A warm season's greeting ....

 

And may 2014 brings renewed hopes to you too.

The Cobbold Commission

Ever since the ruling on the 'Allah' issue by the Court of Appeal in October, the 18 and the 20-point agreements with Sarawak and Sabah have once again been brought to the fore front in our national discussions.

But what was the role of the Cobbold Commission insofar as the two agreements are concerned.

The Cobbold Commission, was a Commission of Enquiry set up to determine whether the people of North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak supported the proposal to create the Malaysia consisting of Malaya, Brunei, Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak. It was also responsible for the subsequent drafting of the Constitution of Malaysia prior to the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. The Commission was headed by former Bank of England governor, Lord Cobbold.

The above photo shows the signing of the Cobbold Report of the Commission of Enquiry, North Borneo and Sarawak, at Knebworth House, London on 21 June 1962. The Commission comprises of five members, chaired by Lord Cobbold, a former governor of the Bank of England, its members comprises of Dato' Wong Pow Nee (second from right) and Encik Mohd Ghazali bin Shafie (first from right), representing the government of Malaya, while Sir Anthony Abell and Sir David Watherston, the representative of the British government. Mr. H. Harris acted as the Secretary.

The Sabahans and the Sarawakians want a review of the agreements but why is UMNO Baru shying away from it?

The Queen's Christmas Broadcast, 1957

The first televised Christmas Broadcast or 'Queen's Speech', filmed at Sandringham House in Norfolk

My, what do you know. This guy is also a 'pendatang'.

Nelson Mandela dies

Mandela, shown in 2010, married Winnie Madikileza in 1958. (Alexander Joe/Reuters)

Nelson Mandela, one of the greatest leaders of modern times, passed away Thursday at his home in Johannesburg after a prolonged lung infection. He was 95.

South African President Jacob Zuma announced that Mandela, "the founding president of our democratic nation, has departed," adding that he "passed on peacefully."

"Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father," Zuma said.

"Our thoughts are with the millions of people who embraced Mandela as their own and who saw his cause as their cause.… This is the moment of our deepest sorrow.”

Mandela will be accorded a state funeral, Zuma said, and national flags will be lowered to half-mast.
"We saw in him what we seek in ourselves. And in him we saw so much of ourselves," he said. "Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we will bid him farewell."

Mandela's respiratory problems in recent years may be connected to his imprisonment, when he contracted tuberculosis after working in a prison quarry. He had been in hospital in recent months.

His hospitalization on June 8, 2013, marked his fifth visit to hospital in two years. In April 2013, he spent 10 days in hospital after being treated for pneumonia.

Mandela was a prominent international figure for more than half a century, first as a leading human
rights campaigner in South Africa and then as the world's best-known political prisoner.

Following his release, he again became the leader of the anti-apartheid struggle, and in 1994 became the first president of a democratic South Africa.

On July 18, 2009, the first Mandela Day declared by the United Nations, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke about how "Nelson Mandela has made a lasting imprint on our lives."

Now I know why ....

Further to my last posting, which was on UiTM, now I can understand it's racist nature.

Institute of Technology MARA and UiTM

One day in 1977, I received a call from one Puan Aishah of ITM in Shah Alam who wanted to meet up with me to ascertain whether I was interested in taking up a part-time job as a lecturer with the college.  She was the head of the School of Hotel and Catering Management, and the course she wanted me to lecture in was in the "Diploma in Tourism Administration", and it involved the final year students.

I was a little apprehensive on two account.  First, it was just after the great campus riot, and secondly, my BM.  Although I could speak the language well, but I figured it would be a different cup of tea entirely when coming to giving academic lectures.

When I drove into the campus that afternoon to meet her, there were debris all around.  I must have thought I had just driven into a war zone. The meeting was interesting and to my surprise I was told that my lecture was to be conducted in English.  And so began my journey with my students in ITM.

During the first 6 months of my lectureship with the college, I found the students to be smart, they articulated very well in English, believe in a socialist order of life and even one or two of them were quite self-opinionated about their belief (not religiously though) which sometimes can be overbearing, but well intended.  Although religion was important but never the main focus. Race relations was fantastic as far as I was concerned.  We mixed well with no hang-ups.  On the day when they finished their last paper for the exam, I would be there to have a little tea gathering with them at the 'mamak-teria' (just across the field) and to wish them all the best for the future.  I used to tell them, "Your journey in life now begins".

These are my students from the 1983 batch.

The blogger (in batik shirt) with his students



And these are the students today from the same institution, albeit being accorded university status.

How times have changed.