Seed

I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains. Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal. Whoever wants to serve me must follow me, so that my servant will be with me where I am. And my Father will honor anyone who serves me.

John 12:24-26

That time of the year

It's that time of the year again. Oh yes.

That wonderful time of gathering and fellowship...

... of Christmas carols and bright and colourful Christmas trees...


... of makan-makan from house to house...

It's also the time when red bombs flood the market and drain the pocket.

Hehe, how many red bombs did you get around this time of the year? I got err... one, two, three, four...

A belated Merry Christmas to all of you out there!

Sorry for the blurry photos... I've quite stretched my little Canon S2IS to its limits. Perhaps it is time to look out for something with a CMOS sensor. Hmmm... putting that into my new year resolution? Ho ho ho ho... Merry Christmas!

Teaser 1

Two house break-ins in a year is no good. We had to do something.

For a start...

Busy

What a hectic week it has been.

On the 17th December, I with the Keningau Chinese Inter-Church Committee
organised a Christmas feast at the local Majlis Daerah Complex hall. Thank God we had all the 57 tables filled. Will tell you about this later, when I got the photos sorted out.

Left for KK on the 18th, coz I had to sit for an exam on the 19th Tuesday. It's called the PTK exam, a government exam for civil servants to naik pangkat (esp for those who are not becoming specialists anytime soon). We stayed in a nice hotel in KK (comfortable enough for some last-minute mugging). It was so nice that I had to take some photos la.

Christmas is in the air. Try guess where we stayed :-)

The exam went quite ok (goreng goreng lo), considering I hardly did any studying. Aiya, with Christmas and Year End mood around, how to study la. Just hope for the best.

And to our shock, we came back in the night to find our house in Keningau broken into by thieves... again. Sigh.

I have a dream

An interesting read... Bar Council: Know your human rights

And I thought of THIS:

In 1950's America, the equality of man envisioned by the Declaration of Independance was far from a reality. People of color, blacks, Hispanics, Orientals, were discriminated against in many ways, both overt and covert.

Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist minister, was a driving force in the push for racial equality in the 1950's and the 1960's.... They marched and protested non-violently, raising the ire of local officials who sicced water canon and police dogs on the marchers, whose ranks included teenagers and children.

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he evoked the name of Lincoln in his "I Have A Dream" speech, which is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompted the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segragation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment.

In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true.

We dream like you too, sir. The dream of a Malaysia for Malaysians.

And it is truly amazing, that while your country has moved forward from the binds of racial supremacy and racial discrimination half a century ago, such sentiment is still very much alive over at my place called Bolehland.

Disquiet

Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, the courageous Malaysian human rights lawyer has started blogging in his Disquiet blog.

Here are some quotes from his early posts.

A Matter of Protection, Not Privilege

I believe the time has come for us to ask difficult questions about this country and who we are when we say we are Malaysians. In the same vein, I believe that it is time for Malaysians to stop offering avenues of escape to those responsible for our well being and our collective future. We must confront the fact that something is very wrong at the heart of Malaysia.

Despite the feeble attempts to subsequently soften and explain away the obviously painful impact of the speeches, the truth had revealed itself; those who claim a virtual monopoly to lead this nation are racial supremacists and proud of it.

I have Malay friends who were equally disgusted by the goings on at the assembly. They show me that the attitudes celebrated at the assembly are not universally those of the Malay community at large.

Political expediency has resulted in the provision being mischaracterized and used to particular ends. This in itself is not surprising as politicians will operate as politicians do. What is of interest to me is how and why the characterization has been permitted by Malaysian society to perpetuate to the extent that as we come into our 50th year as an independent nation, the ‘two-tier’ notion has become so entrenched in our social landscape.

The Tragedy of Rayappan

Seen from this perspective, and when viewed in the context of manifest abuses of powers as noted above, the question is really why the government does not appear to be doing anything to correct the obviously incorrect application of legal principle. By its inaction, the government is accountable for what is clearly state supported
discrimination.

The tragedy of Rayappan's case is that the Constitution does not seem to matter any more.

The Government also promised when Murthi's burial became a very public issue last year that the scenario would not repeat itself. Well, it has, repeatedly, in one form or the other.

The Government owed a duty to Malaysians to allow civil society to assist it in solving a situation that it does not appear to be able to solve. In killing the debate on the wrongs being caused by a misapplication of the law, the Government intentionally looked away.

The same question i asked Auntie Liz... where are the voices of Christians who are placed (or fought their ways up to) in national leadership positions? Funny.

Imported goods

I've been trying to find some decent casseroles in the supermarkets in Keningau. There was hardly any. Probably not many people in Keningau are into cooking with a microwave oven. Maybe la.

Today my mum flown over these stuffs from West Malaysia.


Together with these, it should keep my loupo busy for a while during the holidays, and maybe add some inches to my waistline.


Now how do I fit a turkey into those casseroles...

Silent majority

Got these from HERE.

If the leaders cannot lead, then we, the people, will lead, and the leaders will follow.

The silent majority that speaks once every four or five years at the ballot box are beginning to realise that their silence is at Malaysia’s peril.

My friends are planning to start an "I am Malaysian first" campaign to build up to Merdeka Day next year. We want it to be a joyous and proud time where we celebrate the wealth and strength of our diversity, and build inter-ethnic bridges that politicians intent on using race and religion to polarise us cannot rend asunder.

Gifts

A patient who endured a "cut" brought me some gifts two weeks ago.

This week she came back with 4 bag-loads of fruits from her family's farm... bananas, papayas, seedless guavas...

In my line of duty, the stakes are high. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And when you lose, it could be a matter of life and death. It could mean someone losing a baby, or worse still, a family losing a mother.

In the midst of such high-stress job, it's really encouraging to get gifts like these.

I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell.
I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains---but if I have no love, I am nothing.
I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned ---but if I have no love, this does me no good.
1Co 13:1-3

Harvest

It is mango season in Keningau!
Have you tasted mangoes this big? There are even bigger ones!

My neighbour's farm is famed for its giant mangoes, like those in the pictures. They used to be in season around June and July, in time for the annual church Fund Raising Bazaar. This year the fruits are a bit late. Anyway, glad that they're here finally.

If you happen to be in Keningau, let me know and I can arrange you a trip to the farm for a "back to nature" experience.

Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things.
I will not let insects destroy your crops, and your grapevines will be loaded with grapes.
Then the people of all nations will call you happy, because your land will be a good place to live.
Mal 3:10-12

Childish la

When was the last time you had such hearty laughs with your buddies?

As people get older, we tend to build more fences in our hearts, being on guard against people, always considering the right way to behave, to impress, social etiquette...

Back to the question, when was the last time you had such hearty laughs with your buddies?

Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and to pray for them, but the disciples scolded the people.
Jesus said, "Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Mat 19:13-14