Dear God,  my prayer for 2012 is for  a fat bank account and a thin body.  Please don't mix these up like you did last year.  AMEN!

Next stop, the Malay heartland

A screenshot of the videos taken from Haris Ibrahim's People's Parliament website. (http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com)

Frustrated by rural Malays’ poor access to alternative sources of news, an anti-Umno coalition has launched an online video it hopes will break Barisan Nasional’s (BN) media monopoly in key heartland areas.

Jumping between archive photos and documentary footage, the 104-minute “DN Tumbangkan BN” video by Asalkan Bukan Umno (ABU) hopes to undercut Umno’s claim that it has always fought for Malaysians and the good of the country.

ABU comprises the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM), Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) and the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM), among others.

The central theme of the video is former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s alleged abuse of the New Economic Policy (NEP) to enrich cronies, which ABU claims not only resulted in persistent poverty but also worsening race relations.

The NEP was introduced in 1971 following the bloody May 13, 1969 race riots to foster national unity by reducing the wealth gap between the races.

“Had the aspirations of the New Economic Policy been carried out, Tunku Abdul Rahman’s hope that Malaysia remain a democratic, independent nation based on freedom and justice... would have been realised long ago,” said the video’s narrator.

“Unfortunately, the Umno-BN government, beginning with the leadership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad from 1981 until now, has abandoned the principles of the Rukunegara and played up racial and religious sentiment to ensure the people are not united so they can remain in power.”

It also slammed Dr Mahathir – “the world’s biggest liar” – for allegedly undermining key national institutions to stay in power, presenting as proof the chain of events which began with the deregistration of Umno in 1988 following fractious party polls.

But the video also struck a more positive note amid the Umno-bashing, highlighting the alternative vision for Malaysia held by leftist political parties which fought for Malaysia’s independence from Britain in the 1940s and 1950s.

It noted that such groups, including the Malay Nationalist Party (PKMM) and Malayan Democratic Union (MDU), had worked together politically for a race-blind Malaysia even before BN’s predecessor, the Alliance, was formed.

“The unity we talked about never mentioned race, as is emphasised nowadays. All we wanted was that all the trade unions, all the workers, all the women, all the organisations should join in a broad front to oppose the return of the (British) Governor to rule the country,” MDU founding member Lim Kean Chye said.

Special attention was paid to the All-Malaya Hartal of 1948, which MCLM president Haris Ibrahim described as “the most graphic evidence” that Malaysians of different races have always been able to cooperate.

“It’s amazing that they managed, even then without internet, to pull off something on that scale. We’ve never had a race relations problem in this country. It’s just Umno and its sidekicks,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

ABU will kick off its campaign to disseminate the video among rural Malay voters at Kolej Universiti Islam Zulkifli Muhammad (KUIZM) in Gombak tonight.

According to Haris’s website, the group has already distributed some 200,000 hard copies of the video in villages in the past month alone.

[Source: The MI]

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I guess this must be one of the best tactics to apply to date in overcoming the propaganda of UMNO via the msm. The only reservation I have is whether the rural folks would feel angered enough when watching the video as at the end of the day, it is still the $$$$$ that will hold sway. However, to breach this barrier, it must be shown that the benefits they obtained are but only a tiny fraction (contrast against the corruption that enriched the 'selected few'), and this will eventually have an impact on them and their children's future. Still I am heartened by this new move, even from a NGO.

Now I don't feel lonely anymore

iPhone4s aka "Siri" will soon be hitting our shores and from the looks of it, many are going to have loads of fun with this upgraded version. "Siri" is voice interactive with a stern female voice but if you are in the UK, you will get a male voice instead. Lucky us. However the drawback is that it cannot understand Singlish or Manglish and you may end up either frustrating "Siri"" or yourself.

SIRI can get emotional too ...

So the next time I feel lonely, I can always chat with "Siri". Heard that certain people have even become infatuated with Siri. Talking about falling in love with technology.

An inspiring story that will change your life

This is a gripping story of a man, whose loss of his wife brings him to a stand point in life. Unable to cope, or to tell his young daughter about her mom's death the man refuses to go to the wake. However, an unlikely friend shows him a differnt path in experiencing whats known to be true and certain in his life, by diving into his own imagination. Through these "sessions" of experiencing a different world, entirely created and lived by the man himself, he finds one of life's most powerful messages.

Monday Human - Dedicated to all senior citizens

An elderly gentleman...

Had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%

The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, 'Your hearing is perfect.. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again.'

The gentleman replied:

'Oh, I haven't told my family yet.

I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will three times!'

Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement center were sitting on a bench under a tree when one turns to the other and says: 'Slim, I'm 83 years old now and I'm just full of aches and pains. I know you're about my age. How do you feel?'

Slim says, 'I feel just like a newborn baby.'

'Really!? Like a newborn baby!?'

'Yep. No hair, no teeth, and I think I just wet my pants.'

An elderly couple had dinner at another couple's house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen.

The two gentlemen were talking, and one said, 'Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great. . . I would recommend it very highly.'

The other man said, 'What is the name of the restaurant?'

The first man thought and thought and finally said, 'What is the name of that flower you give to someone you love?

You know... The one that's red and has thorns.'

'Do you mean a rose?'

'Yes, that's the one,' replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, 'Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night?'

I love this one!

Hospital regulations require a wheel chair for patients being discharged. However, while working as a student nurse, I found one elderly gentleman already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet, who insisted he didn't need my help to leave the hospital.

After a chat about rules being rules, he reluctantly let me wheel him to the elevator.

On the way down I asked him if his wife was meeting him.

'I don't know,' he said. 'She's still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown.'

Couple in their nineties are both having problems remembering things. During a checkup, the doctor tells them that they're physically okay, but they might want to start writing things down to help them remember …

Later that night, while watching TV, the old man gets up from his chair. 'Want anything while I'm in the kitchen?' he asks.

'Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?'

'Sure..'

'Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?' she asks.

'No, I can remember it.'

'Well, I'd like some strawberries on top, too. Maybe you should write it down, so a s not to forget it?'

He says, 'I can remember that. You want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries.'

'I'd also like whipped cream. I'm certain you'll forget that, write it down?' she asks.

Irritated, he says, 'I don't need to write it down, I can remember it! Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream - I got it, for goodness sake!'

Then he toddles into the kitchen. After about 20 minutes, The old man returns from the kitchen and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs.. She stares at the plate for a moment.

'Where's my toast ?'

A senior citizen said to his eighty-year old buddy:

'So I hear you're getting married?'

'Yep!'

'Do I know her?'

'Nope!'

'This woman, is she good looking?'

'Not really.'

'Is she a good cook?'

'Naw, she can't cook too well.'

'Does she have lots of money?'

'Nope! Poor as a church mouse.'

'Well, then, is she good in bed?'

'I don't know.'

'Why in the world do you want to marry her then?'

'Because she can still drive!'

Three old guys are out walking.

First one says, 'Windy, isn't it?'

Second one says, 'No, it's Thursday!'

Third one says, 'So am I. Let's go get a beer..'

A man was telling his neighbor, 'I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art.. It's perfect.'

'Really,' answered the neighbor . 'What kind is it?'

' Twelve thirty ..'

Morris , an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical.

A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm.

A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said, 'You're really doing great, aren't you?'

Morris replied, 'Just doing what you said, Doc: 'Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.''

The doctor said, 'I didn't say that.. I said, 'You've got a heart murmur; be careful.'

And One more. . ..!