Random opinions

On Arsenal's abysmal season..
"I think we played quite well in the new Emirates Stadium but what we lacked very much was the natural instinct to kill off matches. We need a fox in the box player (obviously with the exception of Frannie Jeffers) who would be the-right-place-at-the-right-time-poacher striker and I think Klass Jan Huntelaar could be a descent signing. It's almost too late to lure Ruud van Nistelrooij but another master-Klass Dutchman should be no problem. Yes we have 19-year-old Niclas (Bendtner) back in the team but he is an Henry-like player."

On TV3's 999 Host's arrest..
"Frankly I have predicted this right from the beginning. I never like the way he (Marzidul) taunted the criminals and addicts in the series (999) and I think there's something fishy about this guy. He is the kinda of guy who only know how to correct people with his aggressive words but he himself can't cope with the seduction of the drug he sometimes found it hard to pronounce. Methamphetamine."

On Malaysia's warmer ties with Singapore...
"Well, the question that I always wanted to ask is who started this hatred against our neighbouring country? Is it really necessary? Since I was a kid, I heard many negative stories about this small developed nation. Why can't we just take them as an example? Aiming for low in corruption for example. It's not like we are gonna sell this country. I think the person who started this hate agenda towards S'pore must have a personal reason behind it and I think that's about it. We as the citizens should have thought better when judging people. I dont see it as a problem if we can be friends with Singapore as long as our sovereignity is protected. I went to Singapore once to take an SOA exam and I was not racially abused or being discriminated or anything. There was even one time, when I had lunch in a mamak stall, whose owner was a Malaysian, I saw this group of people having lunch together AT THE SAME TABLE comprised of different ethnics. You name it. Malay, Chinese, Indian and a caucasian, sitting together not just in the same restaurant, at the same table. Something which is hard to find in this country. The problem with some people is they are racists. And they love to bring up petty issues. And they make up racially motivated false stories and myths. They love to bring up controversial issues simply to be famous. They noted the fact the PM has a Punjabi personal doctor and giving the bullet train project to YTL (of chinese origin). But they failed to recognise the multi-billion pipeline project given to Syed Mokhtar (a malay). It doesn't matter what colour your skin is right? Come on, lets just be friends."

On the Emirates services...
"It was the cheapest I could get (463.80GBP) LHR-KUL return and my oh my didn't I tell you about how good the food was? They didn't have to wear so revealing to impress and the interactive entertainment was superb as well. Had a movie marathon and I think The Last Kiss sorta moved me. I was on the 777-300 jet and I really think they are cheaper and a bit better. No, I'm not giving a good review because Emirates sponsors Arsenal"

On the latest rule of poligamy in Terengganu...
"We follow the holy book, the Quraan and Allah told us that one man can marry one, two, three or four. However the man must be equal and just towards the wives. This is so obvious. Not informing your first wife that you were about to solemnise your next marriage with another woman is injustice. So I think the religious department must make a deeper research on this. Islam does not oppress the women. In fact, poligamious husbands who failed to act on justice towards the family must be punished because as directed by Allah, he must be just and fair. No, you don't have to be an Al-azhar scholar to express your opinion. You don't have to be a sheikh or imaam to voice out some facts yielded from the words of Allah. This is foretold by the Prophet as even if a man who is a convicted robber, if he told people not to rob, people must acknowledge his words. Because he is speaking the truth."

On spreading lies or being busybody or trying to be a hero...
"I think we should stop spreading lies. Even if you thought it's true (simply because it sounds so controversial and interesting), you should do more research rather than passing wrong information. To seek the truth, you go straight to the source. We are trying to protect our friendship and not to be too hasty on judging people. And it wouldn't hurt a bit if you refer a bit to your own experience so that whatever you said wouldn't back-track your previous actions. That would be a bit silly ain't it? It's true I ONCE used to be blindly backing a friend over a relationship crack and yes I admit it was a mistake. Probably it was motivated by the fact I was hurt from the same scenario too. The girl having the better reputation. But I learn from past experiences and I should listen to both sides of story. You can give your opinions. But to tell off a friend over the thing you don't even have adequate information of is quite stupid. And yes, get your facts right. You don't want people to quote you, do you? I mean quoting you in a bad way lah"

On the result of appeal...
"Well, atleast there was a black and white statement. Keeping quiet is so unprofessional. So thanks for replying through the mail. Appreciate it."

On PTPTN...
"Well it's finally over isn't it? The main reason why I took the loan was to motivate myself to get a first class degree. I think PTPTN is encouraging people to improve their marks. So as for today, I am officially out of RM14,000 debt. Kudos to PTPTN for the loan. I put it into good use."

On politics and the general election...
"Well recent event told us that they are increasing the pay for government servants. One might argue because the general election is looming. One might see it as a political agenda. Well my opinion is, so bloody what? This is politics. This is how it works. Dont go on and tell me that even if another political party were to assume power they won't give a payrise or 'turap jalan raya' in time for the general election? This is politics. To win you have to please the common people. But of course, you have to keep your promises. Remember a public university in Kelantan? It was like suddenly came out of the grave yeah? Anyway, err.. remind me to sign up to vote."

On sexist remarks made by BN MPs...
"It was very-very disappointing. It was too foolish to slip up your tongue in that way. Well, atleast, not in public, heated argument or not. But it came to no surprise. Both Bung and Md Said have faulty mouths, as usual, with the latter being famously 'tutup sebelah mata' for the supposedly 'projek orang melayu kalo tak tutup sebelah mata boleh gulung tikar' issue. The project, under the company Bin Yusof for some obvious reasons, is his own company! Now that they have apologised for the remarks, I still think it's a full of shambles looking at the way the MPs behave in the Parliament. Hopefully, wiser candidates would replace them in the immediate future."

On PNB and ASNB products..
"I heard they are taking over a unit trust subsidary company. I don't know if this is a latest trend when Tan Sri Ananda acquired Maxis but it could be a locust or an opportunity. Say what you want but as an investor, ASB is still an ideal choice for a moderate investor. Its risk-free mechanism (buying RM1 and selling at RM1) with a dividend at around 8% to 10% is still an investment not to miss. Do you have any idea why ASW2020 for the non-Bumis proportion is sold out in an hour? Because they think better than you do. Yes, the B.O.D are strict on conventional measures. But still the rate is the best in the country. Ok, maybe Bank Rakyat is giving 15% return per year, provided that your money is then being pooled. But if you look at the rate from a more aggressive portfolio, up to 30% return. But it is based on the timing. If the timing is not right, you could lose up to 9% as well. It depends on what type of investor you are anyway. So no portfolio is right or wrong. Unless you get involved with dodgy internet investment programmes lah! And yeah.. insider trading. Get busted and you are doomed."

On the renovation of the house and Kinrara...
"I really think that they did a good job. I havent look at Kinrara but from what I heard they did a good job as well."

On fitting my love with new hats...
"Ain't she beautiful? I lost the instruction manual but yeah, ain't she beautiful?"

This is not Becks

Beckham.... lookalike Andy Harmer. Shocking isn't it ?!!!!

War on Week-end Games 2007

Sorry about the title of this entry, I couldn't think of something more creative. Nah, there was no war in Warwick recently although Maikel was spotted losing his cool after a striker from the opposition team dived to earn the decisive penalty as if he was been shot! Plus, how Lopes was furious with the referee (Mr Shake or was it Shakir but I believe he was white) who seemed bias towards the KMYS Alumni Football Team.

No, Maikel was not in the Alumni team. Betray! (Did anyone spotted how I mispelt Alumni as 'Almunia' in the previous entry?). Anyway, as requested, I'll do the best possible to blog about last Sunday's Warwick Games.

Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to the Alumni team for making my debut for the Malaysian Games something to talk about. Find it awkward initially as together with Fit, we were the few 'veterans' who played for the football team after Mozac (although 2 years younger) went AWOL that morning.

I had to stay over in Fit's place the night before so that I wouldn't miss the 6.00 a.m bus to Coventry. I called Azlan Helmy and his wife to make sure they were awake. Well, you know how married people's biological clock differs from us bachelors'. Oh wait, maybe it's just Lan. I remember how it was a challenge for him to wake up even if the handphone alarm sets out just 2 centimeters away from his gegendang telinga (ear drums) back then in KMYS.

Luckily, they were already waiting for the bus to the station when I called. Then we met up in the station. I handed Shu the printed bus ticket for 4 adults since she was walking ahead of us. I didn't want to gamble on leaving my bag in the luggage area because it contained valuables like my dirty underwear, for instance. Then, we saw more Malaysians boarding the bus, and Aida was one of them. Surely it must be the KMYS netball team. I was kinda tired so I chose to sleep while waiting for the 2 hour journey to end. Half asleep, I spotted a piece of paper under Shu's seat. I ignored it since I thought somebody must have thrown that rubbish away.

Grand! The second time I glanced at that piece of paper and my mind was telling me to pick it up although I dont see myself as makcik cleaner. I was a bit dazed at that time but slowly I managed to grab on that 'worthless' piece of paper and suddenly I had a gush of anxiety through my medula oblongata! It's our ticket! And without it, we surely couldn't go back to London! Grand!

Teasingly I asked Shu about the whereabout of our ticket. She thought she gave it to her husband but I couldn't hold my laughter anymore. I confessed that she must have misplaced it somewhere and luckily my gut feeling told me to pick it up from under her seat. Nasib baik... otherwise, we will end up lepakking in Bristol instead while the couple had to pay an overpriced ticket back home because Lan had his flight the next day. Fine for Fit who had reached academic independence but I still have two weeks to run.

Anxious Jeg

We had to take the taxi upon reaching the coventry's bus station. The Warwick organisers should have told us there were no bus from the station to the university until only at 10.00 a.m. Grand! How could they ignore this crucial information, misleading us who are economists and actuaries? Of course every penny counts. Fortunately, Lopes/Basyar suggested we take the taxi and would be exempted from paying 3 pounds compulsory fee. Talk about saved by the bell. This is a good start, a quite impressive decision from the KMYS Alumni team!

On the way to the Coventry University fields, we were talking about the supossed immigrant taxi driver's nationality. Fit suggested he was probably Indian. Lan had another idea. Not wanting the driver knew that we were talking about him, Lan spelt his nationality in Jawi (Arabic) instead:

Lan: Pa-wau-lam-nun-dal (gaya budak sekolah agama)
Fit: Pu.... wait2 I can do this!!
Jeg: Bu...?? (Burundi? Burkina Faso?? - cakap dalam hati takut salah)
Lan: Pa-wau-lam-alif-nun-dal..
Fit: Pu.... ooo okok.. paham dah
Jeg: (what the hell? Buat2 paham je lah...)
Shu: Patut ah diorg tak paham.. bahasa jawi manaleh eja "PO".. patutnya Pa-alif-wau bunyi "PO"
Lan: Hahaha! Lagi ah salah!! Itu apa.. Pau??? Haha!
Fit: Hahaha.

At this point, aku still blur... but minutes after that, barulah aku tau apa yang diorg dok eja... Poland rupanya... Grand! Mentang-mentang aku sekolah KYS (Kapir Yahudi School).

Minutes and 10.20 pounds later, we reached the playing fields. Not many had turn up at that time. I felt a bit anxious since it would be my first time playing padang besar since the stadium merdeka against PNB staff. That was like almost a year ago. Ah, what the hell. I just wanted to have fun. And fun I had.

Part 2

We met the rest of the team inside a canteen and I had a mouthful of banana before the game. There were Lopes, Basyar, Lomon, Awi, Aen, Ajak, Iedil, Shahbi, Chibli and Amir PC representing the KYUEM Alumni Team, notably as KYUEM Nasties. Hrmm dodgy name. Here's the team photograph:

We didn't get our touch in the first game but we gradually improved after each game en route to the semis. We surrendered one unlucky goal to Warwick when Ajak's clearance was defelected into our own net. But the lanky Michael Ballack lookalike bounced back with a thunderous header for our first goal of the tournament. I didn't play that well with a miscued long pass to the evergreen Azlan Helmy and tumbling all over the field. Well, I havent played that much of football since arriving here but Jeg, that's not an excuse. You think we all play frequent football nowadays?

The most memorable event was when had to settle for a penalty shootout when Ajak's top notched header cancelled out Kicker's penalty kick. It was a harsh decision by Mr Shake-a-lot that sonnuva gun referee after the opposition striker was adjudged to be pushed by one of our impressive defenders.

Shahbi, Amir PC and Fit were our first 3 penalty takers followed by Lan. Amir PC with a strike but he missed it! I dont quite remember the sequence of the shoot-out but Shahbi cooly slotted in the ball while our captain Fit who was caught on camera (see below) endangering the life of a tree with his body fluid rattled the post, almost too perfectly putting the ball at the top corner of the net. Then we all thought it was all over when suddenly the opposition team blasted the ball over almost reaching the orbit. Ajak later converted the penalty putting it in on the left side of the goal. He's got a nerve of steel.

[Picture removed]

The Captain, provoking environmentalists

Then it's Lan's turn... Please Lan, please do not repeat missing the penalty like last time. (macam ah aku ada time Chot, Haniz, Lan etc missed penalty dulu2). It was a weak shot by him which is quite understandable for a married man but we sounded an enormous sigh of relief when luckily, the ball fumbled off the keeper's touch, hitting the post and got in! Woo hooo!! A glimmer of hope!

Then it's their turn, their final kick. Like a fairty tale movie, he blasted it over the bar in similar fashion as his teammate. So someone has got to take the decisive penalty. Lopes was so up for it with the support of the rest of the team. I couldn't take any kicks since I didn't start in the game. Now Lopes with the penalty kick... confidently he scored driving the ball home with power! We are in the semi-finals!!!

Against Scotland, comprising of Fairus Nasir and Hazem (both former KYSian), I started the game but showed only a shadow of my KMYS-Sapphire-performance-self years ago. Yeah I had the best of football at that time but not anymore. I keep wondering why I wanted to play padang besar nowadays. I voluntarily substituted in half time but only 1 minute into the second half, the Scots scored a wonderful individual goal. I couldn't see who was that guy with explosive pace probably it was Hazem Eslah. Finally, we were beaten 1-0 with that goal. We ended our campaign with our heads high and this is one tournament to talk about by KYUEM members for many years.

Meanwhile, 7 Kings was knocked out by Notthingham in the semis but they didn't want to play in the 3rd/4th placing. I remember watching 7 Kings played earlier and I must say, that number 13 guy took things a bit too seriously having a swipe at his own keeper. I told you this kinda things will happen. Maybe because they took it too seriously and didn't get to the final. Hyuk yuk!

Speaking of 7 Kings, 'whats-wrong-with-that-guy' guy pulled out his hand to shake mine in the spirit of the game but I refused. He ended up poking my belly instead! Grand. Berdendam juger Jerui ni. "Aku tak dendam... tapi aku ingat..." Hahaha!

Other things that happened in Warwick Games... of course the invaluable experience lepakking with Jonet, Dug, Shu, Sab and other KMYS friends. We had mee goreng and popiah for lunch while enjoying the netball game. I managed to understand the game and as usual, Sab's Nottingham Team bolot lagi. Oh didn't I tell you that we were checking on this one particular lady from the netball team?

Control yourself Jeg.

While waiting for our bus back home we killed time by borak-borak in the canteen. Fit was busy menggayut and one by one jokes and other discussions were blurted out. From Asarura's classic Physics class joke to how actuaries and QS working together. I happened to bring out the spelling of the word Poland case as we had earlier and argued it shouldn't be spelt as "Pa-Wau-Lam-Alif-Nun-Dal."

Jeg: Would that not sound as "Pulanad"? Bukan eja betul Pa-Wau-Lam-Nun-Dal ke? (as usual, Jeg nak betul gak)

Hahah! It's true what. It's Pulanad! And what the hell is Pulanad? Grand! Lan explained that it should be spelt that way because that would sound better for Poland.

Jeg: What, you mean.... Polan? (rhymes with 'si-polan'). Hahaha! Betul lah tu eja Pa-Wau-Lam-Nun-Dal baru bunyik Polend.

Note: I'm sorry if anyone didn't get the joke. Probably you are having trouble with Jawi as well.

We headed home and I had Nasik Lemak for dinner. It was so-so.

Anyway. I might not be blogging for a long time after this because I realise I have to take things more seriously. Ya I know, like the Seven Kings team. But this is about career. Which is obviously important. I will try my best to stay away from procrastinating.

Before I end, thanks for supporting my blog, till we meet again after 4th May?

Retired tired striker,

Ruud van Nisjerooy

Hello Hippo Pizza?

Last night I was crowned as Poker King after an all-in move against poker arch-rival Samsiah... I mean Samsul. He and Fit were celebrating their last day of school in LSE although they still have dissertations to complete. It was a very hungry poker night after my suggestion of ordering Hippo Pizzas at 11.30 was shunned like the Mat Cemerlang project. Grand! At 1.20a.m Fit and Za'ba were trying vainly to call the famous Willesden Halal Pizza outlet.

I watched the movie '300' after downloading it in about 6 hours and I think it was pretty cool. It was an epic tale about 300 Spartan Army who went against mighty Persians but I thought they were gonna win the war. 300 reminds me of Kratos from the God of War PS2 game. Felt terrible downloading free torrents but who cares, they are making millions out of the movie although after watching the making of God of War moved me a wee bit not to support pirated products. Their effort was amazing!

Was shocked to hear a rumour about the killing of Altantunya Shaaribu. Although I had to rule out that story as senseless and politically motivated, I can understand why this sort of story came out since the supossed mastermind behind the killing is seen as a very powerful woman. But I had to pass. Complete, utterly fictional. But I am really sorry for her family. How can one so beautiful lady was brutally murdered with an explosive device planted on her dead body, each on the head, abdomen and the legs?

So much for 'no to capital punishment' eh? This is what happened when you are being lenient.

Will be going to play for the KMYS Almunia in Warwick Games tomorrow morning. Expecting some bloody combat among spirited Malaysians. Come on guys, it's just Warwick Games. Not some world cup do or die event or something. Lets get on with it!

I, surely will just wanna haf fun on and off the pitch. Although Sang Pipit Merah wudnt be around, I heard Sarah Tancredi is coming to town? ... probably only gorillas from maikakis would be cheering for us! Wait, will there be enough players for the team?

"Kalah takpa.. jangan sayur dah..."

Anyway, hope you guys have a great weekend.

Love,
King Kong

Starting salary?

I and Priscilla were trying to look at the bright side of our lives overwhelmed with courseworks when we were chatting on yahoo messenger. Our discussion was about our starting pay when/if we go back to Malaysia this year.

I suggested the industry salary should be around 2300 + 300 + 8*150 = RM3800 minimum, provided we got all 8 exemptions from the CT courses with extra RM300 by completing the MSc. However, I reckon it could be higher if ING, Manulife, Prudential, MCIS Zurich were to employ us, which is not the case for PNB-bonded me. It could go up to 2500 + 500 + 8*200 = RM4600 plus 4 to 13-month bonuses per year, offered by those multinational companies. However, these figures are simply my assumptions based on the current market. I might be wrong altogether though!

RM4600 per month sounds great. With night lecturing in UiTM would earn me another extra RM1000 per month minimum. The current trust fund should yield another RM1900 which accumulates to the total figure of RM7500 per month. This however, may be exagerrated.

I reminded Priscilla that the first few years of our career is about career development. Thus, getting employed by a company which supports actuarial education should be the priority instead of the money. However, she briefed me that she needs a good starting pay to cover for the 'loss' after spending 'some' money studying here at Cass.

Well, not many people are lucky enough to get scholarships to study in the UK.

Bersyukurlah.