Friday, December 31, 2010

Last day of December 2010.

Today is the last day of December 2010...
2010 has been a good year for me.
I met few new colleagues & media friends from Kuala Lumpur since yesterday.
Thank you to my boss for sending me to the program organised by Department of Museums Malaysia.
I'm gonna be the emcee for tomorrow's High Tea.
Thank you for the invitation Hawa & Mdm Mahani;
and thank you for your trust.
My new year resolution is half way done...
Gotta finish the list before 12 midnight...
Married life has been great!
Thank you so much to my hubby for being there for me...
In happy & sad times...
I'm always missing you & I love you so much for life!!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

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Friday, November 5, 2010

Happy Diwali

I woke up early this morning...
couldn't sleep as it was raining...
I wished that I could play & sing in the rain...
Just like the good old days...in Sabah

Met few friends...had a healthy breakfast...
It's so quiet here in Langkawi...
Most of my neighbours have gone back to their hometowns...
Not many people go to the temple this morning...
I'll be on air from 3pm till 6pm...
Enjoy your holiday!
HAPPY DIWALI my friends.

Thousands of Hindus throng the "Glass Temple" in Johor Baru for Deepavali

Thousands of Hindus throng the "Glass Temple" in Johor Baru for Deepavali

JOHOR BARU: Thousands of devotees thronged the Arulmigu Sri Raja Kaliamman Temple, better known as the “Glass Temple” to offer their prayers on Deepavali.

The temple, which is famous for its elaborate mirror work that covers more than 90% of its structure, attracted many devotees from all over the country as well as from Singapore.

For S. Saravanan and his family, visiting the temple in Jalan Tebrau here proved to be a memorable affair.

The 38-year-old manager decided to pay a visit to the temple with his family after staying over at his brother’s house the night before.

“We came down from Kuala Lumpur a day before Deepavali, and this was our first time we are here to give offerings and prayers at the temple.

“The Glass Temple is by far the most unique temple I have even been to and visiting it has made this Deepavali more memorable for us,” he said adding that he also took pictures of his family in the temple to show their friends in Kuala Lumpur.

Another new visitor J. Vanitha, 31, said she understood why her friends couldn’t stop talking about the temple.

“The temple’s interior is made up of pieces of mirrors which makes the place so breathtaking,” she said.

S. Vely, 32, said she visits the temple regularly every week during the last ten years.

“The atmosphere at the temple is different during Deepavali because there will be mantra chants and I would feel at peace,” said the mother of two.

Temple president S. Sinnathamby said about 5,000 came to offer prayers at the temple.

“Other than mantra chants and prayer offerings, there are also colourful kolams on display for the visitors to admire.

“This year, we are also giving away goodie bags and angpows to visitors and devotees,” he said.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Sister slaps Rempit girl

Sister slaps Rempit girl

GEORGE TOWN: A 16-year-old schoolgirl was slapped several times by her elder sister at the state police contingent headquarters here for being involved in illegal motorcycle racing.

The girl was among 112 Mat Rempit and pillion riders aged between 13 and 26 who were detained in an operation at Jalan Bukit Gambier in Gelugor from midnight till 3am.

Policemen and reporters were stunned when the elder sister, in her 20s, slapped her younger sister in front of onlookers at about 10.30am.

“You janji you akan bertukar! (you promised you’ll turn over a new leaf),” the sister was heard rebuking the girl.

Later, when the girl tried to salam (greet) her sister, the latter was heard shouting “jangan sentuh aku!” (don’t touch me!).

Earlier, the sister and her mother had pleaded with state public order and traffic chief Supt Wan Aziz Wan Husin to release the younger girl, who was a pillion rider.

She was also heard telling police that the younger girl had played truant from school.

The police also made the group push their machines for about 15km from Jalan Bukit Gambier to the headquarters at Jalan Penang.

The journey started at 4.30am and they took about three and a half hours to reach their destination.

The motorcyclists were allowed to rest briefly after every 2km. Many were seen huffing and puffing and were also drenched in sweat.

Supt Wan Aziz said 74 summonses were issued to the 73 Mat Rempit for various offences.

“We carried out urine tests but none of them tested positive. We will issue letters to their parents informing them of their children’s racing activities,” he said.

* I salute the police for making the group walk for 15km with their machines/ motorbikes. Serve them right! Well done PDRM!


Sunday, October 24, 2010

Errors in PMR English paper

Errors in PMR English paper

I WISH to highlight some glaring errors which appeared in English Paper 1 of the recent PMR (Penilaian Menengah Rendah) examination.

Candidates had to read through a passage and answer questions 29 to 34. I was both disappointed and surprised as the passage had some serious errors.

In the first paragraph, the author wrote: “Being a Penangite, it was indeed fun to go somewhere far as it would be a change from my normal routine…”

This is a classic dangling modifier in which the author refers it (the trip) as a Penangite.

There were two other flaws in the second paragraph:

The first one “Drop me off at a small town” should correctly read as “in a small town” while the other one “I went to enquire at the bus station” should in fact read “I went to enquire about the bus schedule at the bus station”.

The writer wrote in the third paragraph: “… I alighted where most buses stopped for passengers to get refreshments and stretch their legs.”

Did he or she really mean he or she got off the bus where most buses stopped for passengers to get refreshments and stretch their legs?

Then, in the fourth paragraph, the passage read: “I enquired from someone and was told to wait at a bus stop across the road. Hence, I waited eagerly…”

The word “hence” means “for that reason” and to me, it is not an appropriate word to use in that context. The word “hence” is a formal word, it should not be included in that context and is not followed by a comma but a noun, or noun phrase.

For example, “He was involved in a serious road accident – hence the scars.”

This is like a square peg in a round hole. Hence, the writer or teacher has poor diction.

Furthermore, the usage, “I enquired from” is not a standard form of English, it should be “I enquired of”.

I was fuming with anger when I read the last sentence of the passage: “This will definitely be one experience that I will never forget!”

What was the author trying to say - did the experience happen or did it not? It should read: “That was definitely an experience that I will never forget!”

Did the author imply that the experience is yet to happen? The correct one should be: “That was definitely an experience that I will never forget!”

In question 32, “The word alighted means: A - got down…”. In standard English, we do not say “get down the bus”, we use “get off the bus”.

In question 33, “The bus stopped at Yong Peng to allow the passengers to: A – take a nap; B – relax themselves; C – check into a hotel…”

The phrase “check into a hotel” (in C) should in fact read “check in at a hotel” or “check in to a hotel”.

The word “relax” (in B) is not used with reflexive pronouns like myself, yourself , themselves, etc.

There were at least four or five grave grammatical mistakes in this PMR 2010 English Paper 1 passage.

It is a shame that such errors have appeared in the language paper of a major national exam!

Even the reviewers, who must be English Language specialists, were not able to detect the mistakes.

There is a Russian proverb that aptly says, “A fish rots from the head down’’.

If we want to improve the standard of English in Malaysia, we have to retrain our English teachers comprehensively and thoroughly.

We have to do it before they start teaching our children. Please do something about this situation fast for the sake of our next generation.

MR LIM
Via e-mail

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Langkawi hit by jellyfish boom

LANGKAWI: Improper dumping of sewage and the disappearance of turtles has caused an explosion in the jellyfish population which is threatening tourism here.

In the first 21 days of July alone, 185 cases of jellyfish attacks on tourists and residents including fishermen were recorded and this is becoming a cause of concern to the Langkawi Development Authority (Lada).

The authority is seeking Malaysia Nature Society’s help to reduce the number of jellyfish.

Lada’s economic affairs assistant officer Shajiddeen Shaari said the best way to curb the number of jellyfish would be to prevent marine pollution.

However, he said they faced problems in increasing the number of turtles, which feed on jellyfish, because of pollution along the beaches.

“Turtles mistake plastic bags for food as to they look like floating jellyfish to the turtles,” said Shajiddeen.

He said jellyfish are also reducing the fish population as they eat fish eggs.

Veteran nature guide Othman Ayeb said rising water temperatures due to pollution also contributed to the jellyfish boom.

He said that in the past, the jellyfish were usually found some 5km to 10km away from the shoreline.

“However, due to the improper management of sewage from resorts and hotels, the jellyfish started to breed along the shore,” he said.

Othman added that Pantai Cenang has the highest number of jellyfish because of the bad water quality.

“However, we have yet to ascertain the jellyfish species,” he said, adding that samples will be sent to Universiti Sains Malaysia for proper identification.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Man slits child’s throat

Man slits child’s throat

KOTA BARU: A three-year-old boy died after a close relative slit his throat in Kampung Sungai Budor here.

The attacker also sustained injuries in the neck when he turned the knife on himself.

The boy – Mohd Adam Muzaffar Muhaimi – died on the spot in the 11.40am incident yesterday.

His grandfather Nik Hashim Nik Abdullah, 64, who lived nearby, contacted the police who arrested the 33-year-old attacker.

It is believed the suspect had a history of mental illness.

Nik Hashim said the suspect was believed to have run out medication for quite some time.

“He kept to himself of late,” he said of the suspect who last worked as a security guard at a supermarket here.

Police also found a knife believed to be the weapon used in the incident.

Adam Muzaffar was the second of three siblings.

His body had been sent to the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital and was later claimed by his family for burial.

Kelantan acting police chief ACP Mazlan Lazim said police were investigating the case under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder. — Bernama