March 30, 2010

MRCB: The Sungai Buluh Project

Out of the blues,the MRCB shares shot up some 21 sen in the morning but slided to 13 sen by the noon close. I  think it  should close up 10 sen by the end of  trading day as the market digest the probability of the speculative news.

Some 39 million shares was briskly traded in the morning hours . Speculations is rife that the property developer would benefit from a plan by its biggest shareholder - the Employees Provident Fund  in a  joint venture with the government to develop 3,000 acres of land in Sungei Buloh.

Let's keep our ears on the ground for more positive news.

March 29, 2010

The Ten Most Expensive Paintings

These are the 10 most expensive paintings in the world. Have a look at them. Do you concur?


1. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Gustave Klint


2. Garcon a la Pipe-Picasso


3. Dora Maar with Cat-Picasso


4. Portrait of Dr. Gachet-Vincent van Gogh


5. Bal Au Moulin Pierre Auguste-Renoir

 

6. The Massacre of the Innocents-Peter Paul Ruben


7. Portrait de Artiste sans Barbe-Van Gogh


8. Rideau Cruncheon  et Compotier-Paul Cezanne


9.Femme Aux Bras Croisses-Picasso

10.Irises - Vincent van Gogh

MCA: Expect a Dog Bite Cat World Out There


"To err is human,to forgive divine?"

After a tumultuous fight for the top posts where barbs and dirty linens were flung into the open through the media,do you think that the winners can forget easily?

Dr. Chua today holds the upper hand. He will decide on the spoils which are the Cabinet positions, the deputy minister-ships, parliamentary secretaries and senatorships.

Whether Dr. Chua becomes a Cabinet minister or not will not become an issue .If he is given, he should not turn it down as PM has faith in him as a BN component party head. If he should turn it down, it would not reflect well on him as it will definitely make him ineffective not being a member of the Cabinet.

My guess is he will accept the Cabinet position if offered. And I think Najib will offer him that since it looks like the VCD issue did not feature at all in the countdown of this MCA election and Dr. Chua taking over as  the MCA president.

Also, there is no way he can allow that limelight in the Cabinet to be given to Liow Tiong Lai,a likely pretender to the throne the next time around.

As for Ong Tee Kiat, I think he can start getting the packers to come by to collect his personal effects. Kong will likely stay on as The Minister of Local Government and Housing in an appointed party post and Dr. Ng Yen Yen will remain  in Tourism. As for Liow Tiong Lai, he will be shunted to the Transport ministry to face the PKFTZ scandal while Dr. Chua reclaim his Health Ministry. With that, all the Cabinet positions available will be nicely filled up.

Let us look at the lower positions available.

Qualitatively, those who supported Dr. Chua in the elections wil be elevated into more important Deputy Minister's posts. Senatorships will be offered to some of them. Chew Mei Fun and Dr. Wee Ka Siong may be in trouble. For Chew Mei Fun, it is best she resigns from the Wanita's top position to save herself the embarrassment as well as Dr. Chua the trouble to remove her as a Deputy Minister and subsequently as a senator as well. As for Wee Ka Siong,it depends on whether he wants to stick to Liow's style of open confrontation or not. If so, he may have to go too especially with the Kuala Dimensi issue still haunting him.

As for the running of the MCA and politics from now on , expect Dato' Liow and his group to pretend to work with the Presidents' men. Behind all the smiling,head nodding  and hand-shaking,the shadow tells.

It will definitely going to be a dog and cat fight all the way until the 13th General election.

March 28, 2010

Soi Lek wins but.....

Just as I predicted,Dr. Chua Soi Lek, psychiatrist doctor and politician is the new MCA President. He trounced has been come-back kid, Ong Ka Ting and  railroader  ex-President Ong Tee Kiat.


Following in tow as Deputy President is Liow Tiong Lai, a B-grade politician and a bevy of revivalist and recycled politicians led by Donald Lim and Chor Chee  Heong.

Dr. Chua will have  a hard time to keep these nuts in place much less crack them.

Except for the return of Dr. Chua,I think MCA will go to another new low comes the 13th General Election.


Can he unite so divisive a party? Or can we all pretend?

MCA:Tiger,Tiger, Burning Bright!


Clara Chooi in her first update in the Malaysian Insider has this report on the on-going balloting of the MCA elections.

Though tabulations for the post of president commenced shortly after 5.30pm,nothing official is in the offing.

According to some sources, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek is said to be leading in the count for the MCA presidency.

For the post of deputy president, it is believed that Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha will take the lead above fellow Cabinet minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

Party insiders say early indication shows that Dr Chua is in the lead with at least 1,000 votes in his favour. He is trailed by incumbent Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat followed by former president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting.

No confirmation could however be obtained if the information is true.

“From what I was told, Dr Chua has 1,085 votes while Tee Keat has something like 600 votes or so. Ka Ting has the remainder,” an insider said, but acknowledged that vote-counting for the presidential post has yet to start.

Unconfirmed sources claim that the vice-president posts were clinched by Tourism Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen, former MCA vice-president Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai, Gan Ping Sieu and Khoo Keok Hai.

How this will pan out will be known in a hour or two.

So keep your fingers cross for your favourite Tiger!

Malaysia: The Credit Suisse Forecast

March 28 — Credit Suisse group is forecasting a more bullish outlook for Malaysia with a gross domestic product of 6.0 per cent this year compared with Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) estimate of 5.5 per cent.


It also expects more senior investors to come to Malaysia for in-depth research on local listed companies following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s address at the Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong last week.

“They now better appreciate that he is a prime minister who means business, but also respects the fact that he faces a Herculean task in reforming Malaysia,” said Stephen Hagger, country manager & head of equities for Credit Suisse in Malaysia.

He said that a key takeaway was that Prime Minister Najib understood what the market wanted, but has to balance that with socio-political considerations and getting elected.

“PM Najib’s visit to Hong Kong served as a timely reminder to many investors not to forget about Malaysia,” he told Bernama in response to questions sent via e-mail.

Credit Suisse is the number one institutional investor research company globally.

In Hong Kong, Hagger said he met several senior investors keen to come to Malaysia to “kick the tyres” or go the extra mile in doing company research after hearing Najib and realising that Malaysia was becoming “under-researched.”

Najib last week met top-notch fund managers besides delivering a keynote address on Malaysia’s attributes as an investment destination for equity and capital market investments and its ground-breaking economic reforms.

He also met Credit Suisse special adviser, Sir John Major, who moderated the luncheon address where Najib discussed Malaysia’s economic transformation efforts and emerge as a high-income economy by 2020 and the soon-to-be unveiled New Economic Model.

Hagger said those who met the prime minister were surprised on the upside, particularly with regards to his openness and frank answers to questions.

Asked about concerns about investing in Malaysia, he said there were only a few well-capitalised stocks on Bursa Malaysia, while fund managers needed large and liquid stocks, so that they could buy or sell a position in one day.

“Malaysia has few such stocks and is competing for capital and ‘air time’ with the larger more liquid North Asian markets,” he said.

Fund managers are also looking for well-managed companies, he said.

However, he said the government has achieved considerable success with the government-linked companies’ reform programme in scaling down equity in listed entities, particularly at Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the government’s investment arm.

This has been followed up by the beginnings of a ‘sell down’ by Khazanah, which should improve the liquidity of those stocks.

“We believe the government can best protect the interests of its people by forming regulators rather than direct equity ownership.

“For instance, look at how successful Malaysia’s banking system is. This is due to excellent regulation by BNM, not due to government ownership of the banks,” said Hagger.

He cited how there was clearly a potential conflict of interest in the government owning controlling stakes in both Malaysia Airlines and Malaysia Airports Holdings, when there was no regulator to ensure ‘fair play’ with other airline operators.

Hagger said Malaysia was struggling to stay relevant as an investment destination for global fund managers primarily due to size and liquidity, but also of course, valuation.

“We notice that the foreign ownership of the Malaysian market has fallen significantly and the number of visits by foreign fund managers has dwindled.

“Events like Invest Malaysia — which starts next week are great, but very often, you have to go overseas to see fund managers,” he said.

He said the annual Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference was a great forum for companies, governments and investors to meet, whereby there were about 270 companies from around Asia, including 16 companies from Malaysia, meeting some 2,000 fund managers from around the world, including several from Malaysia.

In addition, working with CIMB, “we are proud to have ‘showcased’ PM Najib and several Malaysian companies in New York last year.”

“We have also assisted the three regulators — Securities Commission, Bursa Malaysia & Bank Negara Malaysia — to meet fund managers overseas.

“Unfortunately, some company chief executive officers take investor relations more seriously than others,” said Hagger.

Hagger said Malaysia’s problems looked very easy to fix “when you are sitting behind a desk in Boston.”
The reform of the “30 per cent Bumi listing rule” would have been perceived as a ‘no brainer’ by many foreign fund managers, who probably failed to appreciate that it was an incredibly brave step by PM Najib, he said.

“I believe that is why PM Najib took such pains to explain that ... he understands what the market wants, but he has to balance that with getting his party re-elected,” he said.

He also said PM Najib was probably considering a sovereign dollar bond issue to showcase the strength of Malaysia’s economy and the banking system.

“The Malaysian banking system has come through the credit crisis with flying colours, with a large part of the credit going to the central bank’s policies,” he said.

Credit Suisse, the first foreign stockbroker to open shop in Malaysia, has consistently maintained a number one market share position versus foreign competitors, as measured by Bursa Malaysia.

“We have positioned ourselves as a gateway for both foreign institutional investors investing in Malaysia and domestic institutions investing overseas.

“We have maintained a commitment to our Malaysian equity research product at a time when many firms have either cut back or pulled out completely, as evidenced by our number one institutional investor research ranking.

“We have helped companies like Maxis, Maybank, Air Asia & more recently YTL to raise capital from overseas,”

I do hope all these motherhood statements will lead to something more substantive.

March 25, 2010

Strange Shots

There are some very interesting shots which I will exhibit here. Enjoy.

What perception!
 Cheeky Eye-test!
Drunk Parking!
Pasta!

March 24, 2010

Asia: The Burgeoning Bond Market


Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a report today said that emerging East Asia’s local currency bond markets expanded at a faster pace in 2009,thus offering investors diversification and higher yields.

Outstanding volumes in emerging East Asia’s domestic bond markets grew by 16.5 per cent, up from 14.8 per cent as governments issued debt to fund fiscal stimulus measures and as foreign investors sought to tap the region’s fast growing economies, said ADB.

The development bank defines emerging East Asia as China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It said total bonds outstanding in these markets had reached US$4.4 trillion or some RM15 trillion.

The region comprised 6.7 per cent of the global bond market at the end of September, up from 2.1 per cent in 1996.

Bonds from governments and state-owned firms comprised 49 per cent of the outstanding debt at the end of 2009, compared with 50 per cent in 2008. Corporate debt comprised 30 per cent, up from 26 per cent, while central bank debt fell to 21 per cent from 24 per cent.

But risks could emerge from a reversal in recovery in developed economies, premature monetary policy tightening or destabilising capital inflows.

The ADB expects growth momentum to continue in 2010 as economic recovery gains traction and with the local corporate bond market remaining an additional funding source for borrowers in the region and providing an attractive asset class for investors.

Foreign holdings in Asia’s local currency government bond markets have been rising, reflecting the region’s quick economic recovery, appreciation pressures on their currencies and higher returns.

It showed foreigners owned 18.56 per cent in Indonesia, 11.64 per cent in Malaysia, 6.57 per cent in South Korea, 5.79 per cent in Japan and 3.31 per cent in Thailand as of December 2009, a steady climb over the past few years.

As long a foreigners have faith in our bonds, that should augur well for the economy in the long run.

Fitch's Take on Malaysia


 International ratings agency, Fitch Ratings says that Malaysia requires structural reforms to improve its long-term growth prospects and strengthen a credit profile that came under pressure in 2009 due to deteriorating public finances.

The agency said in a press release today that Malaysia, like many governments and central banks, faces the challenge of timing exits from fiscal and monetary stimulus without tipping the economy back into recession or allowing inflation to get out of control.

“Looking forward, Fitch looks for structural reform to improve Malaysia's long-term growth prospects and see the credit profile strengthen again,” said Andrew Colquhoun, Fitch's director of Asian Sovereign Ratings, at a conference in Kuala Lumpur today, according to the press release.

Malaysia’s A- rating by Fitch is considered investment grade and ahead of Thailand (BBB) and Indonesia (BB+) but behind South Korea (A+), Japan (AA), Australia (AA+) and Singapore (AAA).

In a copy of the conference presentation that was made available to the media, Fitch said that Malaysia’s public debt was climbing and now above the median of its peers.

It also noted that low government revenues were compounded by rising deficits — which hit a high of 7.4 per cent of GDP last year — and increasing dependency on the energy sector.

The Najib administration has said however that it is committed to reducing the budget deficit to around 5.6 per cent of GDP this year.

The presentation also said that Malaysia’s governance indicators in areas such as regulatory quality, political stability, rule of law, control of corruption and accountability were “below ‘A’ range norms”.

The key ratings drivers that Fitch would be looking at will be the country’s budget performance in 2010, revenue reforms and structural reforms especially the highly anticipated New Economic Model to be announced later this month.

According to international news agency Reuters, Colquhoun had also expressed disappointment during the conference that the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) was reported to have been postponed.
“That kind of reform and structural improvements in the budget revenue is what we look for to restore positive pressure in the credit ratings," Colquhoun was quoted as saying.

Fitch has forecast the Malaysian economy to grow at 4 per cent this year, which is lower than the Najib administration’s forecast of between 5 and 6 per cent. Fitch expects Malaysia to grow at about the same pace as South Korea and Taiwan and ahead of Thailand (3 per cent) but behind Singapore (5 per cent) and Vietnam (5 per cent).

Malaysia: A Buoyant Economy Awaits

Bank Negara (BNM) governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz said today (24 March 2010),the first quarter GDP growth this year was showing indications of being stronger than the previous quarter, when it expanded by 4.5 per cent.

The central bank also forecast a growth rate of between 4.5 and 5.5 per cent for 2010, depending on the additional economic measures to be announced by the Najib administration as well as external conditions.
“Indications point to that direction,” said Zeti at a media briefing today when asked if current economic signs pointed to a higher growth than in the fourth quarter of last year.

She said the indications include higher loan growth and continued positive export performance.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak voiced optimism that Malaysia could achieve economic growth of between 5 and 6 per cent this year.

Zeti added that the central bank, which recently raised interest rates to avoid potential build up of financial imbalances, would continue to monitor economic conditions but declined to confirm if more interest rate hikes were imminent this year.
“As growth strengthens, we will decide whether to continue normalisation (of interest rates),” she said.
Touching on the issue of bank consolidation, she said that it would be market driven and the central bank had no plans to prompt any consolidation.

Zeti declined to comment on the ringgit’s outlook but said that it would reflect fundamentals.

On the two new Islamic banking and five new conventional banking licenses that will be issued to foreigners, Zeti replied that an announcement will be made in either May or June.

Bank Negara expects Malaysia’s current account surplus to narrow due to faster growth in imports but would remain at a significant RM103.8 billion this year.

The central bank’s net international reserves increased by RM13.8 billion to RM331.3 billion last year, enough to sustain 9.2 months of imports and was 4.3 times Malaysia’s short term external debt.

The bank made a net profit of RM7.7 billion last year and paid out RM2 billion in dividends.

Interesting figures. Hope the country is truly in good hands. 

No Sukuk Bonds for the Rakyat in 2010?

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the main issuer of  sukuk bonds in Malaysia, officially announced that the government will sell RM3.5 billion of Sukuk (Islamic bonds) due on September 30, 2015. Tendering for the paper closes on March 30.


When BNM goes into the market to mop up what they think is excess money from the system,it means they are aggressively trying to take more money out of the system and redirect it for government use. By doing so, the government does not need to go into more deficit financing in its annual budgets or to mount  additional taxes. At the same time, when the free float of cash or near cash is narrowed, inflation can somehow be better managed and the bubble be averted.

So who pays for these papers? Those who will buy these papers range from insurance companies to pension funds and the like such as Tabung Haji,EPF and SOCSO who are collecting money from the citizen every single month. Unit trusts such as Permodalan Nasional could also be buying the funds and so are Islamic-denominated funds.

It is interesting to note that that the government did mention in the 2010 Budget that they will be issuing sukuk funds. Is this that move? If that is so, then there will no longer be any sukuk funds to be provided for the rakyat's subscription  in 2010. If that be the case, then ASM1 could indirectly be targeted if it could announced a good maiden dividend in August 2010.

Let us wait and see.

March 22, 2010

MCA: Losing the Middle Ground

Well, the fight for the President of the sunk MCA is a 3-corner fight.


Like the Titanic, the MCA cannot be salvaged to its former glory, if ever there was a time. Was it only in Cheng Lock's time that MCA really contributed to the achievement of independence? Did it not play even once in nation building? Looks that way from hindsight.

So who among the candidates will win? Let us just look at the two more critical posts.

There are three candidates for the MCA Presidency.

Let us look at the incumbent. Ong Tee Keat is seen as blunt,brash and 'deaf'. He is a railroader. Do not stand in his path. But he is a friend to his loyalists. He can reward them as he has done before. The reports on his corruption has yet to be proven. However, as time goes by, more  of his supporters are getting disillusioned by his 'devil may care' attitude.

Dr. Chua Soi Lek. He is the most competent Minister to date from the MCA. Period. He has done wonders for the professionals in the Ministry of Health. He has contributed to the nation-no doubt about it. He knew what he was doing then; he will know what he wants to do if elected President. His only Archilles Heel-that damn VCD of his hotel room tryst. The very fact that he was elected by majority vote to be the Deputy President should hold him in good stead. Even in the Double Ten referendum vote- of -no confidence, he lost marginally thanks to the presence of a 'third force'. Dr. Chua is the underdog in this contest. Like most underdogs, their supporters are downright loyal. They will be there for him , come rain or shine. He looks likely to be the first to pass the post on 28 March 2010.

Ong Ka Ting-he claims that he is coming back to unite the torn party. Can he? There is a Malay saying, " Nasi Sudah Jadi Bubur!". Literally, it means the rice has become broth. He cannot be an alchemist to change it back to rice. Ong Ka Ting is the pretender and will rob the party of the middle ground. He did not even whimper when the party was in shambles. He is unlikely to win At best, he is a spoiler.

Now, a look at the two contenders for Deputy President. Let us look closely at Liow Tiong Lai. He is as unexpressive and unimpressive as Kong, his contender. He has done nothing substantive as a Minister except doing visits to health facilities and rattling off statistics. He has the unresolved problem of the Toyota Aphard and he has been seen as opportunistic,impatient and is involved directly in scuttling MCA with the Youth and Wanita leaders in tow. He is unlikely to win in a normal situation if there are more contestants.

As for Kong, he is an unknown-There is no performance gauge on him as he is a newbie Minister. What he has is a mouthful of promises.He may win by a slim chance if Dr. Chua's supporters can overwhelm Ong Ka Ting's supporters and Liow Tiong Lai's supporters.It is uphill for him. Remotely, he may win as a dark horse.

As for Liow Tiong Lai, he seems to be the favourite if he indeed gets the middle ground support. However, this is uncertain because many voting members may just spoil their votes in disgust.

If indeed he comes in as the new Deputy President expect MCA to sink lower into an ocean trench!

March 21, 2010

Jesus: Still He Walked


This is one passionate poem we should all read about our Lord.

He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...
He could hear the hatred in their voices,
These were his chosen people.
He loved them,
And they were going to crucify him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened... his heart was broken,
But still He walked.


He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, laugh, and shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger...his heart broke,
But still He walked.


Was he scared?
You and I would have been
So his humanness would have mandated that he was. He felt alone.
His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face and he saw very few.
Then he turned his eyes to the only one that mattered
And he knew that he would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd, at the people who were spitting
At him, throwing rocks at him and mocking him and he knew
That because of him, they would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.


The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through
The crowd. The sounds of his cries echoed even louder,
The cheers of the crowd, as his hands and feet
Were nailed to the cross, intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice inside his
Heart that whispered "I am with you, my son",
And God's heart broke.
He had let his son walk.


Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,
But instead he asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting him.
As he hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
And his heart filled with love.
As his body was dying, his heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless, unconditional love he feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.


When I forget how much My God loves me,
I remember his walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
I remember his walk.
When I need reminded of how to live like Christ,
I think of his walk.
And to show him how much I love him,
I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to him,
And I walk.

The Sentence: Building blocks for Writing


Let us go back into some fundamental aspects towards better writing in English.

SIMPLE SENTENCE:
·         Expresses one idea
·         Has a subject and a predicate.has one main clause
·         Contains one sentence and one verb:
Examples:
I like reading  [ ‘I’ is the subject’ and ‘like’ is the verb]
Joanne is cooking in the kitchen. [subject is Joanne;is cooking is the verb and the predicate is,’ cooking  in the kitchen]
Sam likes to swim in the evening. [Sam is the subject; like to swim in the evening is the predicate and the verb is ‘like’]
He did not buy a lot of food. [‘He’ is subject,’did not buy a lot of food’ is the predicate;’did not buy’ is the verb.]
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
·         It contains two or more ideas.
·         It is made up of two or more simple sentence
·         Normally joined by conjunctions such as ‘and, but,or,either… or, neither..nor]
Example:
He went to the shops. He bought some magazines.
He went to the shops and bought some magazines.

He brought the magazines. He forgot the books.
He brought the magazines but forgot the books.
Norma slept early. She was exhausted.
Norma slept early because she was exhausted.

They were not in. I left.
They were not in, so I left
Gana could not come.  Selva could not come
Neither Gana nor Selva could come.

COMPLEX SENTENCE
-          Contains A Simple Sentence (The Main Clause and One or Two Subsidiary Clauses)

MAIN CLAUSE
SUBSIDIARY CLAUSE
Gim See has an uncle
who was a state swimmer.
Thackeray visited his childhood friend
while  he was in Hong-Kong.
I saw camels
which have two humps.
The teacher wants the posters
which are pasted on the classroom walls.
This is the school
where I studied.
Abram likes to stay in a hotel
where there is a swimming pool.
Kek Seng is sad
as his dog has died .

CLASSWORK:
Each of the sentences below has a simple sentence and a subordinate clause. Identify the simple sentence and subordinate clause for each of the sentences.
Example:
Herman knows Fergie’s brother who is a chef.
Herman knows Fergie’s brother .
(simple sentence)
……..who is a chef.
(subordinate clause)

1.      Katryn has a sister who makes great pizzas.
2.      Chooi Seng is a great fan of J.K. Rowling whose books he never fails to read.
3.      Can you show me the photograph of the boy who looks like me?
4.      The man who caught the snatch thief is my cousin brother.
5.      The road which leads to  town has been washed away.
6.      Mr. DeSilva who is a wealthy man has gone to India.
7.      The students who were caught cheating will be punished.
8.      Badminton which is quite easy to learn is a good form of exercise.
9.      My good friend who works as a librarian will help you.
10.  This cloudy weather that we have today is suitable for walking in the park.
MAKE COMPOUND SENTENCES BY JOINING THESE SIMPLE SENTENCES
1.      Gavin Wanted To Go To Town. Gavin got on an LRT.
2.      Henry wanted to climb a coconut tree. Henry is afraid of heights.
3.      Jamal fell off his bicycle. Jamal hurt his ankle.
4.      Nellie wanted to send an email to her friend. Nellie does not know her email address.
5.      Joy wanted to make a chocolate cake. Joy bought some cooking chocolate, flour and eggs
6.      The battery in the cell-phone is weak. His father replaced it with a new one.
7.      You can go to the library to read. You can join me at the cinema to watch, ‘Avatar’.
8.      It was raining cats and dogs. We had to cancel our picnic.
9.      I called Jasmine many times. She did not reply.
10.  We must read our English literature books daily. We must do all our homework to do well in our exams
 UNDERLINE THE MAIN IDEA IN THESE COMPLEX SENTENCES        
1.      He will have to pass the message to Gloria when he sees her tomorrow.
2.      Since he had a stomachache, he will have to see a doctor.
3.      They could camp in the school field for the week-end if they want to.
4.      The girls went into the shop so that they could admire the little puppies in the cages.
5.      There will be a flood in the village unless this heavy rain stops soon.
6.      My sister, who is very hard-working, has gone to Scotland to study medicine.
7.      Zoey was terrified that she might drown in the swimming pool.
8.      The beggar won’t go away unless you give him a ringgit.
9.      He would not make any decision unless he has consulted his parents.
10.  The man who normally delivers my newspapers is dead.


Human Blood Art

Well what do you know. The Thais are serious in overthrowing the government of the day. They freely donated blood to pour on the roads as well as in front of their PM's house.

Today, they up the ante by using blood for drawing. This is one drawn by an ardent Thaksin supporter.

March 20, 2010

Something Stupid-Indeed No!

Here are three versions are the rendition of the classic song,"Something Stupid". We have the original by Frank, a gig with his daughter,Nancy and the one by Robbie Williams and the ever tempting Nicole Kidman. Enjoy



Frank Sinatra Original



Nicole Kidman and Robbie Williams



The Frank-Nancy Gig

Fruit-cake Special: Perfume Illusion


Let us have a synopsis of the ‘Fruitcake Special’ written by Frank Brennan.


Anna is an average looking girl. She works as a chemist at Amos Cosmetics. One day, in a mood of fancy,she puts a piece of fruit-cake in a perfume mix as an experiment. She is surprised when her boss, Mr. Amos stopped at where she worked and showed a sudden unexpected interest in her. He also invited Anna to have dinner with him that night.

Meanwhile at home, Anna’s mother and Aunt Mimi question her about when she will find a husband and tease her about Armstrong, the boy who used to deliver pizza. Aunt Mimi also has a potential husband candidate for her. Anna ignores them and to deflect their intent, surprises them with the news of her date for the night.

Mr. Amos was a changed man that night when she went to fetch Anna for dinner. At the restaurant, Mr. Amos takes little notice of Anna, and even seems embarrassed that he has actually asked her out, but things rapidly change when Anna applies some more of the new perfume — the fruitcake special when she went to the powder room.

Not only Mr. Amos, but also one of the waiters becomes deeply attracted to her. In the midst of the ensuing chaos, Mr. Amos’s girlfriend, Sabina, arrives, and shortly after, a brawl ensues involving Mr. Amos, Sabina and the love-struck waiter. Anna hastily makes a quick exit and went home.

Anna, diplomatically, takes the next day off work and visits Aunt Mimi to enquire about the fruit-cake she bought. Sadly, her aunt tells her the woman who made the fruit-cake  has died. She also informs Anna that the deceased never had problems finding husbands — seven in total.

On returning to work, Anna is summoned to Mr. Amos’s office. Sabina is also there, and is rude towards Anna. In revenge, Anna pours the remainder of the fruitcake special over Sabina and walks out of her job.

Shortly after this, we learn that Anna has a new job at the factory where they make Intrigue.

One day, she is trying to make fruitcake, when there is a knock at the door. It is Armstrong, who now owns his own pizza company.

Now that he is successful in his own right, he feels he can ask Anna out. Anna then realizes that Armstrong is really a very nice man to be with.    

So, this sounds like another classical all well that ends well finish, don’t you agree?

March 19, 2010

The Overpowering Perfume with a Fruitcake in It!

Yes, we are talking of the short story for Form 4 written by Frank Brennan.


This is a new selection to replace the earlier literature short stories and 'The Pearl' in the SPM examination of 2011.

I felt rather strange again at this selection as the earlier short story called Qwertyuiop and this one deals about strange happenings. In Qwertyuiop, it was a haunting secretary  and here, it is a magical potion of a perfume deriving from a magic fruit-cake.I think just like in  the selection of literature components for Forms 1 to Form 3, there is sometime really formulaic about the selection here as well.

Compared to the current series to be attempted by those in Form 5,these set of stories pales in story-line excitement and will not have sufficient excitement to sustain interest. Be that as it may, it is Hobson's choice.

So coming back to 'The Fruitcake Special", what were your first impressions after reading this short story? Yes, it was great to have some magic thrown into the story and the consequences of the special perfume and its toll on David Amos, Sabina and the love-drunk waiter of the French restaurant.

I will write some more in my next posting.