The Formative/Looking For Identity Years (1987 - 1997)
My notorierity seemed to mellow down towards the end of my early years. As I have said before this I excelled academically and secured a place in a boarding school to continue my secondary education. I spent 3 years in MRSM Kerteh, Terengganu until my SRP exam. Since my scholl was considered as mini-MRSM, so by the end of the 3rd year all of us were re-distributed to the main-MRSMs. I was sent to MRSM Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu, which I regard as being the worst period of schooling due to the bullish seniors and the sweet-extra sugar-take on everything that I eat. Fortunately it was only a short encounter as I was again transferred to MRSM Kulim, Kedah.
It was another 2 years in Kulim until the SPM exam. I guessed this period had in a way exposed me to more than just the academics and somewhat had paved the way or for the first time influenced the direction that I had taken in my future life. MRSM Kulim is different from the other MRSMs as it is also a matriculation centre for UPM, UKM, UUM and USMs for ex-MRSM students. On top of that, there were like only 108 of us in my batch doing upper secondary. So and so, most of the time we mingled among those university-bound students that ranges from the most pious and the most "samseng" one. I had my first encounter with Islamic movements while my stay here....I guess it was that time of Islamic revival among the students. So there was this Arqam group (way before they got banned) whose members have specific penchant to the colour green, as well as to PAS-influenced establishment. Being a happy-go-lucky type of person then, I did not really get myself involved.
Talking about life in late mid 80's to early 90's it reminds me of the "Malay Rock" era. I personally think that no one that had passed through this period of time had not been affected by this phenomenon. The uniqueness of "Malay Rock" is that, on the contrary of the "rock" theme, the songs are pretty much melancholic or in Malay...mendayu-dayu or meleleh beb......most often the songs that topped the chart those days were from these music genre...the more meleleh the song....the higher chance of it to be the favourite among fans. So we have the likes of Search, Wings, MAY, De Fabians, OLAN, Rusty Blade, Junction, Sofea, BPR, Crossfire, Desire (this was an odd one as they hailed from Kelantan as oppose to many others from the Johor) and the list goes on dominating the music scene. Honestly! most of these groups did not fit to be called rock groups except for a few maybe. Besides their appearances (i.e. long hair, leather pants, catchy calling names as well as "thought-provoking" group names) the music was actually a blend of pop (a lot) and rock (very little and only obvius during the electric guitar "goreng" sequence) elements. Songs like "Cinta Bandar Tasik Selatan", "Taman Rashidah Utama", "Realiti & Fantasi", "Isabella", "Untukmu Sayang", "Sketsa Sebuah Cinta", "Intanku Kesepian" and "Bunga Padang Pasir" had become the staple of the music industry.......of which are not rock songs but a desperate and deliberate effort of camouflaging a pop music with an electric guitar sequence so as to capitalise the popularity of these alleged rock groups. Another glaring trait of the so-called rock songs was that 99.9999% dealt with the theme "cinta"....it could be cinta terhalang, cinta tak kesampaian, cinta monyet etc. etc. Having said all of these, I have to admit that I was once being sucked up by the music (which I so despise today).....probably because it was the most natural thing to do back then and there was no time for us to be critical anyway.
Along with their "tangkap leleh" songs, these rock groups also responsible for trendsetting styles. Everyone of us would have recalled when the trend "seluar kaki kecik/seluar ketat" was the most in thing among the youngsters and it is not too extreme that it literally swept the nation by storm. Everything from the jeans, school pants and even Baju Melayu pants had to be altered so as to qualify as being a seluar ketat. I would say that things had become out of control to the extent that the school had devised a clever way to measure the "kecikness" of the students' pants by inserting a glass bottle through the "kaki seluar"......if the bottle passed through then you are safe otherwise your pant would be scissored so as to allow the bottle to pass through it.
Ok enough about that. I had to mention it anyway as I felt that it somewhat affected my of us, when everybody was behaving like a rocker. However, the effect was waned down as time progresses.....there were more important stuffs that I had to ponder such as the SPM. So whay was SPM so big of an issue. While it was important as it would determine your next course of academic path, being where I was (i.e. MRSM Kulim), the pressure had been quadrapled! Why? Maybe some of you that happen to read this blog would know, my school was a special project school where the cream of the crops from all MRSM who had achieved the best of SRP results were put together and undergone a somewhat different curriculum. The objective was to produce the best and most integrated Malay students who are bound for academic excellence. So......for us...to obtain Grade 1 was not an aspiration.....it was considered given!
To cut the story short, after SPM, which I did quite respectably.....but not really astounding as what my other friends had achieved....bolehlah..and good enough to secure me a scholarship with Telekom Malaysia (TM) to do A-Level. As my SPM results were so-so....so I didn't get to fly off to the UK for my A-Level, instead I took my A-Level in MSM Cheras for 2 years before I was off to UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology) to do electronic engineering for another 3 years (1994-1997). It was during this period I got re-acquainted with the Islamic-movement ...specifically the PAS-influenced one and really got myself involved. Frankly, being involved with the group had opened my eyes to other aspects of life besides academic excellence. It certainly had thought and exposed me to many other matters that obviously not covered by the mainstreams publications and text books. I made friends who had guided me to become a better Muslim and I am so thankful to them until this day. On contrary to the popular belief, while being active with the movement, I graduated with the highest honours....Alhamdulillah and I was then ready to comeback to Malaysia and enter the "exciting" working world.
.........to be continued ......final chapter....."The Working Years"
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
The Chronicle of Me
Just to keep the momentum going, I don't really have anything substantial to blog about at the moment and frankly really not in the mood to engage in a thought provoking subject just yet (sigh! have been having this on-off fever thing for past few days.....not in my best form)...but need to keep things going anyway.
That lead to my decision to write about myself, a chronological incidences of the past 30+ odd years ever since I came to being in this world. Duh! What a boring subject, does everybody has to write and bragging about themselves.......as boring as it may be to many people out there......but again too bad.....this blog is mine afterall.
The Early Years (1974 - 1986)
I hailed from the east coast state called Terengganu of the Malaysian Peninsular. Family-wise, my parents could be categorised under medium income family (read: not rich!) of the Malay ethnicity. An interesting fact about us is that, legend has it....on my mother's side we are descended from Yunnan though it is almost impossible to detect any chinese-like features on me, however, I noticed that my mother's siblings (i.e. aunt and uncles) do have a very fair complexion for a typical Malay. On my father's side, I was told that we have a lineage going back to the palace....not quite sure how it works and never quite bother to ask the details. On a holistical perspective, my family is just a typical Malay family living in a Kampung.
My father was a teacher until he retired in late 1990's while mum is a full time housewife. I have 5 older sisters and 1 youger sisters making me the 6th out of seven siblings. Just imagine! A boy living throughout his early years among girls......how scary can that be. One would have imagined that I would turn up to be one of those "mat lembik" type of person. But Alhamdulillah, thank God that I grew up to become a normal boy and man......I guess I owe much to my father who would normally make sure that I be on his side wherever he goes.....so that I won't be overwhelmed by the girly influences. That also means I don't have to do house chores to the envy of others.........what a great strategy it was...kudos to my Father.
As a little boy I was extremely naughty to the extent that none of my sisters would want to babysit me if my mother had to go away for a certain business. Yea Yea Yea....you people would say that I am a mummy's boy, hey! I did get my fair share of beating and scolding by my mom and dad. There had been a lot of other incidents when I was little (before I start my schooling) that had gained me a reputation as being one of the most notorious boy among my clan, of which I won't bother to deliberate.
Alhamdulillah, despite being "dennis the menace-like" boy, I was and still am (again Alhamdulillah) blessed with good brain....not to the level of gifted or genius but good enough for me to progress through my primary and secondary schooling with good grades....a relief to my parents and sisters.
.....to be continuued..."The Formative/Looking for Identity Years"
That lead to my decision to write about myself, a chronological incidences of the past 30+ odd years ever since I came to being in this world. Duh! What a boring subject, does everybody has to write and bragging about themselves.......as boring as it may be to many people out there......but again too bad.....this blog is mine afterall.
The Early Years (1974 - 1986)
I hailed from the east coast state called Terengganu of the Malaysian Peninsular. Family-wise, my parents could be categorised under medium income family (read: not rich!) of the Malay ethnicity. An interesting fact about us is that, legend has it....on my mother's side we are descended from Yunnan though it is almost impossible to detect any chinese-like features on me, however, I noticed that my mother's siblings (i.e. aunt and uncles) do have a very fair complexion for a typical Malay. On my father's side, I was told that we have a lineage going back to the palace....not quite sure how it works and never quite bother to ask the details. On a holistical perspective, my family is just a typical Malay family living in a Kampung.
My father was a teacher until he retired in late 1990's while mum is a full time housewife. I have 5 older sisters and 1 youger sisters making me the 6th out of seven siblings. Just imagine! A boy living throughout his early years among girls......how scary can that be. One would have imagined that I would turn up to be one of those "mat lembik" type of person. But Alhamdulillah, thank God that I grew up to become a normal boy and man......I guess I owe much to my father who would normally make sure that I be on his side wherever he goes.....so that I won't be overwhelmed by the girly influences. That also means I don't have to do house chores to the envy of others.........what a great strategy it was...kudos to my Father.
As a little boy I was extremely naughty to the extent that none of my sisters would want to babysit me if my mother had to go away for a certain business. Yea Yea Yea....you people would say that I am a mummy's boy, hey! I did get my fair share of beating and scolding by my mom and dad. There had been a lot of other incidents when I was little (before I start my schooling) that had gained me a reputation as being one of the most notorious boy among my clan, of which I won't bother to deliberate.
Alhamdulillah, despite being "dennis the menace-like" boy, I was and still am (again Alhamdulillah) blessed with good brain....not to the level of gifted or genius but good enough for me to progress through my primary and secondary schooling with good grades....a relief to my parents and sisters.
.....to be continuued..."The Formative/Looking for Identity Years"
Film Review #1: Wrong Turn 2 - Dead end
One of my favourite pastime other than reading is watching films especially those "rare" titles that normally way off the mainstream and most often than not, those that are direct to DVD (i.e. no theatrical screening). Of the many genres out there, horror/mystery/thriller films always catch my attention as I enjoy the scare jumps and most often these films has the "whodunnit" element that keep us guessing until the end who is the real perpetrator. And sometimes I watch these flicks to test how good the filmakers are in delivering the horror as normally suggested by the taglines accompanying the films' posters.Last week I was at a "pasar malam" near my house looking for something to grab for that night and happened to patron one DVD stall (read: prirate DVD) and came across this film...."Wrong Turn 2 - Dead End". I had watch the first installment of the film so I thought that why not watch the sequel. Well, frankly the film is hardly a sequel as it stands on its own with new characters except for the plot of a family of deformed cannibalistic mutated and no nonsense mountain people wreak havoc upon a group of survivor-like reality show participants in a Jungle. The first film was ok and was given a theatrical release and had its scary ang gory parts. But, the 2nd film......at least for me has taken the goriness off the chart!!! Starting from the 1st scene involving a female character until to the last tensful scene, there was this non-stop human chopping, decapitation, diembowelment, slaugthering and grinding (imagine going to the wet market looking at the butcher chopping, slicing and battering the meat and the cow's organs, except that in this case a human is the subject) activities went on. If you guys out there have seen Hostel/Hostel 2, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the likes, I personally think that this one offers a few notches above that.
So do I like the film, well, for a film done with a specific reason depicting what the mountain people capable off, yes it serves its purpose and was delivered spot on. While on entertainment value, based on my barometer, it lacks the intelligence, put in a few sexy women and a bunch of deformed mutants which at the end everyone dies except for one or two that happen to posses the highest moral value who escaped the carnage and went home safely......very straight to the point formula. There was no mystery or plot twist which would have helped making the film more interesting. Having said that, the films did have a good production value and setting. Can't really comment much on the acting ...as far as I am concern the actors/actresses appeared and acted way more convincing compared to all Yusof Haslam's films brought together, even the deformed mutants delivered better acting chops than Erra Fazira & Awie.
So, it was an OK film, but I think they overdid the gruesome department, which left me a bit disturbed at the end..... 2.5/5 stars
Thursday, October 25, 2007
An Opening Gambit
Assalamualaikum and hello to all cybernetters and bloggers out there.
Call me "the_cook".
This may well be my introduction to the global blogging community but definitely not the first one. Frankly, I have started once before, however due to lack of discipline I abandoned it. Just recently, there was this urge of having a place to voice out my opinion (regardless the subject) and after being encouraged by my wife (who is happened to embrace blogging and relaised its benefits way earlier) and friends so I decided to actually started one of my own.
"The Talking Corner".....which I personally think a good title for my blog. At a simple glance, the title really embodies the very spirit of blogging...that is openness and one-self entitlement for differing in opinion....as G.H.Hardy (1877 - 1947), a prominent English Mathematician once said.."it's not worth an intelligent man's time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that". The title also reminds me of the Hyde Park Corner (HPC) in London. Having gone through my days as students in the UK in late mid 90's, HPC is really an interesting blogging space without long before the Internet was conceived. The good thing about the HPC, people get to speak whatever they like and sometime those people there not doing anything except for dancing their way to a rap song. At the end of the day, after much debate and swearing, everybody would disperse calmly. So this space of mine is propagating the same HPC spirit, I talk/write, others would comments or observes (or send me hate mails if I strike it right) but at the end of the day everybody would disperse calmly.
Motivation is a strong pulling factor. I believe that on the onset, people do something driven by certain kind of motivation..good or bad. Same goes for me, I have my own motivation which leads to the creation of this blog. Besides able to voice out my differing opinions, I think the nobler motive would be the propagation of knowledge and information and with the Internet it is free for all, a buffet type..."eat all you can" kinda thing.
I think this would do for an opening, will keep on posting InsyaAllah (God willing) and stay tune for variety of subject matters to be rambled and mused.
Call me "the_cook".
This may well be my introduction to the global blogging community but definitely not the first one. Frankly, I have started once before, however due to lack of discipline I abandoned it. Just recently, there was this urge of having a place to voice out my opinion (regardless the subject) and after being encouraged by my wife (who is happened to embrace blogging and relaised its benefits way earlier) and friends so I decided to actually started one of my own.
"The Talking Corner".....which I personally think a good title for my blog. At a simple glance, the title really embodies the very spirit of blogging...that is openness and one-self entitlement for differing in opinion....as G.H.Hardy (1877 - 1947), a prominent English Mathematician once said.."it's not worth an intelligent man's time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that". The title also reminds me of the Hyde Park Corner (HPC) in London. Having gone through my days as students in the UK in late mid 90's, HPC is really an interesting blogging space without long before the Internet was conceived. The good thing about the HPC, people get to speak whatever they like and sometime those people there not doing anything except for dancing their way to a rap song. At the end of the day, after much debate and swearing, everybody would disperse calmly. So this space of mine is propagating the same HPC spirit, I talk/write, others would comments or observes (or send me hate mails if I strike it right) but at the end of the day everybody would disperse calmly.
Motivation is a strong pulling factor. I believe that on the onset, people do something driven by certain kind of motivation..good or bad. Same goes for me, I have my own motivation which leads to the creation of this blog. Besides able to voice out my differing opinions, I think the nobler motive would be the propagation of knowledge and information and with the Internet it is free for all, a buffet type..."eat all you can" kinda thing.
I think this would do for an opening, will keep on posting InsyaAllah (God willing) and stay tune for variety of subject matters to be rambled and mused.
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