I took a stroll down Memory Lane by watching the movie, Prisoner of Zenda.

It was a lovely book. I read it when I was in primary level. Fascinating plot.

The love story between Rudolph Rassendyll and Princess Flavia was "very real" to an impressionable lad and I always love the emotive words they say to each other. As the Englishman was just an imposter to the throne,he really have to play it real in order,including romancing the princess, to convince the public and the plotters that he really is King.

In the story, the King was the Prisoner of Zenda and has to be rescued so that he can be put back onto the throne. The sword-play was so-so only but it must have been great in those days in 1952.

Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr were in their elements but James Mason stole the show as the reckless and conniving Rupert of Henzau.

Quite a nice show.

Scrapping English-What Alternative Method?

In an apparent response to ex-premier Mahathir's disappointment with the scrapping of English as the medium of instruction in teaching Mathematics and Science beginning 2012, PM Najib defended the decision by saying that the spirit remains.

He countered that the decision to teach mathematics and science in Bahasa Malaysia and mother tongue languages will not detract the government from its efforts to make Malaysians more proficient in English.

Najib said it was still the Government’s aim to see Malaysians proficient in the language and even master it so that it could compete in the ever challenging times and globalised era.

“The aim remains the same; there is no change. Only the method in reaching the objective is now different."

“The government is aware how important it is for Malaysians to be proficient in English for their own advantage and for the future of the country."

“In fact, increasing the time allocated to teaching English, introducing English literature and language laboratories, among others will be a better method in boosting proficiency than teaching mathematics and science in the language,” he said when commenting on the matter.

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Wednesday had announced that mathematics and science would be taught in Bahasa Malaysia from 2012 and English would be given prominence with the teaching of the language beefed up from next year.

The decision also saw the two subjects being taught solely in Chinese national-type primary schools and no longer bilingually as was practiced since 2003 while Tamil schools would revert to the mother tongue as the medium of instruction instead of English.

In reversing ETeMS policy or better known by its Malay acronym PPSMI, the government had also announced the hiring of an additional 13,966 English teachers, increasing up to 100% the time allocated to teaching English in schools and introducing new elements for teaching of English such as grammar, contemporary literature, information technology and language laboratory.

The PPSMI policy was implemented in phases, beginning with Year One, Form One and Lower Six students in 2003, under former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Najib said teaching mathematics and science in Bahasa Malaysia again would not pose a problem as it had been proven that “we can produce doctors and professionals by teaching the subjects in Bahasa Malaysia.”

“Many doctors went through the education system in Bahasa Malaysia, right through university. For example, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia has produced a number of good doctors."

“There is no question about quality being compromised or affected,” he said, adding the cost of reverting the decision had yet to be determined but present hardware and software used for the earlier purpose could still be used.

To a question, the Prime Minister said it would be up to the Education Ministry to consider giving certain schools the option to continue with the PPSMI policy.

“Currently, we only see 8% of teachers really confident in teaching PPSMI. In reality, it is not really happening the way we had envisaged,” he said.

On the question of critical allowance given to teachers involved in teaching mathematics and science in English, he said it would be another issue that the government had to handle, adding some were more concerned about their allowance than the overall objective of reversing the policy.

At another press conference later, the Prime Minister, who was asked to comment on a survey held in Dr Mahathir’s blog on the issue said there was no unanimous views when it came to the issue of education but the government had to make a decision best for the future of students.

“We see our decision as an opportunity to encourage the proficiency of English and at the same time, will not prevent the development of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language as well as the language of knowledge,” he said.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has set up a blog poll to prove that the government’s decision to stop teaching Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI) was a mistake.

Dr Mahathir, who mooted the PPSMI policy, said he was not surprised over the disappointment and anger towards the Government’s decision on the teaching of Maths and Science.

“Seems to me like the Government is not listening to the voice of the people."

“Perhaps a blog poll might enlighten the Government as to the opinions of the people,” he said in his blog www.chedet.co.cc.

The blog’s one-question poll, asks readers to click ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ as to whether they supported the government’s decision to teach Maths and Science in Bahasa Malaysia.

As of 7pm Thursday, 74% or 5,463 respondents responded ‘No’. Readers were only allowed to vote once.

Dr Mahathir said he would try to inform the government of the public’s opinion.

“The question to be answered is whether visitors to my blog support or oppose the decision to teach Maths and Science in Bahasa Malaysia,” he added.

However, another former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi agreed with the Government’s move to revert to Bahasa Malaysia in teaching Maths and Science.

He said that there had already been strong pressures to reverse the policy during his tenure.

After discussion with the education minister, he said a decision was made to go on with the policy for another 6 years for a better analysis.

Buddha's Philosophy-Dealing with Insult

This is how the Buddha explained how to handle insult and maintain compassion.

One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right teaching others," he shouted. "You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake."

Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?"

The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, "It would belong to me, because I bought the gift."

The Buddha smiled and said, "That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself."

"If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy."

The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Buddha. "You are right, o Enlightened One, "he said. "Please teach me the path of love. I wish to become your follower."

The Buddha answered kindly, "Of course. I teach anyone who truly wants to learn. Come with me."

What a gem of wisdom!

Bad Neighbours

Love Thy Neighbour-that is what Jesus preached. The story of the Good Samaritan testifies who is a neigbour. He is someone who we care as if he is of our own.

Then in law, we have the concept of the "duty of care". Everyone using the road is a neighbour-be it a pedestrian or a fellow driver. The law expects us to be considerate of other road users as if we are all good neighbours; each one having an obligatory duty of care to drive safely and ensure safety for all.

What about bad neighbours? The ones that stay next to the walls on the other side?

Yes, proximity breeds enmity. Believe me, if houses are kept far apart from each other like bungalows in hill resorts, then we will not even talk about "bad neighbours". But in the suburbs and in the urban areas, we share the little space with others.

The worse types of houses are tenement flats and terraced houses. Here, neighbours can be an absolute nuisance. Music blaring at odd hours through 'paper-thin' walls. Quarrels over parking spaces. Car scratching in anger. Shouting matches with super expletives!

Here are some 'horror' stories.

-A neighbour had just resurfaced his driveway with a fresh layer of cement. In spite of some big cans placed strategically around it to prevent usage, the neighbour's son drove across the edge of the driveway leaving tyre marks for posterity.

-A neighbour claims that the road shoulder across the road from his house is his to park. He scratches another neighbour's car just to send him a message not ever to park there.

-Neighbours throwing cut leaves that has fallen from a tree outside both their houses into the other house as if the neighbour was responsible for the wind that brought the leaves into his compound in the first place.

-Neigbours ordering another to remove cat pooh from his house because the cat has done the deed in his compound!

-Neighbours turning a blind eye as their dog on a leash poohed in front of a neighbour's gate. He then made haste and vamoosed with the dog after the act.

-Neigbours playing mahjong into the wee morning hours and others screaming their heads off after watching an early morning football match on satellite TV.

-Neigbours quarreled because of outdoor cooking

-Neighbours quarreled because of renovation work that affects their peace.

There are many more of such horror stories. I am sure you have your sack of them.

The message I would like to deliver here: If you have neighbours, the likelihood is you will make enemies of them because of the proximity issue. The proximity issue brings along with it all sorts of bones of contention from noise to smells to car parking problems.

If you can help it, do not stay in low cost apartments or in terraced housing.

Problem is how many of us have a choice?

Liquidity Pushes Landed Property Skywards

If the government wants to revive the property market, they have done it. People are moving money out of fixed deposit accounts to venture into the property market.

Investment decisions are made in choice locations rather than across the board.

Business Times Singapore has this report today.

Always a favourite, landed real estate is receiving more interest in the current property lull. According to property agents, there has been a slight pick-up in the past two months, mainly in primary sales and landed properties located in popular suburbs.

Zerin Properties' chief executive Previn Singhe described April and May as “surprising months with very strong interest in landed properties”, centred mainly in the Klang Valley as prospective purchasers act on the premise that prices are unlikely to slip because of the limited supply.

In some places, demand continues to outstrip supply, he said, citing Bangsar, Bukit Damansara, Damansara Heights, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Seputeh, Taman Desa and Jalan Ipoh where prices — which had held steady — have started to inch up as investors turn to property as a hedge against inflation.

“If you want to buy for owner occupation, any time is a good time. If it's for investment, you need to be looking now,” advised CH Williams Talhar & Wong managing director Goh Tian Sui.

Singhe lists those on the property hunt: the first timers attracted by low interest rates; investors in the 30-55 age group who are acquiring for their children; professional investors looking at Kuala Lumpur landed real estate for capital appreciation or condominiums for rental yields; and non-resident Malaysians.

There are also foreigners who have started to look at condos in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre and Mont Kiara areas since the price of some units have dropped by 20 per cent. Location-wise, Penang is another hot-spot, popular with Penangites and other northerners, as well as KL-ites looking to retire there.

“There are more opportunities in the secondary market because the primary market development costs have gone up.”

Across the South China Sea, Kota Kinabalu real estate has received a boost from the oil and gas boom, as well as tourism which has led to numerous Koreans and Europeans succumbing to its charms, Singhe said.

In the south of the peninsula, Johor's Iskandar Malaysia remains a major point of interest. Central to Iskandar is the Nusajaya area with its strategic location across the Straits of Johor. Nusajaya's jewel is the 687-acre Puteri Harbour with its planned integrated waterfront and marina development.

The precinct is to be gradually developed and because of its geography, has attracted the attention of a number of foreign builders which are keen to be involved. One of them is Limitless Holdings, a unit of Dubai World, which plans to jointly develop luxury residences with Nusajaya's master developer, UEM Land.

Most believe Puteri Harbour's location, quality of build, management, and security will prove a big attraction to investors — especially foreign ones — just as they have in places slightly further afield such as Leisure Farm, Horizon Hills and Ledang East in Nusajaya.

Singhe is of the view that the better quality products in Iskandar have allowed Johoreans to “upgrade”. Indeed, many property consultants believe branded developments or designer buildings are what discerning investors increasingly desire and could make a difference in a project's “sell-ability”.

KGV-Lambert (M) executive director Samuel Tan agrees that the higher-end developments in Iskandar have drawn the most interest in Johor. The rest of the market has been softer.

“People think that Nusajaya is Iskandar Malaysia,” he observed wryly, pointing out that it is only a fraction of the special economic zone which is three times the size of Singapore. He highlighted new developments in brownfield areas as well as mature ones in the Tebrau Corridor, Skudai and Pasir Gudang which have been under-promoted but which might be worth a second look. “There are more opportunities in the secondary market because the primary market development costs have gone up.”

For those considering the lower- to mid-range of the market, bad debts have created a “sub-market” of auctioned properties in Johor, he revealed, with auctions held weekly. Each auction offers 20-50 properties and they go for about 30 per cent less than their market value.

Despite the global financial crisis, Iskandar investors remain committed, the biggest to date being Middle Eastern firms which plan to develop the area called Medini, located near the Second Link.

Still, property developers caution that the pace of construction could be slowed. On the bright side, the state government has already moved into the new administrative buildings in Kota Iskandar, and overall infrastructure works are continuing.

Singhe believes the 2003-04 pattern of funds sniffing for deals which resulted in a property boom in 2006-07 is being repeated now based on the number of funds that are making inquiries. Accordingly, he expects a property upswing to materialise in 2011-12.

The Quill Group of Companies, which designs and constructs purpose-built offices, confirms growing interest in Malaysia. Its property director, Ng Chee Kheong, said that multinationals were showing keen interest in the area of shared services, particularly in the Klang Valley and Penang.

Of late, Malaysia has started to speed up its liberalisation of many sectors of the economy to attract more investments. Should it succeed, the expatriate market ought to increase which would in turn stimulate demand for rented properties and help arrest some of the decline in yields.

Because of the downturn, a number of developments had been put on hold, including one by Singapore's Kwek Leng Beng who was to have launched a 42-storey luxury condominium last year in the Kuala Lumpur golden triangle.

A prospective buyer expressed disappointment at the delay as he had been looking forward to purchasing a unit in the Carlos Ott-designed building which is to be constructed next to the tycoon's Millennium Hotel.

Kuala Lumpur high-end condo prices have dipped to an average of RM1,000 per sq ft although the more prestigious ones still command a premium. Because of the weak ringgit, prices remain very affordable, especially for foreigners.

Ferrari team's ex-boss Jean Todt, who is engaged to well-known actress Michelle Yeoh, recently revealed he had acquired a unit in OneKL, which sits opposite the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.

Before your money shrinks to banana republic currency,better decide what you want to do with whatever you have!

How the Fight Started...

One year, a husband decided to buy his mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift..
The next year, he didn't buy her a gift.
When she asked him why, he replied, "Well, you still haven't used the
gift I bought you last year!"
And that's how the fight started.....
************************************************************************
I asked my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?'
It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation.
'Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!' she said.
So I suggested, 'How about the kitchen?'
And that's when the fight started....
************************************************************************
My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, 'Do you want to have sex?'
'No,' she answered.
I then said, 'Is that your final answer?'
She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying 'Yes.'
So I said, 'Then I'd like to phone a friend.'
And that's when the fight started....
************************************************************************
I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95.

Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95. I told her the beer
would make her look better at night than the cold cream.
And that's when the fight started......
*********************************************************************

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my
order first..
'I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please.'
He said, 'Aren't you worried about the mad cow?'
'Nah, she can order for herself.'
And that's when the fight started.....
************************************************************************
My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping
the channels.
She asked, 'What's on TV?'
I said, 'Dust.'
And then the fight started...

======================================================================

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming
anniversary.
She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to
200 in about 3 seconds.'
I bought her a scale.
And then the fight started...

===============================

My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school
reunion, and she kept staring at a drunken man swigging his drink as
he sat alone at a nearby table.
I asked her , 'Do you know him?'

'Yes,' she sighed, ' He's my old boyfriend...
I understand he took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and
I hear he hasn't been sober since.'
'My God!' I said, 'who would think a
person could go on celebrating that long?'

And then the fight started...

=============================

I rear-ended a car this morning.. So, there we were
alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car. You know
how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and little things just seem
funny?
Yeah, well I couldn't believe it... he was a DWARF!!!
He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted,
'I AM NOT HAPPY!'
So, I looked down at him and said, 'Well, then which one are you?'
And then the fight started...

==============================================

THE BROKEN LAWN MOWER

When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife
kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed.
But, somehow I always had something else to take care of
first, the truck, the car, playing golf '
Always something more important to me.

Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When
I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass,
busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors.
I watched silently for a short time and then went into the
house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, 'When you finish cutting the grass,
you might as well sweep the driveway.'

The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.

One year, a husband decided to buy his mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift..
The next year, he didn't buy her a gift.
When she asked him why, he replied, "Well, you still haven't used the
gift I bought you last year!"
And that's how the fight started.....
************************************************************************
I asked my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?'
It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation.
'Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!' she said.
So I suggested, 'How about the kitchen?'
And that's when the fight started....
************************************************************************
My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, 'Do you want to have sex?'
'No,' she answered.
I then said, 'Is that your final answer?'
She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying 'Yes.'
So I said, 'Then I'd like to phone a friend.'
And that's when the fight started....
************************************************************************
I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95.

Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95. I told her the beer
would make her look better at night than the cold cream.
And that's when the fight started......
*********************************************************************

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my
order first..
'I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please.'
He said, 'Aren't you worried about the mad cow?'
'Nah, she can order for herself.'
And that's when the fight started.....
************************************************************************
My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping
the channels.
She asked, 'What's on TV?'
I said, 'Dust.'
And then the fight started...

======================================================================

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming
anniversary.
She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to
200 in about 3 seconds.'
I bought her a scale.
And then the fight started...

===============================

My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school
reunion, and she kept staring at a drunken man swigging his drink as
he sat alone at a nearby table.
I asked her , 'Do you know him?'

'Yes,' she sighed, ' He's my old boyfriend...
I understand he took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and
I hear he hasn't been sober since.'
'My God!' I said, 'who would think a
person could go on celebrating that long?'

And then the fight started...

=============================

I rear-ended a car this morning.. So, there we were
alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car. You know
how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and little things just seem
funny?
Yeah, well I couldn't believe it... he was a DWARF!!!
He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted,
'I AM NOT HAPPY!'
So, I looked down at him and said, 'Well, then which one are you?'
And then the fight started...

==============================================

THE BROKEN LAWN MOWER

When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife
kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed.
But, somehow I always had something else to take care of
first, the truck, the car, playing golf '
Always something more important to me.

Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When
I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass,
busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors.
I watched silently for a short time and then went into the
house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, 'When you finish cutting the grass,
you might as well sweep the driveway.'

The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.