Wednesday, May 31, 2006

 

Happy Holidays!

 

To my dear friends and blogging comrades,

Have a wonderful weekend! Its a long one too. And a very happy Gawai Dayak to all bloggers who will be drinking to their hearts’ content this festive season.

Take care!

 

 

by miracle8 at 05:15 pm
Make a miracle happen

Sunday, May 28, 2006

 

Trip to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre on 27.5.2006

 

A date with the orang utans proved to be the most idyllic Saturday afternoon ever. Maneuvering through acres of lush greenery, breathtaking landscapes and a tar road amidst tropical rainforests was a sight to behold. Of course it helps when the person on the wheel is a “close relative” of Michael Schumacker. My lil bro scared the wits out of me with his so called “defensive” driving.

The Sarawak British Alumni Association (SBAA) organised a trip to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre yesterday. Here, orang utans (man of the forest) are rehabilitated and released in the wild. Visitors are given an opportunity to see them living the ways just as their forefathers would have.

We arrived at the wildlife centre at approximately 3.10pm, just in time to see these gentle creatures feed on a feast of bananas and tapioca. Due to weather conditions we did not venture further into the forests, where the star of the wildlife centre, Ritchie, resides. We were however amused by the many poses and faces of Delima, a female orang utan and another two orang utans.

Watching the slow, slightly exaggerating moves of the gentle creatures, I could not help but marvel at their agility on the tree tops. Like a skilled acrobat, they balanced themselves on the ropes and walked on a trapeze from one tree to another. It was truly amazing.

Our brief encounter with the orang utans came to an abrupt end when the big guy up there decided to take an afternoon piss. Fortunately we all managed to get a group picture taken before dashing for shelter.

Here are some pictures I managed to capture during my brief visit to Semenggoh. Enjoy!

A mother and her child.

Deep in thoughts…

Delima showing us her backside..

“Hey guys, have a piece of my tit!”

Delima’s in a dilemma… to eat or not to eat? To swing or not to swing?

A close up of the orchids grown in abundance in the wildlife centre.

My lil bro, who is a wonder with the gentle creatures has a much more exciting array of pictures capturing the innocence of the orang utans. I shall let him do the honours of blogging about it at a later date. :)

Information for visitors:

Entrance fee: RM3.00 for adults, RM1.50 children

Parking: Free of Charge.

Best times to visit: 0900 hours and 1500 hours (feeding time)

Do not walk behind the orang utans when they are eating as they will think that you are going to snatch their food from them.

Do not take pictures using flash. Edit your pictures using photoshop later.

Keep a safe distance from the orang utans.

Don’t carry your umbrella with you. Some of the orang utans were caged before and may think that you are carrying a cane in your hand and thereby get agitated. (Thanks to bro for the info)

 

 

by miracle8 at 11:28 pm
(4)miracles

 

 

Monday, May 22, 2006

 

Trusted Business Advisor Dialogue @ Crown Plaza Mutiara Hotel, KL on 18.5.06

 

I do apologise for the lack of updates this week. Apart from being bogged down with work, I was also away in KL for a dialogue session organised by Zaid Ibrahim & Co, one of the most established law firms in Malaysia, with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuching, Singapore and Jakarta. I shall share with you some of the topics discussed during the dialogue session, some of which I trust would be relevant to most of us.

The “Trusted Business Advisor Dialogue Series” was held at the Nirwana Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Mutiara Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Delegates came from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to in-house legal counsels of government and statutory bodies as well as public listed companies. Response to the seminar was overwhelming with a total turnout of almost 300 delegates.

The dialogue session started off with a welcome speech by Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, Chairman and founding partner of the firm. The first session consisted of a series of topics which would be delivered by the partners of ZICO.

Datuk Dr. Abdul Samad Haji Alias, President, Malaysian Institute of Accountants and Non-Executive Chairman, Ernst & Young, Malaysia chaired the first session. Partners of ZICO presented papers in the following areas of law:

L_R: Ms Karin Lim, Datuk Dr Abdul Samad Haji Alias, Mr Chew Seng Kok, Dr Veerinderjeet Singh, Mr Kelvin Ng, Megat Hizaini Hassan, Wan Kai Chee.

Topic 1: Related Party Transactions Revisited—by Wan Kai Chee

Wan deals with the type of transactions which would be classified as related party transactions in his presentation. The relevant laws referred to are Companies Act 1965, in particular Sections 132G and the rules enumerated under the Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad-Listing Rules. Under the Rules, a CEO falls within the definition of a “related party”. What significance, you would then ask, of related party transactions? In a nutshell, under company law, any transaction entered into by the Board of directors of a company must be in the best interests of the company. Therefore related party transactions which involve an element of personal interest, and viewed as not in the best interests of the company would be unlawful. The remedy would be of course, for the director to disclose his interests in the said transaction.

Topic 2: The effect of Affin’s case by Megat Hizaini Hassan.

Megat’s presentation analyses the view of the judiciary on the case of Affin Bank Bhd v Zulkifli Abdullah, a case which was recently decided. The Bai’Bithaman Ajil (an agreement whereby a bank buys an asset or property and sells the asset or property to a customer at an agreed defined price which the customers has to pay on a deferred basis or by periodical instalments) is the most popular Islamic banking transaction.

For general knowledge, Syariah Courts have no jurisdiction over islamic banking matters, as disputes involving bank matters are within the jurisdiction of a civil court in Malaysia.

In Affin’s case, it was held that the bank was only entitled to part of the Asset purchase price and not the full amount as it amounted to “unearned profits”.

Topic 3: GST-here and gone? By Kelvin Ng and Dr Verrinderjeet Singh

Dr VS gave an overview of the nature of GST (Government Service Tax), its implications and how businesses have to adapt when the Bill is passed in Parliament. Essentially, for a government of any country, GST is a more reliable source of revenue as it is based on the consumption of goods and services of the public. Dr VS has also written a book “Tax Thoughts On Today’s Taxing Times”, which all delegates received in their delegate pack. (ISBN No. 9834243820) I have read through the book and I do find it quite interesting. The book does not attempt to explain to you the provisions of the Income Tax, but rather, gives an overview on the current issues revolving tax which affects each and every one of us. I strongly recommend it for those who wish to understand the tax system without having to refer to dry textbooks with lengthy analysis on the law.

Topic 4: Real Estate Investment Trusts: To Reit or not to Reit-by Karin Lim

This topic deals with the nature of Real Estate Investment Trusts and its popularity notwithstanding legal impositions such as State Authority approval etc.

In Part II of the dialogue Yong Hon Cheong presented his paper on movement of employees in Mergers and Acquisitions. Essentially, employees are not chattels and cannot be bought or sold like goods. Therefore their welfare has to be taken care of before the new buyer takes over. VSS, retrenchment schemes are in place to assist the seller in managing the headcount of his company. Where work unions are involved, the collective agreement would bind the buyer (Section 17A Industrial Relations Act).

Ariff Rozhan presented his paper on “Who Runs the Company-The Rights of Shareholders as viewed from the Bench”. In a nutshell, the directors run a company and owes a duty to manage the affairs of the company in the best interests of the company. Shareholders can resort to the remedies under Section 181 if they discover that the director’s actions are oppressive towards the minority shareholders.

Part III-Workshop: Directors, Shareholders and Conflicting Interests:

This interactive workshop required all delegates to consider the problem question from three angles–being the director of the company, the majority shareholders and the minority shareholders and what action would they take given the circumstances of the case.

YBhg Dato’ Mahadev Shankar, a retired Court of Appeal Judge, the chairman for this session gave all delegates a very enlightening summary of how he would have decided the case if it was brought before him.

Part IV–a review of the hotel room.

Heheh… as a blogger I simply couldn’t resist snapping pictures of the hotel room I stayed in. I have to say, rooms in Crowne Plaza Mutiara are absolutely lovely. For my standards anyway. The last time I managed to stay in a “posh” hotel was during my business trip to Singapore in 2004. So at the risk of being labelled “sakai” (village idiot) by my little brother, here goes:

watching telly from the comfort of your bathtub=priceless.

A visit to KL would not be complete without stuffing my face full at Genki Sushi. Here are some of the sushi I had…

I know this is not exactly sushi, but its shiny texture and vibrant colours was screaming: “eat me! eat me!” from the conveyor belt. So in my tummy they went. :)

Thats all folks!

by miracle8 at 04:09 pm
(3)miracles

Saturday, May 20, 2006

 

in hot soup

 

Meradong, Batu Lintang, Pending, Padungan, Engkilili, Kota Sentosa, Kidurong, Bukit Assek.

these are the seats which changed hands overnight. The future of chinese in Sarawak remains to be seen.

by miracle8 at 11:23 pm
(2)miracles

Friday, May 19, 2006

 

Bloom, let it bloom

 

*Updated on 21.5.2006*

Here’s a preview of what’s growing in my dad’s garden…

I have no idea what this is called, but judging from the stigma it looks like an upside down hibiscus.

Bouganvilleas after a heavy downpour…

White blossoms which somewhat resembles tiger lilies.

Purple flower with purported medicinal properties.

A different species of bouganvillea.

Clover… Couldn’t find a four-leaf clover though. Apparently its supposed to bring good luck.

Pineapple plant from Chen’s hometown. :D

Lemons the size of my palm, ready for harvest.

by miracle8 at 03:49 pm
(9)miracles

Sunday, May 14, 2006

 

Of Mother’s day, bad puppy day et al

 

A very Happy Mother’s day to my mommy, Twinsmom, Mrs FHo and all blogging moms. This day is dedicated to you, the very day you gave birth to a living human being who would call you mom for life. The little bundles who would, in time grow into beings as tall, or even taller than you. From the clingy little girl/chap they grow into independent individuals. But to you, they will always be the little vulnerable bundle of joy who changed your life immensely, bringing with him/her endless happiness, heartaches and challenges.

Thats what being a mother is all about, I suppose.

We had an early Mother’s day celebration on Friday evening at Pending Seafood Centre. Not going to blog about the food there simply because.. I forgot to bring my camera.

For today, aunt and I did a simple home cooked meal for my mom.. given the handful of times I’d cooked at home since I started working… it does count as something special. :P

Mommy, this is for you. May you always be happy, healthy and smart! :D

Sweetness overload!

Ahh… my favourite dish. grilled salmon with lemon and herb. Lovely…

Chicken kidneys and spare ribs soup.

This is cooked by my aunt. Ka-chang ma. I’d like to see the Cooknengr whip up his version of the Ka-changma.

On a totally unrelated note… a naughty little puppy in the neighbourhood decided to go for a mud bath today and ended up looking like this:

Read my sis’s blog for the full story. hehee…

by miracle8 at 07:07 pm
(5)miracles

Friday, May 12, 2006

 

Happy Wesak Day!

 

I’ve been a bit confused lately so I can’t really do a proper write-up on this honourable occassion. Suffice to say I nearly cried when I prayed to my grandmother this morning at the temple. The compass within me is pointing to several directions at a time. I need to focus…

Here are some pictures I took during this morning’s celebration.

Bathing Buddha. I took this picture before joining the queue.

The long line of devotees…

Flowers, candles and other offerings on sale.

Food fair.

Good luck candies…

Happy Wesak Day everyone.

by miracle8 at 05:28 pm
(3)miracles

Monday, May 08, 2006

 

You can take the guy out of Kuching but you can’t take Kuching out of the guy

 

Meet the guy of every gal’s dream— Chef Edwardo Wong. The chef extraordinare cum engineer with a keen eye for detail, killer good looks and a hot body to boot, you’d be totally daft to let him pass you by without looking at him twice.

He plays the guitar, exercises regularly, eats very healthily and whips up devilishly sexy desserts. His culinary expertise is second to none. Girls, allow yourselves to be swept away by his charm.

Don’t believe me?

Girls, you may drool on your keyboard now. :P

Despite being in the State for 20 years… he is still very much the Kuching boy he was, before he left for the good ol’ States. Like the old saying goes–”you can take the guy out of Kuching, but you can’t take Kuching out of the guy.”

And he’s still very much available. Aren’t you Ed?

Of course his alter ego, Chef Ah Wong occassionally makes the cameo appearance–but hey, lets not judge a book by its cover ok? Chef Ah Wong cooks mean laksa– check out his blog for details.

:D

by miracle8 at 10:45 pm
(7)miracles

 

The Red Book-Know your Police Rights

 

Finally, a handy little red book we’ve been waiting for which tells you your police rights. And nope Kenny, it does not tell you how you can escape from paying a fine when you forget to put on your seatbelt. (Thank you Dr. Chen!)

I’ve read through the .pdf version and found it quite useful, especially for people from non-law jurisdictions. This is a positive step towards transparency in the police force and would assist in increasing public awareness when it comes to dealing with the police in general.

Click here for a .pdf version of the red book.

by miracle8 at 03:35 pm
(1)miracle

Sunday, May 07, 2006

 

Lazy Sunday

 

Long awaited rainbow…finally appeared…

I don’t know what this bird is called. It can’t fly very well, but boy can it run!

Perks of mowing the lawn-birds come aplenty and feed on whatever is available.

Come to mommy, little worm…

by miracle8 at 05:24 pm
(8)miracles

 

Things I pray none of us would have to go through

 

1) Getting married barely 5 days into the death of one’s mother. (Happened last night).*

2) Receiving divorce papers in the post from your husband who lost his father. (happened a year ago)**

3) Breaking up with your LDR partner every year and getting back together again like nothing happened. (happening every year)

* an acquaintance

** a good friend.

by miracle8 at 12:31 pm
(3)miracles

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

 

Important news for aspiring barristers–please read.

 

This message is directed at first year law students (i.e. students who commenced the first year of their law degree in September 2005) who wish to pursue the Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Vocational Course with a view to being called to the Bar of England and Wales upon successful completion of the course and fulfilling the dining requirements of one of the four Inns of Court)

I quote from the message from the Under Treasurer of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn:

“…As most of you would know, this Inn has taken a stance against deferral of Call. This stems from many things, but those students on the first year of their law degree or their second year on a non-law degree to be followed by the CPE are already affected by deferral. In essence, no one will be Called to the Bar until they have completed their pupillage–starting with those on the BVC in September 2008.

The effect on the 1200 students who fail to get a pupillage will have to be seen. It is obvious however that numbers on the BVC are certain to fall–particularly as no alternative qualification is currently envisaged. Numbers applying for the Bar will fall. Those who can least afford to take the risk of coming to the Bar will not, and such an action will reduce the diversity of the Bar. Chambers will select who is called to the Bar and it is possible that those from the less well known universities will gain even fewer pupillages than they do now. Chambers will select from what they know. The overall effect of this could be to create an unintentional elite, but elite it will be and the government could very well take a dim view of that.

There will be an effect on overseas students, who I would suggest are lesslikely to come to train in England and Wales if they are unlikely to get the qualification they seek. Commercial and other work referred from abroad to the Bar of England and Wales, born out of the close link between overseas common law here, is likely to wither over time.”

This new ruling would inevitably have a huge impact on aspiring law students who wish to be qualified as a barrister in England and Wales. As of now, a law graduate, upon successful completion of the Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Vocational Studies and fulfilling the qualifying terms as set down by the Inns of Court, would be eligible to be called to the Bar of England and Wales and to use the title-barrister.

By holding a barrister of one of the Inns of Court of England, a law graduate is exempted from taking the Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) for purposes of admission to the Malaysian Bar. (applicable in West Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak).

Therefore, there is no need for a law graduate to complete pupillage (training in the chambers of a barrister in England) before a law graduate can be called to the Bar.

However, with the current new ruling, anyone who pursues their Bar Vocational Studies beginning September 2008, would need to secure and complete their pupillage in England, before they can be called to the Bar of England and Wales.

This would inevitably reduce the numbers of students wishing to pursue the Bar Vocational Course in UK. Unlike Malaysia, where pupils are generally able to find firms willing to take on students for pupillage (or more commonly known as chambering in Malaysia), the same cannot be said of the chambers in England. Competition for pupillages are highly competitive and tough even for local British students. It would also mean that a foreign student would need to spend one more year in UK just to get called to the Bar before they can return to their home countries to practise.

Stringent immigration laws in UK also means that employers are less likely to apply for a work permit for a foreign pupil who needs to fulfil the pupillage requirement before he/she can be called to the Bar. Priority of course, would be given to local students. That is perfectly understandable.

However, it would also mean that less Malaysians would be willing to take the risk of investing in an expensive Postgrad education only to find that they are unable to secure pupillage, and therefore unable to gain the final qualification that they need to be admitted as law practitioners in their home countries.

Therefore, if you have any relatives or friends, who wish to pursue the Bar Vocational Course with a view to be called to the Bar of England and Wales, and they are now in their first year of the law degree, please spread the word around and let them have this piece of information so that they are not taken by surprise when they have completed their studies.

Under such circumstances, the alternative qualification for purposes of being admitted to the High Court of Malaya would be
:

Graduate of a local university;

Holder of a Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) held by the Legal Qualifying Board of Malaysia

and in the cases of Sarawak, either

a graduate of a local university/holder of CLP/Australian graduate who has been called to the Bar.

It is rather sad, I have to say. Life at the Bar in England was more than just studying for a postgraduate degree. It was a year where I got to mingle with students all over England over the dining sessions, appreciating the history of the Inns, getting acquainted with senior members of the Inns of Court, and identifying myself as a potential member of the legal profession.

What a pity….

by miracle8 at 04:08 pm
(3)miracles

Monday, May 01, 2006

 

Flavours of Pop “n” Jazz Concert

 

Note: I did a very very nice write up earlier but blogdrive decided to be kurang ajar and deleted everything I typed. So this will have to do.

For too long, students who aspire to become professional musicians have always faced criticism, dismissing their ambitions as being impractical and whimsical. Therefore, many of us who once had that dream to make music, either gave it up for a mainstream profession, pursuing degrees in “safer” professions which would yield hopefully, “profitable” returns, or resort to being a weekend “in house” musicians in the comfort of our homes.

The remaining few who stayed true to their passion, armed with the determination to excel as a professional in music, performed with their heart and soul last Saturday in the Flavours of Pop “n” Jazz Concert organised by IMH Academy, Kuching. I witnessed for myself, a group of close knit music students pursuing a common goal that night—to bring the best of their music talents on stage, to mesmerise the audience with what they do best.

Ben, a fellow blogger and also a music student at IMH, was one of the performers for the evening. This post is dedicated to him. May you succeed in your studies and make Sarawak proud of our very own home grown Ben-nessa-Mae. :)

Tickets were sold out for the concert (I received this info from Ben after the concert), which is the most enthralling part for a performer. Standing up there on the stage facing a sea of enthusiastic, receptive audience who love you is the ultimate dream of any performer on stage.

I enjoyed the concert very much albeit being more of a classical music fan. The MCs cum drummers, Sam and David did a good job communicating with the audience and the show moved on very smoothly, without hiccups or prolonged pauses in between programmes.

Ben of course, had his girl fans (and boys too) screaming for more when he emerged looking suave in a black shirt and slacks, complete with a striking reddish orange tie. (What happened to your red shirt Ben?) He performed “Red Hot” by Vanessa Mae, accompanied by his coursemates on the keyboard, drums, bass guitars etc.

The concert was divided into two parts-first part being pop and rock, with Adrian and Christine on vocals (born performers I daresay), Ben and Tze Chow on violins, Sam and David alternating on drums (lil bro said Sam was very composed, I’d take his word for it since he used to be a drummer back in his heydays), Chung Yi (much better looking version of Jay Chou) and Swee Joo (Korean movie star lookalike) on bass guitars,(they later performed “Power” by Marcus Miller and I loved it), Benzie (pardon the spelling) and Kenny on electric guitars, Bern (electric guitar–who got the audience all excited with his rendition of “sape” in the middle of his performance for one of his songs) and Raenai and another student on cello. And of course, we must not forget Charlie’s Angels-Kathy, Michelle and Crystal on keyboards and clavinova. Marvin, the mastermind behind the concert was the main keyboardist for the evening.

One thing I noticed about the whole performance was that every student was given an opportunity to showcase their talents–truly a team effort. Some students not only played intruments but also sang, demonstrating their versatility.

The concert ended on a high note with Adrian leading the crowd with “Can’t get my eyes off you”. Everybody had a wonderful time.

Sin Chiew has a full page coverage on this concert–check out today’s paper.

Here are some pics from the concert:

An overview of the stage before the concert started.

Ben and Swee Joo.

Christine and Adrian doing a duet.

Ben performing “RED HOT”-sans the red shirt his counterpart decided to adorn of course.

Marvin on keyboard.

Chung Yi and Swee Joo performing Marcus Miller’s “Power”.

Adrian on trumpet.

Grand finale with all the performers on stage.

Apologies if not everyone is in the pics… my camera wasn’t too co-operative and half of the pics came out blurry.

by miracle8 at 03:15 pm
(2)miracles