MidValley and chess

It's not everyday that you see a shopping mall decorated in a chess theme but the MidValley does it often enough. At least once a year, they'll wheel out their giant chess pieces for display on the third floor of the Centre Court just before the entrance to the convention centre.

But this year, they MidValley outdid themselves with these cool displays at the North Court. When I was in Kuala Lumpur last month, they were the first things I noticed when I arrived by train from KL Sentral.

Kick De Fella's freed

I don't want to sound too much like a copy cat but all the high profile arrests in the past eight or nine days seemed to have a common thread: those arrested were connected with news or events not to UMNO's liking. I say UMNO and not Barisan Nasional because it also seemed to me that the other component parties within BN are rather impotent in influencing UMNO.

So we had three people arrested under the Internal Security Act and one under the Sedition Act. And so far, three have been released leaving only Raja Petra in a lock-up.

It wasn't the ISA for Syed Azidi Syed Aziz (Kick De Fella) but using the Sedition Act on him was also bad enough. Anyway, welcome back into the sunshine.

Bogus monks

DON'T BE FOOLED BY BOGUS MONKS

Only bogus monks insist that you must give them money;
Only bogus monks are choosy when you try to give them dana;
Only bogus monks hand out trinkets or thread bracelets to you;

Only bogus monks eat or drink like this in public;
And lastly, I've seen bogus monks smoke in public.

The above photographs were taken at the Kampung Baru wet market and food court in Bukit Mertajam yesterday (20 Sep 2008) with my mobile phone's camera, so the quality is rather bad. Bogus monks are not only prevalent in the north; you'll find them every where as long as there are kind people who believe in good karma by giving donations to monks. The problem is, you cannot be totally sure whether they are bogus monks or not since their disguise is almost as good as the real ones. But the tips I mentioned above should be able to set off your alarm bells when you come across singular monks.

Does the following one below seem real enough? Now, this is a better photograph since I had snapped him at Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur on 19 Aug 2008 with my Konica Minolta Dimage Z5 (I know it's an old digicam, already out of production and in fact, the Konica Minolta's name has already disappeared).

Two freed, one more to go

"I blasted all the officers there. I told them this is Ramadhan, to hold an innocent person is dosa (sin). They all just kept quiet."

Freed ISA detainee Teresa Kok in her own inimitable style, as quoted by The Malaysian Insider

Reminder: he must be freed too!

He's just a pimple, a thorn in the flesh, a ... nuisance. Surely his allegations cannot be all that water-tight until they cannot be refuted successfully? Don't muscle him down. Don't use brawn power over brain power. That's an unfair fight. Release RPK, release Raja Petra Kamaruddin.

Remember the less fortunate

As our Muslim friends observe Ramadan, please remember that there are people who are less fortunate than us...

Free WiFi for Penang

After years of NATO (No Action, Talk Only) under the previous state administration, the present Penang state government is finally trying to make good the old promise to connect the whole state through a wireless network.

I heard about this project many years ago when the previous administration held some meetings (their i-land project) to discuss this but nothing was ever decided on or followed up. I would have been surprised if they could do anything back then because the meetings were so infrequent, something like once a year. There didn't seem to be any political willingness to get the project up and running!

Then, about two months back, I did hear some inkling of good news through the grapevine. Well, the grapevine rumours have become reality:


The Penang Free WiFi project was launched yesterday by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as part of the overall Wireless@Penang project which is aimed at giving Penangites free wireless broadband services.

“Today, Penang takes a bold step to make the entire state connected through wireless broadband," Guan Eng announced. "It’s a journey we want to complete within the next 18 to 24 months. The service will be deployed on a ‘ripples strategy’ with simultaneous initial roll-outs in several core market centres on the island and mainland before they spread to cover the entire state.”


REDtone Telecommunications and Hotgate Technology will set up 750 wireless access points over the next one year. REDtone's Wei Chuan Beng said they would begin setting up access points in Queensbay Mall and the service should be available within the next four weeks. This would then be followed by areas in Macalister Road, Burma Road, Gurney Plaza and Gurney Drive, Bukit Jambul Complex, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Butterworth and then Tanjung Bungah. My comment: when is Bukit Mertajam coming under your radar? We have a small but convenient hill nearby for you to instal all your equipment, you know!

Next week, the state government will preview WiMAX@Penang which is the next step to provide for serious mobile Internet users. When implemented, this will probably be a paid service where subscribers will need to fork out a monthly fee.

There's also a report from Jeff Ooi that you should read.

Every dog poo now tells a story

According to Reuters, a city in Israel is using DNA analysis of dog poo to reward and punish pet owners. Under a six-month trial programme launched this week, dog owners living in a suburb of Tel Aviv are being asked to take their animal to a vet for DNA testing. The idea is to build up a dog DNA database that will enable municipal authorities to identify dog owners who neglect to clean up their pet's mess. The scheme is part of a drive to clean up the streets. I wonder whether this will catch on in Penang.

Old ant, new ant

Wow! I'm surprised that scientists can actually determine that this new species of ant is 120 million years old, give or take a few million years. Well, this ant fella here on the right ain't that old; it's just that scientists claimed that its species has been around for all this time.

Researchers from Karlsruhe's Natural History Museum found the three-millimeter-long (0.118 inch) blind, subterranean, predatory ant in the Amazon rainforest in 2007. It has been named "Martialis heureka".

Resembling a miniature wasp, the insect is like no other ant, said museum biologist Manfred Verhaagh whose life obviously revolved around these little critters. "It's by far the most spectacular find of my 26-year career." DNA samples from its front leg was used to establish its likely age. If its true that it dates back 120 million years, it will be the oldest ant species still inhabiting the earth. Much older than my aunt.

Penang heritage: Ban Hin Lee Bank (BHL Bank): 73rd anniversary

I've noticed that of late, there have been quite a number of visits to my blog from people who had been doing a Google search on Ban Hin Lee Bank or BHL Bank. So, today being the 73rd anniversary of the incorporation of this bank - despite its obvious non-existence - let me show you a reproduction of the bank's Certificate of Registration as well as an aerial photograph of the bank's building in George Town.

I just want to say that I had the actual certificate in my hands when I was part of the BHL Bank's publication committee that produced its 60th anniversary book in 1995.

In 1985, the bank was supposed to celebrate its 50th anniversary but a tragedy occurred in October that year with the untimely death of Jimmy Yeap Leong Aun, one of the bank's directors. All thoughts of a celebration evaporated when we heard the tragic news. Earlier in the year, I had been tasked with producing the bank's golden anniversary publication. That also went out the window following Jimmy Yeap's demise. So when the opportunity arose again in 1995, I readily volunteered as part of the new publication team. It was a job unfinished and I really wanted to finish it.

This is the aerial photograph of the bank's building and its surrounds. It was used for the book's inside front and back covers. It's not clearly seen from the photo but the building is a trapezoid with the back of the building being wider than the front. According to fengshui principles, this is supposed to be good because it represents money flowing in and cannot get out. That's what banks are about: keeping people's money safe!

Although the Ban Hin Lee Bank Ltd was officially incorporated in 1935, it actually started off as a trading venture in 1918 by Yeap Chor Ee. He called his business Ban Hin Lee. I find it hard to find a direct and adequate English language translation but I was told by some old staff - they always talked about the bank with pride - in the 1980's that Ban Hin Lee means "ten thousand prosperities." Would this meaning be closer than the "ten thousand flourishing profits" that I see mentioned elsewhere in magazines? Yeap traded in sugar, buying this commodity from various estates in Province Wellesley and then selling it at the Prangin Market. This sugar venture profited him handsomely. By the early 1900s, his business interests included coconut oil, rubber, rice, tapioca and tin-mining trading and extended from Penang to Batavia, Rangoon and Singapore.

This recognisable building at the junction of Beach Street and China Street Ghaut was completed in 1936 and the staff moved into it a year later. The building was designed by Ung Ban Hoe who was the first Chinese architect in Penang, working for the architectural firm of Stark & McNeill. The grand classical front and thick walls gave the bank its solid appearance. The bank's assistant manager at that time, Teoh Beng Cheang, once told me that during the Second World War when the Japanese were raining bombs on George Town, all the staff hid in the strong room. Everyone emerged unscathed, he remembered.

Click here for Ban Hin Lee Bank would be 72 years old today.
Click here for China Street Ghaut Penang.
Click here for Ban Hin Lee Bank RC reunion.
Click here for BHLB relics (1).

Simultaneous chess demonstration, Penang Library, 9 Jan 1972

I once wrote a series of articles for the Penang Chess Association to chronicle its early years in the 1970s. It is time for me to reproduce the articles in this blog. Here is the first article:

The year had hardly begun when news went round the secondary schools that a Malaysian chess champion would be giving a simultaneous chess display to some 20 players. Four schools - Chung Ling High School, Methodist Boys School, Penang Free School and St Xavier's Institution - were requested to send some representatives to the Penang Library which, at that time, was still located on the top storey of the Penang courthouse building. This is the report and picture which appeared in The Straits Echo on 11 Jan 1972.

MR CHOO (back towards camera) concentrating on the chess board of Quah Seng Sun, 17, from the Penang Free School, during his chess demonstration yesterday. Seated in the centre is Mr Teoh Kim Leng, a teacher from the St Xavier's Institution (Primary). - ECHOpic
(Standing behind Teoh is Ooi Gim Eng from St Xavier's Institution)

PENANG, Sun - Malaysia's chess champion, Mr Choo Min Wang, gave a fine display of the game when he took on 18 opponents at the same time at the Penang Library, this morning.

Mr Choo, who is also the Vice-President of the Chess Association of Malaysia, is a statistician with the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority in Kuala Lumpur.

Standing in the centre of a 'U' shaped table, he took to task the 18 opponents made up of students and teachers of various schools. The match was more of a demonstration than a challenge.

Mr Choo, who began his chess career while studying at the Victoria Institute in Kuala Lumpur, became the national champion in 1958 while attending the Higher School Certificate class.

He took part in other championships but was not placed and in 1971 he captured the championships again.

While in the University of Malaya, he was sponsored by the University Chess Club to participate in the East Asian Zone championships in Sydney.

In 1963, Mr Choo took part in Jakarta, but could not make it to New Zealand due to lack of funds. However, he played in Singapore in 1969.

In all his matches abroad he did not fair very well but as he puts it, "gained plenty of experience," which has put him in good stead for future competitions.

The next Zone championship will be in Hong Kong, some time this year and he hopes to participate in it.

Asked about the standard of the participants who played against him today, Mr Choo said, "The players are of good standard, and will certainly give the schoolboys in Kuala Lumpur, who have been at the game for a longer period, a hard fight."

Mr Choo also said he was happy that the Malaysian Schools Sports Council had included chess as another item in its sports programme.

Pistorius picks up third gold in Beijing Paralympics

Woh! South Africa's Oscar Pistorius has picked up his third gold medal at the Beijing 2000 Paralympic Games. This medal in the 400m event completes a treble for him after having won the 100m and 200m earlier. In the 400m, he finished in a time of 47.49 seconds, a world record for his disability class. That's true grit!

Jim Bob Bizzell of the United States won the silver medal and Ian Jones of Britain took the bronze.

It's reported that Pistorius' next goal is to qualify for the world championships next year in Berlin, where he would face able-bodied runners. He is also looking toward the London 2012 Olympics.

Penang Bridge expansion project

I was telling Ted the other day that the emergency bays at the Penang Bridge could be pulled apart from the side of the causeway to facilitate its expansion into six lanes. I wonder whether he noticed them from the air when he flew out from the Bayan Lepas international airport last week. I wouldn't have been able to take this photo during rush hour but I had a leisurely drive across the bridge on Sunday morning. Sorry, though, for the washed-out colour. I know the sky looked really horrible.

Happy birthday Malaysia: what ails you?

The Garmint claimed that it is not right to display the flag upside down. They said it shows disrespect for the flag. But I've also been reading that displaying the flag upside side shows the unhappiness of the people towards a regime. It's a distress signal and therefore, a sign that things are not well.

I think there is a lot to be unhappy about nowadays. Fuel prices have gone up. Cost of essential goods has gone up. Inflation has gone up. Hell, the only thing that hasn't moved up in tandem is salary! So you think there is nothing to be unhappy about? Then what about our economy? The decline in foreign direct investment in the country as a consequence of the political uncertainties? The recent arrest of civilians by the Police under the ISA? The people have eyes and they can see. The people have ears and they can hear. The people have brains and they can think. And the people are damn right unhappy. Racists walk free while messengers are jailed. Bad composers are free while piano players are shot for playing their bad music. That's how I paraphrase the title of Elton John's sixth studio album, Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player. So even though is the 45th anniversary of Malaysia's founding, there's little to be happy about. Anyway, what the heck...it's still a birthday. So, here's wishing the land of my birth: A happy birthday, Malaysia!

Abolish the ISA

Some reasons why the Barisan Nasional federal government will not abolish the Internal Security Act soon:

They still live in the 19th century
They are afraid of losing face
They are full of clueless people
They do not wish to admit that they are wrong
They practise warped logic
They flip one day and flop another
They do not respect the people
They do not respect the VOTES
They only listen to themselves
They are small-time bullies in a BIG world
They cannot accept constructive criticism
They believe that might is right
They are too divisive to decide correctly
They use it to clutch at straws
They live under a coconut shell
They are afraid of being exposed
They only want to protect their own kind
They have their own self interests to protect
They need it to scratch each other's back
They are wrapped up in their own self importance
They don't like pimples
Only they are right, nobody else

Photo from Lilian Chan's obnoxious 5xmom blog. There are more photos on the Anti-ISA protests there, here and from KL too.

Mid-Autumn Festival 2008

Here's how I spent time yesterday observing the Mid-Autumn moon cake festival: photographing a troupe of Chinese performers who were commissioned specially for this 15-minute performance at the Swee Cheok Tong in Penang:

Impressive sight as the performers arrived

Performers impersonating the Eight Immortals

Don't ask, I've no answer. My only comment: the big head gear is mighty heavy!

Groundnuts for longevity

I'm enjoying myself!

Getting big-headed

Second gold for Oscar Pistorius at Beijing Paralympics

Oscar Pistorius has won his second gold of the 200 metres race at the Beijing Paralympics in front of a huge crowd at the Bird's Nest national stadium. He finished in 21.67secs, almost a second clear of Jim Bob Bizzell from the United States, with Britain's Ian Jones in third.

"This race is definitely one of my best ever races. I've never run in front of a crowd this big and just the crowd, the athletes, it was an awesome race and I couldn't have hoped for anything better," he said. "This is definitely one of the most amazing nights ever. It's really been a good memory." Pistorius has just one race left, the 400m, in which he will be pushing for a world record.

Hope. Solidarity. The future

The time is now 8.30pm, 13 Sep 2008

I Shall Be Released

Bob Dylan wrote these lyrics. He sang them. Joan Baez sang them. Jeff Buckley sang them. The Tremeloes sang them. The Band sang them. Rick Nelson sang them. Jerry Garcia sang them. Sting sang them. Joe Cocker sang them. The Hollies sang them. Bette Midler sang them. Mirian Makeba sang them. Many other artistes sang them.

Please join me to sing them:

I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

For RPK and Teresa Kok's sake, I hope so!