Syafiq came back. As usual, he came back a little bit out of return-home season for our other children.
Besides the Mohican's hairdo, he also brought along with him his much-talked-about pet - the five-foot Burmese phyton his friend gave him.
Just before he came home, he had pestered his uncle, Kamal, to prepare an aquarium for his snake. Like always, Kamal obliged.
Syafiq made us all winced in disbelief when he told us that just one day before he had fed his snake a kitten. The kitten had dirtied the corridor by its feces and vomitus, so often that on that day he could not take it any longer.
He grabbed the kitten and passed it to the hungry snake. It quickly grabbed it and squeezed and crushed the poor animal within its strong coil of death. The kitten became its dinner that night!
No, kittens are not the normal diet of his pet snake. White mice were its normal diet.
I told him to give the snake a sun bathe reptiles normally need. The snake looked happy absorbing the energy-rich sunlight. It stayed motionless in the grass for well over fifteen minutes.
A neighbour ridiculed him by saying:" You big boy still playing with toy snake?"
He was wrong and he realized it when he saw the head moved!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
REMEMBERING SOUTH AFRICA
Despite of my complaints I am still glad to be a government servant. Why? Because while on duty I could travel around to many countries that unless you are loaded you just can't afford to go to.
Before this I always told myself and my friends (bosses included) that I would like it very much to go to Africa. To see the big four - Lion, Elephant, Rhinocerous and Hippopotamus!
So one fine day, Dato' Radzi, the then Perak's Agriculture Exco asked me to follow him to Africa together with Tan Sri Muhyiddin, the then Agriculture Minister.
Just like a sleepy guy offered a cosy pillow, I, without hesitant, accepted the offer and so off we went to South Africa.
The first city was Johannesburg or in short just Joburg. True to its notoriety, our van, with the Minister inside, was nearlr robbed. Two guys suddenly boarded our van and started asking for our passports.
An officer from Malaysian High Commission realised what was going on and warned everybody not to give out our passports. Realizing that their attemp was failing, they quickly went down the van and ran away.
The second incident occurred right in front of the hotel we were staying. An RTM cameraman was busy shooting beautiful scenes of Joburg. Suddenly a man (he told us later) came and asked him for his wallet.
As if hypnotised, he willingly gave his wallet to the man. The man went through the content of his wallet and sai: 'Wow, you have American diollars! Ok, take back your wallet.'
The cameraman took back his wallet and placed it into his back pocket. Half an hour later, he woke up from his sleep, and only then he realized that he had been conned - five hundreds of his six hundred American dollars were missing!
And that guy left him one hundred dollars. what a gentleman highwayman!
We decided not to go around much of Joburg. We just went around a big shopping mall near the hotel.
After Joburg, we went around visiting Elizabethtown and Capetown.
Capetown was just amazing. We stayed in a RM4,000 a night Table bay hotel. The room was just fascinating, with the view of the famous table mountain. The mountain was covered with a slowly dispersing cloud, just like a table cloth covering a dining table! So beautiful.
WE all went up the cable car up to the top of the mountain. The gondola could carry about sixty people.
WE met many Cape Malays in Capetown. In an abattoir I was surrounded by many Cape Malays asking me all sorts of questions. One even asked me whether I could supply him a few containers of deep fried shallot!
Capetown harbour was something else at night. There were lots of halal food joints within walking distance from the hotel.
All in all I saw there was still a big gap between the Blacks and the Whites in South Africa.
Before this I always told myself and my friends (bosses included) that I would like it very much to go to Africa. To see the big four - Lion, Elephant, Rhinocerous and Hippopotamus!
So one fine day, Dato' Radzi, the then Perak's Agriculture Exco asked me to follow him to Africa together with Tan Sri Muhyiddin, the then Agriculture Minister.
Just like a sleepy guy offered a cosy pillow, I, without hesitant, accepted the offer and so off we went to South Africa.
The first city was Johannesburg or in short just Joburg. True to its notoriety, our van, with the Minister inside, was nearlr robbed. Two guys suddenly boarded our van and started asking for our passports.
An officer from Malaysian High Commission realised what was going on and warned everybody not to give out our passports. Realizing that their attemp was failing, they quickly went down the van and ran away.
The second incident occurred right in front of the hotel we were staying. An RTM cameraman was busy shooting beautiful scenes of Joburg. Suddenly a man (he told us later) came and asked him for his wallet.
As if hypnotised, he willingly gave his wallet to the man. The man went through the content of his wallet and sai: 'Wow, you have American diollars! Ok, take back your wallet.'
The cameraman took back his wallet and placed it into his back pocket. Half an hour later, he woke up from his sleep, and only then he realized that he had been conned - five hundreds of his six hundred American dollars were missing!
And that guy left him one hundred dollars. what a gentleman highwayman!
We decided not to go around much of Joburg. We just went around a big shopping mall near the hotel.
After Joburg, we went around visiting Elizabethtown and Capetown.
Capetown was just amazing. We stayed in a RM4,000 a night Table bay hotel. The room was just fascinating, with the view of the famous table mountain. The mountain was covered with a slowly dispersing cloud, just like a table cloth covering a dining table! So beautiful.
WE all went up the cable car up to the top of the mountain. The gondola could carry about sixty people.
WE met many Cape Malays in Capetown. In an abattoir I was surrounded by many Cape Malays asking me all sorts of questions. One even asked me whether I could supply him a few containers of deep fried shallot!
Capetown harbour was something else at night. There were lots of halal food joints within walking distance from the hotel.
All in all I saw there was still a big gap between the Blacks and the Whites in South Africa.
ALMOST FORGOTTEN MEDICINAL PLANTS
Last week, as a part of my farewell visit to districts, I visited Rompin and in particular, Felda Keratong.
En. Baharom, the swiftlet rancher, impressed me most. He built the swiftlet house just behind his house, using the simplest and yet very effective technology. In just eight months he claimed that he has managed to attract about three thousand birds into his house!
I also visited a few cattle farmers in Keratong. The animals were impressive - maximum body score and breeding like anything. I am always fascinated seeing beautiful healthy calves at foot of their mothers.
Most of our animals distributed in 2008 have done very well under oil palm plantation. The abundant grassses make them grow very well. I also saw a huge Charolais cow in one of the Felda settler's plot.
Well, enough about work. Now I want to talk about three plants that I came across near one of the farmer's farm.
It has been ages since I last saw any of them. But I still remember them, how they look in the wild.
They were tuba (Diospyros wallichii), mata ayam or also called mata kancil (Ardisia crenata) and Gelenggang plants (Cassia alata).
They thrived well there without anyone knowing their medicinal value.
My late grandmother used to prepare a foul-smelling concoction of tuba roots, mata ayam root and gelenggang leaves, sulphur and boiled in virgin self-prepared coconut oil. When cool, the oil was rubbed onto my scabbies and lo behold the itchy scabies vanished!
I tell you they were effective. Those days scabies were common among youngsters like me. The hands were so swollen that I could not hold anything in it, even scooping rice into the mouth!
Hospital medicine was not that effective then. Application of the concoction for just three days solved my problem.
En. Baharom, the swiftlet rancher, impressed me most. He built the swiftlet house just behind his house, using the simplest and yet very effective technology. In just eight months he claimed that he has managed to attract about three thousand birds into his house!
I also visited a few cattle farmers in Keratong. The animals were impressive - maximum body score and breeding like anything. I am always fascinated seeing beautiful healthy calves at foot of their mothers.
Most of our animals distributed in 2008 have done very well under oil palm plantation. The abundant grassses make them grow very well. I also saw a huge Charolais cow in one of the Felda settler's plot.
Well, enough about work. Now I want to talk about three plants that I came across near one of the farmer's farm.
It has been ages since I last saw any of them. But I still remember them, how they look in the wild.
They were tuba (Diospyros wallichii), mata ayam or also called mata kancil (Ardisia crenata) and Gelenggang plants (Cassia alata).
They thrived well there without anyone knowing their medicinal value.
My late grandmother used to prepare a foul-smelling concoction of tuba roots, mata ayam root and gelenggang leaves, sulphur and boiled in virgin self-prepared coconut oil. When cool, the oil was rubbed onto my scabbies and lo behold the itchy scabies vanished!
I tell you they were effective. Those days scabies were common among youngsters like me. The hands were so swollen that I could not hold anything in it, even scooping rice into the mouth!
Hospital medicine was not that effective then. Application of the concoction for just three days solved my problem.
MAKING HEROES OUT OF TRESSPASSERS
It is always very difficult for me to understand how some people can turn an outright illegal act into something worth supported, and make us, the legally right party looked as the guilty ones.
They use all sorts of means to justify their acts. They use the villagers, the politicians, the media to strengthen their plot. They know that they have committed something wrong, but they do not care.
Imagine, they have blown up the story, from a case of only a handful (may be two or three people) of illegal tresspassers into one that consists of a plan to develop and divide the oil palm plantation into a few acres each to many people of the village.
Overnight, the illegal personal project became something heroic, something that would benefit hundreds of villagers!
It is also sad that the local political leader/s take the bite and support them. They told me that they were scared of losing important votes in the coming election. They went as far as telling me that the project, no matter how good it would be, would be of no use if they lost the seat!
All is not lost yet. But I am kind of fed up with it all and seriously thinking to just let it go like that.
What is the use of us fighting hard to make sure the project go as planned while they are fighting back, employing all avenues to see that their illegal act be legalized.
But, the selected poultry farmers, ninteen of them, are all eager and ready to come in and start their project. A few of them already have financial support to build modern closed house poultry sheds.
Our intention is clear - to develop a permanent poultry production estate there so that Pahang will one day be one of the most important poultry producers in the nation.
We still have ample land for it. The industry is still small here and unlike in the west coast where it is already congested and very difficult to exapand further.
All the potential is here. So why spoil it just for the sake of a few irresponsible men to make money out of the government's land!
They use all sorts of means to justify their acts. They use the villagers, the politicians, the media to strengthen their plot. They know that they have committed something wrong, but they do not care.
Imagine, they have blown up the story, from a case of only a handful (may be two or three people) of illegal tresspassers into one that consists of a plan to develop and divide the oil palm plantation into a few acres each to many people of the village.
Overnight, the illegal personal project became something heroic, something that would benefit hundreds of villagers!
It is also sad that the local political leader/s take the bite and support them. They told me that they were scared of losing important votes in the coming election. They went as far as telling me that the project, no matter how good it would be, would be of no use if they lost the seat!
All is not lost yet. But I am kind of fed up with it all and seriously thinking to just let it go like that.
What is the use of us fighting hard to make sure the project go as planned while they are fighting back, employing all avenues to see that their illegal act be legalized.
But, the selected poultry farmers, ninteen of them, are all eager and ready to come in and start their project. A few of them already have financial support to build modern closed house poultry sheds.
Our intention is clear - to develop a permanent poultry production estate there so that Pahang will one day be one of the most important poultry producers in the nation.
We still have ample land for it. The industry is still small here and unlike in the west coast where it is already congested and very difficult to exapand further.
All the potential is here. So why spoil it just for the sake of a few irresponsible men to make money out of the government's land!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE SO GULLIBLE?
I am surprised that there are still people out there (filthy rich perhaps) so gullible and easy to release their money to clear cut crooks.
Take the various lottery scams. I remember I first received a congratulatory note from an International Lottery Board saying that I had won 8 million Euros worth of prize money.
Curious, I replied. They said that yes I had won the first prize.
Then I said,'Please deposit the money into my so and so account.'
Then the lady said: 'Sir, you have to pay 5% for processing."
You know how much 5% of 8 million Euros? Plenty of money to me.
"Can't you just deduct the money from my winning?"
"No Sir, it is gainst the law to do so."
"Ok, I'll give you 10% if you just deduct it from my money."
Then she gave up. I am too difficult to negotiate or bamboozle.
But, out there somewhere, a man willingly paid that 5% processing money. That was the last he saw the money!
Then came the various schemes that need money to be advanced to the schemers. Take the leech, the earthworm, the lemon grass and the feedlot schemes.
Please take care of your money. Do not invest in places that are nice to listen but difficult to believe.
Take the various lottery scams. I remember I first received a congratulatory note from an International Lottery Board saying that I had won 8 million Euros worth of prize money.
Curious, I replied. They said that yes I had won the first prize.
Then I said,'Please deposit the money into my so and so account.'
Then the lady said: 'Sir, you have to pay 5% for processing."
You know how much 5% of 8 million Euros? Plenty of money to me.
"Can't you just deduct the money from my winning?"
"No Sir, it is gainst the law to do so."
"Ok, I'll give you 10% if you just deduct it from my money."
Then she gave up. I am too difficult to negotiate or bamboozle.
But, out there somewhere, a man willingly paid that 5% processing money. That was the last he saw the money!
Then came the various schemes that need money to be advanced to the schemers. Take the leech, the earthworm, the lemon grass and the feedlot schemes.
Please take care of your money. Do not invest in places that are nice to listen but difficult to believe.
PRAY FOR PEACE & QUIET
As February showed itself, my retirement day gets closer by the day. All I want now is peace and quiet. No more nerve-wrecking incidents and much hurrahs.
All I want is to complete what I am supposed to do in a smooth way. No more controversies if possible.
But from things that is happening now, I doubt it. I will still have a few.
One is the enforcement of illegal planting of oil palm trees on our TKPA Tebat. After it being stopped and a few postponements, it restarted on 2 February. But today, again, we received orders from above, to stop.
I don't know why, but it looks like the tresspassers are winning. The illegals are winning. Is this the so-called 'people first'? I hope not.
If it is, then there will be more tresspassings coming!
I am jealous of Hamidin, he is already on leave before his retirement in April. I will do so too if I have the leave, but I don't. I have just a few days.
All I want is to complete what I am supposed to do in a smooth way. No more controversies if possible.
But from things that is happening now, I doubt it. I will still have a few.
One is the enforcement of illegal planting of oil palm trees on our TKPA Tebat. After it being stopped and a few postponements, it restarted on 2 February. But today, again, we received orders from above, to stop.
I don't know why, but it looks like the tresspassers are winning. The illegals are winning. Is this the so-called 'people first'? I hope not.
If it is, then there will be more tresspassings coming!
I am jealous of Hamidin, he is already on leave before his retirement in April. I will do so too if I have the leave, but I don't. I have just a few days.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
THE IMMORTAL HENRIETTA LACK'S CELLS
HeLa cells tissue cultures have been instrumental in the development of Polio vaccine and numerous other researches that deal with growing of viruses in laboratory.
I myself have come across HeLa cell lines when I did my Masters in the States and I believe many more scientists and research workers out there have used HeLa cell lines.
Sadly and in fact outright rude for us not to know from whom the cells came from. I only knew whose cells were they today after reading an article in Yahoo.
I don't know whose fault it was, but I think apartheid might be one of the main reasons behind it.
The owner of the immortal cells was a 30-year old Black tobacco farmer from South Virginia by the name of Henrietta Lack who was suffering from cervical cancer. It was in the 50's.
A doctor after removing the cancer from her, passed the tissue to a tissue culture lab across the hall and then began the so-called immortal cell lines.
It survives till now, that is more than half a century later.
Before, scientists had difficulty to maintain human cell lines. They usually died in the process, but not Henrietta Lack's cells. They grow indefinitely.
Henrietta Lack's family did not get anything from her mother's cells, not even a word of thanks from the users.
It was only the writer of the article that I have just read who painstakingly searched for the children and found Deborah, the daughter of Henrietta.
Only then Deborah knew that it was her mother who had supplied the scientific world with the famous HeLa cell lines.
But sadly she does not get anything for her mother's great contribution to mankind. No matter, Deborah knows that her mother was watching from up there, probably with a smile, knowing that they were her cells that had saved millions of lives through countless researches carried ot till now.
Thank you Henrietta Lack. Your suffering had brought joy to many. Rest in peace.
I myself have come across HeLa cell lines when I did my Masters in the States and I believe many more scientists and research workers out there have used HeLa cell lines.
Sadly and in fact outright rude for us not to know from whom the cells came from. I only knew whose cells were they today after reading an article in Yahoo.
I don't know whose fault it was, but I think apartheid might be one of the main reasons behind it.
The owner of the immortal cells was a 30-year old Black tobacco farmer from South Virginia by the name of Henrietta Lack who was suffering from cervical cancer. It was in the 50's.
A doctor after removing the cancer from her, passed the tissue to a tissue culture lab across the hall and then began the so-called immortal cell lines.
It survives till now, that is more than half a century later.
Before, scientists had difficulty to maintain human cell lines. They usually died in the process, but not Henrietta Lack's cells. They grow indefinitely.
Henrietta Lack's family did not get anything from her mother's cells, not even a word of thanks from the users.
It was only the writer of the article that I have just read who painstakingly searched for the children and found Deborah, the daughter of Henrietta.
Only then Deborah knew that it was her mother who had supplied the scientific world with the famous HeLa cell lines.
But sadly she does not get anything for her mother's great contribution to mankind. No matter, Deborah knows that her mother was watching from up there, probably with a smile, knowing that they were her cells that had saved millions of lives through countless researches carried ot till now.
Thank you Henrietta Lack. Your suffering had brought joy to many. Rest in peace.
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