Remembering the King: Michael Jackson 1958-2009

MJ and Diana Ross 1973

Today, me and the rest of the world were shocked to learn the passing of the most successful pop entertainer - Michael Jackson. He passed on at 2.26pm Thu 25 June 2009 LA time, 5.26pm Fri 26 June 2009 Malaysian time. I learned about it when I was checking on Facebook when I woke up today Friday 5.45am, and saw a friend in Cairo (5 hours behind Malaysia) who updated her status with "Michael Jackson dies at 50?".

Sure, he's weird and eccentric, but no one can deny that he is the most recognized world entertainer with the best record in album sales, ever.
Anyone will agree that Michael Jackson was phenomenal, original, whimsical, magical, passionate, talented, poised, creative and charismatic.
He epitomised the X Factor and he truly lived the life of an enigmatic legend.


My sisters and I grew up listening to The Jacksons and MJ back in the 70's. We would put on the LP and danced like mad together! The Jacksons music was actually the first taste of Motown music we had so it's no surprise that other Motown artists like Smokey Robinson also left some impression. That also set our preference for soul and R&B music as we grew up.


As I entered adolescence, Off The Wall and Thriller made a big impact as MJ made his career statement, breaking away from his siblings to be a full-fledged entertainer in his own right. And he became a world-class entertainment overnight at the 1983 Grammys with Thriller - I still recall the pictures of him cradling his Grammys when I was in secondary school. And that year's Grammys was the biggest ever due to MJ's Thriller, The Police's Synchronicity, Roxette and Eurythmics. The 1983 Grammys compilation album was the hottest selling ever. That event changed the music landscape and pop culture worldwide, literally overnight.


As I entered the job market in the 90's I listened to Bad and learned a lot about brand endorsements since MJ was associated to Pepsi. I must say that was one of the most successful endorsements ever. Even now I have some mental picture of MJ-Pepsi campaign, and it pushed Pepsi's brand image up in the minds of the Generation X's. After Dangerous, I listened less of his music and heard mostly of his court cases, which was really really sad.


MJ revolutionised the music industry and made "short movies" a.k.a. music videos. I like to think that MTV might not have existed without MJ's music videos! I remember Thriller and Billie Jean videos debuted with a big bang and we were in front of the TV copying his dance moves. My sister Ita had the flair in doing the moonwalk. Hahaha..Oh those were the days! His videos were always highly anticipated, and people would be running to the TV when Bad and Black or White were newly launched on Malaysian TV. All MJ videos are big favourites, but my favouritest has got to be Remember The Time. I swooned to see MJ - he was especially strikingly handsome in that one - , love the Pharoah Palace set, love Eddie Murphy and Iman's cameo, the costumes, special effects and who would forget the choreography!



Since MJ was an influence in my growing, formative years, his passing is very much felt and I'm sure my sisters feel the same way. As a person, I felt that he was misunderstood by the media, not many would understand the mind of an eccentric, right? Not that I understand him, just that I felt that things are not what they seem to be and only he, his family and friends would know better.

The whole world mourns his departure and he will remain to be unique and irreplaceable. Rest in peace, Michael.

You will be remembered for your immense, diverse talents and uplifting music.

Beautifully Imperfect

“Funeral” is a new TV commerical launched by the Singaporean Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) which looks at relationships in a different light, through a woman at her husband's funeral. Ultimately, the TVC celebrates the beautiful imperfections that make a relationship perfect. This is fresh off MCYS latest Viewers Choice 2008 win for last years Family TVC which promotes the importance and value of family bonding.

My friend Gaya sent me this commercial today and I got the above info from YouTube.
I loved the commercial so much that I decided to post it here.
Jo Kukathas did a brilliant performance as the widow - great shots, great music, great script. Kudos to the producer and director!

Enjoy the commercial and tell me what you think..

IPOH revisited

Aerial view of the town of Ipoh shows the town padang, with the broad length of Brewster Road running up to it. In the bottom right hand corner, the Supreme Court. Next to it, the town council offices. Bottom left : Ipoh's town library. (taken from http://www.perak.info/)

Ipoh is a charming town, not because a few of my loved ones live there, but because it's got character. The old buildings stand tall and whisper volumes of history. The old converge with the new. I once had the opportunity to enjoy the night breeze at Padang MBI or affectionately known as "Ipoh Padang". Bad grammar, but MBI seems to like it. That was when I imagine I was back in its heydays when Ipoh was bustling tin mining town. My brother in law told me that Ipoh used to have the most number of millionaires in Malaysia! Okay back to my imagination : usually my vision would turn into black and white but that time my vision of old Ipoh was colourful albeit in sepia tone - you know that tint of "oldness" in the 70's colour photos? That's what I'm talking about. Sigh, I wished I could go back in time and see how Ipoh was like. Enough visualizing and let's get back to the present.

Another two reasons why I really like Ipoh are the cheaper, lovelier food and tyre alignment is just RM12! Yes, RM12 for all FOUR tyres!

Hahaha yes I shall tell you about this absolutely luverly makan place along Anderson Road @ Jalan Raja Muda called Ipoh Hainan Chicken Rice. I think you have not lived until you have tasted its Ambra juice or humbly known among the Malays as air kedondong. I've never eaten kedondong before, mainly because of its name - kedondong - which is less glamorous than apple, pear, dragonfruit and what-have-you. But my first visit to the restaurant in early May was indeed a revelation!

Ambra juice with sour plum a.k.a. Air Kedondong Asamboi

The ambra juice is fibrous, slightly "kelat" and spiked with asamboi. It was love at first sip! I ended up enjoying two glasses of this exotic drink. The food is lovely - very nice hainanese chicken rice with kerabu mangga and lemon chicken. My sister said I should have the Thai chicken for my next visit. And so I shall!

After that lovely meal I went to get my tyres changed especially because Goodyear tyres in Ipoh are RM30 cheaper each than Klang Valley's pricing. Wah! Bak kata Kamdar "Memang Berbaloi"! And yes alignment of all FOUR tyres for a mere RM12, done by a "see foo" to boot. This see foo apparently gets a cut of each alignment charge and he smiles his way to the bank at the beginning of each month, according to a reliable source. Mr See foo is also very quick with his work despite doing alignment MANUALLY (yup, no fancy schmancy computers like other tyre shops) - he did my car in just 10 minutes! And he does some 20-30 cars in a day. Cayalah!!!

The very camera shy SeeFoo

There are many other reasons why I like Ipoh but I shall let you discover Ipoh for yourself (like how Ang Lee did when he decided to shoot a Tony Leung film in Ipoh, think it's called "Lust, Caution").

VIVE IPOH!

Nizar is rightful MB: High Court -- The Star

Alhamdulillah, Allah is JUST!
I'm glad and happy for Perakians! ^_^

Published: Monday May 11, 2009 MYT 3:46:00 PM
Updated: Monday May 11, 2009 MYT 4:10:48 PM

Nizar is rightful MB: High Court
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here ruled rule on Monday that Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is the rightful Perak Mentri Besar, and not Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.
In an immediate response, Zambry said he would apply for a stay pending appeal. This was rejected by the court.
Nizar immediately left the courtroom immediately after a press conference to travel to Ipoh where he will seek an audience with the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, to get his consent to dissolve the Assembly and call for fresh state elections.
In his ruling Monday, Justice Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim said that a new mentri besar could not be appointed as the office had not been vacated.
He said a mentri besar can only be dismissed by a vote of no confidence, and upheld the Stephen Kalong Ningkan ruling.
He noted that the Perak State Legislative did not hold a vote of no confidence.
In 1966, Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Stephen Kalong Ningkan was ousted when the state governor showed him a letter of no confidence issued by 21 out of 42 legislators and asked Ningkan to resign.
Ningkan refused, saying the letters were not tantamount to a vote of no confidence in the state legislative assembly. He was sacked by the governor but eventually reinstated by the Borneo High Court, which saw the necessity of a formal vote of no confidence.
According to the Nutgraph, the judge ruled ruled that the governor can only dismiss the chief minister when both these conditions are satisfied:
(a) The chief minister has lost the confidence of the House, and
(b) The chief minister has refused to resign and failed to advise a dissolution.
Nizar had filed for a judicial review on Feb 13, seeking a declaration that he is the rightful mentri besar of Perak and an injunction to bar Dr Zambry from discharging his duties as the mentri besar.
On March 6, Justice Lau Bee Lan had ruled that there were constitutional issues involving the interpretation of Article 16 (6) of the Perak Constitution and later referred four consitutional questions to the Federal Court for determination.
However, on March 23, the Federal Court ruled that the case of who the rightful mentri besar is should be heard by the High Court.
Nizar’s lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah, in wrapping up his submissions last week, said the Constitution was the “genius of the Malaysian people”, adding that the court had a duty to uphold it. Over the last few days, he had submitted that the Sultan, while granted powers in the Perak Constitution to appoint a mentri besar, could not dismiss him.
The only way Nizar could be dismissed, he said, was through a vote of no-confidence in the House.
He also said that a mentri besar could request for the State Assembly to be dissolved in the middle of a term without losing the confidence of the majority of the House.
Dr Zambry’s lawyer Datuk Cecil Abraham, however, argued that Nizar went by Article 16(6) of the Perak Constitution when he sought an audience with the Sultan – this article specifically provides for the mentri besar to request for a dissolution when he has lost the confidence of the majority in the House.
Under the article, Nizar is required to tender the resignation of his executive councillors when his request was rejected, he said.

The three by elections results : I like!

Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin waving to supporters at the Taiping Municipal Council hall after being announced as the winner in the Bukit Gantang parliamentary by-election. With him are his wife,Datin Seri Fatimah Taat and Pas deputy president Timbalan Presiden Pas Nasharuddin Mat Isa. (Picture credit : Malaysia Today mt.m2day.org)

As a follow up to yesterday's post, here's some info on the by election results

BUKIT GANTANG won by PAS - MAJORITY : 2,764

BUKIT SELAMBAU won by PKR - MAJORITY : 2,398

BATANG AI won by BN - MAJORITY : 1,854

I find Datuk Seri Nizar fascinating as a leader. Really.

Let's put aside our political difference here and just look at him as a person.

Not only is he a UK graduate engineer and have worked on big development projects in Malaysia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East, he speaks Mandarin and Tamil and he does his community work at the mosques and with numerous NGOs. He with his wife have raised 8 children with strong Islamic values. The first 4 kids have graduated as Syariah lawyer and Tahfiz. Doesn't that say a lot about a man? I think he is a Superman for being a well-rounded leader. Nak jadi pemimpin, mestilah jadi pemimpin / Imam dalam keluarga dulu kan. I see him as a role model for aspiring leaders.

NIZAR'S BUNCH. 8 kids!! And all raised with Islamic values. If I had an anak dara I would pinang one of his sons for my daughter. Hahaha. Aku tabik pada Nizar dan isteri. Serius!!! (Picture credit : prk059.pas.org.my)

My ex schoolmate, HALIDZA (she wants to remain anonymous but I told her I'm still mentioning her name here) had the privilege of reporting to Datuk Seri Nizar when he was serving at UDA. When I found out about it, I asked her on Facebook what it was like to be working with Datuk Seri Nizar. I can still remember her honest reply.

She said in response to my question - an excerpt from my FB status update comment by Halidza:

Yup. Engr Nizar ws head of ops for Dayabumi & Pusat Islam. Phew... Hw do u descr a good, pious,incredibly intellignt man in a few words...

What does that say to you? I rest my case! And thanks HALIDZA for sharing your thoughts.

Vote with Conscience

Saya dengan sukacitanya mengucapkan SELAMAT MENGUNDI kepada warga Bukit Selambau, Bukit Gantang dan Batang Ai yang mengundi hari ini.

Make your choice and let Truth prevail.

I'm back at work!

Yay! I'm back at work and I drove to the office too! Alhamdulillah.

Yup, I went to see the ENT specialist for a follow-up appointment. He got the camera-gadget-thingy into my right ear and saw that the inflammation beyond my eardrum has greatly reduced. He gave additional medical leave to last till today Friday 3 April. But since I could drive (from 1 April) and also because I had gotten bored at home, I decided to go to work today.
Sure there are bouts of dizziness but I'm trying my best to fight them. I cannot give in to vertigo! Fight, fight, fight! ^_^