Heritage: George Town's original coat of arms

Yes, it's confirmed. This was the original coat of arms adopted by the Municipality of George Town on 4 Sep 1953. When George Town's status was elevated on 1 Jan 1957, this continued to be the coat of arms for the City of George Town.

"KNOW YE THEREFORE that We the said Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster in pursuant of His Grace's Warrant and by virtue of the Letters Patent of Our several Offices to each of Us respectively granted do by these Presents grant and assign unto the COUNCIL OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF GEORGE TOWN, PENANG the Arms following that is to say:- BARRY WAVY OF EIGHT AZURE AND ARGENT A PLUME OF THREE OSTRICH FEATHERS PROPER TIED WITH A RIBAND OR A CHIEF EMBATTLED OF THE LAST And for the Crest On a Wreath of the Colours ISSUANT FROM A WREATH OF PALM VERT A LION PASSANT GUARDANT AZURE as the same are in the margin hereof more plainly depicted to be borne and used for ever hereafter by the Council of the Municipality of George Town, Penang on Seals, Shields or otherwise according to the Laws of Arms."

Penang's Southbay: a Hollywood sign look-alike?

This, of course, is the famous Hollywood sign. Originally erected in 1923 to advertise a new housing development in the hills above Hollywood, it is now the symbol of the motion picture industry in the United States.

Penang can also boast of a Hollywood-like sign that sits near the top of a hill. This Hollywood-like sign in the southern part of Penang Island bears some similarities with the original sign in California. Here, this sign was commissioned by a housing developer who had hoped to develop 35 hectares of land near Batu Maung, where the second Penang Bridge is supposed to be built.


If you travel south along the Bayan Lepas coastal highway you cannot miss the Southbay sign. For me, however, the first time I noticed it was from the air. Then, I didn't give any thought to it for months until last week when I drove to Batu Maung. Intrigued, I even drove up the hill to take a closer look at it.


From that vantage point, you get to see the Bayan Lepas Industrial Park from a different point of view. It was breath-taking when I stood there and looked down.


However, you also get to see the continuing rape of this hillside on the mainland. A different angle from my usual view from the Penang Bridge. It's an ugly reminder that our previous state administrations had permitted this to happen without caring about its effect on the environment. Whoever owns this piece of land is laughing all his way to the bank and it's too late for anyone to do anything about it now. Who says you cannot get away with rape?

Not the Penang Bridge ... yet!

Not to worry. This isn't happening at the Penang Bridge but I always think that eventually, that's where we're all heading!

No Google Chrome for Mac yet, so use CrossOver Chromium

Looks like Google Chrome for the Mac is still a long way off. I tried searching to see whether a Mac version was already available (remember, a Windows version was launched last year) but it's not. But the developers did ask for my email address so that they'll inform me when it's ready.

Nevertheless, I noticed that there is something similar called CrossOver Chromium, created by the people at CodeWeavers, and released for free download on Mac OS X as a native Mac .dmg file or on Ubuntu, RedHat, Suse, etc. as standard Linux packages.

CrossOver Chromium: looking a lot like Google Chrome

According to their webpage, the program is a proof-of-concept, developed for the fun of it (and it doesn't even have an auto-updater), to showcase the capability of Wine which is an open source technology allowing Windows executables to be run as-if-natively on Intel-based Unix operating systems such as Linux and Mac OS X.

The developers advised that CrossOver Chromium should be used with discretion and they take no responsibility for crashes, lost data, errant cookies, or that sort of thing. In short, CrossOver Chromium should not be used as your main browser.

Picasa for Mac

I didn't forget to download the new Picasa for Mac. The program is now installed on my MacBook and it looks almost the same as the Picasa 3 version that I have on my home desktop. Well, at least now I have more options on image processing.


Picasa for Linux is available too. Hopefully, I can get it installed on my office Linux box by the end of next week!

Flamenco night

I've been listening to flamenco music tonight as I house-cleaned my pile of old newspapers. A complete change from my usual diet in music.


Ricardo Baliardo. More popularly known as Manitas de Plata, the Little Hands Of Silver. I'm not unfamiliar with the music of Manitas de Plata as I had watched him several times on the Rolf Harris Show during the late 1960s or early 1970s. Those were the first times that I had seen a guitar virtuoso, even though this was just on a television show.

There are claims that Manitas de Plata is not a true flamenco artist because he is a French gypsy and not a Spanish gypsy. But what goes against him is that it's claimed he does not keep to a recurring cycle of beats (they call it "compás") similar to a bar of music. I've read that in flamenco rhythms, not adhering strictly to compás is equivalent of blasphemy. So the traditional flamenco community at large totally ignores Manitas de Plata. To them, it's just a good imitation of flamenco.

He's also been accused of lacking cohesion, meaning, no apparent structure to a lot of his music. A random collection of musical ideas created on the fly and without reference to the bits before and after, basically making things up on the spot and playing for himself.

But what do I care? I'm just here to enjoy music and I've two of Manitas de Plata's vinyl records and two of his compact discs to show for it. But Manitas de Plata has a far greater legacy. Think of Manitas de Plata and you have to think of the Gipsy Kings. He helped to lay the foundations for the Gipsy Kings, formed by the sons of Jose Reyes (his vocalist) and other members of the Baliardo clan. For instance, his son, Tonino, plays lead guitar in the band.

Heritage: Street plaques

I read about this in yesterday's edition of The Star. I've noticed the plaques too while zipping around the city but never gotten around to take a close-up snapshots of them. So I'm quite happy to quote a few lines from the newspaper's report.

Since early November, a total of 113 blue plaques measuring 40.6cm by 71.1 cm and featuring historical street names and background information have been put up on walls of houses in the heritage enclave of George Town. They carry information in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese and Tamil.

For example, on the wall of the Eu Yan Sang building in Pitt Street, the plaque indicates that several sections of the road had been previously called Simpang Lelong (Auctioneers’ Junction), Kuan Im Teng Cheng (in front of Goddess of Mercy Temple) and Tua Balai (Big Police Station).

This project was initiated by the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) and cost RM130,000. It was funded by the Ministry of Tourism and supported by the Penang Tourism Action Council and the Penang Island Municipal Council.

PHT president Dr Choong Sim Poey said the plaques were aimed at supporting the cultural aspects of George Town following its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “It took us two months to put up all the plaques because we need to wait for the MPPP to get the consent from the house owners.”

It can only happen in Penang

Let me repeat my earlier statement: Why is it that I don't hear of other protests by other people in other parts of the country, such as in the Klang Valley and Johor Bahru? They also have WiFi and WiMAX, right? Does that mean that they are ignorant about the "grave dangers" that the electro-magnetic waves are posing to their health? Or are these people in Penang simply barking up the wrong tree? Duhh ... chiak pah siow eng, that's what my friend will say.

Don't call me sexist

Thought that I'd share a graphic that I received yesterday from a woman! She's open-minded and with a good head on her shoulders. She wasn't insulted by this stereotyped depiction of women. We had a good laugh ... myself more from relief than anything else!

Wireless@Penang: time for a test drive soon!

So it seems that the Penang government is not sitting idle on the Wireless@Penang project. I've just been informed - reliably - that there'll soon be a series of promotions at several select sites on the island and the mainland "to provide a new user experience for Internet citizens" in the state.

I can hardly wait for 21 Jan 2009 to come around. Under the Experiencing Wireless@Penang promotions, the government and WiFi service provider will open free "WiFi experience booths" for three days at KOMTAR, Queensbay Mall and Bukit Jambul Complex.

From what I'm told, although the WiFi service will be free, new users are still required to sign up for it. So at the promotion booths, I suppose that we'll find the service provider giving assistance to sign people up for the service.

As for the WiMAX trial run, I hear that the WiMAX service provider will make it available at five sites covering a major part of George Town, Northam Road, Macallum Street, Magazine Road, Gottlieb Road and Perak Road/Burma Road bordering upper Jelutong. Another two WiMAX trial run sites are being installed in Bukit Tengah and Bukit Mertajam.

Okay...!! Let's ready ourselves to take Wireless@Penang for a test drive!

Trick question from Dr M

How many airports do we need, asked our ex-PM Dr Mahathir Mohamed. That's a trick question from him. Everybody knows the answer to that trick question. Methinks, the man is getting crazier in his old age.

How many airports do we need around KL? Only two, lah! One for planes to take off, and another one for planes to land! Jeez!

Ha ha ha ha.....

CNN: Seeds for future violence

This is what I wrote in this blog yesterday:

"On the contrary, both sides are just sowing the seeds for more fighting and destruction in the Middle East where animosity, revenge, mistrust and conflict are the order of the day."

And today, this CNN report on their website is a chilling reminder that violence has no end.

"When we will grow up, we will bomb them back."

Violence simply begets more violence and the traumatised children in shell-shocked Gaza may one day rise in arms against Israel. Is that what the world wants? Is that what we need? Fighting and yet more fighting?

Wireless@Penang: where are you?

I wonder what has become of the Wireless@Penang project that was announced by the Penang government way back in September last year.

It's been four months down the road and we've even gone through a spate of protests by some well-meaning but obviously misinformed and overly concerned Penangites in October and a forum session in November to address the issue and allay the unfounded fears. (Funny that I don't hear of other protests by other people in other parts of the country such as in the Klang Valley. Does that mean that they are ignorant about the "dangers" that WiFi can pose to their health? Oooh...fry me with your electro-magnetic waves, or whatever!)

All that I know so far was a limp press conference held at Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur last month where Penang Chief Minister was still touting that "two companies had offered its packages to make Penang the first WiFi state in the country." (The Star, 12 Dec 2008)

"PENANGITES would be able to enjoy free WiFi access in public areas around Komtar starting next week," the report said. Oh, big deal. About a fortnight earlier, The Star reported that computer users in Johor would be the first outside the Klang Valley to be able to surf the Internet wirelessly on the WiMAX platform.

So what is holding back the Wireless@Penang project? A bunch of Penang-based NGOs or is civil service bureaucracy still the cause of the wheels of progress turning ever so slowly? How I wish that its implementation can be sped up. Let Penang still lead, okay?

Ayer Itam Dam

Last Saturday, my family wanted to go up to Tiger Hill again but there would be no hike. The persistent rain on Saturday morning frustrated all our plans. We were forced to turn back even before we reached the Ayer Itam Dam. As an alternative, since we were already so near, we decided to drive up to the dam and go for a walk around it. At least, this was something that I had not done before although it was really no big deal.

The first photo was snapped during our first hike to Tiger Hill in March last year. The sign, though vandalised, gave a clear indication of the direction to Tiger Hill. I known that the sign was still there last July but last weekend as we passed by the same spot, it was gone. As you can see, my wife and son were looking bemused at the empty pole.

Nevertheless, it was a cool, refreshing walk along the wooded road with mist blowing into our faces. So close to nature and yet not too far from civilisation. Here are some photos:


Oh yes, and I came across this centipede, easily seven or eight inches long. Just managed to snap it before it scuttled into the hole.

Is there a problem in the Middle East?

In another needless, wasteful demonstration of "might is right", there is fierce fighting again in the Middle East.

For more than a week now, Israel and Hamas have been shelling each other. And now, the latest news is that Israel has rolled into Gaza, a ground invasion, intent on ridding Hamas from the face of the earth. But it is impossible for Israel to annihilate Hamas or any of the other militant groups from any where on earth but especially over there, just as it is impossible for the militants to win. They may chip away at the Israeli state but they cannot hope to achieve anything. On the contrary, both sides are just sowing the seeds for more fighting and destruction in the Middle East where animosity, revenge, mistrust and conflict are the order of the day. Why can't they ever live as non-warring neighbours, let alone as good neighbours?

Here's a little anecdote I heard. Like all anecdotes, this is an interesting story but whether or not it really happened as narrated, you may need to investigate it further yourself:

During the Six Day War in 1967, Israel was fighting with Egypt, Syria and Jordan. In the midst of the war, a reporter asked former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan for his thoughts on the problem in the Middle East.

Without hesitation, Macmillan answered: "There is no problem in the Middle East."

Stunned, the reporter demanded: "What do you mean, 'There is no problem in the Middle East'? Don't you know there's a vicious war going on? Don't you realise that as we are speaking, bombs are falling from the sky, tanks are blowing each other up, and soldiers are being sprayed with bullets? Many people are dead or wounded. What do you mean, 'There is no problem in the Middle East'?"

Explained the experienced statesman: "Sir, a problem is something with a solution. There is no solution to the Middle East. Therefore it can't be a problem."

Chasing rainbows

I had been noticing this rainbow as I was driving back from the office in the afternoon. Sometimes it was very clear but sometimes, it seemed to be fading away. Is there any pot of gold at its end?

Twitter phishing scam

Looks like even Twitter.com has fallen victim to phishing attacks. I've just noticed (two days late in noticing, actually) a warning on the Twitter homepage that warns users about logging in from direct emails.

According to the Twitter blog, the scam email may read something like: "hey! check out this funny blog about you..." and provides a link that will redirect you to a site masquerading as the Twitter front page. People who click on the link may have inadvertently given their Twitter password to the phishing site.

But why should it be a concern? After all, it's only micro-blogging. According to Twitter.com again, it would then be possible for the phisher to send out direct messages on your behalf which could trick your followers. Your followers may be asked to do something rash, like revealing their personal credit information. Phishers are patient. They have all the time in the world and they only have to be patient before some unsuspecting fella falls for the scam. So, beware!

Raja Petra quoting from Ajahn Brahm's two bad bricks

What a coincidence! Just as I had finished enthusing about Ajahn Brahm's book in my last blog item, my wife alerted me to a very recent story by Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) in his No Holds Barred column in Malaysia Today.

She mentioned that the title "Opening the door to your heart" sounded all too familiar to her and when she looked deeper into the article, Raja Petra was indeed quoting from Ajahn Brahm's book. Imagine...RPK quoting from a book written by a Buddhist monk. RPK is indeed a widely read man.

The story used by Raja Petra was Ajahn Brahm's narration of "two bad bricks". The lesson in this story is worth understanding. What the Bhante wanted to tell us was that we shouldn't let small mistakes cloud the good things in our lives. In his case, he laid two bad bricks in his wall of 1,000 bricks. But he couldn't get over it until someone told him that there were still 998 good bricks there. Would he want to destroy the 998 good bricks just to get rid of the two bad ones? Or to put it in another way, would the two bad bricks make the whole wall bad?

To quote from Ajahn Brahm's book: "How many people end a relationship or get divorced because all they can see in their partner are two bad bricks? How many of us become depressed or even contemplate suicide because all we can see in ourselves are two bad bricks? In truth, there are many, many more good bricks, perfect bricks - above, below, to the left and to the right of the faults - but at times we just can't see them. Instead, everytime we look, our eyes focus exclusively on the mistakes. The mistakes are all we see, they're all we think are there - and so we want to destroy them. And sometimes, sadly, we do destroy a very nice wall.

"We've all got our two bad bricks, but the perfect bricks in each one of us are much, much more than the mistakes. Once we see this, things aren't so bad. Not only can we live at peace with ourselves, inclusive of our faults, but we can also enjoy living with a partner. This is bad news for divorce lawyers, but good news for you."

BTW, I was amused by an interesting comment that someone made in Raja Petra's article. He said that Ajahn Brahm's name stood for (Buddhist, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Hindu and Muslim.

Who ordered this truckload of dung?

Books on Buddhist teachings and philisophies are plenty but they tend to be on the dry side. I should know. Usually, when my wife and I go to the Buddhist Hermitage Lunas, we would come back with one or two books on Buddhism. I always struggle with them because they are written in a style that is too heavy, repetitive, without imagination and sometimes with too much use of Sanskrit terms. Perhaps the authors or translators did not know how to make their content more interesting.

But last week, we came back from the Mahindarama Buddhist Temple with a gem of a book, written by the same man who was in Penang to conduct a three-day Buddhist retreat for lucky lay-Buddhists.

From the moment that I picked up Ajahn Brahm's book, Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?, it has been my constant companion. There are 108 inspiring stories - or lessons - in this book and each of them is a joy to read and understand. If you do listen to the Bhante's talks on compact discs, you will be very familiar with most of the stories already. In fact, this book is a collection of his wit but laid out in a manner for everyone to enjoy.

In Australia, the book's alternative title is Opening the Door of Your Heart: And Other Buddhist Tales of Happiness. But they are one and the same book. Recommended reading for anyone who want to start understanding Buddhism.

George Town's 52nd anniversary function

I'm super-tired. I took three days of annual leave starting from Boxing Day until New Year's Eve, hoping that I could use the continuous stretch of eight days to recharge my batteries for the challenges ahead in 2009.

How wrong I was. Except for Christmas Day, I have had to hop out to the island every day for one task or another such as going to the wake of a senior member of my Kongsi (association), gathering my family together for a belated birthday lunch, chairing a meeting of my Kongsi committee, visiting the Buddhist temple to listen to the words of wisdom from Ajahn Brahm, sending my turntable for a check-up and .... proudly attending a dinner to commemorate George Town's 52nd anniversary of City status.

So you see, my time had been wholly occupied the past seven days and frankly, I'm bushed. But my tiredness was all swept away when I entered the E&O Hotel in Farquhar Street...one of the selected few hundred people invited to the function. A lot of NGO representatives were there, as well as politicians and ex-politicians. But it was a pity that there were a few empty seats too. I heard that a few politicians from the Opposition were also invited but they were under orders from their higher-ups not to turn up. How true was that? Don't really know.

Anyway, I was glad to see our former Chief Minister and elder statesman, Dr Lim Chong Eu. Dr Choong Sim Poey was there with his bubbly wife, Kee Phaik Cheen. I haven't seen them for a few years. Also, Anwar Fazal whom I first met at Penang Hill last year. Then a whole list of politicians from the Pakatan Rakyat ... people like Liew Chin Tong, Ong Kok Fooi and of course, our present CM, Lim Guan Eng.


Mustn't forget too that the Governor, Abdul Rahman bin Abbas, was present. His late arrival at the function (albeit only by five minutes) together with the speeches by the Penang Island Municipal Council president Zainal Rahim bin Seman and Guan Eng meant that dinner slipped way past 9.20pm. Supper, that's what one chap at my table quipped. If we had not wised up enough to take some food before this function, we'd have collapsed with great hunger.

Throughout their speeches, they kept talking about how George Town became a city on 1 Jan 1957 following a petition to Queen Elizabeth II from the George Town Municipal Council in 1956. They were trying to justify why George Town should still remain a city despite it having been absorbed into the greater Penang Island Municipality in the 1970s. But I was thinking to myself: why should George Town cease to be a city? It'll be a rather unique case of a city located within a greater municipality. I don't see any problem with this. In any case, it happened in the 1970s. If there is any person who can clarify what happened then, it should be Dr Lim Chong Eu himself because he allowed it to happen in his watch.

Guan Eng talked at great length and solicited some laughs when he said that the president of the Penang Island Municipal Council should also be considered the Lord Mayor of the City of George Town. But there won't be any city councillor. He tried to make light of the issue but in my opinion, it's all either very complicated or very simple.

Simple because the Lord Mayor's position can simply be a ceremonial post. An enhanced ceremonial post that can come together with the George Town city status. And as for local governance, it still falls under the Penang Island municipal president.

Complicated because I sense some dithering by the state government. A guarded approach. Not with the fullest confidence. As if everything still has to be explained carefully to everyone. Maybe they are correct in the approach but I hope the government will put more thought into this matter or else there'll be one legal obstacle after another.

More later (maybe) ....