The journey back

It has been so long since I blogged that I do not know where to start. To be honest, I could not even remember my User ID or my password initially. It has been far too long since I have had found the urge to say anything of worth that needed to be cleared out of the deepest reaches of my gut and soul.

Now, as I look back and read my old posts, memories come flooding back like water bursting through the embankments of the most volatile river. But strangely, I live these memories as a third person. I can remember seeing myself there, doing the things I have done (good and bad), feeling the glory and pain but not really experiencing it in the first person. It feels like I am watching a movie where I play a role as myself. It is strange, I admit, even for my standards.

These same fingers now, feel different, as they dance across my new keyboard. I feel different. I guess that is what time and age does to people.

Anyway, it is of utmost peculiarity to me that I dreamt I was back in the UK again last night. It has been years since I have had that dream. I was back in Oxford, in my dorm, but it was empty bar 2 strangers whose name I obviously do not know. I can remember feeling terribly cold and alone. I remember wearing a thick coat and shorts. SHORTS???!!! That’s right, I have finally lost all sanity that even my dreams are absurd. It actually felt EXACTLY like the first time I woke up in my room to a snowy day.

The only difference now is I woke up to a rainy day and a really high-powered air-conditioned room. Still alone in my dark room wishing that life was just a dream that I could sleep away.

Any psychologists out there willing to give a prognosis?

Oh well…I’m back, for now.

History

I always enjoyed my history lessons though not necessarily my history teacher. Well, my history teacher was a whole story by itself and in a million ways is a nightmare (perhaps in the scale of WW2 in the terms of my personal history). The way she pronounced famous names like Napoleon Bonaparte still leaves me shuddering in my blanket. However, that is a tale for some other day.

A lot of people find history boring and dare I say it – USELESS! Ok. I’m not one of these people. History for me is full of color (ok...grey is still a color nonetheless). I still remember the INVINCIBLE ARSENAL lose for the first time after going on a 49 match unbeaten run or the first time I first flicked through the pages of Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Ok..ok…granted that is not important history to most of us but it is important to me personally. So, in that perspective history isn’t too boring.

And is history useless? It apparently is if you never learn or get inspiration from them. Perhaps our Angkasawan derived his inspiration from Neil Armstrong? Or perhaps our A1 driver, Alex Yoong got his inspiration from Prost or Schumi. Or perhaps I got my inspiration from Lord Denning (probably not!)? And haven’t we learnt from the follies of old? We learn from Hitler that from extremism there can be only a great potential for tragedy and disaster. We have also learned from people like Lincoln that in the face of great adversity there is still a way to great achievements.

But, perhaps what the Malaysian public wants to know is how is it that we never learned from the story of the Titanic? She was unspoiled by the seas, a virgin in that regard and yet the seas claimed her and ravaged her and left her sunk in the deep abyss of his wet belly. We all know of this sad story and yet even now we have not learned from it. If we had, probably something more could have been done to ensure the safety of the passengers of the ferry that was set ablaze only recently. Why was the crew not prepared for a disaster? Why was the ferry still in commission when it did not have a permit? History may be useless but if we had only learnt about the story of the Titanic maybe the loved ones of the deceased of this tragedy will not have so many “why” to ask. Why wasn’t there enough life jackets? Why did these innocent tourists have to die?

My answer?

->Because we find history BORING

5 ways to identify a chambering student in msia

A person is a chambering student if:

1. He complains about getting low pay

2. He complains that he is feeling insignificant especially if he is made to xerox a 1000 copies of case notes

3. He complains of feeling eternally tired and stressed out especially if he is doing litigation.

4. He complains that he never has the time to "chill out" anymore.

5. He complains that his gf or family complains that they never see him anymore and that they expect a mountain from him financially.

6. He thinks that studying wasn't such a bad thing to do afterall.

7. He has to eat mix rice and ice chinese tea (which tastes like drain water) because he can't really afford anything else.

Note:
1. The list is not mutually exclusive and is most likely not exhaustive
2. And like Rudy and JJ from HITZ FM Says "NOW YOU KNOW"!

Here....Learn YOUR RIGHTS

I’ve been asked by some of my friends recently to blog about the law like other law students do. Although I find it perfectly understable for law students to blog about the laws governing them, I often abstain from doing so for a number of reasons. Perhaps the most compelling reason is that in this country some people of major influence only want to hear what they like to hear and if you don’t speak (or blog) in the same manner, serious repercussions may await you! So, without going further, I will end the matter there. But, there are quite a lot of enthusiastic law students out there who have and will blog about the law inter alia Weng Tchung and Lay Hun and you can access their blog through my blog list located to the right of the shoulders of my page.

However, without dissapointing you, my readers, from time to time, I will make an exception to the general rule about not blogging about the law provided that I feel the post will bring some substantial benefit to the lay person sitting in the (not so) Rapid KL bus. Therefore, here, I will attempt to furnish you with the rights that you have upon an arrest by the police.

Remember these acronyms for they may (or may not) serve you well in times of need : GLS 24 (G- grounds of arrest, L- Legal Representation, S- Right to remain silent, 24- the arrested person shall be brought before a Magistrate within 24 hours)

1. Article 5(3) of the Federal Constitution: Where a person is arrested he shall be informed as soon as may be of the grounds of his arrest and shall be allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.

(Therefore, if you ever have the misfortune of being arrested, you have the right to be told of the grounds of your arrest as provided by Article 5. You also may consult a lawyer of your choice and it is clear from the decision in OCCI Kedah- Perlis v Ooi Ah Phua, that if the police had refrained you from consulting your lawyer the ‘onus is upon the police to prove that they are reasonable in doing so’.)

2. Article 5(4) of the Federal Constitution: Where a person is arrested and not released he shall without unreasonable delay, and in any case within twenty-four hours (excluding the time of any necessary journey) be produced before a magistrate and shall not be further detained in custody without the magistrate's authority:

Provided that this Clause shall not apply to the arrest or detention of any person under the existing law relating to restricted residence, and all the provisions of this Clause shall be deemed to have been an integral part of this Article as from Merdeka Day.

(Article 5(4) is self explanatory. If you have had your rights infringed it is important that you know that you may seek to apply for a writ of habeas corpus to set yourself free from this illegal detention)

3. S.113 of the CPC: You have a right to remain silent after a caution has been administered (also self explanatory)

Hope this helps! This post was written at 2.15 am on 17/9/2007 mostly out of memory and therefore out of sheer weariness there may be some minor errors here and there though I believe in substance is it correct.

(Btw, as far as I know, to all my friends who watch legal based series like Ally McBeal, Boston Legal etc, there is no such right as a right to a phone call!Well, at least none provided by the law in Malaysia!)

Man’s best friend & the dog’s worst nightmare

Recently, one of the local municipal councils staged a competition to round up and catch stray dogs. Wow... bravo! Whenever I think that we can’t possibly sink to a new level, some one just tries their best to prove me wrong and make me eat humble pie!

I’m now dining over the said pie with more than a tear on my face. I shouldn’t be too surprised after all. We have a poor record of caring for other species besides our own and even then we continue to alienate even our own species through stringent criterias like skin color and race! I’m not a religious man. But, if I’m a person who believes in karma, I would strongly suggest to all those out there reading this blog, to abstain from participating on such competitions or any other of the same kind. I know it may be hard when there are numerous rewards for shooting a crow, or trapping a dog, or catching some monkeys and often these rewards are monetary in nature. However, I appeal to the human in YOU, to see and to realise that this is just WRONG.

The local municipal is taking the easy way out by letting others do their job. BUT, how many of us can show compassion to God’s other creatures? From my personal observation, not many people in Malaysia delight in caring for dog’s. As a matter of fact, they get more joy by stoning them to death. I have seen many sadist like these and I surely hope that YOU there behind the monitor is not one of them. Some people think that their religion forbids them to have any love for the our four legged friends. I think that any religion that actively indulges in other being's suffering is wrong or most likely just misinterpreted by man for their own fancy!

To some of us, the dog is man’s best friend.

To the dog, some of us is the dog’s worst nightmare.

What has happened to us?

When I was in High School, I studied in one of the top 10 schools in Malaysia for the STPM. My teachers constantly reminded us of our very illustrious alumni and were relentless in making it clear that it was our responsibility to carry the torch (so to speak) and bring good name to the school. I was very proud then to be studying in that school (and I still am) although it was very difficult and at times bordering on the impossible to keep these demanding teachers happy. They demanded for the best and they were not going to accept anything less. In that sense, I would like to think that the education I received there helped me become a more determined person and driven to achieve my goals. I would also like to think that at this relatively early stage some of us have already shown that we are more than capable to join the illustrious list of ‘old boys’ sooner rather than later. As my Economics teacher once said “you’re the leaders of the future and in you Malaysia will put its trust” (although granted, he said it in a mixture of BM and English).

However, lately after my suffering with the CLP has abated for the moment, I have been able to keep in touch with some long lost friends. Besides the usual stories of A is getting married or C is now pregnant with her 2nd child, there were more pressing and in my opinion sad news! Maybe a lot of friends of my batch are now reasonable success in their own right and in that sense has succeded in bringing good repute to the already dignified reputation of the school, but, a number of them have already indicated that they are not willing to continue their struggles in this country anymore.

As an example, one of my friends P, who was one of the brighter ones in my class, is already planning a permanent rendezvous to the UK. He is currently working in one of the BIG 4 Accounting Firms and I would like to think is earling good wages. However, it has never escaped my attention that he is growingly dissastisfied with the conditions here. I once asked him, why did he want to migrate to the UK when he has never even been there. His reply was bitter.

“Anywhere will do but here!”

Another example is L, who has just graduated with a good degree from the top university in Malaysia. He was once the most cheerful among us and was also a very good student in his own right. Now he is an engineer back in our hometown. However, he too has been feeling more and more resentment towards his country of birth. This once cheerful person is now always burdened by a frown and the occasional scowl.

What has happened to my friends? These are only just a few of the many where I have encountered growing disdain for the country. I, myself, for reasons better not disclosed, have considered with more than a passing interest the feasibility of leaving this country. I have once decided to spurn the temptations of staying in the UK only to come back here and feel very unwanted and deprived and helpless. Will I finally decide to follow my parents footsteps and decide that the country of my birth shall also be the country where I will finally be buried? Truthfully, I DO NOT KNOW.

There must be a reason why all these young bright men and women feel that they have to leave their own country to find happiness. The PM has issued a threat that those who renounce their citizenship will not get it back. But, perhaps they do not want it back?

Then it seems imperative that we find out why all these people want to leave. Have they lost a sense of belonging? And if yes, how do we tell them this is indeed home? That is a question that I can’t answer but it seems many these days do not seem to even bother anymore!

CHEAPBUY

Remember that lecturer I told you about that can’t pronounce words properly? Just yesterday fate decided to test him again. He had to pronounce the word “CHEAPBUY Sdn Bhd”. Why don’t you guess how the word CHEAPBUY came out? Safe to say the whole class erupted in laughter before he finally saw the point. Sigh …