NEW YEAR GREETINGS

The past year 2014, when I was 68 years old had been a good year, compared to the previous year when I was 67 (if you know Cantonese!).  My hair has grown back! Two endoscopies in June and November have not shown any disease.  I have distributed nearly 900 copies of my book “Cell Wars” and sent RM7000 “donated” by many friends and relatives, to organisations catering for cancer patients.

I have gone back to work fulltime in the clinics and performing surgeries. However, I have stopped conducting deliveries, a decision made even before my illness. What a relief, for not waking up in the wee hours of the night and anxiously waiting “at your cervix” for the mother to be “dilated to meet you”! After delivering an estimated 8000 babies over 40 years (including about 20 babies from those I had delivered), it is time to retire my delivery hands!

Early in the year, we flew to Bombay (I still preferred this name) to attend the world reunion of Grant Medical College Alumni. We missed the big crowd of 800 alumni as we were there one week earlier. However, we were treated like VIPS with garlands during our visit to the college campus, walking through the musty corridors of the old buildings of about 100 years old. We collected US$20,000 from the alumni in Malaysia and donated to the college, much to the surprise and admiration from the other alumni.

Later in the year, we joined a group of old Frees to Chengdu and Jiuzhaigou where we were treated with special privileges as the CEO of the hotel chain was an old Free. Through the year, we had a number of mini-reunions of our classmates in KL, Singapore and Penang.

Our plans to visit the Holy Land in Israel in November unfortunately had to be cancelled due to the conflict.

We received 12 wedding invitations during the last two months of the year, including three from the babies I had delivered. The rush to get married could be due to the introduction of GST next year! Do we need to top up 6% in our ang pows then?

My dear wife is still active with Daybreak Home for the handicapped and helped organise a successful Carnival which raised more than RM100, 000. She continues to visit those church members and friends who are sick. Simon and Natasha are now in Singapore, he with Citibank and she with Roche Diagnostics. Our only granddaughter, Myra has just turned three and is obsessed with songs from Frozen! Daren and Christina are still in KK, but he is now in fulltime private practice in Oncology. Our daughter Ju Ni is with HSBC KL. While I am reluctant to part with our youngest and only daughter, I am now anxiously waiting for her to get hitched!

I have also reduced my participation in the church as I feel that the younger members (who are now in the fifties) should take up greater role in the pastoral and administrative roles. The Orang Asli Mission which I started with our Bishop 18 years ago is now fully self-leading and self-propagating with the financial help from well wishers.

The past year for our country is unfortunately a year of “annus horribilis” with tragic air disasters, landslides and floods. In addition to these natural disasters there were the shrill outcries from religious and racist extremists which threatened the peace and harmony of the land. It is with heartening relief that the voice of moderation began to be heard towards the end of the year, among who were a number of old Frees. Let us continue to pray for our country.

May the New Year 2015 bring good health, peace and joy, whatever the circumstances. BLESSED CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Soong Kee & Nancy  Teoh

MY EXPERIENCES WITH CHEMOTHERAPY

(Article published in Berita MMA Oct 2014. Malaysian Medical Association)

In June 2013, I complained of gastric pain which lasted for about two weeks.  The gastroscopy showed that I had a lymphoma ulcer in my stomach. This is a rare condition, which while malignant, is less serious than the common carcinoma stomach. The PET Scan and EUS results indicated that the tumour was at the early stage 2a. Thankfully I did not require surgery which would have been quite debilitating. Cytogenetic studies of the biopsies showed that my diffuse large B-cell lymphoma had none of the danger markers.

Thanks to God, I have been healthy in the past 67 years of my life. I was seldom sick, even during my university days in Bombay. Throughout my working life, I had not taken more than 15 days of medical leave. I had no diabetes, hypertension or heart disease. My weight has been rather constant. I eat most everything but I do not overindulge. Although I did not excel in sports, I played many games and cycled a lot in my younger days. My father died at the age of 74 from heart attack but my mother is still around at the age of 93 (I have more of my mother’s genes).

The condition arose just before I celebrated my 68^th birthday (and Fathers’ Day) with my family. My 68^th year began with sad news, but in Cantonese, 68 sounds better than 67!

During my chemotherapy, I had to keep myself free from infections. I appreciate my clinic partners who had given me four months of medical leave. No more going to clubs, cinemas, malls, food courts, or even to church! It was like being under house arrest! No more visitors too. With modern ways of communication like mobile phone, email and Facebook, I could still communicate daily with my friends and relatives. I watched the church service on my Ipad. Thanks to the internet, I was still not cut off from the world.

I had time to look through my old records and photos. I was able to write up my reminiscences of my early childhood, school days, and medical student years in Bombay, medical career from being a houseman in Penang to consultant in Ipoh, and my services in the church and Christian organisations. I managed to get my writings written during my Penang Free School days published into a book “Young Emotion”.

Many friends and relatives had given a lot of advice to me, some from their personal experiences. Most of the advice was practical and sensible, like taking lots of fluids, honey and plenty of anti-oxidants. Some had recommended proprietary supplements. There were also suggestions on exercises and various alternative therapies. We really appreciated all the advice and concern. Obviously we could not follow all the advice except those we thought was appropriate. As a medically trained person, I had to consider the evidence-based therapies with proper research on the success rates. We did not doubt that anecdotal cures did occur with any diet, treatment or exercise. However, most alternative treatments had not been evaluated scientifically.

As a Christian, I had to be wary of alternative treatments which may involve practices from other religions. I needed to be moderate in my beliefs without extreme views, such as to depend entirely on faith and not seek medical treatment.

After all, doctors can treat  BUT it is GOD who HEALS!

I consulted Dr S.C. Ng, a leading haematologist from Sime Darby Medical Centre who prescribed the R-CHOP regime. The drugs (Cyclosphosphamide, Vincristine, Adriamycin and Prednisolone) had been well-tested over the last 30 years and are relatively cheap while Rituximab is a new drug (monoclonal antibodies) which specifically attacks the lymphoma cells and is rather expensive.

I had relatively mild side-effects from the six courses of chemotherapy. I had slight nausea for the first few days, but no vomiting. I never had any episode of fever or infection. I did suffer from herpes zoster (shingles) on my thigh after the fourth chemotherapy, but there was no residual nerve pain. The hair on my head started to drop after the second chemotherapy and eventually left me with just 10% of hair. I had some mouth ulcers but they were not painful. There were several episodes of leucopenia, but they were corrected with Granocyte injections. I had no diarrhoea. However as I had to drink a lot of fluids, I had to wake up often in the night to pee. After several courses of chemotherapy, the body felt physically weak but I was able to drive and climb the stairs.

There had been lots of advice from friends and the internet on the foods to take and foods to avoid. After consulting my oncology doctors, I had tried to avoid extremes in my diet. Certainly I needed to avoid outside food as much as possible. I had missed much of the hawker food especially if they were spicy.  Much of the food was well cooked at home. I preferred noodles, beehoon and vermicelli, rather than bread or rice. For the first few days after chemo, I would take porridge with minced meat and eggs.

            I was encouraged to consume a lot of fluids. For the first few days after chemo, I would be drinking fresh coconut water, from as a many as three coconuts a day. Then I drank homemade freshly blended fruit juices twice a day. They would include varying proportions of apples, guava, carrots, cucumber, beetroot, pears, star fruit and oranges. I consumed Ensure drinks twice a day and organic soya milk or yoghurt drinks daily. I drank plenty of plain water in between, to make up to at least 2 litres per day. Each day, I would eat fresh cut fruits especially papayas, apples, mangoes, grapes and bananas.  I had plenty of mangosteens when they were in season and some durians as well.

            During those difficult days, God gave me the gift to write more than ten poems, expressing my distress and cry to God. Throughout these months, I felt the reassurance and comfort. A friend gave me a booklet “God’s Medicine” which consisted of Bible verses claiming healing and health. I had to read out the verses twice daily.

            My family had been very supportive, especially my dear wife, Nancy. We realised how great a supportive wife would be, when we were sick! We had been touched by the spontaneous outpouring of words of encouragement and concern, especially from old friends of 30 to 50 years! The prayers certainly made the difference.

Prayerfully, I hope to be healed, both by divine providence and medical therapy. After 70, every year is a bonus, after 80 every month is a bonus; and after 90, every day is a bonus! To me, every hour is a blessing from God! In November, The repeat PET scan and gastroscopy confirmed that the lymphoma ulcer had been healed! I had gone back to work by then.

 I must thank God Almighty for his boundless mercies in healing me and reassuring me throughout the four months on chemotherapy.

Doctors Day

For the first time in Malaysia,  Doctors' Day was celebrated by the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners Association at a Dinner Banquet today in Ipoh. About 300 doctors and friends attended. Nine doctors were given special awards for outstanding contribution to the community,national and international health promotion. I was given the international CME/CPD award for my previous work in anti-smoking campaigns and health education both nationally and internationally.

SK Teoh

STARRY LIGHTS

STARRY LIGHTS 
Written when caught by the reflections of the lights on the waters of the Chinese Swimming Club pool (with sea water) at night. 

As I pensively gaze from the deck 
A wondrous sight behold my eyes 
Those lights 
Those starry lights 
I view only with awe; 
Oh, how could you, glittering lights 
Elude my sense before. 

Created by Nature's touch 
That lit upon the waves. 
Flooding the watery spans 
An array of sparkling dots, 
Each a crystal.................... 
Dazzling to the eyes. 
 Pervading with all that brilliance 
You keep on rollicking, 
Frolicking.......................... 
With vengeance. 

Music steals stealthily from a-by 
To join in that splendour 
Wavering, undulating 
You waltz to the rhythm three; 
Now bouncing like a young free girl 
Such grandeur Such glee. 
Not knowing what else to do I am numbed 
Drunken from these fruits 
Of Paradise. 

Come, 
Merrily you whisper, 
Come to me 
And yet once more, come! 
My limbs quiver, my sinews tense 
Impatiently I plunge, 
Foam left in my wake as I wedge through,
I pierce the waters, 
Hurriedly................................. 
To you. 

Gone...............all so sudden! 
Must you go when I'm so near? 
Must you leave and disappear? 
My mind pulsates, my heart reels, 
My blood is all afreezed, 
My face is wet 
With brine and tears dismay, 
I implore you, I besiege you 
Tell me where you are, 
I pray. 

Woefully, sullenly I made my laden way back 
Only to turn, and who do I spy, but you again. 
Dancing with all that ease; 
You seem to smile, a wistful smile 
As you vacillate 
In the breeze. 

Gloat as you must, my folly 
That I, a mere mortal, common mortal 
Could think myself fit 
To fall into your open arms; 
 For you are not of this world 
Not from this unsettled place 
Where man knows not sympathy 
And leaves out grace. 

Where instead of play, man must fight 
Instead of love, man must spite 
At one another. 
Where each knows not his brother 
Nay, not even the Father 
Who reveals Himself now and then..........
In you. 

 For an instance you flicker 
With all that mounting glory 
But only an instance, a wisp in time 
Then Nature calls you away 
To leave me to my thoughts, 
You must go 
You cannot disobey. 

Where you go I know not, 
Methinks, never will I know. 
But I can wait, and hope, and wait 
Until comes the morrow 
That brings you to entertain 
My eyes, my heart, my soul 
Once again. 

Tonight I have learned 
That all good things must end. 
Still I cannot help but wonder 
How you, the spirits 
Need bow to a mortal hand.

YOU ARE / MAY / I AM NOT

YOU ARE 
You are the precious pearl in the ocean deep 
You are the shining star from heavens peep 
You are the fragrant flower in the desert air 
What’s the use if I am not there to share. 

MAY 
Have you met a little girl 
A little girl called May 
She was a sweet little girl 
I missed since yesterday

I’ve searched all through the hills 
I’ve looked all over the bay 
Tell me, oh stranger please 
Have you met her on the way? 

You cannot miss her, kind sir 
With her smile so cute and gay 
Her face that always glows 
Brightens the darkest day. 

Her two lovely eager eyes 
Glitter like morning ray 
 I yearn to hear her voice so soft 
Please come back my sweet May 

Time will tell if you miss me 
Please think of me each day 
Say that you always need me 
More and more I’ll pray 

I AM NOT 
 I am not a Shelley nor a Byron, my dear 
To pen verses sweet to you 
Nor I ever be a Shakespeare 
To write love sonnets so true. 

I cannot paint your smile like Leonardo 
Nor sculpt your shape like Michelangelo 
Neither I a Kelly nor Astaire to dance 
The waltz and quickstep of romance 

Neither a Chopin or Liszt to play 
Black and white keys of love tunes 
Nor a Crosby or Sinatra of today
Sentimental songs to croon

Religion and the Student (in the sixties)

RELIGION and the STUDENT

 Recently, I went round having short discussions with some friends concerning religion. We discussed about their beliefs and the reasons for their beliefs (or skepticism), their feelings and the extent of the influence on them. It was part of a very incomplete study on why so many youths, who were comparatively so well educated, and yet were so apathetic to religion. I must stress that our short discourses were not profoundly philosophical, or to find out the “why’s” but just to know the “what’s”.

Except for the Christians and the Muslims, the adherents of other faiths were just nominal. There was hardly any spiritual training or interest to find out, or any awareness of the significance of their religion. Most of the Chinese, including even Christians, were brought up through the influence of three faiths - Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. If the parents were more modern, this trend was not so obvious. The three-in-one religion was characteristic of the Chinese family though the influence was almost defunct. Filial piety only extended during the Chinese New Year when red packets were given. Praying with joss-sticks was looked on with disdain, carried out, merely out of respect for their parents. The deities were often regarded as myths. If we were to take a glance into the class register (there was a column where the religion of each student was filled in), we might be under the false impression that Buddhism was widely practiced. This claim was regrettable as many of us did not have the audacity to voice our beliefs, except when led to an isolated corner. I found this to be so, as out every ten students who wrote “Buddhism” as their religion, nine denied this. Even without their personal denials, we could plainly see the falsity of their claims, by their ignorance of even the basic tenets of the religion. Their only idea of Buddhism was that they had to follow the Wesak procession every year.

The same applied to the Hindus, most of them were unaware of the significance of their various festivals and beliefs. The Muslims, being most closely knit, or perhaps more rigidly controlled, were well versed in their religious teachings. Still I discovered that quite a large proportion of the modern Muslims were forsaking their beliefs, though not officially. It was only with some persuasion that the open confession was revealed. Unlike the Chinese Buddhists, they were liable to be ostracised, or even persecuted, if they tried to disclaim their adherence.

The Christians were perhaps the most faithful followers of their religion. The main reason was that the Bible was in English, and the activities of the missionaries were more prominent. Most of them had read about their religion. Many maintained that Christianity was the only true religion, though there were a few who might say that others were equally important. Most of them seemed to be sincere, and in fact confided with me that they felt different, warm and secure. Their hope was that more of us would be willing to be “saved”. To be fair to them, I must point out that, although they would always attempt to influence others, they had stressed that “compulsion” was most undesirable.

At least 70% of the students were not committed to any particular religion. Some were intelligibly not aligned but many were just being ignorant, and were not making any effort to enlighten themselves.
 We could place the non-adherents to religions into four categories: 1) The atheists, few in number, denied any existence of God and were convinced that religion served no purpose. They believed in self-judgement, the idea of good and evil were to be defined by them, and not by any prescribed text. 2) The agnostics, more common, preferred not to bother their innocent heads over controversies whether God existed or not. There were not many pure agnostics. Most of them believed in a supreme force, indefinable, which did exist. 3) The term “free thinker”, often misused, was the most common claim of identification by the non-religious. A free thinker was actually one who rejected authority in religion. In other words, he did not believe in God although he believed in the moral codes of religions. However, as most of them had not studied religions adequately, they could be considered as “non-thinkers”.

4) I would regard many of us as theosophists, though we did not call ourselves by that name. A theosophist was one who was interested in all religions, and that all faiths and believes were equally good. There was a belief in an “overlording” Power (which need not be called God). Some had come to this conclusion intelligently, in the sense that they had made efforts to read all religions, but had not found any one with particular appeal to them. Unfortunately, many of the theosophists derived it negatively, without any attempt to learn more, but merely because they had broken off from their inherited beliefs (Buddhism in the case of the Chinese). Partly because of the fear of being ridiculed (as Christians sometimes were), some said that they were not impressed by any religion (because of their ignorance). In contrast, theosophy sounded more intelligent, and perhaps it had become widespread among youths. In fact, one was more respected if he said that he was a “free-thinker” than if he were to claim to believe in a religion. There were also difficulties of reconciling their religious beliefs with their science education.

I would like to emphasised that all of us, even if we were devout Christians, should wipe out prejudices and make efforts to read up all faiths, religions and philosophies. Then only could we differentiate what course we should take.

(This article was written in 1964. I was not a Christian then.)

Random Thoughts (of Youth)

Random Thoughts

 What is the meaning of remembering wrongly? Either you remembered correctly or you had forgotten. 
  Eeks! That scared me out of my life........-you have 8 lives left. 
 Educated children are looking down on their illiterate parents who had slogged for their education in the first place. 
  The home seems to be the vacation for your vacation in the holidays. 
 When I master the new dance steps, another new dance awaits to be learned. 
 Who says that East and West do not meet? If a person moves as far east as possible and another person as far west as possible, both may collide midway round the globe. 
 One thing I have understood about women. I have come to understand that they cannot be understood.
  One day I fell into a river and came out all wet. As I was wringing the soggy clothes, I heard a clear voice ringing through the chill, moist air, "Hey you there! Washing clothes not allowed here." 
 Pointing to the rows and rows of photographed portraits in a Chinese clan association hall, “All these people are life members. But from the aged faces, most of them are dead." Life members need not necessarily be alive. 
 “I am not going to tell you any more lies - white or black” promised the husband who had just been caught with another gal. “What about blond or brunette lies," retorted the wife?
  Considering the length of farewell speeches, it is a wonder that the trains do not leave without the speakers. 
 I'm just an ordinary man with an extraordinary girl. 
 Don't boast that you can read the French words in the menu, they could be Spanish. 
 What vitamins do I want for a girl- A for arms, K for kiss? 
 What are you doing? The usual thing - nothing. -That sounds exciting!
  How about this as a wedding ring- platinum wire and a pebble as the favourite stone of the month. 
 One place I do not mind getting caught in the rain - that is the library. 
 Eating canteen food is like committing mass digestive suicide 
 The person who says “I don’t care what others think” would not take the pains of explaining this to his friends. 
 Can you cook? As a matter of fact, I do rather fancy my touch with an omelet. 
 Wonder why people ever become nudists unless they are suffering from advanced myopia. 
  One thanks the other for thanking him because he thanked him for thanking for doing goodness knows what! 
  Trying to get money from him is like trying to extract blood from a thrombosed varicose vein. 
I’ll eat my new hat. How do you want it – fired or boiled? 
 Childhood infatuations are like a shoal of fish gathering round the bait – the worm. 
 Some men love speed, so God speeds their way to heaven. 
  A civilized nation is one in which both men and women can share the same lavatory.

Can a Woman be a Leader in Asia?

WOMEN LEADERS

For those who are not sure whether a woman can become Menteri Besar, let us remember the number of women who have been elected as President or Prime Minister not only in the world but even in Asia. Even in Muslim countries, Benazir Bhutto had been twice elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan. Bangladesh had two women Prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina Wajed. Indonesia has seen Megawati Sukarno as President of the largest Muslim country in the world.

Other women leaders in Asia have included Indira Gandhi who was the Indian Prime Minister twice over span of 16 years, Sirimavo Bandaraniake and then her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga who were Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka, Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were Presidents of Philippines, Yingluck Shinawatra was Prime Minister of Thailand and Park Geun-hye President of Korea.

It is however interesting to note that all these women leaders had direct family relationships with past leaders of their countries. Indira Gandhi’s father was Jawahalal Nehru (no relation to Mahatma Gandhi), Sirimavo was the wife of Solomon Bandaranaike, Benazir was the daughter of Zulkifar Ali Bhutto, Khaleda is the wife of former president Zaur Rahman and Hasina the daughter of founder President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Megawati is the daughter of President Sukarno, Corazon was the wife of Senator Benigno Aquino and Gloria is the daughter of Ferdinand Macapagal. Yingluck is the sister of Thaksin and Park Guen-hye the daughter of former President Park Chung Hee.

If Dr Wan Azizah becomes a state leader, she owes her position mainly to her husband’s name and position.

However in many other countries outside Asia, the women leaders were elected on their own merit, without any direct connection to their fathers or husbands. There are not less than 30 other women leaders such as Golda Meir in Israel, Margaret Thatcher in UK, Julia Gillard of Australia, Angela Merkel in Germany, Dilam Rouseff in Brazil and many others in countries such as Denmark, Norway, Ireland, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Malawi and Liberia.

 My article on Women Leaders was also published in Malay Mail, besides the online Malaysian Insider.

When I mentioned that all the women leaders in Asia had direct family relationship with men leaders, it was not to disparage the contributions of these women leaders. Some of them, such as Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto, had been active in their own right and were proven dynamic leaders. On the other hand, Corazon Aquino was just a housewife, and leadership was thrust upon her after the assassination of her husband. She was certainly a leader of integrity and a welcome change from the Marcos era, but she would not otherwise be elected into leadership on her own. Similarly, Dr Wan Azizah, if made Menteri Besar, would be a sincere and honest leader but again she was given the leadership on behalf of her husband who was caught in legal web.

It is also true that in Asia, even some men leaders were elected following the footsteps of their close relatives such as Chiang Ching Kuo (son of Chiang Kai-shek) of Taiwan, Rajiv Gandhi (son of Indira Gandhi) in India, Asif Ali Zardari (husband of Benazir Bhutto), Lee Hsien Loong (son of Lee Kuan Yew)and our own Najib Abdul Razak. However they are still a minority compared to many other men leaders in Asia. In most American and European countries, this is an exception whether male or female leaders. In the history of the United States, there were only two father-son Presidents: John and John Q Adams and George HW and George W Bush, separated by nearly 200 years.

Woman & Man (Songs)

WOMAN IS FICKLE (based on a song in Rigolleto by Verdi) Woman is fickle, false altogether Moves her two red lips, never together Woman's bewitching smile always deceives you Often will grieve you just as she pleases Her heart's no feelings, ever will go changing Moves with one man, then to the other ..............when your money's gone. Wretched the day is when she smiles kindly Trust in her blindly, your life's thus wasted Yet she must surely be dull beyond measure Who of love's happiness, ne'er has been tasted Her heart's no feelings, ever will go changing Moves with one man, then to the other ...............when your money's gone. Man is Flirtatious (my own lyrics) Man is flirtatious, stinks altogether Moves like a buzzing bee, from rose to daisy Man with a sneering smile always offends you Often will break your heart and he enjoys it His heart is granite and oh so cruel Falls for one girl, then leaves her for dust ............then leaves her to rust. Doomed will be the day when he steps in your way Trust in him blindly, your life's thus shattered And he must surely be dumb, beyond measure Who of love's happiness, ne'er has been captured His heart is granite and oh so cruel Falls for one girl, then leaves her for dust ............then leaves her to rust.

Songs with a Twist

SONGS WITH A TWIST 

SHE LOVES ME! (“She Loves You” By The Beatles) 
You think you’ve lost your love 
Well I saw her yesterday 
It’s true you lost your love 
For this is what she said 
She said she loves me 
And you know that can be bad 
She loves me 
That’s why I am so glad. 
She loves me, yea yea yea. 

DON’T SEND ME THE PILLOW (“Send Me the Pillow” by Johnny Tillotson)
 Don’t send me the pillow that you dream on 
Don’t you know it’s filthy and it stinks 
With the dripping of your saliva 
It’d only make me lose my forty winks 

I DON’T WANT TO GO (original by Dusty Springfield) 
I don’t want to go for a walk with you 
I don’t want to go to the dance 
I don’t want to go anywhere with you 
So listen and won’t you get lost! 

LOVE IS ….. (Original “Love is Like a Violin”) 
Love is like a kettle-drum 
Makes my heart goes tum-tum-tum 
Makes me seem I’m drinking rum 
Sometimes I feel like a bum. 

IF YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR WIFE (Original by Harry Belafonte) 
If your mother and your wife were drowning 
I want to know which one you would be saving 
If your mother and your wife were drowning 
I want to know which one you would be saving 
As for me, I’ll go for dear wife 
And my ma, she has to excuse me sonny 
For my father can get another wife 
And I can always get another mother in my life 

WHEN THE TOILET IS GONE 
(From “My Prayer-When the Twilight is Gone” by The Platters) 
When the toilet is gone 
There’s nothing I can do 
But just sit down and wait 
Hope that they will not come through 
For my tummy is so sore 
And I can’t stand it no more

Congo Blues (sung to the tune of G.I. BLUES) 
(In 1960 Malaysia sent its first military contingent to the Congo) 
They gave us a room with the view of the blackie Congo 
They gave us a room with the view of the blackie Congo 
Give me a muddy old Sungei Pinang to end my woes. 

Chorus I got the up, two, three, four occupation Congo Blues 
From my Congo shoes to the canvas of my haversack 
And if I don't go Penang soon I might be turned to black. 

We had Congo koay-teow and black Congo rojak for dinner 
We had Congo bee-hoon and black Congo bahpow for dinner 
Unless I have some Penang satay I gonna get thinner. 

We saw Pat Lumumba and the President Kasavubu 
We saw Mister Tsombe and the Colonel Mobutu 
Because of those people the world is feeling very blue. 

The ladies are blacker than charcoal that's why we have to run 
The ladies are pretty as ducklings that's why we have to run 
So you can see why living in Congo is no fun. 

(Stools: Please help me I’m falling 
Backside: It’s Now or Never!) 

I’M LOOKING OUT OF THE WINDOW (From Cliff Richard) 
I’m looking out of the window 
And just what do I see 
But the window was shut, good and tight 
There’s nothing in front of me 
Only curtains facing me 

I SEE BONES (by Allan Shearman to the tune “C’est Si Bon”) 
I see bones 
I see gizzard and bones 
And a few kidney stones 
Among the lovely bones 
I see hips 
And fourteen paper clips 
A few asparagus tips 
Among the lovely bones 

If you were the only girl in the world…. I guess I don’t have much choice!

Appeal for Cool Head over Hudud

APPEAL FOR COOL HEADS OVER HUDUD
(published in Malaysian Insider)

The recent recriminations between those who support hudud and those who are against have raised the temperature of social climate among the various peoples in the country. Debate should be rational and not lead to ridicule and insults. PAS has been consistent in their aim for implementation of religious laws though they had suspended their plans during the partnership within Pakatan in the last two elections. There are many new PAS leaders who are more concerned with more important issues facing the country. However, they feel that they are losing the support of the Muslims, especially with taunting by UMNO over their alleged “subservience” to DAP. 

DAP has also been consistent in their opposition to the hudud laws and has worked with PAS within Pakatan which did not expouse such laws in their manifesto. DAP has declared that it would never agree to such issue being part of Pakatan’s agenda. On the other hand, UMNO leaders have been hypocritical over the issue and are vacillating whether they would support the introduction of hudud. Several ministers have openly declared that they would support the bill. MCA, which had acquiesced to UMNO all these years on various Islamisation issues, suddenly decides to be vocal, to the point of being belligerent. Threats to form human barriers are not only undemocratic but even foolhardy as they may provoke more violent protests from the Islamists. However, MCA and Gerakan evade the question whether they would leave Barisan if UMNO endorses hudud. 

Although I do not agree, I can understand why PAS has to continue their campaign through a private member’s bill. Note it is not the party’s official bill. After all, the states of Kelantan and Trengganu have already passed the hudud legislation. They have already said that they would abide by the votes in the Parliament. The ball is now in UMNO’s court. For various reasons, UMNO leaders would be in a dilemma, whether to vote for or against. Even if all the Muslim politicians vote for it, there would not be a two thirds majority necessary to amend the constitution. Many Barisan Bumiputra MPs from Sarawak and Sabah are not Muslims. Being a private member’s bill, some Muslims may even abstain. If the bill does not get the two thirds majority, PAS would feel itself vindicated as it would show that it tried. Hopefully then, the party would drop this agenda in their partnership with Pakatan. On the other hand, UMNO would be put in bad light. If they are against hudud, they would be blamed and if they had voted for it, they would be accused for hesitating all these years. 

MCA would also realise that they are barking up the wrong tree, when all these while they had been subservient to UMNO. PAS should however realise that the possible gains in political support from conservative Muslims would be negated by the definite loss in support from all non-Muslims and even from some moderate Muslims. Even now, PAS struggles against UMNO in rural Malay areas even though it is more vocal than UMNO on the hudud issue. It lost Trengganu even after passing the bill in the state. It will definitely lose many seats in the urban western states including Selangor. PAS has to consider whether it is worth all the tension and damaged relations it has brought about.

Jiuzhaigou

CHENGDU TO JIUZHAIGOU

We took the Air China Airbus (100 seater) from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou, about 200 km away. The flight took just 45 minutes while the road trip up the mountains would have taken 8 hours. The bus fare however cost only 60 ringgit while the air fare is 400 ringgit! Our plane flew over snow capped mountains and landed at the airport 3000 metres high. We could feel the reduction in the oxygen level at this altitude, but all the apprehension of altitude sickness came to nought. Even our oldest team member, aged 73 and with history of heart arrhythmia, spent the three days up there without any difficulty. We were advised to walk slowly and to take deep breaths regularly. 

Spring in Jiuzhaigou is rather cool, around 18 Celsius in the daytime and just 10 degrees at night. It took us an hour by bus from the airport to reach our hotel, the Intercontinental Paradise, the biggest hotel in Jiuzhaigou. Along the way, we would see small farms, snow on the hillsides, and herds of yak. The hotel is more of a resort, well spaced out with all the amenities, surrounded by snow capped mountains on three sides. It is however isolated from the shops, being 30 minutes drive from the nearest village. 

World Heritage 
We spent two full days visiting the UNESCO world heritage of Jiuzhaigou, which means Nine Village Valley as there are nine Tibetan villages along the valley. It was formed hundreds of years ago by glaciers on to the karst mountains called the Minshan. However, its beauty was only known to the outside world in the last 30 years. The legend told of how the local spirit fell in love with the goddess who spurned him. So in anger the spirit threw the goddess’s mirror which fell and broke into 114 pieces, turning into the 114 lakes. 

These are found along 3 valleys forming a Y-shape with the total length of 98 kilometres. We passed by about 30 lakes, being of different shapes and sizes, but all with vivid colours of blue, green and turquoise. The largest lake, aptly called Long Lake, is 4 kilometres long and at 3500 metre altitude. Most of the other lakes are small, around a kilometre in length. Some are named after animals like Rhinoceros, Tiger, Peacock and Panda Lakes. Others have more fanciful names like Five Flower Lake, Mirror Lake, Sparkle Lake and Colourful Lake. The last mentioned is the smallest and yet the most colourful. 

There are several waterfalls in between the lakes, not very high but often found in an array of twenty individual falls forming a Pearl Shoal. One is called Arrow Bamboo Lake where the particular bamboo used to be found which attracted the wild pandas. We had to sit in eco-friendly buses to travel along the valleys to see the various lakes. At certain spots, we went down and walked along the wooden paths for a kilometre or so to enjoy the colours and sounds of the waters. There were convenient clean toilets along the way. 

We stopped by a small wooden house with an old mill run by the river waters, which ground roasted barley, which could be made into a hot drink or even converted into barley wine! There is only one restaurant in the whole valley, to keep the place eco-friendly. The buffet lunch cost 30 ringgit; the dishes were very basic meats and vegetables. 

Tibetans 
The Jiuzhaigou valley and villages are inhabited mainly by Tibetans who live in ornately colourful houses and wear equally colourful dresses. We had opportunity to visit a Tibetan home which catered to tourists. The ladies were very friendly and jovial, but spoke only in Mandarin. We were served with various Tibetan foods such as buckwheat bread, potatoes, bean curd, barley wine and butter tea, free range chicken and various vegetables. Of course we enjoyed the smoked barbecued yak meat which rather tasty without any beefy smell at all. The Tibetans are still very closely tied with their form of Buddhism. Every home would have Prayer wheels, basins of holy water, pillars of worship and statues and pictures of Buddha. They like to sing and dance around the fire. Even the night Tibetan cultural performance at the theatre showed the cycle of samsara and reincarnation. They did however quite understand when some of us Christians did not take part in the ceremony. 

(Visitors are advised not to travel during the Chinese national holidays eg New Year and October national Holidays)