them all the best for their future in face of the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

I know in the end, they will be ok. In fact they will rise from the ashes of this tragedy.

They have risen before from the ashes, literally.

They are after all the Japanese.

The Best Time to Plant a Tree II - The surveying

Ini pohon durian? Are they mine?

It has been quite a while since I last updated the blog.

Of course the excuses are numerous. Busy could be one. Mental block is another. Lazy. Loss of interest. Did I mention lazy? Oh I did, but let's have another laziness as the excuse. I think it is three times lazy to be honest.

You can name anything, they are all applicable.

It has also been awhile since I first bought a piece of land in Ulu Langat. At least two year, to be precise. Since then I have done nothing. If I had planted some cempedak or rambutan trees, they would be bearing some fruits for me by now.

But I did nothing; and obviously, I got nothing in return.

Just lost opportunities. Time flies away, and it is gone for sure.

But lament I will not. I knew about the African proverb very well from nearly a decade ago. "The best to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is today."

The last entry I wrote about this proverb, it is more as a metaphor. But this time, it is literal.

The view of the durian trees from the valley. 

Just for the record, it is a small piece of land. Nothing of significant, but more than enough for a family of four. Tanah sekangkang kera. As far as I am concerned too, there is nothing of value there. It is more a jungle out there; hilly enough for us enjoy some view and the fresh air, but flat enough to let this unfit forty something to enjoy the little terrain without breaking his back and twisting his muscles.

Reasonably dense I would say. I am a couple
of feets away from Arif and yet I can't be seen here.

So yesterday we went trekking to the site. The objective is to identify trees that will have to go and those that will be retained for one reason or another. The bulldozer will be coming in soon to clear the site and (re)planting will have to start very soon.

Just like in Ali Baba dan 40 Penyamum, we bought red and gold spray paint to identify trees that will be retained. You know the X symbol that the Penyamuns used to identify their victim's home is used in our endevour this time around.

Silap-silap memang boleh tergolek. Been there before! The slope is
reasonably steep. A good one for planting D24 or Musang King durians!

But we managed to identify only three trees; once we started scaling down the steep slope, and upon hearing to sound of water stream, we lost focus and started imagining ourselves enjoying the cool stream.

Kali or mata air. Too small to be called a river.

I would say the water is pure mineral water and the stream passes our land.

We stayed put for about 15 mins, clearing the shrubs so that the stream can be seen clearly. The previous owner had taken bottles of water from this stream whenever he at site. I am yet to do that, of course, as this was only the second time I had been here, but hopefully I would do that more often once site clearing has been done.

Beautiful small stream; full of rocks and soft sands. I wish it is a bit bigger,
but hey, this is mine. A small pondok somewhere and I would be able
to enjoy this weekly. The question is how long this stream can last
in view of the development taking place in Langat.

Another view of the stream, downstream I guess. This is no longer part of my land.

This part is very sandy. The question is how long will it last.
As long as there is no development upstream, may be I will enjoy this,
but once owners upstream start demarcating their lands for house
development, then we are doomed.

We had two choices. We could climb back and follow the same path to return to civilization. Or we could follow the stream and hope for the best that it would take us to a kampung or main road.

We decided on the second option.

Fortunately the two pianists are ever willing to accompany their dad
in surveying the land. I guess this is not their normal chore and hence
it is nice distraction for them.

Until we reached this part, we thought we had made the wrong decision. There is no way through vertically. We had to walk close to horizontally. Well, not quite, but all three of us were on our knees.

Arif on bended knees. I think I have pulled a muscle or two in
this position while trying to pass through.

It was a long walk in the stream, close to 45 mins, at times lamenting on our decision that we've made. By this time, we were tired, but we weren't dehydrated as there was plenty of water!

Obviously we found our way back to the car. And I guess that was no incident worthing writing.

Heck, it is not even interesting.

Love this, but I am not sure of the species. Anyone can identify them for me?

But we love the floral and fauna in the jungle of ours. Well for now let's just enjoy the floral. We didn't get to me the small four legged animals, which we had met a couple of years ago, and obviously our hearts skipped many beats that day.

And the floral was just beautiful. I am sure if we were to explore a bit more, we would find more exotic plants in there.

The question is whether I have the stamina to do this on a weekly basis.