Chong Wei - Beyond Race, Beyond Colour........

Victory leap Lee Chong Wei jumping towards his coach Misbun Sidek after beating South Korea’s Lee Hyun-il in the Beijing Olympics badminton men’s singles semi-final to assure himself of at least a silver medal in the Games. Chong Wei won 21-18, 13-21, 21-13. He will become the first Malaysian Olympics medallist since 1996. — KAMARUL ARIFFIN / The Star

Almost half the country were sitting in upright position while Lee Chong Wei was trying to win the badminton singles quater-finals match against a Korean the other night. The triumping victory was shared by all Malaysians regardless of race, culture, religion or colour. But the kissing of the small Malaysian flag on his shirt, several times, had made me realise how truly a Malaysian was this man. The jumping of joy and a bear hug on his coach was nonetheless the most beautiful sight too. But the same day ada sumpah perdana by one Saifool, and many I think were fooled again this time. To them Lee Chong Wei is just about badminton and Saifool was probably their life.

But I'll just cut short here........have promised myself not to involve in this anymore.

So let's read the following news article from TheStar, Saturday August 16, 2008



LEE Chong Wei made history when he became the first Malaysian badminton singles player to reach an Olympic final at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium last night.

The 26-year-old made sure Malaysia will return home with at least a silver medal after barren outings at the last two Olympics by battling past South Korean Lee Hyun-il 21-18, 13-21, 21-13 in the semi-finals.

Chong Wei has now bettered Rashid Sidek’s bronze medal achievement at the Atlanta Games in 1996.



The men’s doubles pair of Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock also delivered a silver medal for Malaysia that year but tomorrow, Chong Wei has a chance to go one step better when he takes on top seed Lin Dan of China, who beat compatriot Chen Jin 21-12, 21-18.

But that mouth-watering finale almost didn't happened as Hyun-il gave the Malaysian some anxious moments.

Chong Wei gained early control but Hyun-il caught up to 18-20.

But the Malaysian earned victory when his rival lobbed the shuttle wide.

Hyun-il, winner of the Korean and German Opens this year, turned on the power in the second game when he won 11 points in a row to eventually force the match into the rubber game.

In the decided, Chong Wei led 8-1 before the tenacious Korean clawed his way back to 11-15.

But Chong Wei, spurred on by shouts of Malaysia Boleh from the pockets of Malaysian supporters, regained the big lead again.

At 19-11, Chong Wei knew he was on the brink of a famous and historic win.

And when he did get the winning point, Chong Wei collapsed to the ground in sheer joy and relief.

He then got up, ran over and jumped onto his coach Misbun Sidek’s arms.

“The huge pressure is off me! I have made sure of winning at least an Olympic medal. I dedicate this to my coach, who gave everything to prepare me for these Games,” said Chong Wei, who only reached the second round in his Olympic debut in Athens four years ago.

“I knew Hyun-il would not be an easy opponent because he has beaten the top players before. But I pulled it off.”

On losing second game, Chong Wei said he just could not keep up with his opponent.

“He played at a very fast pace and I could not follow him. I made mistakes and I just prepared myself for the final game,” said Chong Wei, who now has a shot at the RM1mil incentive that has been promised by the government for any athlete who returns with an Olympic gold medal.

But more than that, it is his chance to gain Malaysian sporting immortality and bag what many athletes can only dream of.

The partisan crowd will be on Lin Dan’s side tomorrow but one thing is for sure, Malaysians can expect Chong Wei to go all out to bring home Malaysia’s first Olympic gold medal.

As he simply puts it: “I’ll play with my life.”

An ear for words By LYDIA TEH

Extracted from TheStar 13th August 2008


EH Poh Nim was in the auditorium of the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas with Jane to attend a performance by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. They had taken their seats and were watching people file in.

“This is my first time here,” Jane whispered excitedly. “I hope I don’t fall asleep.”

“Today’s repertoire is easy on the ear. The music will be pleasant to listen to.”

“Mmm ? that’s what I’m afraid of. Pinch me if I doze off, okay?” Jane said.

The concert began on time. Ten minutes into it, a young man in front of them started whispering loudly to his companion.

“Ssshhhh!” The neighbours shushed him up. He fell silent. Five minutes later, he piped up again.

Eh Poh Nim leaned forward and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around. “Excuse me,” she said, “we’d like to listen to the music without any noise pollution, please. Do you mind?”

The young man shut his mouth.

“I think he has nothing between his ears,” Eh Poh Nim whispered into Jane’s ears.

“You mean he’s stupid?” Jane asked a tad louder than she had intended.

The young man turned back and glared at them.

Peace reigned till intermission. Then the young man approached Eh Poh Nim. “I’d like a word with you,” he said.

“I’m all ears,” Eh Poh Nim said.

“You’d better listen carefully because I’m going to say this once. Bitch!” Then he raised his hand to hit her.

Eh Poh Nim’s reflex was fast. She managed to duck out of the way. Jane screamed and dragged her away from the man as his companion tried to restrain him.

“Stop it, Mark, or you’ll get a thick ear!” the older woman scolded. “Now sit down!”

He complied.

Eh Poh Nim and Jane escaped to the foyer. “Are you all right?” Jane asked. “I can’t believe there are such uncivilised people in a place like this.”

“Hmmmm ? this is supposed to be a place of refined culture, right? It’s a good thing I was able to dodge him. Somehow, I had a hunch he was going to hit me. That guy has spoilt my mood for the concert. Shall we go?”

“I don’t mind. This sort of thing is not really my cup of tea, anyway,” Jane said, heading towards the staircase.

“You’ve got a tin ear, do you?”

“What’s that?”

“Someone who has a tin ear can’t appreciate music,” Eh Poh Nim explained.

“That young man who tried to hit you, what’s his name – Mark? He’s the one with the tin ear. I wonder if that was his girlfriend. She’s much older than him, and did you see how he obeyed her immediately when she ordered him to sit?”

“She could be his sister. I see some resemblance between them. On hindsight, I should’ve turned a deaf ear to him. If I’d ignored him, others would have shut him up soon enough. I should’ve known better. He looks like he’s wet behind the ears.”

“Really? Did he put so much hair gel that it dripped down his ears?” Jane asked.

Eh Poh Nim chuckled. “That’s an expression for being young and inexperienced. Mark’s ears must be burning, the way we’re talking about him.”

“Okay, what should we do now?” Jane asked.

“We’ll play it by ear. But first, let’s go grab a bite.” Eh Poh Nim led the way to the mall food court.

“I didn’t know you could play the piano,” Jane said.

“I don’t. Oh, you thought I could play the piano by ear? When I said we’ll play it by ear, I meant we don’t have a plan of action and we’ll decide what to do as things happen. The other meaning of the phrase is being able to play a song according to how it sounds, rather than from a written score. Do you play the piano?”

“No. But John does. His mother forced him to take lessons when he was a kid.”

“Your husband plays the piano? I can’t believe my ears.”

“When we were courting, I was very surprised when he told me he could play the piano. I thought he was pulling my leg until he brought me to his house and played ‘Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing’. It sounded like music to my ears.”

“Er, Jane. You didn’t use that expression correctly. Something that sounds like music to your ears is not literally music but something that’s pleasing to hear about. For example, if I hear that the security guards have ejected that angry young man for causing a ruckus at the concert, now that would be music to my ears!”


Lydia Teh is the author of Life’s Like That – Scenes from Malaysian Life and Honk! If You’re Malaysian, the most popular local non-fiction book in The Star-Popular Readers’ Choice Awards 2008.

What' the story Zan?

Norzahizan Ismail has been awarded RM71,128 by the Industrial Court for wrongful dismissal


GEORGE TOWN: A former Utusan Melayu journalist has been awarded RM71,128 by the Industrial Court for wrongful dismissal.

The court also ordered the newspaper company, Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd, to reinstate Norzahizan Ismail within 60 days.

In his 54-page judgment, Industrial Court chairman Mohd Amin Firdaus Abdullah found that Norzahizan's dismissal was done in bad faith and without just cause or excuse.

Mohd Amin ruled that the company had also failed to prove all three charges against Norzahizan.

Norzahizan, who was dismissed on Sept 15, 2004, was found guilty by the newspaper's internal inquiry of three charges:

- Disobeying her superior's orders to give coverage for an Asia-Pacific event by filing only a caption story of the event;

- Failing to complete her assignment after attending a press conference for the Commonwealth Tourism Ministers Conference; and,

- Failing to complete another assignment on a health-related article.

Mohd Amin found that there were inaccuracies in the typewritten notes of the internal inquiry.

In addition, he also found that a proper or valid domestic inquiry was not held.

He said ultimately the company failed to establish a prima facie case against Norzahizan, who had been working for the newspaper since March 3, 1997.

Mohd Amin ordered the company to pay a total of RM71,128 in backwages and monthly transport allowance as well as an exemplary award as the dismissal was without just cause or excuse.

Norzahizan was represented by Jagdeep Singh Deo while the company was represented by S. Benjamin.

After the hearing, Norzahizan said she was happy at being reinstated.

"I plan to quit my present job as a corporate communications manager in a college and rejoin Utusan Melayu.

"When I was dismissed, I felt demoralised and even depressed at one point," she said.

NISFU SYAABAN

Sudah hampir kepada separuh bulan Syaaban. tak lama lagi berpuasalah kita, sama ada mahu atau tidak kena puasa juga kerana telah diwajibkan kita berpuasa apabila telah masuk bulan Ramadhan.

Ramai yang berpuasa 3 bulan, ie Rejab, Syaaban dan terus sambung dengan Ramadhan. One good thing about these people, they always look healthy, tak nampak letih sikit pun.

Berikut adalah bahan mengenai kelebihan sebahagian dari Bulan Syaaban, semoga kita semua diberkati dengan ilmu yang telah sampai kepada kita.

Nisfu dlm bahasa arab beerti setengah. Nisfu Syaaban beerti setengah bulan Syaaban. Malam Nisfu Syaaban adalah malam lima-belas Syaaban iaitu siangnya empat-belas haribulan Syaaban.

Malam Nisfu Syaaban merupakan malam yang penuh berkat dan rahmat selepas malam Lailatul qadr. Saiyidatina Aisyah r.a. meriwayatkan bahawa Nabi saw tidak tidur pada malam itu sebagaimana yg tersebut dalam sebuah hadis yg diriwayatkan oleh Iman Al-Baihaqi r.a:

Rasulullah saw telah bangun pada malam (Nisfu Syaaban) dan bersembahyang dah sungguh lama sujudnya sehingga aku fikir beliau telah wafat. Apabila aku melihat demikian aku mencuit ibu jari kaki Baginda saw dan bergerak. Kemudian aku kembali dan aku dengar Baginda saw berkata dlm sujudnya, "Ya Allah aku pohonkan kemaafanMu daripada apa yg akan diturunkan dan aku pohonkan keredhaanMu daripada kemurkaanMu dan aku berlindung kpdMu daripadaMu. Aku tidak dpt menghitung pujian terhadapMu seperti kamu memuji diriMu sendiri."

Setelah Baginda saw selesai sembahyang, Baginda berkata kpd Saiyidatina Aisyah r.a. "Malam ini adalan malam Nisfu syaaban. Sesunguhnya Allah Azzawajjal telah dtg kpd hambanya pada malam Nisfu syaaban dan memberi keampunan kpd mereka yg beristighfar, memberi rahmat ke atas mereka yg memberi rahmat dan melambatkan rahmat dan keampunan terhadap org2 yg dengki."

Hari nisfu sya'aban adalah hari dimana buku catatan amalan kita selama setahun diangkat ke langit dan diganti dengan buku catatan yang baru. Catatan pertama yang akan dicatatkan dibuku yang baru akan bermula sebaik sahaja masuk waktu maghrib, (15 Sya'aban bermula pada 14 hb sya'aban sebaik sahaja masuk maghrib)

Berikut adalah antara amal ibadah di hari Nisfu Sya'aban:

1.Solat sunat nisfu sya'aban - terdapat dua cara mengerjakan solat sunat ini
Sembahyang 100 rakaat dengan memberi salaam selepas setiap 2 rakaat. Surah Al-Ikhlas dibaca sebanyak 11 kali setelah setiap rakaat setelah membaca surah al-Fatihah
Sembahyang 10 rakaat dengan memberi salaam selepas setiap 2 rakaat. Surah Al-Ikhlas dibaca sebanyak 100 kali setelah setiap rakaat setelah membaca surah al-Fatihah
2. Membaca Yasin 3x selepas solat Maghribnya

i) Yasin pertama : mohon dipanjangkan umur untuk beribadat kepada Allah

ii) Yasin kedua : mohon rezeki yang halal untuk beribadat kepada Allah

iii) Yasin ketiga : mohon ditetapkan iman dan Islam & mati di dalam iman
3. Berpuasa pada siangnya (mulai pagi esoknya-15 Syaaban)

AL-FATIHAH

Maybe it was fated, yes it was fated alright... That fateful Saturday morning, he got up early. Eager to go home, took his shower, had a clean shave, dress-up and posed for prayer. Supposed to be discharged by 10 a.m.

As his usual self, the neighbours in neighbouring beds saw how happy he was that morning. Moving around with the dripper stand beside him, he never shows worriedness nor anxiety or even fear, less the emotion of pain that builds up in his chest.

Weeks before that, the feeling of uneasiness mushroomed his thought. He knew something is not right. The chest pain, the left hand getting weaker each day and difficulty in breathing has weakend him. He needs rest but the hectic days never gave him the opportunity of getting it.

So off to the hospital he went not only to get treatment but primarily to rest. His brother is already there in bed at the ICU. He made it clear to his children not to informed others of his being warded at the hospital to minimise obstruction of the rest he really needs.

True to his knowledge, he felt better after a week. But going home, has become no easy task. The pain, the sickness, greet him again and after three days he gave up and drive this time straight to the General Hospital (GH).

The doctors told him they will do whatever they can and describe the best possible treatment. Visitors were told by him that the operation that he is going through is normal. No problems will arise, and he is going to get the best doctor available in GH. So the visitors left with a very high expection that this man will survive easily.

Fate has its own way of making simple occasion into a history. The operating theater at the GH is under major renovation. They have that facility at the nearest hospital in Alor Star only. The movement, the personnel and those involve was noted down and carefully planned. Monday, 21st July was chosen as the Sultanah Bahayah Hospital would be ready to receive the patient and its group staff of doctors and nurses. And so off they went that morning.

The operation went on at four p.m. and ended at around 7 pm. A PTCA was performed on him but along the way they found he had five blocks and one of them is 100 percent. That is not good news according to the doctors. But crossing their fingers, they ask the family members present to pray for the best. The doctors after going through a vigorous time of checking all the readings which goes by the minute, only declared the next day that the patient is responding normally, and the operation was a success, but still the monitoring has to go on.

Others were informed of the success, and all are happy. Till the very last minute, the happiness was still there. Most are anxious to visit him at his home. The waiting was shortlived however.


Saturday : 26th July

The news came at around 9.30 am that he has passed away before 9 a.m. that day. The shocking news was hard to absord. The chair next to where I was standing cushioned me when I suddenly knew I've lost another brother.

Though hard to swallow, life has to go on.....

AL-FATIHAH TO MD YUSOFF BIN MD IBRAHIM, MAY ALLAH BLESSED HIS SOUL AND PLACE HIM AMONG THE FAITHFUL IN HEAVEN.