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   CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

 
Raymond Francis

Somebody is not cut for marching

CHIANGMAI TRIP 24-28 AUGUST 2017

I am a little critical though I tried to be as objective as possible. Praises were rained on the POTO for being the best travel agency, I would not easily agree with the others. On this trip there were two promises that were not fulfilled. The first was the promise of refunding on the bag that was not taken, and secondly, one day was taken away from us. Try to imagine how much we could have missed from the lost hours. POTO blamed Malindo Air for the mishap.

The plane that was supposed to go to Chiangrai only stopped in Bangkok. Accordingly Malindo arranged the Thai Lion to fly us to Chiangmai. And from Chiangmai we took a bus to Chiangrai. Otherwise we would have to travel by bus from Bangkok to Chiangmai or Chiangrai which will kill some of us. It could have taken us more than 24 hours and I believe Photo will not hesitate to do that while blaming Malindo Air all the way.

Where did we go in Chiangrai ? To a small opium Museum, a boat ride to see the Golden Triangle. It stopped at a shopping center on the brim of the river. We were told it was Laos. There was no landmark to show that it was Laos, only stalls that sell goods from China. If you ask me whether I enjoyed it, I would say NO.

It was drizzling and wet.

Having finished the sight seeing we started to move to Chiangmai. It was another hectic ride. There was one thing good about the people. They enjoyed the trip and the ride. Nobody complained. We woke up at about 4 am and ended the day trip at about 9 pm.

We have two tour leaders, the local from Malaysia and the Thai. The local was Qila and the Thai was Mohammed. Both of them were charming and helpful guys. Mohammed is married. I don't know about Qila who is 22 years old.

In Chiangmai we visited two temples. We rejected the 3rd one that we were suppose to go on the last day. We went to the Mong village shopping place, the most enjoyable elephant village and the Royal Garden. We had almost the whole day entertaining ourselves with elephant show, riding raft, elephant and a bullock cart.

Our group consisted of 24 Malaysians including a tour leader and a Mohammed. A big number were retirees like the ex-teachers and school principals. There was a family of four, two and couples. From my assessment all were but me were loaded and well to do. There were four young beautiful ladies still singles ( on the front row ) and two young unmarried men ( on the left of the picture ). All were well verse in English.

Enjoying tuk-tuk around town

We prayed everywhere, from the mosque as shown in the picture on the left to the open space floor at the airport. This particular mosque was full of Chinese writings as it was build by the Chinese in 1916.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we arrived we noticed quite a crowd at the mosque. This is located in the Muslim area of Chiangmai. But this is the only mosque that we made a visit though there were several more.

 


Over all the trip was quite a fun despite some mishaps. There is one thing that I hate most is passing the buck to others. I have observed several time of this habit of running away from responsibilities. If Malindo Air had to change the plan then it was Photo who should bear the responsibility to the customers. They must be compensated. Cheating though seem to be minor is never a trivial affair. Travel agencies should not parade any form of pecuniary greed.

30/08/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

SARAWAK REPORT WAS TRAPPED

Sarawak Report is almost a one man show, smaller than David trying to fight against the world of Goliath, not a single giant. The government of Malaysia under Najib's administration is a huge and monumental machinery containing all units and departments like any other major countries like the United States, China, Russia and Israel too. While at War against the enemies the strategic planning and meetings are ongoing. Why can't a complex government of Malaysia beat a tiny Sarawak Report once and for all.

Najib has thousands of players around him, people with doctorates and foreign experts and consultants. And he has a huge sum of money to pay off mercenaries to fight for him. After all he is the finance Minister and he could do anything with the money in his coffer.

I have traced several traps set out to create disinformation under the headings of leakage materials. They were not at all leakages but released like a leakage. I noticed several social media including Sarawak Report published them thinking they were feedback from the anti-Najib group when they were all secretly disguised and came from the special unit of Najib's office. These were about how the 1 mdb's money were spent, to show that the money was not used by the Prime Minister. I noticed these too were published by Sarawak Report.

Seeing the tricks worked they then sent out on matters of Najib's 90 million corruption to PAS. SR bought it.

If you ask me whether Najib gave money to Hadi's family members and other PAS leaderships I would say YES but I don't have proofs like Najib cannot show proofs that he is the son of Abdul Razak. To UMNO's court circumstantial evidence does not exist. To them if you don't see God then the Al-Mighty does not exist. That's why Najib asked Leong Sik to show proof that he stole the SRC's money that was in his account.

He has local and foreign lawyers to advise him, to design plans to put others into guilty mode as what was done on Anwar Ibrahim. What lawyer has SR ?

It is true that SR is very small entity. Winning over the case does not make the Malaysians believe Najib is good and clean. Many have not read SR from the days when it was first came into existence till now. Najib sacked Mahyudin and Shafiee Afdal was not the doing of SR. They just asked about the 2.6 billions which Naib could have told them they were from Arab donation and for the strength of UMNO. I saw People from MOF resigning, also nothing to do with Sarawak Report. I saw FVG took a deep dive, negative economic competitiveness with other Asean countries, declining ringgit, thousands of Malays sacked from their jobs, Malaysia selling interests and properties to China. Those have nothing to do with SR.

The government asked us to believe in Bloomberg that said our ringgit is the strongest in the region when we are paying RM1k for 700.46 Bahts.

Do you think Najib will be the Prime Minister forever ? He has to setup the Premiership must be from his family. If he fails the next Finance Minister will start to smell stinking mud in his office.

His friendship with any of the world leaders will not wash up the financial woes of his making. Like him exposing Mahathir's Forex, the prceding PM will expose his probable crimes. When Malaysia became a vassal of China it will be his own grand children who will be cursing him.

The game played against SR and American President is not to save the nation but himself. Mahathir, Sarawak Report and old people like me have nothing to lose but the Malays and the Malaysians will have to suffer.

03/09/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

FINAL DESTRUCTION

Each person thinks he/she is the smartest of the lots, having the highest mental prowess and superior in all aspects of human ability. By his countenance, behaviors and speech we could see what kind of a man he is. It was base on my experience and observations I come to this conclusion which shown to be true by many critical issues we are facing today.

My school, the Vocational Secondary School Alor Setar, rose up to be a bench marking school over several years due to the over all performance and environmental setup. From 1990's upwards we won all sort of championships at the district, state and Federal level. Even the city counsel chose us to be the best school with creative landscaping in the district.

The success was not on me but on my dedicated teachers and workers. I applied the concept of Participative Management which I picked up during my one half years of schooling in the United States. The landscaping was very fantastic, planned by my workers and teachers. Our restrooms were of the modern airport standard. Our concept was simple; go green and conducive learning environment. Let the students study in the school of aromatic garden.

It really worked. Waves of visitors came to our school including the people from JPA and MOE. I was called personally to the Ministry of Education to receive a special awards.

But my nature is not a good one to talk about, for I am stubborn and recalcitrant. I have my own belief and philosophy. Once I wrote a letter to the Ministry of Education to give back my ordinary teacher's post instead of being a school Principal just because of my disagreement with the big boss in the Ministry, Dr Wan Zahid, about perfection and zero defect, to which I said that perfection was impossible. Nobody is perfect. Every good man has enemies and every bad man has friends. He sent someone to investigate my school. The man was very puzzle and amazed with my school. "How bad some people could be," the officer told me. "I am very impressed with your school. But please, name all your plants."

They wanted to convert my institution to Technical School. I believe that the Technical School is for the high achievers. Our system must also cater for the low achievers and late developers. I asked to go out of the school after 20 years of being a Principal. My request was granted.

A new administrator took over. At the national meeting held in the school he boasted that it was him who planned for all the successes. Slowly later he undid what we had been developing. Trees were cut down. Cups and winning trophies were cast off and were not recoverable. Computers which I purchased for the students were said to have bad influence on the students. The concept of green started to vanish. After him there were other new Principals. Everyone brought new changes. Then they knocked down the restroom wall so that they could watch the smokers. More green disappeared. Structures erected up by the students were torn down.

I was not surprise when the teachers were asked to visit Taiping and school headed by Mary Yap in Sabah years later. This school ceased to be the benchmark. Both said they learned what had transpired in Alor Setar.

Why the changes ? Because each thinks he is better than the rest with a superior mental prowess.

It is hard for me to figure out their visions, thinking perspective and ideals.

That is the world of education. It is more puzzling to what is lingering in the world of politics. When I believe politicians must be well educated in Malayan history so that they will not repeat the same mistakes, we have politicians who only passed the Lower Certificate of Education and Vocational school. At least they could have seen how the British took over the Straits Settlements and eventually the whole of Malaya. In fact they are so crazy that they claimed themselves as immigrants to the Malay Peninsular. So much so it looks like that no indigenous person is running this country at all.

In short the Malays are so very stupid, stubborn and shameless. You can see stubbornness in Noh and Nazri, stupidity in Keruak and Anwar Musa and shamelessness in Rosmah Mansor. When we say that they are selling the country to the Chinese they strongly denied it, refusing to look at Tibet, Zimbabwe, Sri Langka and Pakistan. When we say the Chinese showed disrespect towards Najib in Pekan, Nazri defended the Chinese. Najib thought he could play USA with China and got his way out.

Mahathir is 92 years and I am 70. We have been here since our childhood days, not in a glamorous palace of elites. We were not in the air conditioning room but on the bare ground, running around in mud and marshes. We see the progress. We see the difference.

However I finally believe that wisdom is not innate though partly it is of God's providence. Virtue and knowledge has to be acquired through patience and resilience. A man has to learn science, history and philosophy. Else he would be destructive beyond repair. He can destroy an institution and his country, his race and his people.

02/09/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

DO YOU TRUST CHINESE GOODS ?

Chinese goods are darn cheap. The last I bought was a video camera costing me only a RM100. During my trip to Chiangmai I did capture several scenes using it and when I came home to peruse the movies they were all of the lowest standard. The image was fuzzy, unclear and not worthy of keeping it.

Prior to the camcorder I purchased a spyglass, a spy watch, thumb drives and Baofeng walkie-talkies. One talkie went haywire after 4 days, all chargers were not functioning after a week but UV5R seemed to be okay till today, more than a month from the purchase date. The hard disk that cost RM180 could not be re-formatted, and the two pen-drives did not function as the ones I bought from the local shop.

Encountering with either the fake Chinese or the low quality goods I am now having a phobia of whatever comes from China. When I went to the phone stalls this evening, I refused to look at Hua Wei or Lenovo. Instead I was focusing on the Asus Zenfone. I have a cheap Zenfone 5 with me that I took with me to oversea trips without any power bank. The battery would last me the whole day, even could go 24 hours more per fully charged.

It is not all products are bad but we wouldn't know which are the reliable stuffs. Whatever you buy you have to take a great risk, even of the well known smart phones.

The most trusted products are from Japan and Korea. They may be expensive but you will always be satisfied with them.

Whatever, we have to be beware of the fakes that carry brand names like Toshiba, Apple or Sanyo. A few friends had paid a big sum for fake Iphone 4 and the iPads.

Things are getting worst as the Chinese are exporting plastic rice and fake foodstuffs. FDA officers in Malaysia MIGHT pass the sale for a few pittance. The Chinese philosophy on the power of money came much longer than our Prime Minister's Cash Is King. Najib thought he could twist their arms like what Zahid Hamidi is doing on the illegal Chine workers. In no time the Malaysian leaders will have to unknowingly bowed to the Chinese.

China is smart enough to have outlets for the various products through DIY and the Online shops. They are all over the country, which can threatened the survival of the Japanese and Korean commodities. We can keep them alive by paying more for the Japanese, Koreans and Malaysians items.

Motorolla in Malaysia produce a good quality electrical and electronic products. But the price is 10 time higher than the Chinese, mainly because the cost of labor is high in addition to our tax policy. Some firms that operated in Malaysia moved out for two reasons, namely the increasing labor cost as set by our minimum wage policy and secondly due to the negative perceptions of our leaders by their dishonesty and bad characters.

Since Najib owes so much to the Chinese he had to agree to some of their demands. Many Asian and African countries thought they could outplayed the Chinese but they were damn wrong. And Najib thought he is smart enough. Whatever happened in Pekan was an indicator of his submission. Under his nose the whole ceremony was in Chinese. It was pertinent enough for Chua to ask what money was used to pay to IPIC recently. Was it from China or from Malaysian taxpayers. If it was from China then we could have guessed what is more to come.

When I was in Hong Kong, the people were cursing the mainland populace including the leaders. The life in Hong Kong was becoming harder. I believe the life of the Malaysian Chinese would be threatened as well.

01/09/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

COURT OF IMAGINATION

The home of the court of imagination lies in the weak and helpless people. This is common in countries where the rulers are strong, powerful and oppressive. Dictators will always say that what they do and the policy formulated are for the good of the people. While they enjoy the luxury of life the oppressed lamented in their hearts of the agony they suffered. The court of imagination began to take shape, where the cruel leaders are brought to face the judge and the prosecutors.

Those who have watched the trial of Saddam Hussein of Iraq would imagine similar proceedings where Saddam denied to all the charges of the murders and strongly argued to defend himself. He was finally hung. Imagination would even punishes the accused through the most demonic form torture other than death. As imagination has no limit the form and the nature of punishment could be of utmost severity.

But the viscous prisoner in the minds of the people remains unperturbed. He will continue to plunder the country with his iron hands. The court of imagination never cease to vanish. The hatred grows. There is a hope their imaginations would come to life.

Who are in your mind that have been found guilty and have been facing the punishment ? I have one though, a big fat lady who is called Clyde by the many who regards all the populace is in her palms. She thinks she is the greatest ladies in the world. My court found her guilty despite the loud rhetoric. The sentence is she is to sleep with mice for one month.

That is what the most the helpless people could do, make their own court and pass their own sentence.

The court of imagination is just an imagination. It is not true and it hurts no one. Yet Imelda Marcos has a fear in it. She said, "I don't want the people to say bad things about me when I die." And not only Imelda, we too don't want people to despise us after we leave this world. Only the shameless and the people without feeling will ignore it. Some may penned the perceptions down as history.

Even the most powerful will die. The signs are very visible. The hair has grown white. Wrinkles began to show. The expanded girth is translating the amount of sins to be carried with in the grave. No amount of money can corrupt the God Almighty.

The court of imagination has passed the sentence. GUILTY AS CHARGED for theft and lynching.

31/08/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

BAD NEWS

These few days have not been a lucky day for me. First of all two storage items I purchased through Lazada could not save many files and when I tried to reformat it gets no higher than 6% no matter how long it stays in the format mode. Lazada asked me to fill in the form which I refused as it takes so much of a hassle. I choose not to buy through Lazada again.

Secondly when I wanted to buy the Thai Bahts at the price was 7.46 to 1 of Malaysian currency. I cursed Najib from the shop till my home. Our currency is getting weaker and weaker by day yet the Prime Minister boasted that ours is the strongest in this region. Major economic implications will follow soon. And Najib will invent more lies to cheat the people. On the 24th I will be going to Chiangmai Thailand. I decided not to change any and will not buy anything for anybody. I have about USD120 which I thought ample enough to buy food like bake beans and corns by the roadside.

Thirdly today I heard the news of the demise of my buddy Choo, 9M2HC. Choo has been a long time radio friend from his working days in Alor Setar to his retirement in Ipoh. Choo took up shooting as his activity beside hamming during his retirement life. I knew him as a healthy and a strong man. I never heard of him being ill. Nobody informed the radio fraternity except when he passed away.

We can't avoid death and human treacheries. The Chinese are not only good in selling fake stuffs but also are exporting clone foodstuffs to the world. They export plastic rice and other food to countries in Southeast Asia. Corrupt officers in corrupt countries would allow those to pass them. The FDA units are all over the world to validate all the imported food of their originality. I remember well that when we were lamenting about planting our own food and agriculture land must me preserve our UMNO leaders said that we were not to worry about it. We import food from outside.

The folly of both Mahathir and Najib were causing the country to suffer. The economy is diving down at a great speed.

23/08/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

CONDOLENCES TO CHOOS'S FAMILY

Choo passed away today. It is a sad news to me. He was my buddy for many years when he was in Alor Setar. He was a health officer in the General Hospital and was still a SWL when we came to know each other. I don't quite remember the event of how we started to be friends.

We ran several field event activities. He would be bringing a battery and me, my FT101. At one time he wanted to test his one transistor CW transmitter from his home at Taman Lumba Kuda. WE did the test and I could hear his very faint signal with full readability. He already knew Morse codes even before he got a license.

To me Choo was healthy and strong. I never imagine that he would leave us first, for I never heard of him being attacked by any form of illnesses. In fact these very few weeks I had been thinking of seeing him again at Ipoh.

I remember in 1980s when I switched on my radio after a long leave that I heard him and Zainal chatting. They were there almost everyday. I did not know about the demise of many hams and the withdrawal of the active hams from the band. But Choo accompanied 9M2ZA to maintain the frequency. Only a few years later I joined them.

I remember him giving me life through much encouragements when I narrated to him about my heart and other fatal diseases that strike me.

I feel so sorry that I could not attend his funeral as I am to make a final preparation for my trip to Chiangmai day after tomorrow. I send my sympathy and condolences to Choo's family.

May he Rest In Peace.

20/08/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

THE MALAYS, WHO SPOIL THEM ?

The history of Malaya did not begin around 1402. Before there was Parameswara, Tengku Abdul Rahman, UMNO, PAS, Mahathir and Najib the Malays were already here. Most were along the coastal area as they were moving from place to place by sea, to nearby and distant places and islands. There have been effort to trace the origin of the Micronesians and the relationships between the Polynesian race. We can't exactly say how many were farmers in the hinterland.

When states were formed and rulers came into being there was no UMNO or PAS either. There wasn't Mahathir and Najib. The annexation of Malaya were welcome by the rulers. UMNO was not there to challenge the British. The affair of Malaya was under the control of the British. We did have vocational and religious schools and the other day schools set up for the locals. The Chinese set up and ran their own education.

How many Malays died of starvation and poverty under the British occupation ? Among the elite schools like College Sultan Abdul Hamid and Malay College Kuala Kangsar are still standing there with traditional pride. Mahathir was one of the students. UMNO was not even heard off or known during those time.

I am not citing anybody by stating the fact of life. It was a reality. We don't have to talk of pre-1402. Even after 1402 till 1945 nobody had the idea of PAS and UMNO then. So how could someone says that the Malays will not be here without UMNO ? Do I need to say more ? I don't want to compare the era before independent and NOW, today. It can turn some mad people madder.

I have one simple question; who spoil the Malay farmers and the fishermen ?

19/08/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

FINISHING REMOTE CHAT PROGRAMS

Hello, I am back again. I have been away from my blog for quite some time, after making myself busy with testing a Visual Basic programs on Windows 7. At first I developed a software to be used by any tour agency. Having completed it, I incorporated the basic accounting on income and expenditure. And then I thought it would be wise to attach something like a chat program so that the users can communicate among themselves or with the customers.

Many years ago I used the ASP codes to communicate using the websites. In fact I rent a server to do the remote database experiments. I became interested in Winsock, studied the basic concept and tried scan the IPs with different ports. I was shock to see a lot of CCTV stuffs from all over and many secret things. And I wrote malicious codes to peep into other people's machines and controlled them by a certain extend. I felt guilty and decided to do away with them. As for the chat program I stopped improving it for two reasons. Firstly I thought I was not a professional and there are other better software around. Secondly I took account of my age. I was not sharp and smart anymore. So I decided to quit. And over the years I forget many things.

When I started again, I begin at the age of 70, a gruesome age waiting to rot. I plucked in a winsock ocx. I did it step by step and stage by stage from the beginning, one was to listen and another for connecting. Then I proceeded to multiple chat from the server and client communication. Thinking process taxed me very much. I slept at 3 am. The trickiest was to get the user ID of the chatters and to check the list when someone leaves. Did I copy or read how to do it ? NO. I would not understand even if I read them.

I need to have a server to host the server chat. The server I hired said that they could not host it.

I tested with my Windows 7 machine and discovered they could shake hands within the wifi zone.

I have yet to find a way to resolve the remote chats. In the meantime I was thinking of users saving their views in a database at the server and other people could view it by going into the server database. I don't have to use the winsock and I don't need the client and server application. The software is shown here.

In this program one just type a message and stores in the database. The other person can use the same program and go to see the data in the storage. What the hack of all those hassle. Why not I make whatever was typed would appear by itself. With some coding tricks and maneuverability it became just like a chat program. Isn't it great for me ? I am just reinventing the wheel., a stupid move. But never mind as long as it satisfies me.

10/08/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

WRITING CODES AGAIN

It has been a long time since I left writing computer coding. I am still using the Visual Basic as it can be used to develop beautiful and fantastic software. Windows want to kill it mainly for financial reasons. New Windows do not support the old Visual Basic anymore. It was yesterday I tried to run the VB program on Windows7. To my surprise I could run it. But I could not use the Windows to develop software with the old codes.

As I am a conservative person, keeping the old laptops with the XP vintage, I started to plan for travel agencies. I have been complaining that my travel agencies do not have proper storage and do not keep data of their clients. With the software they can retrieve all forms of data with a single stroke of a keyboard. I started at noon yesterday and almost complete it at 3 am. I ran it on my Windows7 and it worked without a flaw.

The next few days I will try to incorporate the financial parts, where the companies could know all the income and expenditure to date. I am not an accountant. I will only use my common sense. It would be very beneficial to a small company because their employees may not be scattered. There will be no estimation of the overhead cost but the real value spend out on salaries and utilities. Such a program has been written before for a car workshop run by a friend of mine.

Writing codes may take months or even years. People are willing to pay only a few hundred ringgit for the use longer than 10 years. Actually it is not worth unless the market is wide. Everybody wants it for free. Sometimes you may encounter with someone who hardly pay you even RM200 for a huge jobs of modification. To them the pittance is monumental enough. One school did not pay me until today and I am running from the school.

This one is not for sale. It is merely to refresh my mind. I remember some fellow hams were shouting on the band calling me stupid. I did not know for what reason. May be they generalized that the senior hams were all stupid. And kids had been thinking that I was stupid too that they rejected all of my advices and told me not to decide on their own future. They went their own way.

Developing software do not show that you are smart. But millions of you can't do it just like those who can't do Morse codes. It is just a mental exercise that always draw your inner logic with the tools given to you. It contains strategic planning as well. As others it is easy to criticize but it hard to produce even one for a hundred years.

Mind you again I am already 70. You can't expect wonders from an old man.

cont.

GOOD GOVERNMENT BAD GOVERNMENT

Is the government and the leaders good or bad ? I got the answer from the government itself. The current UMNO government and the leaders are saying the old government was bad. On the other hand the leaders of the past government is saying the current administration is bad. We the denizens have our own views but presently  suffer the worst economic woes ever.

If the old government was bad and the current government is as bad or worst than the old one, they cannot be good. They are pointing fingers at themselves. It mean they have both to be bad.

Then how on earth the people still vote for them ? Then the people must be stupid and bad too. Don't the people know that bad people always tell lies ? And they always contradict themselves ? Can't you trace what sort of lies they are telling you right on your face ?

In the past nobody called our government as THE GOVERNMENT OF THIEVES. Today our leader is branded as Kleptocrat.  Foreign TVs broadcast the story about the purchase of diamonds using money traced from the supposedly development fund. Recently the Arabs were telling the Malaysian pilgrims not to vote for Najib. It implies they knew the story about desperate Najib coaxing the Saudi King to admit of the donation.

Effort to counterbalance the fallacies by paying foreign media and journalists were very costly. The income tax department even claimed the unpaid tax from the dead people. A very bizarre and inhumane mentality of Najib's specie. Under his nose Najib has to pay to an IPIC two times, one to the bogus and another is to the true one. It is not a dollar but billions. Is it not a clear fact that the man in charge of 1Mdb who is well known as MO1 has been swindled ?

They are all at war, the ex-government leaders and the current ones. Surely there have to be some truth somewhere. Therefore both have to be bad. We have to throw both of the leaders out. But one leader is already out. The other refuses to budge and to defend his innocence in the court of law.

It has been reported and seen that the spouse of the current leader is the Real Prime Minister, an invisible hand that rules the nation. She has an office in the Prime Minister's Department, flew on the government jet without the present of her husband for shopping spree, calling Vladimir Putin directly and commanded funds for her undertakings. DOJ traced that pink diamonds were bought with 1Mdb's fund. She herself approved the design of the pink diamonds. The workers in the PM department had been complaining about her special program. She herself said that she had no time to play badminton as she was busy in managing the country. Her aide denied and said 99% of the accusations were untrue but 1% is true.

As a layman I am saying that Thaksin was spoil by his wife. Najib too is ruined by his wife.

Najib says he is the nation and the government. Mahathir and the World say he is a Kleptocrat. I saw several videos of Rosmah. I hope they truly have proofs using a video footing showing Rosmah slapped Najib. The public anger towards her seem to be much greater than towards Najib. They believe Najib is under her control. I don't believe in the rumors at all. I think Najib has been listening too much from the people around him, people who strive either for the office or for some gold bread.

The mudslinging seem to confirm that the government under Mahathir and Najib characterized the nature of our government under the rule of UMNO. They were both bad. One has the role of a woman and the other hasn't. The top guns have nothing to lose but the Malaysians as a whole will eventually suffer. Between the two evils one is the mother of all them all.

Foreign intervention will occur if the local populace seek for their helps. It can threaten the political stability unless we turned the national battle away to the individual battle. Did Mahathir call himself a nation ? Whatever it was, it was the tenure of UMNO. Whatever it is, it is under the tenure of UMNO.

Take the greedy, the stubborn, the crooks and the thieves out of the government, we can revive the good name of Malaysia. The welfare of the citizens should be at the fore.

29/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

IN MAKING A VIDEO CLIP

Video editing is hell. It takes a long time to work on an hour clip. The higher the resolution the longer time you have to wait. I was thinking that I need to have a high speed computer with graphic capability and a professional software to do it. My longest video posted to the Youtube was 5 minutes long. The first posting before this was less than a minute.

If the capture resolution is greater then 1024 X 720 even a short clip will have the size of above 1 gigabyte. To transfer a file from the source to the PC itself will take a long time. Imagine if you are capturing the whole soccer game. There is quite a substantial sum of money that we have to invest for the proper job, both in equipments and software.

I don't even thought of going close to be a pro. It is not a job for an old man. I just want a clean and nice clip up there in the Youtube to be satisfactorily perused by friends and public. I began by making an  order of a couple of 1,5T storage from Lazada as they were cheaper than Lelong. Lazada may take 5 days to 4 weeks to deliver, while Lelong takes just one to 3 days. In the meantime I am trying to gather as much information as I can from the editing tasks.

Free editing software has a lot of limitation. Many would not allow the conversion of big files and to the MP4 format. Many do not have the external live inserting of your own audio. You may need to describe the operation of a certain machine while watching the video. In several occasions I need to read the script for each of the operation.

The most to bear is the patience of waiting while the rendering process. Even the 5 minutes video may take two to 4 hours to render. The 50 minutes clip may take as long as 8 to 20 hours.

Mind you, you need to do a lot of planning, in term of the timeline and the story board, and to plan the capturing sequence very well in order to minimize the big hassle. Better be systematic and keep files on each of the task done. For an amateur like me the sequence of capturing will help a great deal. So far I have none of those.

Now I realize how much effort and money were poured in, to produce a movie of even 1 hour and 30 minutes duration.

I remember in the old days when I did my video editing in the video camera itself, where I can make texts scroll upwards or downwards after making a movie. Then I just made a CD out of it. I don't know about the modern video recorder. Anyway I will go to the electronic shops to find out.

It has been many long years I did not watch my TV except for soccer, and has been many days that I did not the downloaded movies. But occasionally I did watch the Youtube clips. Many were were good and amazing. I will try to produce a few good ones.

 
29/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

THE SOCCER GAME TONIGHT

I had not decided whether to go to watch soccer at the stadium tonight. The match is between my state team, Kedah and Kelantan FC. Our state team was recently beaten by visitor 3 - 1. Several teams had disgraced us since we won the FA Cup. New players replaced the champion team. And that lead me to write about Spoiling The Champion Team in my last article on soccer. Not long after it captured my interest again when I saw all the import players were back again in the game against Penang. Today, 4 days later, we fielded the same champion team but the goal keeper.

I thought of watching the Youtube for live streaming from a fan whose streaming is called TV Ayam. I don't know this person. But I know live streaming is a little costly. He has to have the standby batteries for the continuous transmission and to pay for the high internet speed. This man has done a good deed to most of the fans. Even though the game would start at 9pm, I was still at home by 8.30pm. I was hungry then and did not have my dinner yet. It was after the prayer that I made my move for my dinner.

I told myself that if there are free parking space available I would go to have my meal at the stadiums. There were many stalls open around during the soccer night. In Malaysia our matches all start at 9pm except when the game is played at the stadium without light.

Indeed there were many parking space. I guessed there were lesser crowds as the team showed a great deterioration. Instead of rushing to the food stalls, I went to the ticket booyh. The tickets were still available. It cost me RM20. It shows the declining value of Malaysian currency. I never experience the bizarre phenomena during the tenure of other Prime Ministers. I entered the stadium with empty stomach.

Seats were not all filled. Empty seats were sat by the ladies handbags or foods and drinks as if those stuffs paid for the tickets. The ladies were selfish, inconsiderate and without any courtesy at all. I cursed them deep down in my heart. They were not football fans at all but the filthy witches. I sat on the dirty step.

My main objective was to test my spy-glass and to record the whole game. I want to know the vision and it's clarity. Also I had wish to see the full champion team, which mean we have to have all the import players. I noticed the way they play the game, not so much to to dribble and greedy to make goals. I love to see they passed the ball to the right person.

The game was very entertaining. Amazingly they play as a team. The local full back were as careless as ever. At least 20% of the time were seen to be passing the ball precariously to the opponents. Badrol wasted the good chance of scoring several goals though the balls were prettily placed for him. To me the scorer is unimportant but as to how the whole setup were created for the strikers. There were 80% of such a setup. One to one chance failed to beat the opponent's goal keeper who performed very well.

It is true that we can't keep players in the team forever. But we don't alter them every now and then before the season is over and while the team is on the winning spree. As for tonight I was happy and satisfied. Only a few passing errors were made. Kedah won 5 - 0.

The recording I made is not good. I am doing a little editing as I am practicing in some movie making procedures to post to the Youtube.

27/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

CONTRADICTIONS

Who is sabotaging our economy and how was it done ? If our economy is being sabotaged then how come our economy is the best in the region and the best among the Muslim nations ? If our ringgit is the strongest behind China then how could our ringgit value plunged from RM3.5 to RM4.5 to USD1, and from RM300 to RM350 to IDR1 Juta, and the from RM8 to RM12 to THB100 ?

The second puzzle is why China has a very great interest to invest in Malaysia while the rest withdrew and are moving somewhere else ? Which investors listen to Najib and which investors listen to the Pariahs ?

Our government has consultants and the administration itself went across the world to sell the country, to attract investors and to woo for foreign funds. Our effort has been surmountable. Who is going to listen to Mr. Nobody ? Najib is bold and strong enough. The world would be listening to him.

If the investors by a special power could be fooled by Lim Kit Siang, the later would have sabotaged Mahathir too when he was the Prime Minister. Despite the iron hand rule of the former Prime Minister, I did not feel worse off in the cost of living for the whole of his rule. To me the explanation is simple. Mahathir did not steal and he was the Prime Minister. Now I don't know who is the real Prime Minister. It is the grand and great power of a Malaysian Prime Minister and a powerless small man, is the intelligent people want to follow the later pariah ?

Remember of the same contradiction we are making. We are saying two things at the same time, The first we are economically the strongest. Secondly our economy is bad because our people are sabotaging it. Do I need to say more ?

Please be advice that you must not try to cheat GOD or treating the ALMIGHTY as a person that you can pay the money to approve your deceiving the people. What you are doing is just that act, nothing more. First you steal for your family. Then when known you distribute to others so that they would approve your theft. You can get away in this world but you will never get away from trying to cheat your Creator.

What you touched did not become gold but mud. Mention 1001 projects you did. They all become mud. I can't even get your housing project, which moved like a sleek leeches.

When people eat too much, they become fatter and fatter, and becoming uglier and uglier. But I see it in a different way. Fatness is the visible sins accumulated to be seen by the public. Try to engage experts and doctors to slim you down, which I think you have tried. If nothing happens then it is proven that God has turn away from you. Your pungent odor spreads far and wide. And will be buried together in the history of this country.

The ghost of Najidi, Altantuya and Kevin Morais are haunting us. Even the less educated Malays ask as who ordered and agreed to the murder of the Mongolian lady. Even a small man asked me about Najidi. And almost all relate Kevi Morais death to the same motive. Someone came up with phrases THE GOVERNMENT OF THIEVES.

A question then follows; which is bigger, heaven or hell ?

At least I am lucky. I will die soon. I won't have to continue paying the GST and all other taxes as long as Rosmah lives.

There are three immortals in this part of the world; Mahathir, Najib and Rosmah. Their battle will continue and most of the old folks like me will go first. They will live till the end of time. Believe me.

25/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

VIDEO FOR THE YOU TUBE

When my old software went missing it was a heart break for me. I never like to follow the moving trends of anything as long as I can survive with the existing technology. This very article that you are reading is written using the old Acer with Windows XP. If usage could be categorized into several levels, I am within the lowest level ever.

I don't need a sophisticated software for my work. I use the old simple Photoshop just to resize my photos to fit my web pages. I never want to latest version. It is too complicated and takes much space.  But when my daughter came home I could not find those stuffs anymore at the places where I kept them. I felt very disheartened. Without those disks I would not be able to do my pin badge and many other projects if my present PC break down.

My interest in computing does not die altogether. I may stop developing soft wares. That does not mean it is the end of computing. I need to process my videos and post them to the Youtube. The old Microsoft Movie maker was simple but it was an excellent tool. It is not available anymore. I do not blame anyone for the problem. I had to struggle looking for any free video editor. It was not easy. Somehow I finally got one but could only use the basic part of it. For an advance use it involves some cosr. If the soft ware is sold by Lazada, at least I could make a purchase. I do not have the credit card to do the international purchase.

I foresee that I will be doing a lot of video work. For instant I saw the video clips on how to program Baofeng for the repeater, and found they were long winded. I discovered a short method to achieve it. By making a clip and posted it to the Youtube many others could share it. In fact in my recent visit to Jakarta I managed to post a couple of clips to the Youtube. They were too messy. But at least it was a good try.

Things are not so easy as some might have thought. I have to plan the best ever display so as not to confuse the viewers. I think I need a small lab to do it. But it has to be well planned. Then I have to get the usable video editor or a movie maker to process the whole movie. It is hard to start. It would be much easy for the consecutive jobs. At the moment I am using a simple and cheap camera to capture images and events. After all I am not a professional. I need to pass my time in a useful ways.

I like to view my videos using a big TV screen that I have. I was a little surprise that it cannot read the avi format. I need to convert it to the MP4 format. The current soft ware does not allow free conversion unless I use the full pay version.

Video processing takes a lot of time. At my age and being alone, I have all the time. I can let the computer runs it while doing something else. I play around with plenty of gadgets. When I got tired I went to sleep. I am past 70 years old. But I know I am less active than the Western people though actively stronger than most of the local Asians. Yet I still enjoy doing all these jobs.

I have not planned yet what to do in the future to make sure my important stuffs are not thrown out. I kept bottles of mineral water. That too went missing. My two thumb drives, the 32 gig and the 16 gig also went missing. I don't remember what else I put in the box. All were thrown as garbage. It really hurts me. That's one of the main reason I prefer to stay alone. Or I even may leave this house.

24/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

WE SPOKE IN ENGLISH

Amateur Radio had been in Malaysia long before the independent. As far as I can remember the Telecom Department was taking care of this hobby, conducting tests in English. If one was not an English educated one would not qualify for this amazing hobby. The examination was of essay type, and there was no chance of a guessing game in the objective type of multiple choices.

To us English was a plain language as ham radio has always been at the international level. We spoke English all the time even between the Malays. There was nobody talking Chinese or Tamil. That was the standard and that that was the practice, Though 40 meter was considered a local band where local hams gathered and had their daily chats, international stations began to join in; the Philippines, the Japanese and most of the Asean countries. It was some sort of a net.

Just at the brink of the class B license was at the lobby stage, intruders began to come in, commenting about the use of foreign language. But when the remarks were consistent I hurled back asking the guy not to use foreign cars, gears, dress and home utensils. "You must not even wear shoes or pants. Throw away the watches, bicycle, motor cycle and car. Go and remove the traffic light. Destroy the busses and the plains. They aren't Malays," said I. From then on he never came back.

But today there is a total transformation in Malaysian amateur radio. Nobody dares to come on the air in English though I would use it on MARTS repeaters talking to a non-Malay operators. I felt very comfortable that way. And I still had a CW contact with 9M2ZN, Mazwan, in English till today. That was our old habits.

You don't find the non-Malay old hams on 40 meter band now. Language is a part of the issue. There is bound for someone to intrude and yell at those who speak in English among the Malaysians. There had been new comers who were so rogue that they used the radio band to wage war and spearing an attack on others. I got it once. They even ridiculed the old hams on the band among themselves. In other words the quality has been greatly debased without CONTROLS. The essay test in English was one of the controls to rid the bad people. The mandatory Morse pass is another form of control.

How about working with the Indonesians ? On the DX band especially on 20 meter, 80% of our contacts were in English. On 40 meter and there were Indonesians who only wanted to speak in English. But unfortunately the old hams seemed to have been vanished from the band. They were not heard on 40 meter band anymore.

It looks like as if there is a transformation of amateur radio in the whole wide world too. It is for the simple reasons that the new people heading the radio hobby were not the full pledge hams who themselves had struggle to sit for all the amateur radio tests. Their thoughts were diverted to different perspective. They see things in different ways. They put the new ingredients in the amateur radio arena  that made it losing the original philosophy and structure. In this country it is no more a hobby of the English educated.

I remember an Indonesian station who would call foreign stations and spoke Indonesians to them. When he persistently did that the fellow Indonesians broke in to scold him. The next day he was not heard anymore. That had brought a great shame to the country and the Indonesian hams as a whole.

I don't ask you to speak English on the band. But you must not be a preacher or a commander to criticize others who do so by calling them traitors or unpatriotic. Else you need to discard all the foreign inventions and use buffaloes as the mode of transportation. I am just telling you that way back before the license B came into being the old hams use English as their lingua franca.

24/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

LET'S GO FOR MORSE CODES

I am happy to know that the President of Kota Setar Amateur Radio Club is encouraging the members to upgrade themselves to the 9M2 by going to the Morse test. It is the positive attitude that I admire most. In the United States I noticed there are younger people who are looking for elmers to learn Morse codes. It is a tradition that we must not let to die. I believe it is a religion of Ham Radio. It is not about relevancy to the modern world but about the identity and the tradition.

One 9W2 said that asking the 9Ws about Morse everybody said it was a difficult thing to learn. Mixing with the 9M2 everyone said it was an easy thing to acquire. He passed the test within only three months, when I had to do it within a year. Most young people could learn the skill between 3 to 6 months.

In the new world which is full of amazing electronic gadgets many things become so easy. We don't have to go out to pay bills or buy goods. We can do a thousand and one things while idling in a sofa. We can download the many Morse codes software for free. Unlike my time where internet was unknown learning was hard and costly. A person could easily keep a Morse soft ware in his smart phone and learn using the Familiarization Method.

Familiarization Method means what it says, to get familiar with the sound. One can choose what characters one likes to hear and listen to the sound repeatedly days in and days out while driving or staying at home. The constant repetition will blend the sound in his mind and eventually without one realizing it, the ability to decipher emerges within oneself.

Many great men say that good things don't come easy.  Yet people are racing to avoid the hurdles and the obstacles and asked for free things. They went their ways trying to get the 9M2's tickets without having have to sit for the Morse test. After all to be in the hobby the two meter communication is ample and good. The audio is good and there is no problem of QRN and QSB. And the equipments are light and cheap. Going mobile is a great happiness.

Else one has to work harder for the upgrade. That is the solution, not by unnecessarily making enemies with the 9Ms, cursing and hurling curses at them for nothing. There are 9M2 who are ever willing to assist and advise the new learner in ways that they can contribute.

Well, if you decide to stay put there is nothing wrong with you. It does not make you any inferior. But just don't go about and call the others to stay away from CW or to campaign hatred against those who have upgraded themselves. I don't expect a man of 60 to easily acquire the skill. But the younger ones are still fresh and quick to learn. It is a strive. But fun to try.

22/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

FREE IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN PAY

The Minyak Cap Lang is not cheap. A large bottle costs about RM15. A fat lady who processed my Jakarta ticket and hotel purchased asked me to look for a dozen of the massage oil. I hardly found it in the place where I lived, the Gelodok area of Jakarta. Gelodok is well known for it's electrical and electronic stuffs. I was lucky to have found a few bottles at the 24 hour shop like the 7-Eleven. I bought 4 big bottles and 7 smaller ones. I paid approximately IDR440.000.

Today I went to the travel agency's office telling the lady that the oil was a little expensive. She had to pay for it. She was hesitating, looking up and down. I knew she wanted them for free. Then I told her that she could have one or two for free but she had to pay for all the bottles. She took two the two big bottles and thanked me.

It was alright for me. It only cost me about RM30. To her free stuffs are better. I was not worried about the extra bottles. I could always give to other friends who need it. And I could also use it for myself.

Free is always better than pay. I remember when I was in Spain another ticket seller persistently messaging me to buy a Real Madrid jacket and the whole suits. The price was more than RM700.00. Of course I had no intention of buying for someone I hardly knew. Instead I was thinking of buying it to my student's son.

I myself love free things. But I would not dictate to a giver to provide me with things of my choice. What more if it involves a lot of money. Yet there are plenty of selfish people around.

I had had much bitter experience in searching goods that people asked me to buy. And I took time looking for the said oil. And the same lady who asked me to buy the Real Madrid attired messaged me for souvenirs.

What did I buy for myself ? NONE. I was just lucky to win a lucky draw for the two consecutive days. Both were the Baofeng UV5RA walkie talkies. Those were valuable enough. At least I had the chance to monitors the radio activities in Jakarta. They were free. And to get free things were better than buying.

20/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

SCORPENE

It is confirmed that there was a kickback in the purchase of Scorpene sub-marine by the Malaysian government as two individuals in France were found guilty in the dealing and had to serve some time in jail. People linked the murder of Altantuya to the commissioned demanded by her on her role in the dealing. And they also saw this killing as related to the death of Najadi, Kevin Morais and those others who could threatened the Prime Minister. They were either poisoned or murdered by gangsters under direct order or by officials or body guards.

To the French government the takers were known. As to whatever happened to the money was immaterial. Any conjecture to the death of the Mongolian lady was never wrong. And by the words of law those who were involved in the murder were all killers and could be charged as the first or second degree murder. To God a murder is a murder, regardless of any other man-made category of it. You don't blame the gun for the killing.

 

Having have no shame and no morality is one, having have no fear of God is another. They continue to kill one after another to protect themselves. The robbers and the bad people do that.

We can hide ourselves from the fellow Malaysians by lying to the them but not to France, Switzerland, USA and the Singaporeans of our crimes. Even we try hard to close their eyes by giving them millions and billions. They would know of our ulterior motives. We would always be remembered as filthy criminals when we die.

The question always asked was "Who ordered the murder of Altantuya...." The spirit of the lady shouts out loud the culprit and who were involved in getting the C4 and ordered the killing.

People had known about the guilt of corruption. The French court had just confirmed it.

We have the propaganda unit used to challenge God's teachings. We manipulate the truth and to tell lies to the people, not to protect the nation but to ruin it without realizing the outcome of our persistent lies and propaganda. It is a great lanrk that we are not Muslims and an Islamic country. What else we could expect the body to lie about the Scorpene and the death of Altantuya.

20/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

THE LOST DAY TODAY

Today all my plans were ruined when I took my Viva to Produa Service Center at 9.30 am to ask them why I had a yellow sign looks like an engine on the dashboard. The counter guy said that they will check the engine. About an hour later he told me that the engine was fine. They would continue to check other possible faults. I waited and waited an waited till almost 5.30 pm. "Your ECU needs change. It costs you RM580," said the man at the counter. I agreed to change a new one in October during my servicing time.

I planned to go to post office to settle my electrical bill, to distribute the muscle oil to the travel agent and do a little things here and there. The long wait ruined all the plans. I also had no lunch. Lucky I got people on the Whatsapp to accompany me. Friends asked me to go home and leave the car at the service center. How could I go back without a transport. I did not want to bother others though Yasir offered to take me home.

Should I be angry ? Why should I. It was just one of those things in our lives. I remember yesterday at the Jakarta airport when a young man was angry at the delayed flight. As he went away his Chinese Indonesian mother turned to me and said, " Sorry, you are an old man now. Never get angry and never scold anyone like my son. He was very angry and wanted to buy a new ticket. Don't be angry...na.."The mother was about my age. She took I was much more older than her. She could not walk well and had to be assisted by his son. She kept silent as his son came back.

True, I should not be angry as an old man. After all I have a few more years to live. I can always make up the lost hours. Tomorrow I can still go to the post office and the travel agent and to the money changer. But I expect a package from the Post Laju. I cannot tell whether the good is going to be delivered in the morning or late in the evening. You can't tell this post office and the post laju. They workers had been seen sleeping in a garden during the working hours. I hope to settle everything by 9.30 am.

If I can't finish by tomorrow, I can wait till Monday or Sunday. The post office opens on Sunday. The money changer on Saturday and the Travel Agent on Sunday. Of course if I could avoid a day of wastage so much the better. I also need to know the price of the ECU and where it is located in the car. It is better to be busy than staying idle.

I sent my old Kancil for overhauling. "Make it new again," I told Maniam, the mechanic. Maniam is not a Hindu. He goes to church. His son is still studying in one of the universities in Kuala Lumpur. I hope he can finish the work not earlier than January. My saving dividend will be used to offset the very heavy end of the year expenditures on car insurances and road tax, the annual payment for the village security, the RM1.2K for mosque donation and other community fees.

I hope my ruined day today would be compensated by tomorrow starting with the morning activities.

19/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

JAKARTA TRIP

I just entered my house after traveling a long distant from Jakarta to my home town, Alor Setar. It will take me some time to edit my video on the CW competition held at the Jakarta Amateur Radio Fair, on the 15th July 2017 at Ancol Beach City Mall. My sole purpose was to enjoy the event.

It has been a long time that I did not travel alone. For many years I took the trips alone to the United States and had much experiences over many things, like being mugged in Los Angeles and enjoyed myself in the dream world of Las Vegas. On the later days I followed tour groups to places in Europe, USA, China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia. Then I went with my radio friend, Rusli, to Bangkok, Indonesia and Japan. Now I am already 70, trying to venture alone like a young man.

I studied the places where I plan to stay and go. I chose the Fave Hotel at LTC Gelodok. LTC is a commercial building. And Gelodok is well known for it's electrical and electronic equipments. I told myself that I wanted to have good food and full relaxation while in Jakarta. To facilitate my plan I went to Jafila Travel, asking the company to buy the flight tickets and the hotel lodging for me. The price quoted for the journey was approximately 1K from Alor Setar and back plus four nights of stay at the hotel. I immediately agreed.

The Jakarta Amateur Radio Fair would be held at the same location as last year, at the famous Fantasy Land, Ancol. At Ancol there are several theme parks and the Sea World. The distant from the JARF center to my hotel was about 8 kilometers. I could either take a taxi or a tuk tuk, or even walk. Walk you say ? 8 km ? Why not, I have been walking about 5.3 km per day at home. I studied the map carefully, including Tanah Abang. Tanah Abang is a huge commercial center where all sort of things are sold.

On the first day I asked around the way to JARF venue at Ancol. When I took a taxi the driver drove  the wrong way, an opposite direction. I asked him why he didn't follow the route and his excuse was to avoid the traffic jam. The meter showed IDR260.000 when arriving the place. The real price is IDR30000 as I discovered from another taxi which took me home on the second day. In fact on the first day, because there was no taxi, I walked home. It was far, I realized, probably more than 8km. I could  walk that far mind you. That made me so tired that I went to sleep early on the night of 15th July.

The first person who greeted me at the fair was an Indonesian whom I met last year. Then Deen Atan came and we talked over a little before Rabin, and 9M2MDX, Werut and 4 other amateur operators from Sabah joined us. At about 12 noon they moved to check in their hotels. I asked Deen to watch the CW competition. Like the rest, he said he had not check in yet. I stayed on watching the stage show. From time to time there was a lucky draw. My call sign was announced as one of the winners. I got a Baofeng UV5RA. I figured I was lucky as I had another Baofeng on the second day draw.

From 1 pm to almost 4.30 pm I was up there on the 1st floor watching and recording the competition. I remember they had four categories of the competition, the slow, medium and a high speed and free for all. I  asked a friend beside me about the price. He said that it was a cash price of RM1.5 K. But I forget to ask him which category. Khon Champ from Thailand later told me that he did joined them before. Last year the participants wore red. This year they wore white shirts.

After having taken photograph the challenged began. The codes sounded like a sine wave, moving up and down, with noise and full of strong echo. You have to be good at hearing to comprehend them. I did the video recording with a few others.

When they finished the 'Lumba CW' I decided to return home, back to my hotel. Taxis were not around. I was determine to walk back. With the help of the GPS on my Asus Zenfone I managed to find my way through. 8 KM was not too bad I thought for I had been walking more than 5 km each day. I felt the distance. May be the place was not familiar to me. It was merely psychological. But I enjoyed walking at the same time studying the environment and trying to get familiar with the area.

As soon as I reached my hotel I ordered Fish & Chip. After having a good dinner, I went horizontal. The hotel was quite comfortable but the food was a little saltish, especially the friend stuffs like mee and nasi goreng. I did survey the food stalls around the hotel and found a Nasi Minang and on the later night the Nasi Padang. I had a delicious Nasi Padang on my last night in Jakarta,  for only IDR18000m, about RM5.

Below my hotel were the electronic shops. It was here that I met Weerut and the gang, buying radio equipments home. I bought nothing knowing of the tough time I could have with the custom. Without the import permits they can wrest all the goods purchased. Furthermore I prefer to travel light. An Indonesian ham coaxed me to by a 20/40/80 homebrew transceiver for RM1.3K but it was just a little bigger than my backpack. Instead I spent a little of my money buying some fabrics at Tanah Abang where I took a taxi for IDR30000 and a few plastic bottles of muscle oil required by the ticketing agent. There were too many stalls to go about.

I reserved my last day to look for things to buy home. The JARF ran on the 15th and 16th July. 17th July was my free day. Shops opened at about 10 am and closed at about 4.30 pm. It was too short a day for window shopping. I did not know where to go either but Tanah Abang because I already went there last year with Rusli. I did not know Mona which was just a walking distance from my hotel. Even the oil was purchased at the normal shop akin to 7 Eleven. I could not get a dozen as requested. I just felt sorry. Imagine I brought about 5 millions rupiah and had about 4 millions left over. So much so I paid extra to the taxi men, and ate at the airport without computing the food price with Malaysian ringgit. The only drawback the local money changer only wanted to buy 1 million rupiah for less than RM300.00. I prefer to keep the money, who knows for my next trip. Changing ringgit o Rupiah in Jakarta the rate was 3.6 indicating the real decline of our money. We have been lied constantly by our leaders.

What did I do with my Baofeng ? I fixed them and used them to monitor the VHF and the UHF stations. From 144 to 149 I did not hear any ham talking. Frequencies below and above it there were numerous unknown stations with call sign using numbers. So was with UHF where no Indonesian call sign was heard. I was just making some intelligent guess as to what is happening to ham radio in Indonesia. Things really change with the new FCC regulations which were being the bench marking for the world.

The UV5RA, Baofeng, is Lupak by the Indonesian brand name. I was glad to win a couple of sets, not so much on the radio, but on the charger. I bought 3 chargers from China and all went haywire. I believed the damage was due to the excessive heat during the delivery process. The prizes relief me very much. Remember, that some sellers are not really reliable. I used Lazada to buy them.

I didn't mind the IC7300 that needed the purchase of coupons for the lucky draw. I couldn't find the coupon sellers. But one of the Sabahans the rig home. I heard it cost 1K cheaper in Indonesia than here. I hope the custom guy was good enough not asking him to produce the import permit.

I was happy with the trip though I had no intention to go for sight seeing nor for shopping. I had had a good vacation despite my long walk. I hope to be able to attend the radio fair again next year.

19/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

WHAT'S IN A FAME

I never care about a fame, to be a celebrity or to be well known among others. But I am just puzzle why I did not exist in the past. Neither did I want people to know that I was there among the crowd witnessed by people who were there with me. In Ham Radio I came quite late, passing the exam around 1975 or so. I could remember names who had help me and those who were active on the local band. By local band I mean the 40 meter band. 9M2MW and 9M2FK were the two amateurs who had help me in talking over their radios when I was still a SWL. Malcom, Eshee, Avartar, Idris, Ari, Chong, Chow, Eustace, Hock, Peng, Phang Choo, Loke, Ibrahim Oxford, Rajamani, Nick, Yaacob, Datuk Tan, Bill, Rashid Sultan, Dhalan, Khoo, Kuan Khew, Leong are among the names that I can still remember. Aziz, Manan, Marzuki, Choo and several others came later. Zainal was still in Germany and came home with 9M2ZA call sign.

In the North we had two big events ever held in this region beside the normal JOTA activities. The first was the Thai-Malaysia Border jamboree where Eshee came up here for help. And the other was at the University Utara Malaysia at Jitra during those years. Eshee and Manan joined hands to help me in setting up the station and ran the event. Any other annual jamboree chores were always organized by the scouters in Jitra. I remember Jamal, Wan and Kamel very well and the late Cikgu Khalid who would call me up to help them. Most of the scouters are now a licensed operators. Kamel and Mr Khalid have passed away.

During the Tsunami I and Marzuki, among others in the Nortg,  stood by to retransmit messages from Aceh area to Jakarta. And I had a daily contact with the Tsunami stations. I also helped to pass some traffic messages of the Malaysians in Aceh back home to their families and HQ.

What was there to brag about. Those were not the contributions at all as far as I am concerned. Those were just the normal duty. Did I ask for a certificate or a recognition ? None, Nothing to lament and nothing to complaint. But mind you there is a new licensed operator whom I never knew decades before he gets his ticket had the audacity of telling people he constructed an antenna system for me. That made me blink a little. It was a big puzzle.

Is there a problem in ham radio today ? You figure it out yourselves. But by the literature posted on the alternative media, I smell the writer believes that there is a problem. It was the same person who wants to have a few millions radio operators here. Today he has probably more than a few millions inclusive of legalized pirates, and tenths of thousands of handheld owners talking as though they are licensed amateurs. I wonder whether he knows that more than 70% of newcomers do not know what an RF choke is or know what a balance modulator is used for. Yet everyone can go on the air. Would that barred them from transmitting on the air ?

I always talked of human character and education before the licensing condition. Human behavior will determine the sanctity of an organization. The attitudes and their mental setup will determine the future of amateur radio. If you choose not to safeguard the integrity of this hobby then it will surely fall on the ground. It will become valueless.

If you relate this hobby with pecuniary gain and as a source of money factory then it defeats the original purpose of amateur radio. You will knock down all the barriers like a woman prostituting her entire body for money.

If the wall has been broken down then there is nothing to lament about. You reap what you sow.

Many old hams prefer to stay away from the rough seas. I love to run away from a braggart. To us what's in a fame. 'Ais Kacang plus durian' is far better than the fame.

13/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

MULTIPLICITY OF DEVIOUS HUMAN SENTIMENTS

If I can, I do not want to owe any obligation to anyone. To some every extended help comes with a price, the price that you do not know. And they either equate that with the value of money or something you have to give in return. In the traditional society helps given were always sincere, without expectation of the return favor nor they equate them with money value.

I would reject a gift or help with price tags accompanying them. Such an insincere deeds have no place in the community of good society. Ham Radio in Malaysia used to be a Brotherhood Ties. Old hams helped each other and the new comers to make them come on the band without any pecuniary gain. I remember getting co-axial plugs and cabled for free, and giving away free things to people.

I had always have a great fear that amateur radio in Malaysia will be spoiled by the new generations if they were not thoroughly checked. Without hurdles and walls even the bad dogs could jumped into the ham radio frontier. True indeed when walls were broken down bad dogs did jump in, turning the world of amateur radio upside down.  There are cheaters and opportunists now. There are braggarts and bad apples. And people who love to bully others.

The villains do not display the true faces but you can always see one through their talks and speeches, parading their prowess. showing their goodness and friendliness. I never expect one to run away with my money. May be he wanted me to pay back the kindness he did for me. If that is the case then I would say I have given him more than what he had given me. It is better to reject any kind of help from any other people. In this way we are free from any obligation.

There are people who may give you a single help but would demand for a series of unending assistances, one after another and a hard one too. When I make a trip overseas there are people asking me to buy this and that for them. How could I when I didn't buy anything for me myself, to avoid the trouble of packaging and carrying them. I just love to travel as light as possible leaving more room for comfort. On my coming trip to Jakarta, one person asked me to buy not ONE bottle of oil but a dozen of them. Fortunately, none of the visitors today requested me to buy things for them.

I just think a person who puts money value in his ostensible help without telling you is a devious scammer. They are numerous amongst us. But not everyone is having that bad.

Mankind tend to satisfy his ownself without considering the welfare of the others. I have seen their selfishness all the time. Persons who were invited to take some Rambutan from my trees would take the whole tree off without thinking even of me, the owner. I saw in my wife relative, the Indonesian maid and a few of my friends. The last to come was my student. She came with her family. Seeing the almost the whole tree was empty, I asked her to fill in 4 sacks to give to my four neighbors.  What made me so unhappy was that I had to collect back the pole, the plastic garbage bag and the chair. They should have put them back at the proper place. It had been the same with the Indonesian maid and my wife relatives.

I tell you, it was 99,99% of the fruits were taken off from the tree.

If they would have thought of the others and be considerate enough, they would have not left the tree bare. And people would not ask me to buy massive goods for them. Or abscond with other people's pittance. Of course not to forget the sneaky snake who demanded payment for their help.

How would you expect to have a good society with the multiplicity of devious human sentiment ? It just like living in a Golden Triangle or in Colombia where everything is filthy. The Malays seem to turn evil, greedy, arrogance and inconsiderate. It is something unthinkable and horrible. They have lost the senses of good and bad, shame and morality.

It is hard to trust a radio friend these days. If you want to know who among them who would charge you with an atom of favor do ask me personally. When my wife was alive, I always told her about people's characters. She laughed as much as I did. It was somewhat hilarious to see how they acted and behaved. It was a real pity for those who were stung by these vultures. The victims deserved it like the voters who chose scavengers among them as their leaders. The laugh became a cry. It was sad and pity.

The wider the frontier you are in, the more challenges and hostilities you would be encountering.

We can reduce the risk by limiting the size of our frontier by choosing a few friends within the God's House, and a very few left of the very old ham friends and a few wise and highly educated people.

Really, this is an amazing world.

13/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

VILLAGE PATROL

Finally I handed the Baofeng 888S to the security guards looking for our kampong, modifying the first channel. This channel is regularly used by people unknown. It is safer to shift to two KCs up. I chose this model because it does not cover a big area. I figured it might not even cover our locality. One of them has to be some sort of repeater in case of a certain reported emergency like theft.

Thieves use to prowl and broke into houses in this location. I was so sure they were young Malays who ganged themselves up and doing mischief around. While some come from our village a few were from outside our area. Crimes usually happened during the night time. Stories of daytime robberies were sometimes heard but rare. I suspected the Indians and the Malays preying their victims using their motorcycles.

We can't afford to have the all round 24 hour surveillance. Some people refused to pay the fees and hope to benefit from those who paid. I would pay for the whole year, RM360, which may be too high for some guys.

The security company did provide the workers with the walkie talkies. When they got a more permanent jobs, they would leave without returning the radio. I thought the communication would be more effective using the radio units.

The first thing I heard from the transceiver was that somebody was singing and telling stories about me handing them the radio sets. I asked them to check the transmission and reception, whether it could cover the village area. The report was positive. From then on the hanky panky stopped. There was no more singing. They knew someone was monitoring them.

You see the ideal and the dynamic are not always the same. Ideal is full of wonderful talks, like our politicians. In real life things may be different. Najib said, "Under my eyes we will not lose our sovereignty.." Yet he did not know what he signs on the 1 Mdb documents and where the million rinngit came into his account. Similarly if you hear the persons in the community members talk you will be impressed by them. The security of the village is secured and safe.

As I observed the security guards need to be push to patrol and to be aware of cars that move in and out. If you don't they tend to be a little indolent. I hope to communicate with them once in a while to awaken and activate them. These are young people without regular jobs yet.

Baofeng is cheap, about RM30 a piece. It cost me about RM120 for four pieces. I hope to get involve stealthy and to see the patrolling is more effective. I don't think that I will be informing the committee members of my decision. It is a usual community work.

You can't expect the police to patrol your village for you. And you cannot expect everything from the government. All the government wants is your money.

11/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

The incident at the college gate REVISIT

I thought my relationship with the College was over. The last I was asked to sign a visitor's book when I went to provide a free service in their biometric attendance system. I was called for help and I was asked to abide by their regulation. But I have my own regulation then. If the College needed my help they have to abide by mine. I wished them good luck in finding a new software. In fact they have already bought one.

To my surprise they called me again today, saying that there is a problem with the system and they want me to look at it. At the same time they need a few more of new RFID cards to be writtened. "I thought the College has a new system ? " Said I. "Sorry I won't go there again." They are willing to come to my house. That relief me.

In the previous incidence I was viciously attacked for being selfish and egoistic. I must signed the book they said. I didn't go to beg or seek for a favor. Neither it was on my own accord. I simply had my own policy. When they come tomorrow, should I ask them to abide by my regulations for it was my invitation ? I am not a savage to behave like one. My house is not a College but it is a home, though it is an honorable abode full of mystery. Nevertheless I always keep my gate close.

It is alright to label me as a stubborn person. I admit I am one. Even if my own kids yelling and shouting and scolding me like an animal, it will never be forgotten no matter what. I am not a God nor a prophet nor a Sage. A cut will never disappear. You know the state of mind of an elderly men like me. We don't easily forget. It is wiser for me to stay alone. Nobody would hurt me.

The story is about a computer software which I developed for the College many years ago. One of them was a biometric attendance system which is very complicated as it has several utilities. You either use your finger or swapping an RFID card at the scanner. Your picture will appear and the computer will wish you the necessary things. If you have a birthday it will wish you Happy Birthday. You may be prompted with a certain message. Messages may be for a single person, a few or for the whole staffs. And there are many more facilities which I don't wish to narrate here.

From year to year new staffs will come in. New RFID cards have to be written. I gave the software for the card but somehow they still seek for my help. Then a new head of the College came to replace the old one. She set up a new rule as I was told. Among them is that nobody is allowed to go into the school without signing the Entry Book.

By co-incident I was called to the school to print a new card. On entering the gate the guard said that I must sign the book because of the new regulation. I went home immediately. I was fiercely attacked. Of course I lost nothing. I would not have to sacrifice my time and energy anymore just to help. I am happy as nobody is bothering me again. That was the incidence.

I don't know how many and who would be coming tomorrow. But I don't plan to talk of the past. I have something to serve them. While it will take a few minutes to prepare and execute the cards, they can have some food and refreshments. I am glad at 70 I am still of use and can still serve those who seek my help.

10/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

Three persons came to my house. The teacher in charge gave me about 15 cards to work on. I asked them to eat and drink while I was writing the cards. One man went out to get the Rambutan fruits. 15 minutes later they gathered into the house and we had a chit chat about old friends. Then they went home.

TOUCHING 21ST CENTURY

I never dream of living until 2020. And I never know when I am going to die. I feel death is so very near. Deadly disease has struck me several times and here yet I am still standing, going for daily exercise more than 5 km walk each day. Next year is just a few yards away, coming very soon. It will be 2018. I am about 7 years older than Najib and 5 years older than Rosmah. While we are getting older, the two immortals will be ruling the country. What will 2020 be like ? Will the dark cloud continue to hover over us throughout covering the whole sky ?

My wife went first at the age of 65. I feel that her spirit is accompanying me all the time, that I do not feel miserably lonely. I just feel that she is around, filling my days, pushing my life to breath the fresh air for a few more years. But 21st century never crossed my thinking when I was a young boy. Those were the days without TV, and a radio was a luxury.

Today the world produce three D printers which everyone can buy for less than 2K. It is an amazing invention, 3D TV for viewers at home, spectacles and watches that can record videos and snap pictures. The gadgets are more than what Dick Tracy used to have. Sometimes it made me wonder why God chose the White man to be genius, inventors and futurists than the Malay folks.

But at the dawn of my life I began to see shameless people all over the world. Men married with another men. Ladies chose spouse of their own kind. National leaders squeezed the citizens to fill their own bellies. Instead of preaching religion of God, they want people to believe in the power of money. Their value system has changed. Even the Hajis vowed to money rather than to God.

These are the 21st century that I am seeing. By 2020 I will only be a functionless spectator, weak both in mind and body.

But I predict we will be no better than the Thais, Indonesians and the Singaporeans. While others are shinning with full of glittering happiness, the Malaysians will be facing a more bleak future. I just saw a video clip on why do we have an evil ruler, which suggested that it is us who are evil. We choose devil to be our leader. We bow to him and make him our God. The video clip quoted the verses from Koran about the evil in mankind that elect a devil among themselves.

If 2020 is a vision of what the 21st century would be then let us wait for a few more years to see the events, the happenings and the new perspective. 

At the beginning of the 21st century I already saw young kids staring at the I-pad almost the whole day, people using hover boards to fly, and people purchasing on the streets using electronic payments, To the people of yesteryears their fantasy has become reality in the modern world. Living until 2000 was good enough. Living until 2020, is what God has bestowed upon many of us.

As the wind of physical environment and technological progress is taking place there are people who want changes in their traditions and culture as well. But in real life many still wants to cling to filial piety, respect the elders, stay away from greed and avarice, honesty, sincerity and the act of gratitude. But mankind has been vicious from their beginning till today. Their greed are insatiable. They take what were not theirs.

But 2020 is a year targeted by the people of the past in the past years. At that time it was set as the year of expectation, a year where Utopia has to be achieved. Amazingly Mahathir who started the vision 2020 is still alive today. When he set the goal I told everyone that I won't live to see the day and Mahathir too will not see the day.

While having one or two more years to live, I enjoy my smart watch, smart phone, spy gadgets and exploring the on-line shopping. Mahathir is 20 years older than me but he is busy with a man whom he believes to be a Kleptocrat. It happens in the 21st century.

05/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

HOW GOOD IS LAZADA ?

What I don't like about the traveling and other online agencies is that they need your money NOW but they will abide by their procedure in refunding to within a month though it is due to their own failure to honor an agreement. Imagine an online shop Lazada which told me that the merchandizes from overseas may take more than 2 weeks to arrive though the delivery dates published were much earlier. The other day I received a merchandize from Lazada sent by a man driving a normal car. I would have thought a van with a sort of carrier logo. The goods were in a box. They were blazingly hot. Luckily the items were still working.

I noticed that a cable plus a driver for Baofeng walkie talkie in the Lelong.com took a maximum of three working days to arrive and the vendor is from Kuala Lumpur. The one from Lazada was ordered on 18th of June and now it is already 3rd of July. I have yet to wait for the merchandise. I remember ordering materials for the pin-badge from Kuala Lumpur which took more than 7 days to arrive.

Of course the seller will say that we are not forced to buy from them. True we have to stop dealing with them. Then don't buy from them. Anyway we can always try looking for the better online shop. The best is to buy directly from your home shops though it is a little more expensive. You can use the commodities immediately.

Once I had a problem with Poto Travel which I had to spend RM2.5K more for missing an airplane. The tour leader or the travel agent did not phone me up to remind me of the time and date of departure. To them an email was ample. I never experienced that with Reliance years back before. The tour leader would inform us of the departure a day earlier of what to bring and what not to bring. And Poto took things very lightly. And again they have to change the travel plan to Chiangmai this coming August blaming the airline for the problem. They could have compensated the time lost in rescheduling the plan. Anyway I did talk to them about the time compensation. And Safirgo Travel took a long time to reimbursed my 1K down payment for their cancelled trip.

The customer is always on the losing end.

I did read complaints about the cheating that went on the On-Line stores, payments made but the company went missing. Unknown companies do cheat as well. But it was not so bad as those taking money for pilgrimage to Mecca and went missing. These are the Malay companies, supposedly to be God fearing and pious in their outlook.

I have to play wait and see the performance of Lazada and other famous online stores like Lelong and Mudah dot my. The agents might be honest and sincere but the suppliers were not. The carrier of the merchandises may be poor too. But the point is we have paid to the company the moment we made the order.

My experience with One Communication in Shah Alam was a good one. I paid today and I received the goods the next day. At most it would be 3 days. Now I am eyeing for IC7300 and already knew from whom and where to get one, much cheaper than the well known online store.

03/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

SPOILING THE WINNING TEAM

Most officials and officers are arrogant and incalcitrant, dismissing views and advices from people of the lower ranks without even giving a thought to them. Though some may hold water and some may not, at least their views must be scrutinized.

I was a champion in Pantun competition while in the Technical Teachers Training College. My partner was good enough though he was a little slower than me, just probably a few seconds lagging behind in replying to the opponent but he was fast enough. We had several encounters with other teachers colleges and we performed very well. My partner's name was Jaafar Sidek. Because we were so amazing the college called for the local radio station to air a competition with another teacher's college. It was to be broadcast nationwide.

The Committee Members decided to drop my partner and replaced him with someone else whom to their assessment was better than Jaafar. They refused to see that Jaafar and me were in the winning team all the while. That angered me very much. If Jaafar was not good we could not have won the championship.

So during the evening when people gathered for the event I went out to watch a movie, running away from those culprits who were high handed. I was told that they searched for me high and low but to no avail. They combed the whole college but failed. Then they had to look for a replacement. As far as I was concern I didn't mind not being a celebrity. I had no desire to be one. I hate people who were spoiling the winning team.

I wrote about spoiling the winning team in my blog and the Facebook, giving the focus on soccer teams that altered players and coaches after becoming a champion. I knew of the mentality of the Malaysian Malays pretty well, from the laymen to the politicians. A few knows what humility is. The rest are braggart and supercilious, gloating around of their prowess.

Kelantan and Pahang football association had created the mistakes. And now Kedah. I was never in agreement with Nizam Adha being promoted as a coach. I insinuated the reason of my repulsion. I was not wrong in my prediction. He changed the champion team with new players, disregarding the philosophy of the winning team. He failed to see what had made the team won, who were the main scorers and the idea of the teamwork. He spoiled the winning team by his poor decision. That's what the price they paid for for choosing the less illiterate to head a winning team. In fact the whole people attached to the Kedah's team almost share similar ideology. They discount the minor details of vital facts.

There weren't much different between changing my Pantun partner with the changing of the soccer players. We don't change players of the winning team abruptly and immediately. We would spoil the winning team.

03/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

BAOFENG 888S IS NOT FOR HAM

Baofeng 888S is a toy for the kids to play with. It is also good to bring along when you are going camping or going to the theme park. Or even while convoying of a few cars. It is cheap though, which you can pick one up for just RM50.00 or so. It operates on UHF from 400 - 470 Mhz. It has 16 channels which are preloaded with frequencies around 462 Mhz. You can use a computer to set your own frequencies.

If you need a handy-talkie for a more serious job get Baofeng UV5R or UV82.Both have the VHF and the UHF. Though UV82 claims that it can transmit 8 watts, a test has shown that it only sent out a little below 5 watts.

Baofeng 888s said that the talking range is between 3 - 5 km. You have to take it as only 1 km the most. It is good for the construction sites or some of the uses I already mentioned. Certainly it is not for a ham radio operators.

Business people use them to communicate between shops or from a stall to the house nearby. The vendors would set the frequency and tone for the them so that it could not be intercepted.

In Alor Setar CB Electrnics is selling it for RM70 each and are already sold out. UV5R is tagged at RM330, whIch you can actually get for about RM125.

It is not a recommended set for radio amateur users.

02/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

WHAT'S NEXT ?

This is not a new question. It started after the missing MH370 and continued after the subsequent national misfortunes fell on us. I was asking whether what befell us were due to co-incidence, causal effect, karma or the air of bad luck that clings over a person, which is something mysterious. If the black events happened in the old days people would immediately pointed it out to the evil of a witch.

I argued that co-incidence may happen but only once, twice at the most. Not a series of them, Then our money flung, FGV went down moving towards below a dollar, investors moved away and the world is discussing 1 Mdb issue. Now Saudi Arabia is under a crisis. I never expect the world is talking about Rosmah and the pink diamond. Go to this url and see how the other part of the world is talking about us. https://youtu.be/JZABOpi68HY .

The denials by our Prime Minister is only good for the Malaysians who do not follow the money trail and how Najib used the tax and 1 Mdb money to appease the selected groups. And the media is used to convince the citizens that Malaysia will not lose her integrity and sovereignty by selling her interest and land to China, seeming to show them that we are still controlling those assets. What do we stand to gain ?  It is the Malays who will suffer most by the display of deceptions. Several thousands of young people were losing their jobs, not only with the foreign firms but also with the local.

Inflation is too bad now. A nut that cost RM4.50 is now RM11.40 within a short spell of time. Those who have been doing the grocery would know what the is the value of our money now. And travelers suffer the most. The exchange rate is too bad against our ringgiit. Many countries do not accept our currencies anymore. This is a bare fact, a reality that met with lies and bluffs by the people in Najib's camp/

Is this be the end ? I don't think so. I suspect there will be more fatal attack on us by nature and by men, We would not know in what manner and by which men. Already we are behaving like small kids. The whole world is watching us. We can't think straight. I always remind about Saddam and Gadafi, the two popular figures among the citizens who finally met with a grim death.

Just observe, what's next to happen.

02/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

ONE OF THE SPECIAL MEN

Whenever he comes back to his father in law's house he would drop by to see my ailing wife. Even with the demise of my wife he still came to have a chat with me. People say he is not like any other normal man. My neighbor accepted him as the daughter was getting older without any pursuer.

Sorry to say that I do not remember his name. I will ask him when he comes to see me again.

He is quite stout with full of appetite. He would smoke after every meal. Looking at him I would say his sex drive is strong and he seems to be well endowed. His wife must be a happy woman. Moreover he is pious and honest. A man like him does not need higher education. From the casual talks I did not find him stupid or lack of knowledge.

He came to my house on the 4th day of the Id at 9 pm. I don't mind night visitor as long as I am alone in the house. Nobody disturbs my wife anymore. One of the topics we talked about was on soccer. Surprisingly he expressed a view which is similar to mine. His analysis of the game and the players didn't show that he is an ignorant person. He is not stupid nor a moron. He beats me in many things except in distant traveling, education and my programming language. From the Islamic point of view he is a heaven's man.

We talked and talked until almost midnight. He enjoyed the remaining dishes and the Lycee fruit juice served to him. To me he is a special man.

I have been with people with disabilities before. They impressed me much. They seemed to be better than any other normal people. One even taught me how to use short cuts on computers. I remember of a man called Harun Gila ( Mad Harun ) who would don black cloth and red headscarf. Every person in Alor Setar said Harun was crazy and mad. Yet I sometimes saw people sitting and talking to him. A few said that Harun spoke like any other man, no sign of madness in himself.

But this man is not crazy nor mad. People might say that he is mentally disabled. From the conversation I could confirm that he is like any other man. Our only main difference is that I am 70, he is about 40.

Mixing with men of equal status is more fun. We have all the freedom we want. It is different when we are with people higher echelon. We have to watch our words and every now and then we have to address them with Datuk and strain ourselves to make sure we do not cross the border that we may offend them.

The best conversation we can have is with children. Many a time you will discover that you don't know things that they know especially on modern technology. Once in a soccer stadium I asked a young boy about 5 or 7 as to where about of some of the players. He did tell me a long narration about a player going back to African and will later be joining the team.

There is one person whom I will not want to say anything at all even a million offered to me ie Rosmah Mansor. Najib YES. Rosmah NO. Why ? She is more than a wife of a Prime Minister. She is a god.

02/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

WE ARE ALL MEN

If your belief is like an atheist that there is no God and life after death no heaven or hell then you must be a smart and rational person. To know God is through faith and feeling, not via rational mind. A person does not have to be intelligent or be a university graduate to have faith. Being an atheist you should also be intelligent enough to compute your longevity and how long more you are going to live, and  able to analyze the nature of happiness and satisfaction.

Try to think that you are going to die next week and you are a disbeliever. What would you do from now till your last day ? A believer who had committed a lot of since and doing a lot of mischief will occupy himself in repenting, asking God to forgive him. A good man is willing to accept the fate and waiting for the time. If you aren't one ? And you have all the money and expensive diamonds, what will you do ?

I can put forward the question but I would not know the answer. I would have guessed some people may try to offer his money to God to save him from hell.

People who pursuit for happiness can be likened to a game of soccer. The players are running for a ball. Once he got the ball, sooner or later he will kick it away, then he would chase it again. You think happiness lies in the money. You chase after it. When you get it you do not find it fulfilling. Then you for diamond and jewelries. You got them. Soon the happiness vanish. You keep on hunting one after another. It does not end. There is always a diminishing utility of happiness.

Happiness is not what you have but whatever you can give to help the others. It does lie in the wealth and in comfort that we may have. There is no place for greed and self nourishment, no fighting or quarreling with other people, no cheating and lying.

Basically we are all men, creatures of God. When we die we will be like everyone else. To the living we will either be remembered or forgotten.

Nobody will carry us on s golden chair to heaven or hell. Nobody will call us Datuk, Datin or Tan Sri.

If you are an atheist you will still see the same thing after a person has died. He is just nothing.

01/07/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

DON'T BUY THIS WATCH

If you are thinking of buying a walkie talkie watch from China, please don't. You better spend the same amount of money for a couple of Baofeng UV 5R or UV 82. You don't waste the same amount of money on these watch that claims you can have a five km communication. It is good for a hundred yards or so.

The worst part is the audio system. Using the external speaker or earphone give the same sound. You can't figure out what the words are. With a bad sound, unreadable and hoarse, it is as good as useless. It is not even for kids to play with. It is indeed a junk.

It came with a rechargeable battery and a charger. The instructions says that when the battery is weak we can see the battery icon on the watch. You need to charge it for 6 hours the first you use it and the subsequent charging will only be 3 hours.

When you first attach the watch to the charger, the charger will show red light. After a few hours the light turned green. But the icon is still there. Which one is right to indicate fully charge; the icon will vanish or the charger light turn green ?

Another thing is that the instruction manual mentions S button so many times. You will not be able to find the S button on the watch. I have to assume the SCAN button as the S button.

I paid RM251 for a pair of this useless junk. Baofeng UV 5R cost me RM250 a pair.

How do I test the distant covered by myself ? I put my watch to transmit on 462.700 to a receiver at home. The output goes to Baofeng UV 5R, which is set to 458.450. With the VOX on it will transmit at this frequency. Together with my wrist watch I brought another UV 5R set to 458.450, which will receive any transmission from my home. While driving my car I talk to my watch with the VOX on. The watch transmit the signal 462.700, supposed to be received by the receiver and feed into the home Baofeng. That's how I know the performance of my watch.

29/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

 

THE EVIDENCE ABOUT THE OBVIOUS

In this short article I have to don the dress of the devil and will talk like a savage. May be I am one of the kind. My first profane and vulgar question is 'Show me the evidence that your father fuck you mother to get you'

You only have two answers to choose from,

                                       "I don't have an evidence to show you" or "I am the evidence"

    "If you can't show the solid evidence does that mean your father does not fuck your mother ? Or your mother was fucked       by someone else ? "

"If you are the evidence how would you prove that your father fuck your mother ? Is it not your mother let other man fucked her ? Or you were being picked somewhere ? "

Since this is a private blog not for public perusal I think I am offending no one to release my anger.

Things that you don't see do not mean they are not there. No one had ever seen gravity or atoms. Newton said the evidence of gravity was things drop to the grown when released. Gravity pulls. I don't remember him talking about the weight of the objects. We ever seen balloon moving up, and the smoke towards the sky. The circumstances of the happenings may be called circumstantial evidence or in plain language "obvious".

If you want a hard and graphic evidence than you show a hard and graphic evidence of your father fucking your mother to get you.

Sometimes we need to be vulgar to encounter with the vulgar person who knows not what morality and shame is.

29/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

SIGNAL REPORT

It was yesterday that I heard on an ASTRA repeater, "You have a very strong and clear audio, 4 by 9..." If you are not involve in amateur radio you may not know what is meant by 4 by 9. The numbers mentioned are not the two digit lottery number nor describing the beauty of a woman. It is a signal report given to a station telling him how he sound like from the other end. The report follows a system called the RST. R stands for readability, S for strength and T is for tone. When the communication is using voice (phone) the RS is applied, with the Morse codes RST is used.

If we can understand the whole sentence or all the words clearly we say the readability is 5. The signal may be weak or strong, totally understood and readable is always 5. If we know that the other guy is transmitting, there is an audio but we cannot make out whatever he is saying at all, then we say the readability is 0. Radio band is up and down and full of all kind of noises. Sometimes there is an intermittent splatter. We cannot copy all the messages. We can give the readability between 1 to 4 depending on the percentage we can read.

The second number is to indicate the strength between 0 to 9. There is a meter on the radio that will show the number. The indicator on the meter may move above the 9 marks and shown as 5,10, 15, 20 Db. DB is decibel, a mathematical value of gain. Commonly for a loud and clear signal we reported as 9. But fellow hams usually joke among themselves. Their signal report may be as follows, "You are five nine plus ploos plus", "You break my S-meter". People do give signal report 59 but with malaria effect. New amateur operators may say five nine with sandy audio. The Indonesian were heard to say five nine medium treble or high treble.

There were hams who did not use RST in voice communication. They adopt another system using Q (stands for quality). In giving a report one might say "Yours is Q5 and strength nine..." Forgive me for not remembering about such a system that was laid down in detail in a literature. I think we should not jump to wrong them. Now people are coming up with RSQ report to be adapted to digital mode of communication as well.

As far as I am concern five nine, five and nine or even fifty nine does not matter as long as I got an honest signal report. Five five or five by four is good enough so long as he can read me well. And I would not be bothered to please him with 1 kilo watts.

Often I came across stations that gave me a 599 report and asked me to repeat my call signs and names several time saying the noise and the disturbances were too high. Funny.

28/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

SHAME AND MORALITY

Morality is a principle concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. It needs special characters to return expensive jewelries, awards and other gifts knowing they were from the illegal money. We would look at Miranda Kerr (picture left ) and De caprio with high regard. Hadi Awang will be a symbol of Islam that will be used to prove how good or bad the religion is. Hadi is seen as an Islamic cleric who defended the wrong.

At least we do know now that not all people can be bought with money. These are the people with the high standard of morality.

If we are trying to prove that the 1Mdb money is in good shape by showing the amount of money in the coffer deliberately, we would not be able to fool everyone. Documents and money trail show money were siphon out and where they went to. Instead of addressing the gist of the issue we were yelling and shrieking 'USA is interfering with our national affair', 'the West conspire to destroy Islam', 'USA has a political agenda'.

The world is observing us, our moral values and characters. What De Caprio and Miranda had done made me so shameful. I fear the world would generalize all the Malays having identical characters, a race without shame, ethics and morality.

28/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

DO I NEED HELP ?

Rating my own ability from 1 to 100, one being the worst, I am somewhere between 20 to 35. I am short, weak and soft-muscled. Not cut for an athlete nor a tough labor. A woman can always pinned me down and throw me out of the window. I am not brainy either, as I said between 20 to 35. It goes the same with my economic status.

But I am a very stubborn man, from the childhood days to my late adulthood. At 70 I am as stubborn as ever. That's why I am not a smoker. No friend can convince me to smoke. I want to make my own decision and do things my own way. Though I hired a maid to do some domestic work, I do not allow her to wash or iron my cloth.

In Ham Radio I maneuvered myself to set a radio station and the antenna system. I chose the simplest antenna which I can do singlehandedly without help. The inverted V dipole is the simplest as it needs no climbing. A single pole of wither an aluminum rod or bamboo  with a small pulley and a rope is light enough to be hoisted up in a few seconds. It does not need a muscle man to do the job. In the course of a time a friend did drop by and fixed a dipole without my asking for assistance ie 9M2PZ, Manan Pawanteh. After the poles was brought down by my neighbor's car, I setup of the inverted V once again.

It would be a very rare and remote occasion when I request friend to send a gift which is less than 50 grams. Once I did but he lost it away. And my students sent me to the airport and a railway station. After that I transferred to those places on the way to overseas.

But some people are simply helpful by their nature. I remember several time my wife fell down and people rushed to pull her up. Her body is big and heavy. She could not stand nor walk. In such a situation I may call for help. She had ever fell in front of my house and I had to call my neighbor to help me. And another radio friend insisted to help me in cutting queue for cataract operation. If I could I would surely decline to accept the help.

Nevertheless we have to remind ourselves that there are helpers with malicious intentions, not helping you with a sincere motive. You may not see the ulterior motive until the time comes. You need to pay back to them either with money or doing a repetitive service to them. There is nothing wrong requesting for for a return favor as long long as it was not deliberate.

The procurements of the ham gears were done by myself. In the old days rig was difficult to find. We had to look for the used stuff or found a way to bring back from Singapore. Things were quite a hassle. I never asked anybody to buy a transceiver from oversea if I knew he was on a visit outside the country. Rigs were large and heavy to carry or even to pack it as a luggage. Whatever is large and long enough is beyond my audacity to request a friend to procure for me.

I am glad that I stood alone to manage and set up my radio station and antenna system. It is not as grand as it should be, with a tall tower and sophisticated antenna, amplifier and HiFi audio system. It is below the average point. But I feel the honor and satisfaction of being able to stand alone.

27/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

SILENT KEY

There is a different between the word dead and a silent key. The word key denotes a Morse key used by hams in communication in codes invented by Samuel Morse. In Malaysia the old hams would be pounding the Morse keys at least once a week on every Sundays while others were more regular. Electronic keys are considered as a new invention.

We would be wondering if we did not hear Morse codes from a certain station for weeks, neither would he came on voice. His key was silence. If the silence would be forever due to his fate to meet God then his departure was termed a Silent Key. Morse codes was synonymous to Ham Radio. The phrase is more appropriate to be applied to code-hams.

To others it might be normal but to me it is something odd to describe an anti-Morse person who does not touch or own a key as Silent Key on his passing away. He is dead or he passed away is good enough. However if we insist on using the phrase there is nothing anyone can do. It is just not appropriate. In a democratic country one can do whatever one likes as long as one does not physically or mentally inflict pain on others. What I am doing now is to explain the term and to assert my view. It is not to ban anyone from adopting the word to describe any death in the world.

When a person is dead, he is dead. Islam forbids the living Muslims from cursing and talk bad things about him. But a few would not tolerate an excessive praise to a cruel dictator or a person with filthy mouth. They may stay sullen but without any empathy. Amateur Radio operators who abscond with people's money could not be forgiven and forgotten, and I suppose there are a few with such a character.

If you want your death to be mentioned as Silent Key then buy a CW key, practice it, sit for the test and make yourself heard on Morse codes. Of course you won't be wealthier by mastering the skill or gain more respects but it gives you satisfaction and fulfillment. Your soul will be at peace knowing there is no faking in the name calling.

27/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

MY SET UP

I have not heard the direct sampling radio to provide further insight of the noise issue though I believe it can cut a lot of high noise and making HF radio communication more comfortable and less strain. Friends have been complaining that they have problems coming on the band due to the intolerable irritating sounds of all sorts. In Ham Radio we termed it as QRN.

I have a couple of transceivers, FT-857 and Icom-756 Pro3. The former produces higher noise level. The main culprit is my modem which is a few feet away from the radio. Switching it off I can cut more than 90% of the noise. I would be able to hear a weak DX stations when I could not with the modem on.

Our elmers told us to reduce the RF gain and increase the AF when we were having the SSB communication. I put off my pre-amp, attenuator to highest Db, reducing the RF and increase the AF. Added with the modem off I really enjoy my SWLing. With the cheap Yaesu, the DSP helps to reduced the noise level a great deal. I never worried about the room lighting, whatever lamp I use, LED or otherwise.

At the time when I was active and love DXing, the peak of my antenna's was always above 30'. Those having a 70 foot tower would have the full pleasure of communication. I never dream of having a tower of such height, neither a more superior antenna. 9M2AT, the late Tungku Archie, had wanted to give me a Yagi to take home when I visited his abode. I thanked him for his kindness and prefer to stay with my dipole.

My Icom has a built in tuner. I prefer the external analog coupler because I can see the movement of the needle. It is merely psychological urge. I would encourage a ham to keep a tuner if he can afford one. It is not cheap But I won't go transmitting without one.

And finally about the coaxial cable. My mind until now cannot visualize the RG58 and RG213. I don't know which one I am using right now. I only want a 50 ohm large diameter cable with good and thick screen. When I had them I gave some to other people. The late Datuk Tan, 9M2DW, would ask a shop in Johor Baharu to send to my home and I paid for it when I received the merchandise. Even for my 2 meter setup I prefer the large cable. Tell me which one is thicker with a thick screen, 213 or 58 ? We were told that it would better for the cable be a multiple of quarter wave long, which I always cut to a multiple of half wave. My dipole is just about 20 feet. I would cut to about 99 feet. I know 66' would be enough.

Another thing Idris, 9M2GL, told us was not to work split. We were not to cause problem to the Telecom Department to monitor. Without asking further we just followed. And we were warned not to use our radio to transmit in public area, on train, taxi, bus or ship. I didn't ask him the reason. Legal or not, right or wrong, we just followed.

We didn't have internet then to look for information and guide. We just followed our elmers.

26/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

TOMORROW IS HARI RAYA

The fire crackers and fireworks I bought in 2015 are still with me. My grand daughters only like the sparklers. The crackers are too loud even by hard pressing our earlobes. The beautifully sparkling fireworks are expensive. I still have a few with me.

I noticed the police patrol car came around our area last night. Last year they were observing from the distant and we had to resort to the mere sparklers. And that too explains why we still have plenty with me.

Once a year let the kids be happy and enjoy the glorious Hari Raya. Literally speaking they came back only once or twice in a year.

When I die, I don't think they will enjoying the fun as they are having now. By that time they will be busy with their schoolwork.

I hope the weather will be fine tonight or else it will hinder the joyous celebration. The sky is dark and some time later it will sure to rain. It will spoil the fun if it comes through too early.

Kids will be running here and there, laughing and shrieking as they fire the crackers and the rocket fireworks. When we go to bed past midnight we will still hear the explosions from the distance. Hari Raya is just like a Christmas to the Christians, Deepavali to the Hindus.

The kids of the traditional Malays would move from house to house to collect some money. In the old days he got between 10 to 20 cents from each house. Today he may get either a dollar or more. I prepare two dollars for each and five for any needy adults. But the modern Malays barred their kids from the house visits, resulting in fewer numbers of kid visitors. To me it is something that I feel sad. They are not begging. It has been our tradition for a long time.

24/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

A THIEF CAUGHT

Catching thieves is not my profession, neither it is yours. But in my life I ever caught several before. The first one I supposed was a drug addict, who snatched my shirt from a drying rail and tucked into his shirt. When I confronted him he denied taking anything and finally pulled the shirt out lamenting that he was a poor man. He walked away. I did nothing more. While in school we caught several boys with stolen items in their bags. Here are some of the answers they gave,

 "I don't know that this is in my bag at all. Somebody must have put it. I swear by the name of God."

 "Some guys stole my thing, I steal one back"

"Other people steal too. It is unfair of the school to catch me alone"

"Sir I know of many thieves in school, and they stole a lot of things.....What I steal is just a small thing"

Indeed an interesting defense given. Imagine when a thief who was caught red handed is facing a judge pointing fingers at other people for any kind of losses. If you are the judge what would you say ? Cases like this has happened before. Judges are too seasoned. If you are a judge you would do the same thing, to find him guilty.

A judgment must be based on facts and evidence, not on public opinion. And the law on larceny would include the corroborators, the persons who keep the stolen goods, knowing or unknowingly they were stolen items.

Should a thief engage a religious cleric to defend and save him, the army and the police to fight for him ? Remember higher that the court is the court of God.

24/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

TOYS OF TECHNOLOGY

Probably around August I will be enjoying three more new gadgets. They are the Spy Watch, Walkie Talkie Watch and the Phone Watch. The Spy Watch can snap photos, record voices and videos and work as a watch. The Walkie Talkie watch enabled the user to communicate with another 5 kilometers away. And the last is like any other phone. A SIM card is inserted inside it and we can dialed numbers with it.

But I will be using the cheaper version without the wifi in it. There are those having Blutooth to be paired with Androids which do not interest me at all. The higher end version with Wifi and other functions are tagged between RM3K to RM20K. I won't spend money that much. I already have a Wifi Samsung Gear S3.

Those cheap stuffs are actually toys, made in China. Some people have been using them for more than two years and still working fine. Kid's stuffs are also enjoyed by grandpas of 70, new things with amazing technologies. At least I can taste the sci fi items, the spy gadget of Dick Tracy.

Being alone without a spouse leaves me with all the freedom I want. Nobody is bothering me on what I want to buy and do, where I want to go and when, where I want to die and when.

Playing around with these gadgets occupy my time. They have been my companions and I don't feel so lonely. There is no desire to go and look for friends to go for outings except for going for dinner. But I was never successful to find anyone to accompany me to share the magnificent food.

When my grand children came home they always enjoy the FRS walkie-talkie and other things that I have. In no time these will be their bequest.

When we are being with the machines we do not make sins.

The only problem with the kind of watches is the power supply, They operate on batteries, and lot of ampere usage. The walkie-talkies could only last for hours before the battery drain off. The regular charging is a bit of a hassle. My Gear 3S could last 3 or 4 days and the re-charging is fast. For heavy work like watching Youtube via the available wifi the charging need to be regular. The drawback of Samsung Gear phoning required blutooth paired to an android phone.

Whatever come with Solar are expensive. My Casio stand alone watch operates on solar and I don't have to think about charging at all.

I can't write more about those stuffs as I have not tried them. I want to see whether I can work a ham repeater through my watch. But there are watches with GPS and GPRS facilities.

The watch down below is different from the above.

Najib: M'sia won't lose sovereignty over FDI concerns, not under my watch

The watch below is blind because the Prime Minister had sign several 1Mdb's documents and then said he did not know what he was signing. So don't buy Prime Minister's Najib's watch.

23/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

SHAME SHOP

Shame lies on the face, the skin of the face. A person with original skin, thin and plain, is different from a person whose skin built up to be thick akin the skin of the animals. The facial countenance is dismal that the Chinese termed it BO BEEN, meaning NO FACE. No face is synonymous to NO SHAME. In human society it is related to immorality. It measures the degree of civility.

Having been stripped naked we walk bravely displaying our body and say " I am naked...so what ? " haughtily with the show of an immense arrogance. How to put some shame in shameless people ? I hope someone can open a Shame Shop and do some shame selling, no light in the shop and only open after midnight till dawn. But what will they be selling in the shame shop ? A conscience machine ? A machine that can change animal into mankind ? A spectacle that one can see his own sins ? A spectacle of hell fire ?

A man name Halim, a Haji, walked away with RM500 of my money. He has no shame. De Caprio returned all the gifts and awards which he believed originated from the laundered money. He has shame. Edmond de Rothschild was just slapped with EUR8.985 million (RM43 million) fine for laundering 1Mdb money. Singapore had jailed and fine on personalities linked with the stolen 1Mdb, all with solid proofs. And someone says there is nothing wrong with 1 Mdb. Didn't Prince Sulaiman whispered to Trump  about the donation he never gave to someone who tried to put the Prince in trouble ?

There are a lot of people who has no shame. The alternative phrase for it is Thick Skin, which is well narrated by Wikipedia.

Money can buy most of things most of the times but not all things all the time. We can't buy God's favor to put us in heaven. We can't buy people who hold to their principles with ANY amount of money. Sooner or later our counterpart will see how we manipulate things and maneuver ourselves. Remember a soccer game won by corrupting the other side is not really winning. We don't win by pointing a gun at voters head or pay them to vote for us. It takes a shameless person to declare we are elected through democratic process. World leaders like these were all finally killed.

Only if we have some shame, we can act rationally. And we will stop threatening people, and start to repent. If we don't have any then go to the shame shop and hope they can put some shame on you. Hopefully you will be more considerate, responsible and accountable.

23/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

EVEN IN USA AMATEUR RADIO DETERIORATES

Watching several Youtubes recent postings on amateur radio, I found a great deterioration of amateur radio standard in the United States. One ham family showing a footing of a 9 year old and other young daughters communicating on ham radio without even mentioning the call signs or the word 'over'. Whether they are kids or not, they are license amateurs and should be well verse in the SOP. I heard the father was coaching at the background. He must be a radio operator too.

It was confirmed by one American ham in a Facebook that she hardly recognized people on the band as they were using mix lingo of CB and Ham and she decide to withdrew from the repeater.

It will provoke anger if someone were to bring out the quality of the code and no-code hams. I do not address no-code guys as ham. I recognize them as radio amateur operators. In term of social status and liberty they are of the same and of equal standing. But somehow they choose the liberty to do things their own way. Today I stop going on to the DX band because on many occasions I heard the passing over of transmission by using the word 'Roger', not even the call signs mentioned. To me it was a disgusting procedure.

People are proud to post their young kids ability on Morse codes on the Youtube. And I saw the kids using computer to send and receive them like typing the RTTY. Surely it turned me off. It would have been adorable if the young fries were to use the fingers to send and the ears to copy.

Over all the pollution is beyond control. It is what the new look of modern amateur radio. Agreed or not I maintain the new ITU/FCC system with the dropping of CW contributes to the lowering standard and pollution of the amateur radio.

22/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

MALAYSIAN RADIO PIRATES

Under the old jurisdiction pirates caught would be facing a music that they would never forget. They would be deprived from amateur license for life. Today under the new authority it is a haven for un-license radio operators. There could be tenths of thousands of them with various call signs. Stations that I monitored were all Malays. They were heard a few kilo cycles outside the amateur band. A friend said in his locality they were all over causing difficulties on receiving other ham's transmission.

Some say pirates are blessed by radio authority as part of training procedures before they become license amateurs. I cannot verify the authenticity of the assumption though I know that yeas back there was a dialog between the pirates and the authority in Perlis. If the new unwritten regulation is a philosophy of the current system then there is nothing that one can say. When I told the senior ham members in the Whatsapp group about my monitoring to pirate stations all seem to be deaf and dumb.

Pirates can be very nasty and aggressive. They can intrude into a repeater and call you PIG or physically harm you. They may even get the assistance of their license amateur friends to harass you. So the senior hams chose to be wise not to comment, and withdrew themselves from ham radio. The Indonesian senior hams are slowly vanishing for the same reason. New regulations are very distasteful and bitter.

If you ask me my answer is simple. It is due to the education, mentality and attitudes. Only if we want to look at the total scenario of our country to know how smart we really are. As things are it seems that laziness and stupidity live among a certain ethnic group. They can't identify between rights from the wrongs, between stealing and losing in business, empty talks and desirable work ethics. Prolong affirmative actions have killed the initiative to work hard for something. The Malays want special passports to get access to everything.

Do pirates bother me ? If it is on 40 meter band they bothered everybody. European and Australian hams complained about them. They love the ham bands very much. Formerly they gathered on 7.000 but now they are from 7.0 to 7.19, mostly between 7.030 to 7.000. Those outside the ham bands have their own freedom to operate as much as I have the freedom to write what I come to know about them. It is not of our concern. We cannot override radio authority on whatever matters they might have approved and agreed upon.

In my area pirates are nocturnal. Nobody could blame the radio authority whose office hours are during daylight. Smart, isn't it ?

22/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

REPENT NOW NOT LATER

I am 70 now yet I broke into tears at the unexpected moment. At time while praying I remember my beloved sister and my wife, that I have not given enough to them while they were alive. I cried like a baby while reciting the Koranic verses. I pondered then what really is happiness. Happiness is not about having millions or billions of dollars, not about being a President or a Prime Minister. It is about love and care, and know that our love is well reciprocated.

Happiness is when we do not live in fear, of being kidnapped or murdered, drag to court and thrown into a dungeon, when we do not steal from others and caused them immense agony. I know of wealthy people who cannot sleep thinking of what may happen to them. And because of the immense fear they hired a few hundred bodyguards to protect them. I always said to myself that they can't use the money to corrupt the Angel of Death not to take their lives away and to pay to God to go to heaven.

Happiness is when we refrain ourselves from making sins. If we don't want to know what sins are then God will send somebody to tell us what sins we have had committed. Yet as others pointed our sins we shout on the top of our voice, "NO." We forget that God is looking at us. We deny the sins we purposely made. Then we consistently wriggle as our own minds taunt us. The problem with most of us is that forgot that we are getting older and we may die anytime. I give myself 5 more years to live. It is interesting to see people who refuse to die and fight for immortality. Again using money by the millions.

We do have people who are Jekyll and Hide who turn to be angel when facing people and start to suck their blood when they are facing the other side of the world. With whatever face they show, they are the worst of the evil specie. They have everything in life but do not feel secure and safe, fear of being assassinated, paying the devil to do the dirty jobs for them. They are trying to find happiness by singing, dancing and show hypocrisy to God.

I cannot make my wife and sister to come back alive. So are the other love ones. Only the surging memories bring sadness and sorrow. I would not others to repeat the mistakes that I have made. I was not good enough. Yet we are still living in a tumult.

We can't lie today and repent tomorrow, then  lie again after tomorrow and repent again the next day. It is certainly of a strange culture like a repetitive sine wave. We can't right the wrongs we did, putting justifications for our sins. The truth is punishing us for our lies and avarice. Our generations will be suffering. If we are stubborn enough to see the real future then we will be losing our own identity. Our repenting will be useless. So far blindness prevail among us.

While we live we might as well do as much good as possibly can. Good deeds is reality and a substance of life. Verbal promises are merely damned garbage. If we die first millions of people will celebrate with joy and extreme happiness for the sins we may have made before them. If our people sink an suffer, no amount of tears will bring back the order to their lives. There is no point to feel sad and regret. We can consider dwelling in hell. If we want to bring the diamonds with us to hell probably God will allow it too.

I don't believe a criminal, a murderer, a robber and  drug pusher know what a real happiness is. It is our moment with God, our closeness to the Al-Mighty that made us realized the glorious moment. Our mind is clear as we do not put other people in great trouble, hardship and great distress. We don't have to deny that it is not us who destroy our world.

21/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

CALL SIGN FOR RENT

Malaysian amateur radio operators do lend their call signs to others. It is a kind of pay-per-rent type. Current authority, unlike the previous telecom department, couldn't care less, to monitor the radio band and take note and recognize as well as identify people on the radio. That's the reason, in the older terminology, we would call it haywire is happening. As a senior ham put it , amateur radio is a lucrative trade. As far as money is concerned there is no such thing as morality and wrongdoings. There are always arguments to justify their actions.

In the past I don't remember of having rogue and lawless radio operators. What put it at the acme of the hobby is the degree of difficulty encountered to be among the members of the ham fraternity. One has to pass an essay type of  examination and the Morse codes. Morse codes itself is synonymous to Ham Radio. "No Morse codes, no ham radio" as one Indonesian ham put it. There was no way for an illiterate and the lazy person to get through both. Hence ethics and responsibility transpired from the complicated process. Few may realize that Morse codes are enhancing the standard of amateur radio and thereby maintaining the grandiose and the reputable standard of the hobby.

There is no point crying over the spilt milk. The older generation is fading away. If hiring a call sign has become a norm then be it. If a special repeater is setup to be used by the paid non-licensees then be it.

The number of license amateurs are increasing rapidly. The number of young hams are creeping slowly. Hams are those who have passed the CW test. Without them Ham radio would have been dead long ago, leaving only the fellow amateur enthusiasts including the CBers and the non-licensees. Though all are given equal liberty and freedom to be on frequency, the different still remain, those who passed CW and those who don't.

I was a teacher. When there was a policy that the upper secondary schools must be replaced with the graduate teachers things change completely. The school examination results improved tremendously. The attitudes of the teachers were different from the non-graduates. I don't know what made the difference. It is hard to point out the contributing factor. I debated with the lady teachers and I found them to be very sharp. Nonetheless I maintained a few non-graduates for I found their performance and attitudes would be good to all. I was not wrong. Until I left the schools those teachers were still there.

Then I realized that attitudes matter most, probably more than university education. It can be instilled through the upbringing, learning the value of hard work and struggle to attain success.

By the way I am thinking of making a voice synthesizer where people tie to their neck to speak with my voice. They can rent my call sign for a penny. By a year it will be enough for me to take a trip somewhere.

20/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

HOME REPEATER

HOME REPEATER

Please do not sneer at me and call me stupid again. I am always stupid, and never to ask or read about repeater. After Baofeng 5r, and a series of experiments and trial and errors I began to visualize how a repeater works.

I bought a couple of small jacks for the output of to an earphone and a slightly bigger jack to the input of the microphone. Imagine, with my blur eyes and shaky hands. I asked the shop to solder the jacks to the 2 meter cable I purchased. They said they were too small to solder.

It was my sole determination that led me struggle to do the job. It was a crude finish and I had to wrap them with the yellow tape. Baofeng A is the transmitter side with the VOX set to on. Baofeng B is set to different frequency, which is called the OFFSET. The cable jack is attached to the earphone where voice will go to set A through the microphone jack.  Our home transceiver's receiving frequency is equal to A. The offset is to transmit frequency equal to B.

I expect some sort of feedback from A to B or vice versa. But nothing happen. Probably the power is only 4 watts.

It is just for fun. The next I will be thinking how do power supply are attached to both of the Baofeng if they are turned into a repeater.

You may laughing and smiling at me. I can't see you. Why should I be worry.

19/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED

The whole world is talking about it and blazoned in their newspapers with the detail stories about the trail of money. Being stupid is a blessing in disguise. The kampong Malays and the Malays in general, who could not understand English and happily living a lazy life. When I look back at myself, being 5 years older than our First Lady and 8 years older than the Prime Minister, I better made myself busy with something else. Only curiosity kills the cat.

Whatever happens had happened. Whatever is coming is unknown. It could be much worse, the unthinkable. The recent visit of Trump to Saudi Arabia was not merely discussing the bilateral matters. While sipping the Arab coffee Trump could have quipped. "How's Najib ? " We don't know what really transpired. It only took 4 seconds for the Arab Prince to smile and reply back. There was always a possibility.

There is one thing we have to understand that we cannot kill an American in our land or the American kill a Malaysian in America and telling them not to interfere in our affair. It all depend on their mood. If they are on the bad mood they could execute some covered operation as they had done several time before. They could have blamed Najib directly or indirectly in the pilot suicide of MH370. It is very scary to think about it. They are observing our haughtiness and incalcitrant,  how tough we are against them.

Our dignity and integrity will sink if we are caught lying and lie intensely and extensively. We usually took a few months to answer a simple question. Then we asked our judge to announce the answer. And we say since it is the top judge of a nation gives the answer therefore the world to accept it as the truth. That is our logic. The Chinese and the British are more cunnings. Like our chief police who made friends with the crooks, they too treat us very well. as long as they could reap financial and other benefits from us.

How much money have we paid out to the foreigners to boost our good self ? How much of our sovereignty have we given to China ? As I have said before a question is asked in an examination, the candidates answered and still failed.

Sooner or later the DOJ report will reach every level of our society. If they ignore it they will be the most to suffer. Najib will raise prices and taxes and will be telling them that we are better off than the rest of the world. This is not a wild accusation. He promised flowers and sweets before GE13 and destroy all the subsidies which had been there since independent. Half of the Malays will know the whole story and will decide whether they were scams or otherwise.

It is not enough to say that USA is interfering in our affair and to say those are mere slanders. Rosmah had to say that she did not have those named jewelries and never met the maker of the pink diamond. Because the slander had caught the eyes of the world and published in the international media, Rosmah must sue DOJ for defamation. There were suggestions that Malaysia could summon American diplomat and sent him home and break our relationship with the United States.

Rosmah’s diamonds – Over $200 million spent on gems

Altogether $200 million was spent on jewellery from 1MDB

Altogether $200 million was spent on jewellery from 1MDB

All these conspirators and collaborators, as they are variously termed by the DOJ, benefitteed to the tune of millions from their association with Jho Low, Riza Aziz and 1MDB.  But, no one to the extent of Rosmah Mansor. The expense of the gifts provided for her dwarfs the money spent on the likes of Jho’s Mum, sister (both beneficiaries) and even Miranda Kerr.

After the 2013 election, the complaint confirms, the remaining money in Najib’s (‘Malaysian Official 1″) account, $620 million was passed back to Tanore, where it was then spent by Jho/’Eric Tan’.  It was from this money that a $27.3 million necklace was bought for Rosmah:

LOW ARRANGED TO PURCHASE A 22-CARAT PINK DIAMOND NECKLACE FOR THE WIFE OF MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 USING DIVERTED 2013 BOND PROCEEDS

Funds traceable to the diverted proceeds of the 2013 bond sale were used to purchase a 22-carat pink diamond, set in a diamond necklace, (“22-CARAT PINK DIAMOND NECKLACE”) for the wife of MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1. The stone and necklace were purchased from New York-based jeweler and jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz Inc., which specializes in high-end bespoke diamond jewelry. The total purchase price for the stone and necklace was $27,300,000.

Shortly after the election, June 2nd, the deposition relates, Jho texted  Schwartz: “Need a 18 carrot pink heart diamond vivid or slightly short of vivid. On diamond necklace urgent.”  Later in July 2013 Schwartz was invited to join Low and Rosmah on Khadem Al Qubaisi’s super-yacht Topaz off Monaco to show the stone:

Aboard the Topaz, Schwartz showed the pink diamond to a group of people that included LOW, HUSSEINY, the wife of MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1, and one of her friends (“Malaysian Friend”). The group discussed the design of the necklace to hold the 22-carat pink diamond, which itself would be made of smaller diamonds.

The finished product was presented to the “VVIP client” in September when Rosmah visited New York.  It was just the start, explains the DOJ as it carries on describing the money trail through which such purchases were arranged:

“This was far from the only time that TAN and LOW used the Blackrock Account to pay for jewelry purchases for themselves and their associates. Between April 2013 and September 2014, the Blackrock Account was used to purchase a total of approximately $200 million in jewelry from firms located around the world, using funds traceable to the 2013 bonds and the 2014 Deutsche Bank loans.”

The next major haul for Rosmah was arranged the following Christmas, when Rosmah visited her son in Hollywood, running up a massive quarter of a million dollar bill (paid for by Red Granite) at the Bel-Air Hotel, according to sources who spoke to Sarawak Report.

During this stay Schwartz was again flown over to show pieces to the PM’s wife.  She chose no fewer than 27 different 18-carat gold necklaces and bracelets at a total cost of  $1,300,000:

The DOJ lists the purchases by Rosmah on this occasion

Total cost $1.3 million

Rosmah has the right to own any jewelry she likes. It is none of our concern. Didn't she say she accumulated the money from her younger age ? Didn't Apandi had told us to believe that there is nothing wrong with 1MDB and the money are in good hands and in good order. The rest of the UMNO members are saying 1MDB is making a lot of profit. The rest of the world is jealous of it's success.

Only the world says Najib have been lying to the teeth, about the money sitting in Singapore bank and about the donation and about the money purportedly returned to the donor. They followed the money trail carefully and interviewing the sources. Najib should have not sacked his deputy, Ghani Patail and put great fear on many people. Depth investigation is still going on, the death of Kevin Morais, Najadi and others.

We should be ashamed to come out in the public as we have been stripped naked to be viewed to the world by DOJ. Rosmah and Najib should not wait anymore. Shafiee is one of the best lawyers. Wasn't he sent to USA to solve the first DOJ's report ?

19/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

A LITTLE NEW TOY BAOFENG UV 5R

I ordered a couple of Baofeng UV-5R for two hundred an fifty bucks. Two meter equipments and jargons are almost totally alien to me. There are three buttons on the left side, the top most for switching to listen to normal broadcasting station, Below it is the Push To Talk ( PTT ) and the last for a torch light. Like any other dumb guy I pressed all of them. That what Mr Bean would do. I simply entertained myself enjoying pushing buttons for nothing.

On the front end there are three buttons staring at me as if inviting me to press them. I did. I pressed the orange button and there was a sound saying "FREQUENCY MODE". I pressed again came the voice "CHANNEL MODE". Then I pressed the blue button and noticed the small arrow on the screen moved up and down. And finally I pushed the band button. The frequency on the screen change from VHF to UHF and vice versa.

To see the various functions pressed the button that says Menu on it. To scroll to see the various functions I pressed the up and down arrow key. There were many strange codes appeared likeTDR-AB, BCL, MDF-B etc

All I need is to work simplex which is straight forward, and to work on repeater and store the frequencies in memory. I browse web pages and open the Youtube. I tried to follow the instructions and found them hard to remember, too long winded. moving from Frequency Mode to Channel mode, entering memory more than one time and had to press the scan button to see the world r on the screen.

Finally I came across an instruction given by a boy whom I think is about 12 years old. His was simple. First key in the receiving frequency and keep it in memory. Then set the required offset and CTSS (tone). Store it again in the same memory for the transmitting memory. I just did that and it worked fine.

Since I have a couple of UV-5r why not I put one to the normal frequency plus the offset and the other one is to the offset frequency of the first one. And the offset of the second one is using opposite sign. If the first one is -100, the second one is +100. Say my first radio is put to 400.100 , the second radio is receiving on 400.000. When the second set transmit, it will transmit on 400.100.

The vendor sent me with a couple of earpiece. I never knew that was also a microphone. Our voice is picked up by the earpiece. There is a PTT on it.

I know people have been using Baofeng as a little repeater unit. I think it gives me some work to do. THINKING. It activates my brain to work rather than sleeping indolently and waiting to die.

I just took about 5 minutes to figure out about repeater. Wow, it is just what I was toying around. One part of the repeater receives the frequency we sent, say 400.100. Our radio is set at 400 listening frequency. The other part of the repeater is set to transmit at 400.000 after receiving the input from the first one.

Yes, it is elementary to all of you. But I have never bothered to think or to know about it at all. I just wanted to use it. What I need now is two set of speaker-mic cable with male jacks. I will also test with second radio set to the transmitting  equal to the other receivers listening frequencies without the offset. I think the output of the first part being inputted to the second one is ample to make a repeater as long as the VOX is on.

18/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

ACCOUNTABILITY FACTOR

Saddam Hussein was hung by his fellow Iraqis not by Bush administration for the killing of the Kurdish and the rebels against him. He denied of giving the order though there were footings of the allege atrocities. His brother in-law did it. He may knew or may not knew of the command. It is his accountability. We heard of Ministers resigned from their posts for the errors they knew not. When a boat sank due to the negligence of the captain, the transport minister took the responsibility. This is called the accountability factor.

A person with a denial syndrome will deny even if he clearly shot a man. He blamed his hand for doing it. Cut the hand and charge it in court. If the hand can talk it would blame the fingers. If the fingers can talk it would blame the gun. No matter what the Malaysian court said the inquiry of several death continue to proceed. There were the death of Altantuya, Najidi, and Kevin Morais. The seemingly natural death of PI Bala and Adenan Satem raised suspicion, that he could have been poisoned. Some investigations can be conclusive and other may not.

We never know whether the FBI or CIA are using their stealth machinery in the covered operation. If by our demeanor we are construed as rogue specie, our records would be kept for further actions, depending how USA looks at us, whether we are double edge sword or crooks of the first kind. It also depends on how stubborn and arrogance we are. We should also remember that when the United States wanted to get rid of Muamar Gadafi, they did not declare war on Libya. They bombed his homes as he tried to escape death.

National leaders lie. They can lie to others but others are not allowed to lie to them. Once they discover they are lied upon, and being deceived they could be very mean and losing control of themselves. They may look back at the number of the Americans who were killed on MH370, the number of microchip engineers and those others of the American interests. If they trace the series of death were to come from the same source, they will put their heads together of what to do with a man of their target. They will put bits and pieces together to see how the 9.5 millions to Shafiee is related to MH370.

The series of turbulence in the Middle East were not by the American court order. Else Saddam and Ghadafi would have employed lawyers to proceed in American court to prove of their innocence.

Malaysia is a brave country, strong enough to kick the North Korean diplomat home. She does not fear anyone, not even the United States. Once we shouted at them not to interfere with our internal affair. We asked them to look into their own backyards. Now we have our big brother, the powerful China.

Of course USA will not bomb or attack us. All they have to do is to confirm that Najib is accountable for the series of death is enough. Saying that they were murdered by gangsters are not enough. There is always the next question. Who hired the gangsters ? We can give the answers. Like in the examinations, candidates wrote the answers yet they fail the exam.

Saddam did not shoot his enemy but his people did. He was accountable as the head of state. No leader can escape from accountability factor.

Check back my articles on bad omen that is over clouding Malaysia. I talked about coincidence and the element of bad luck that dropped upon us one after another. If I see the 9.5 million story as a fatal horror, the others across the seas would have seen the same. What more are coming ? Najib has only one weapon. MONEY. He is losing loyalty. And he does not trust anyone anymore but Ku Nan, Shahrizat and Keruak.

Till this very part of my writing ( the paragraphs above )I have not known about what had happened to the said returned money to the donator of the 2.6 billions in Najib's account.  We would never expect a different story to appear. The money trail shows that it was used to buy a pink diamond for Rosmah. What an incredulous co-incidence. Doesn't Najib know that the whole world knows about it ? Probably the people around him is trying to hide it from him. I am sure 70% of his ministers do not follow the international news and the social media reports.

By now Najib should have realized that the big amount of money to clean himself is a monumental waste. I believe directly or indirectly the citizens are paying for personal glory and security. Najib should stop juggling with our money. We understand his plight and difficulty and we sympathize with him.

He can always take court action if slanders there were, and not to wait a second more because several nations have degraded him so low, calling him and Rosmah thieves. It is their honor at stake. And it is not good to court the military for support and sympathy. We don't want to go to war over 1Mdb, FGV and 9.5 million ringgit issues. And the United States is not keen to bomb Malaysia also. The exposure leaves us with shame.

Remember both Saddam and Gadafi won their elections by landslide. When a crime is committed it cannot be erased by popular votes. Escobar was a very popular man, and Osama was the hero among the Muslims. But they met their fate with death.

Najib says he does not steal the money. I believe him. But somebody steals the money for him and put in his account. He says he signed the 1Mdb documents without knowing what were in them. He says he does not know it was the SRC's money in his account. He is accountable for all those. They were in his account and documents were with his signatures.

All answers given are like the answers in the examination hall. Thousands of candidates who wrote long answers still fail the test.

There is no point crying blaming the foreign investigators did not consult Malaysia, when they came down to Kuala Lumpur Apandi showed them cold shoulder. He did not want to see them. Najib says Apandi knows better. So was Ghani Patail and Kevin Morais. When we spin, people put them on records.

Let us assume that Najib is innocent, he still cannot run away from everything. He is accountable for the tragic happenings to him, the rakyat and the country. It is a pity and a great tragedy.

16/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

ONE DAY IN MY BREAKING OF FASTING

Everything is getting expensive. From foodstuffs to a single storey terrace house. Our rinngit continue to flung in relation to foreign currencies. Indonesia and Thailand beat us by leap and bound. I spent more than RM20 for my breaking up of fast and Sahur for today..On the first day I barely bought descent food which cost me only RM8. But I could not go on for the rest of the month.

I have a strong alimentive desire for Terubuk, fish with numerous bones but delicious in taste, that cost RM20 for a small one. Each day I passed the stall I took a look at it. It is hard for me to spend for a fish of that size. The bigger one I once consumed in Kuala Perlis cost me RM140. It shocked me.

Today I bought some kuih, put them on the plate as seen in the picture, a packet of rice with a slice of fish, an egg and a small squid which cost me RM8.50, a pack of Bihun soup and mango juice. It is a pure mango juice sold at RM3 per packet, RM5 for two. I usually bought two packets each time. The sellers are young and beautiful girls. And today they gave me an extra free packet and snap a photo of me.

The two packets were put in a cup as shown. The third one is kept in the freezer.

I will start with one or two pieces of the kuihs and the mango juice. Then will go for my prayer, rest for 20 minutes and will eat the Bihun soup.

We have about 9 more days to go. The time is too very short for many things that need to be done. I have changed the color bulb that blew and yet to hang some new sparkling and glittering light. My shacks need proper arrangement.

I don't buy new clothing for myself. What do I need a new dress for ? I am happy with my state of the art watch, something precious that I own. I think I look quaint enough with my round collar T-Shirt and my Samsung watch.

My Sahur will be about 3 am. I eat whatever are left, usually I could not finish all and the remaining will end up in garbage bin. My maximum daily expenditure for food does not exceed RM30. That is for me alone, not so bad as compared to many other poorer and jobless people. The maid who I used to hire to clean my house once in a couple of months just phoned me up lamenting of robbery in her rented home while she went working, taking all her money and jewelries. It's a pity that poor people has to continually suffer. She told me that the value of rinngit is no doubt declining but in Indonesia where she live it is not easy to raise even a thousand ringgit.

Tomorrow is another day. The spending will be around that much and the routine does not change.

15/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

BE PATIENT WITH WOMEN, THEY ARE WONDERFUL

Today I went to a bank to have some small change to be given away to young and jobless adults who may visit my house for the Raya. Unlike the yester years when 20 cent was big enough for the kids, today they could show a little smile with RM2. For the last two tears I hardly finished RM200. Kids were getting fewer, either they have grown to be young adults and shy to make house visits, or their parents had given them enough money. About three to four years every kid aimed to buy a smart phone with their collections.

This year I decide to have a RM400 change with a ringgit and five ringgit notes. There was a long queue. It took about 15 minutes before I reached the counter. I gave four hundred ringgit, 8 pieces of fifty ringgit bills. The lady took two stacks of a dollar bill, each contains a hundred ringgit. The she took out a thick stack of five ringgit notes, stared at it and pulled out some from the stack and placed on the counting machine. I was surprised it shown up 40 pieces. That was amazing. Deep down in my heart, I respected that lady officer. A woman.

I had several graduate lady teachers who can argue with me till I was cornered. They were truly sharp and intelligent. They changed my total perceptions on the acuteness and mentality of the heavenly women. Who would expect when God created Eve from Adam's rib, the world is going have a woman specie of incredible ability. And my account clerk who was very efficient and meticulous in her work.

BUT on the roads, when they are behind the wheel situations may be different. Like wild men they run the red light, overtook from the left, never stopped at junctions and drove 30 km per hour. My student's son told me, "Cikgu, mother always drives very fast and look left and right at the people on other cars.." I knew some were hell drivers. The worst of some I saw were parking behind the parking cars, which blocked those two or three cars. And they just left their cars without guilt or any consideration. Somebody published a footing of a man reversing his car despite the block. Imagine the amount of damage to both cars.

Are men not reckless as well ? Yes. It is like comparing a man peeing while standing with a woman doing the same show by lifting her skirt. To some people in our society a woman peeing like that is not normal and disgusting.

I remember when I went to the States and bought a few pair of shoes for my wife, I always chose to go to women's custom officer, showed the size shoes saying the size is not available in Malaysia and told her they were all for my wife. I knew a woman would understand another woman and she knew such size was almost impossible to find in this country.

Some husbands prefer to let their wives to manage the money for the family, even though she may be a full housewife. They are more thrifty and calculative.

I observed a few men with a fussy wives like the Koreans. They just ignored what their wives were nagging no matter what. They served their husbands as much as they nag and love them that much too. Men have to be patient enough to discover how wonderful women are.

Some women with high taste may not fit penniless men. It is nothing wrong for a woman to look gorgeous, elegant, beautiful, dainty and attractive. It is generally costly to be one. If we can't afford, we can ignore it and look for the less modern type. Some women are beautiful enough without the facial makeup and expensive clothing. They can wear any color and any clothing they will still look beautiful and sweet.

We have to accept the facts that there are alarming numbers of great women who are superior to their male counterparts in all aspects and areas, physical or mental. the error when men were regarded as protectors of the weaker sex are over. Women are also superb in physical combat.

When a woman pass you show your duly respect, never to assume she is a weaker sex.

15/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

A WONDER OF A WATCH

 

God has blessed me with many miracles of life. Me, I am a less educated and lowly person, without ambition and deemed to have no future when I was a kid. All I had wanted to be was an odd job worker away from home. The whole world is blessed too with the miracles of life. But half of them are not aware of the amazing stuffs they have with them. Unlike us, we once live in the world where nights were total darkness and pipe water was non existing.

Now I have the chance of donning a magic watch on my wrist, where I can watch videos and movies, communicate with my friends like a phone, and records my health activities. Not even Mahathir or Najib is using it yet. It shouldn't be a surprise if all the top people are using a more sophisticated the state of the art technology gadgets. Theirs are the hundred thousand gold watch with name brand. Imagine the two watches wre put side by side, one will show off the glittering diamond and the other displaying all the magic tricks, showing the many beautiful faces on it.

My smart watch is Samsung gear S3 Frontier. It has a wifi and a bluetooth. Though it has to be paired with an Android phone for other work, I prefer it to be standalone. With the web browser available I have to be imaginative to utilize it in the ways that I like. But most of all I would put pictures of my love ones as the background of the watch face.

When I put the watch on my wrist I would forget all the worries. I just enjoy looking at the time.

Although the whole world do not find it great and would not talk about it, a Pariah like me feels differently. You don't have to put an aborigine on a business class on the plane, he will feel happy enough to be at the tail end of a plane. It is a kind of ecstatic burst to be able to own such a wonder.

God has given me more than enough. But I failed to give God the simple things required of me. I have great lust and desire, and committed sins time and again. God granted me the taste of being a software developer, and now the strength to express myself in the language that I never passed in school, sent me to the United States to study, let me see the world of my dream and gives me a good health.

I now have a watch that can talk, an Android that reminds me when to pray, Morse keys that give me a lot of pleasure, a key-chain maker that enabled me to make badges of my own likings, a 3D TV made the actors within a foot away and lots of movies to fill my empty time. Would I want to be Shafiee, Najib, Khalid or Mahathir ? NO, of course. What I need most is the peace of mind, freedom and good health.

15/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

YOU WANT TO FEEL YOUNG ?

If an old man wants to feel young he should go to Thailand. Splendid and beautiful women would called him 'Abang' ( brother ). A Malaysian woman of 50 would call me 'Pakcik' while an English woman in England would call me 'Love'. Try the London women, more than 50% of them would call their customers "Love".

It is alright to be old as long as you are strong and active and could walk 1.2 km within 10 minutes. What is the point of being 40 or 50 when you are lamenting of your sore legs and feet, sick enough to go anywhere and to only remain at home days in and days out, spending thousands each month to find remedy for a disease. The word Abang or Love is meaningless. You can't enjoy the life of an active person. You can't even fulfill your desire.

A single healthy old man should not try finding a new wife, especially a woman above 40, how beautiful they are. It is highly probable that your freedom will diminish and your enjoyable life will vanish. She may fall sick and you will have to nurse her all your remaining life. I have had nursed my wife for quite a long years. Now that she has passed away, I don't intend to find q new replacement. Call me Pakcik, uncle or Grandpa it will not affect me a bit. When a woman call me Abang, I would smell something fishy.

Remotely, it is not impossible for a young woman to submit to an old man and accepting him as a husband. It may be due to the reason of emotional and economic security. The case is very rare and remote, may be one in ten millions. You can be one of the ten millions guys. I too may be the lucky man. It tickles me on thinking of a young girl calling an old man darling. More often than not even a destitute young woman will reject a wealthy old man. They would fall to the younger and handsome men, employed or not, with money or not. Many picked up spouses a few years below their ages.

Taib Mahmud has a very young and beautiful wife, like a grand father and a grand daughter, but who cares. She has more than what millions of other beautiful women do not have. We have a few hundred in banks and politicians have millions and billions, beating us all flat. If you have a wife be happy with her. If you live alone and going to die soon then you can forget about getting a wife, a companion may be for chatting and telling stories.

Being old is not a sin. Senility is not a crime. At least we realize we are going face God and will die soon. We don't have to fight ageing so that we can repent and do good deeds during the remaining years. Else we will be recalcitrant, obnoxious, arrogance and evil. We may spend millions for the elixir of youths. If things do not turn right, we will be Frankenstein. We may gain obesity. Some crude and rogue people may relate our obesity to the sins that we had made.

Other than Thailand, the salesgirls in Vietnam and Lake Toba acted likewise. Women would pull your hands, embrace you and call you 'Abang'. It is a cheap thrill but exciting enough for us. At some places they may even hold your private part, really a kick. Again you have to have enough money for the kicks. What if you have none ? Then stay home and dream and wait until your heart comes to a stop and your brain cease to function.

13/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

DO NOT QUESTION OUR LOYALTY

The Prime Minister first asked the military to be loyal then asked the Social Media to spread good news of the country. But there is something that Najib must not pretend to forget; Najib is not a nation and the nation is not Najib. The nation comprise of the people. The military is always loyal to the nation. I am loyal to my nation, probably more than the Prime Minister. And the Social Media tells out about what Najib does to the denizen and their money, not about the cannibalism of our people, the nation.

Time and again Najib called for the people to die for him. And time and again the people say we can die for our nation but not for him. If Kim Jun Unn were to declare war on this land, we will fight and prepare to die. Similarly if Najib is not doing good things we cannot expect the social media to deny his wrongdoings.

Najib has done a lot to promote his own image. He has done more than enough that drained massive resources from the nation. In doing so he gave a bad picture of the Malays of being terrorists. The law on terrorism itself is enough to tell the world how bad our country is, the nest of the murderers.

Our issue is too deep and too hard to be forgotten; about the death of Altantuya, the murder of Najadi, the death of Kevin Morais and even PI Bala. Money was being paid out to IPIC twice, the bogus and the real ones. The SRC money were used for personal luxuries. People were heavily taxed, subsidies were lifted to pay for the poor financial management. He sacked his deputy and those who questioned him about 1MDB. And now he is associated to pay the judge to imprisoned Anwar that led to the possible missing of MH 370. If the judgment against Anwar happened because of the 9.5 millions then that is the price that took the lives of those on the MH370. Some sources suspect it was due to pilot suicide. The pilot was very unhappy with the court's decision. It could be that thick and ghastly.  The misdoings are too deep rooted. How could the Social Media not put them in writing ? And those horrid speculations came from the foreign media.

Today the Social Media wrote what were spewed out to them. If Nazri said the sheep is black, the media will publish the same words, that the sheep is black. What does Najib expect the media to blazon ? If the administration is not happy with them then they can always proceed with the legal action. People have long been waiting for Sarawak Report and WSJ to be sued in English and American court. We have a motto that MONEY IS KING. The Chinese proverb says YOU CAN PAY A SATAN TO PULL THE BULLOCK CART FOR YOU. We can always sell our country to find the money. There is nothing to worry about.

Keruak, Rahman Dahlan, Nazri and now the EX-IGP love to make statements calling Mahathir senile and blaming him for our misfortunes and economic downfall. Media just conveyed that to the rakyat. How could that can be assessed as good or bad news ? Those were the news from the few people giving statements to condemn the oppositions. It was the reader who responded to those statements. Some with absurd arguments and some contain hard facts and strong rebuttals. The world read all of those, the exchanges between the people and the ministers. They made their own conclusions.

Some time ago I narrated a story about my traveling on a bus in Los Angeles, telling about the bus driver shocked me with a question on Anwar Ibrahim, a waiter in London restaurant passing a remark about Malaysia not being a Muslim country and about someone in Honolulu asked me how Mahathir was ( that time Mahathir was the PM ). People came to know about Malaysia without our Social Media. They get news from their own sources.

When I traveled outside the country, I never like to talk politics with people of other nations. I want to enjoy the siesta, having good food and the comfort of the hotel room. I want to appreciate the beautiful scenery and study the people's behaviors. In my last trip to Egypt NONE of us talked about politics at all. It was not our job to promote or to condemn our nation nor our leaders.

Najib should not question our loyalty to our nation. We don't sell our interest and our land to foreign countries. Only the traitor does. We understand what honor and integrity is. But we won't die for a man who has been causing us so much problems, pain  and hardships.

I never expect the drama is dragging this far. I only asked "WHAT'S NEXT ?" If Trump were to have a cup of coffee with Obama to ask about Najib then Najib can brace himself for the worst. I keep on asking myself how many time had Rosmah been phoning Donald Trump. I would guess that the world is waiting to hear another version of donation story about the 9.5 millions. This is a fatal issue that can lead to much bigger and deeper trouble. Are you a chess player ? If you are try to compute as far as 20 steps ahead using the traditional logic of if and then.

13/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

TAKE 5 MINUTES TO PONDER

I think the whole world is observing Najib as much as the Malaysians do. They read the social media like any other Malaysians. The Americans too saw how Najib dealt with Obama as well as Trump. So were the investors and those with interests in our ringgit. Foreigners are human too. Some are people of high moral standards, smart and intelligent. Business community are not fools without education. They are people of high caliber. They can make their own assessments and analysis. Would they simply listen to Mahathir, Lim Kit Siang or Najib ?

No amount of money can change the perception of some world leaders including the new President of the United States. Najib cannot buy every head of states. Any such attempt could cost billions of taxpayers money. Malaysia can't afford to use GST and tax money to boost personal image of our leaders, without the corresponding economic growth and expansion. Expenditure to boost personal image in this situation will push our rinngit down. The Thais and the Indonesians are getting better each day comparing to our country.

Najib administration is telling the Malaysians and the world not to believe in Sarawak Report's lies. PAS said it wanted to persui legal action on the Social media on the slander about the alleged 90 million ringgit given by Najib to the party. And the Malaysians are persuading Najib to proceed against Claire Brown in English court for the series of slander. The latest was about the 9.5 million paid to a senior lawyer by the Prime Minister, which was claimed used to corrupt the judge to put Anwar Ibrahim in incarceration. Sarawak Report was really a menace. But what we may not know is that the social media was fed with documents and information from the insiders. May even be from the close friends of the Prime Minister. But we can be sure that these documents would also traveled to other countries to be perused by their national leaders. People are getting smarter nowadays.

We all remember the story of a Prince with an invisible dress. If he travels to China, Indonesia, or the United States do you think those leaders would jump to tell the King that he was naked ? Only a stupid boy would yell, "The King is naked ha ha..."  They talk, drink and eat cordially complementing and  praising him. Similarly I strongly believe that those ladies around Rosmah are are trying hard to please the First Lady, "You are really gorgeous and  beautiful and getting slimmer each day..." That's the way the world is today. The favorite term used is "Cari Makan".

If we understand all of the above scenarios and put a thought to it we can be much wiser. We can save lives. money and our energy. We don't have to live in fear and see apparitions of demons coming after us. Just take 5 minutes to ponder about the world, the people we are dealing with and about ourselves. Remember sins against God are different from sins against men.

A Prime Minister cannot ask the police and the army to protect him from God's wrath nor pay the Almighty to place him in heaven.

12/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

IS LC CIRCUIT DEAD ?

My suspicion turned out to be true. Radio technology has long changed even before I knew it. I thought the LC circuit in the front end of a receiver is still relevant. Radio signal is no longer chosen by the LC portion picking up only the signal we want, turned it into an IF after the mixture stage. The nature of the IF differs from the previous one. Now things has change. I would say that RF of different stations are taken in together, immediately convert to digital structure. There may be 10 or 20 stations in the radio. We pick the station we want. The job is done by a single microchip, no more variable condenser and no more coil.

But the capacitor and inductor stuffs are still relevant and useful. They are used in making the trap and even the band pass, to block or allow signals of a certain frequency. The question is DO HAMS NEED TO KNOW ALL THESE NEW TECHNOLOGY ? Radio structure and architecture is undergoing massive changes. The late realization caught me up only when I started to show interest in the Icom 7300. I know I have to slowly familiarize myself with the new concepts and systems. I think it would be tough for radio authority in Malaysia to include them in the RAE. There are many new terms involved and there is no literature in Bahasa Malaysia ever been written yet.

In several of my articles I suggested that RAE should be abolished if we were to argue of the licensing system base on relevancy. I argued that if Morse codes are not relevant in the modern world, so were the RAE. Else the curriculum content of the RAE syllabus must be changed. Modern radios are machine made. Old hams had to solder components to make a transmitter. It will be very soon that all the straight and super-heterodyne receivers will be off the shelves.

I don't know how long it takes for a 70 plus ham to understand the fundamental concept of sampling related to the radio signals. How to elucidate the abstract facts ?

Whatever decision made has to be a philosophical one. In higher science, like Quantum, science and philosophy almost unite when they were discussing the behaviors of the electrons which behave differently when observed and not observed. They discuss omnipresent and consciousness and reality.

I talked about ham radio as a traditional entity versus ham radio as a dynamic entity. It is my view that ham radio has to stay conservative like religion. And we have to be serious in looking into it. If not we will live in absurdities. So we have licensees who talked much about double conversions but could not narrate the conversion process, ham who boasts of his immense knowledge can't even explain Rf choke and the tune circuit. a ham who said he constructed antenna to be given away but can't even do a simple soldering.

If ICOM7300 has begun with the sampling and the ADC, the rest will follow suit. And I am sure we can learn more about it from our radio expert 9W2TZ. Hanafi is more in a position to tell us whether the LC circuit is dead or will be a prominent feature in time to come.

11/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

ANOTHER JOKE OF THE CENTURY

Man, this is not about politics. It is about one of the comedy series that I am fond of downloading and watching. This is about a story of 9.5 millions alleged to be given to Shafiee by our Prime Minister at an inappropriate time. Some hackers get the information of the alleged payment and distribute it around. Among the recipient was Sarawak Report, which published it on the website, perused by netizens and the foreign embassy personnel. The wide and bad mouth Malaysians jumped at the news and started to fantasize the unknown behind it. The Prime Minister and Shafiee did not response to deny it for several days.

The answer should have been simple, YES or NO. Instead of the accused providing with the answer, other people came up with a rescue. That was not a joke. But the joke is when Musa came up with an answer and the response from the public were quite hilarious to me. I am sure the foreign diplomats too are reading them and could not help laughing.

 

Try to imagine Musa Hassan is surrounded by these people and pounded him with such wild attacks, what would he do ? I would imagine he would shoot everyone of them at point blank. I don't know who should be ashamed for the exhibition of the engagements, Musa Hassan or the rowdy public ?

To the non-Malay readers I would like to appeal to them not to generalize the minds of all Malays originates from the ancestry of Musa Hassan. He is just trying to be nice and good. Nazri, at least is far better. He did not deny of the amount paid to Shafiee but pointed out that would not influence judgment. Najib could also have said that he did give the money just because he likes Shafiee. So what ?

When I say the joke of the century it is not about Musa but about the anger of the netizens and what they were spewing out.

 10/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

CW LET'S BE A MEDIOCRE

To be honest I don't really know how 12 wpm sounds like. With shaky hand due to ageing process and the deterioration of muscle movement my sending is inevitably slow. How fast can I send and decipher the incoming signals with this condition ? There are tenths of thousands of hams like me. We are not computer prodigy. Neither do we have the mean to buy machines to work Morse codes for us.

Even the young people are not CW genius. The new comers who are just beginning to learn Morse need a slow speed messages. We have always thought that by our slow sending the other party would reciprocate to our speed, Our expectations always betray us. Probably less than 2% would comply to our request. And we also be facing problem when somebody sends a train message like HELLOHOWAREYOU at a great speed. I would see blank. Some are considerate enough to slow down with HELLO HOW ARE YOU. If you see the Thai writings you will find that  they are continuous like a train, something like "Iliveinbangkokthailandforthreeyearsno,iamveryhappytobehere".

We would expect a gap between words. When I sent messages to a friend allowing gaps between characters, he would yell at me not to have gap between them. "Just don't combine the two characters together, but he wanted me to have gaps between words. I felt sorry to myself for causing great inconvenience to him. I blamed myself for the bad sending. I should have transmitted at a comprehensible speed with gaps between words.

When we are on the radio talking to a person for the first time we need to be clear with our words, and to spell our names slowly, for we don't know whether the other person is young or old, having good hearing or otherwise. Similarly on the CW, we can't assume the other side is an expert like us. There is no point showing our prowess by sending 40 wpm to all the stations we work.

If you are a master, a high speed ham, the world is still wide open for you to have a high speed ragchew among the titans. It gives a chance to other listeners to practice copying the contents as well. I myself love to follow some of these groups and listening to them for hours on end.

The joy of the medium speed CW is it gives leeway to both sides to do other things during the communication, like going to a restroom, making a cup of coffee or even taking a short bath if the bathroom is inside the shack. Of course we need to head copy the messages. It sound weird. But that was what I used to do when having ragchews with the late YB6LD and 9M2ZN. It takes more than five minutes for each over, at times 15 to 25 minutes.

I would always encourage new comers to use their minds, not computer, to work on this mode. For an old man like me, I need my mind to be active and alert. Deciphering codes mentally is making it active. It is good for mental exercise. Of course mind's activity increase with the increased of it's speed. Computer dependent will slowly kill your Morse ability. Without a machine you are dead.

Remember, knowledge can be found in books and internet. But CW skill cannot be bought with any amount of money. It cannot be injected in your body or acquired through the myriads of drugs. It is in yourself. You take a hard time to acquire it. It is one of the greatest and most valuable gifts given to you by yourself. Don't lose it. We don't have to be an expert CWer. Let us just be a mediocre.

10/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

 

HOW IS AMATEUR RADIO IN MALAYSIA ?

"How is amateur radio in Malaysia ? " A question like that will make me mum, mainly because I do not follow the trend and the progress. A few things I heard here and there cannot be construed as a general rule, to  portray the nature and character of the current situation. At times  I perused the Facebook to peep at what's going on. For good or bad I have just deleted the application from my Android today, leaving me with one less social media news and info.

My activity is restricted to Morse communication below 7.030 at the moment and would switch off my radio after the completion of the chat. It wasn't like yester years, the era before the new amateur radio system, when ten to fifteen hams would come on the band operating at different frequencies, yakking away until dinner time and sometime in the night would begin again from 8 pm till past midnight. The merry days ended after several jovial hams went silent keys. There would be at least five each from Penang, Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur. Happy hours began after office when everybody came back from work.

It is me myself who is to be blamed for locking myself out from the band.

Once in a while radio friend dropped by my home and telling me about MOTA, TOTA and HOTA. I listened more than spewing what I didn't know. How could I say anything when I am locked up in my cocoon. "Who are on 40 ? " I would ask them. "Did you hear Hanafi, Aziz, Kamal and other old hams ? " They shook their heads clockwise and anti-clockwise which I understood to mean NO. I know that much. And recently news of 9W2ZU was passed around in the Whatsapp, about her sickness and her death.

Reading the Facebook, the engagements among fellow hobbyists, the terms they used, I can only put bit and pieces together, like a jigsaw puzzle to see what's the total image looks like. I conclude that changes happen with time. It is hard to compare an apple to an orange. The younger generations are omniscience. The older generations are corroding.  They are worlds apart.

If we ask the new generation "How is amateur radio in Malaysia ? ", everyone will be gloating of it's fineness, greatness and of the immense progress in networking and hardware usage. Certainly the new stuffs are alien to the living old hams. There was no glamour in the past.

I don't even know what happen to the old and senior hams but a few. Raden Lokman used to come on the band but he was laughed off by the new comers and hid himself away. Eshee is bedridden. Zainal hang off his ticket. As to the rest, I really don't know.

With the increase of radio enthusiasts it opens up to the new economic activity. Radio equipments are easily purchased from the local market without much hassle. Walkie talkies are everywhere. Some people are getting rich by the radio business. Once we have to get the supply from Singapore or Thailand at astronomical price. Radio vendors would be worried if the market is stagnant. I wonder with the drop of the CW requirement how much extra sales the radio vendors in USA were getting. Surely this change is for the better for the Malaysians. It save time and money. You pay today you get the goods the next day, delivered to your doorstep. I bought a paddle from One Communication for only RM350.

It would be great and interesting if strictly old and senior 9M2s can meet and enjoy eyeballing for the old time sake, recalling the joyous moments of their experiences. A casual meeting of ten to twenty folks would be enough for the occasion. We could have a Karaoke, story telling, jokes and tickles each other. Call it a gathering of the senior ham family if you will. It would be nice to hear the way we talk, the old ham lingo understood by us.

Our problem is our mobility factor. Peng is less mobile than Au. We are caught in ageing process.

What is left in us is the spirit, the ham spirit. The band is not for the senile hams. It is for the omniscience and the prodigy.

Amateur radio population today is close to 30000. One senior hams is working for one or two million members, pointing at Thailand, Japan and Indonesia. I could only wish him the best of luck. Out of the 30000 there are bound to be one or two bad apples, the cheaters and deceivers, levant, and the braggarts.

The first thing the new generation did was to correct the SOP practiced by the old hams, which chased away the old guys from the band. Should I mentioned these people ? They called the old hams stupid including Dr Ken and the rest of the old timers were called to prepare for their death. One of their legs was already in the grave yard. The nuisance are forgiven but not forgotten. It is not that we do not have the audacity to mention those names, neither scared of the thugs but we don't want to be equally foolish. Thanks for the internet that provides another save haven for us.

Satan is only one. But look at the damage this one guy does to the world. It is true that mankind is not Satan. But the roguery was bad enough, a sign of unsound mental and physical health. The constant jealousy and hatred in a person will end him in hyper-tension, heart problem or even cancer. We just pray that the sick amateur radio operators will go for the constant medical checkup. Don't die before the old hams die.

Is amateur radio that bad today ? NO. A few people are. They are not always on the radio band. Out of the 30000 there are many young brilliant operators, working hard to better themselves, well verse in SOP and the technicalities of modern gadgets, adopting the states of the art technology and putting up gigantic towers and antenna. There are many fine CWers who made themselves heard all over the world using their fists to paddle the codes.

It is that much that I know from a few new ham friends who are in contacts with me.

How is Ham radio in Malaysia ? My late wife would say, "Ask Mr Knows all..", the omniscience Malaysian amateur.

09/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

HAM RADIO-JAKARTA TRIP

I have purchased the air ticket and the hotel room for my five day trip to Jakarta Ham Fair mainly for the love of CW. I want to enjoy the Morse competition not as a participant but merely as a spectator. The first time I watched the event was last year, at the same place. I paid RM1 K for both, four nights at Fave Hotel ITC Jakarta and the return ticket of the Air Asia. I travel alone from my home town, the rest are from Kuala Lumpur. I think it is good for the Malaysian CW lovers to watch the amazing competition. Thereby they could assess their own ability.

The five people in white are Indonesian CW net controllers. The
Ladies on my left and right can go at the speed of 50 wpm.

We have many fine CWers comprising of young lions but they are too busy with their jobs. They are government servants and could not get leaves for the trip. Our champion 9M2ROL will be attending the fair.

The pictures you see on this page were taken from 2016 ham fair. Both male and female had to sit for the same test category base on speed. There was no male or female category.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This time I intend to record the event using my camera, not the smart phone.

The participants were from all over Indonesia, even from the remote islands of land. The spirit were very high.

Beside the ham fair and the CW competition, I also want to enjoy myself free of all strain and pressure, to relax at the cheap but quaintand splendid hotel, willing to spend a little for delicious food.

I have yet to think what sort of souvenirs I will be bring to the CW participants and the officials managing the event. The most affordable are the badge pins and the key-chains because I have the machine and the materials to make them. But what to put on the pin ?

 

08/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS NEWS ?

I don't believe this junk news but I love to look at Shafiee whom I used to see during university days. He had to be younger than I am as I joined the university as a teacher while Shafiee was fresh from school. Astonishingly he is as handsome as before. I did not remember seeing him on the speakers corner. But Hishamuddin Rais was there almost everyday. Mahathir knocked the corner down and banned all student's demonstration, which he now wish it is there and the students would take to the street.

 

Ibrahim Ali was the same badge but he was not in the university of Malaya. Rosmah Mansor was around in the campus. So were Shahidan Kassim, Adnan and a few other ex-ministers. Rosmah has been stunning all the while, elegant and sparkling, known to many female students.

If you believe in mystery and astrology then you will find the work of constellation on people born within a certain period. They were all great men, born to be well known and famous figures. That's why it is not enough for Rosmah to be just a house wife. The destiny is almost similar.

I just don't remember Anwar Ibrahim during those days. All I remembered he was in a lockup too for the demonstration.

A great many people knows me when I don't know them. Why ? In lecture theater F, one of the biggest lecture hall, I was in the most front seat, sitting on the chair a few yards from the lecturer. I would fix the microphone whenever it gave problem. So when Adnan saw me, he would wave at me. So was Shahidan Kassim when he was a Chief Minister. But I was less smart than the others and that saved me aplenty. If I were too smart I would end up like Shafiee. If I were to ambitious I would be in jail. If I were too concerned about people I would end up like Hishamuddin Rais. Being stupid I am just like Ibrahim Ali.

Problems in politics are not for us to deal with, said our Egyptian tour leader, when referring to the ancient history of the ancient kingdom. God will deal with those sinners. If we cause turmoil it is we ourselves who will suffer, he said. I even felt that Najib's money crawled into this man's pocket then. Amru, his name was, was somewhat talking of the Hindu concept of Karma, the comeuppance of Islam. He loves Najib.

Ever heard of divine democracy ? I am sure nobody has, because it has not been coined before. It is just in existence. It means the freedom of choice given by God to mankind. If mankind choose to suffer then he suffers. If they choose demons as their leaders then they are happy to be whipped and kicked. They love it. When they are in pain they blame the people on the other side who have nothing to do with them at all.

There are humans who love to be evil and do evil, pushing drugs, robbing and murdering. God grants their wishes. If I could I would want to choose the good and safe path, distancing myself from greed and avarice, avoiding the rogue leaders who fear no God, who reject goodness and religion.

Look at Shafiee, how handsome and elegant he is.

Among our contemporaries several big guys have gone to meet God. Many are bearing the red flag of UMNO. Shafiee being a Mamak may have the traits of longevity.

03/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

NEW BREED OF CWers

Some of you may get offended by this article. But I would like to stress that I am only expressing my view without any hidden intent to belittle or to insult anyone. A view can always ignored and soon vanished in the thin air.

In my perspective I don't see Ham Radio is equal to Amateur Radio but  it is a distinct section within it, a group of people who adopt Morse codes as part of their radio hobby. An illegal radio station run by a radio enthusiast who has similar interest is also an amateur radio operator. Not to be left is the CB radio operators. Ham radio has been associated with Morse codes for decades until it's requirement was not made mandatory. To me the death of Morse codes mean the death of Ham Radio. What we have now are radio hobbyists, communicating on the air using mix radio lingo. We used to identify CB and pirate lingo and reject them. But today they are commonly used by these hobbyists who called themselves hams. By virtue it is not wrong at all because it is the nature of the acceptable new culture.

I am very wrong to assume that the new generations would totally reject Morse codes all together. In Malaysia there is a small number of people who strive to sit for the CW test, sacrificing their time, money and energy, attending classes, practicing it and traveled hundred of miles away to sit for the exam. In each test there were only about a quarter who get through. Those who failed apply again for the subsequent exam. The spirits have been high and commendable.

Amazingly, the new generation of Malaysian hams are very proficient and attain a high level of skill in sending and copying ability. They are generally better than the existing old hams who keep themselves absent from the band. It is these new hams that resurrect the life of the HAM radio in this country. I always told them to practice it to ensure of the skill's sustainability. I would encourage them to have a regular ragchew rather than the short rubberstamp contacts.

9M2PJU, 9M2GET, 9M2AGC, 9M2OUT, 9M2ROL are among some of the fine CWers of the new generations. The latest on the training list is 9M2YDX who learned Morse from Afiq and Hairie in 2 months and passed the test within three months. He is doing very well now with more than 18 wpm ragchew CW.

We have more than 20000 license amateur radio operators. Do we hear any 5% of them on any band ? I guess a big number is just monitoring. If the 20000 were to go one step further and learn Morse codes , a portion might revert to CW for mental exercise, deciphering the codes while listening, and feel the pleasure of communication using Morse.

I am an old ham with a mediocre skill in CW. I have to salute to the new young people who have shown  a high level of proficiency and ability. They learn fast and their skills are amazing.

02/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

A SIMPLE KEY COST MORE THAN A THOUSAND RINGGIT

A straight CW key costs USD600. With our currency it is approximately RM2500. Would you spend for a key at that price ? If you won't other people do. People actually buy the beauty, the workmanship and the aesthetic sides of the key. A beautiful key can charm us. Mind you this is not the era of the mandatory CW pass to be on the air. Yet there are millions who love to own one and they are proud to talk about it, not bragging of the high speed capability but telling about their 8 to 12 wpm communications.

"GHD 502 MIL" - Ham Radio PicturesI had tried to paddle the thousand dollar key at a Hamfest before and felt the comfort and delicacy of the touch. Someone told me that they were expensive because of the gold plated tips. Buying one is just like buying a Picasso painting at an auction. If Rosmah is a ham she would own a gold chromed key at her disposal. If I have the money I would I have the same.

Indonesians hams use straight key to send Morse in style and form that beat the computer translation. I wish I could send in a way that the other side would not be able to comprehend me with a machine. A CWer must be able to use his mind to read and send. At a CW contest in Jakarta it amazed me to see how the participants copied Morse at high speed.

If you don't like Morse codes it is of your choice. You are free to leave it. But don't make enemy with those who decide to sit for the test and using it in the course of their communications. There are more than 20000 hams in this country they can speak to on SSB or FM. Why pick a few hams who love Morse than SSB ?

You don't have to spend a thousand or a hundred ringgit for a straight key. You can always make one for your own. A stapler costs only RM2. Use a little imagination to turn it into a straight key.

02/06/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

OLD AND NEW PERCEPTIONS

A friend said that the Radio Amateur Examination (RAE) is important to ensure a licensee knows the Operating Procedure well. I did not response because I know new people in amateur radio have their own conception and interpretation of amateur radio. It is not strange to run up repeaters for general public who pay to use them, or non-licensees to come on HF/VHF frequencies,  individuals broadcastings on the air, or a man with a club call sign giving talk to people at different places.

For the old hams they learned through SWLing, short wave listening, to ham and non-ham communications. That's where when the communication receivers came handy, like the Sony ICF5900W. Old hams corrected each other's mistakes and discussed the rights and the wrongs. We the SWLs learned a lot from them through listening. The SWLs period might have been as long as two years minimum and knew ample enough of the ways of communication. The RAE was to ensure that hams knew and comply to the regulations. And we knew pretty well what the pecuniary motives meant. The technical aspect of the examination was to make sure a ham understand the working of a receiver, transmitter and an antenna. I could not imagine how they would fit the second part of the RAE to the modern gadgets of today.

Having passed the test would a ham be able to design a protective circuit to prevent damage to a transceiver in case of reverse polarity DC power connection ? And today I don't know whether the tune circuit is still using the old principal. I doubt. Modern technology has progress far and wide. It may have had a completely changed.

Hams who passed CW had to come on the mode for one year. Nobody dared to break that rule. And we listened to CW contacts too, learning the group chat, how to pass back for a question and the abbreviations used. But then there was no internet yet to gather facts on ways of the hobby. The only source of information was from friends and the hams.

There is an old ham group in the Whatsapp. Malcom, Peng, Weng and me are the oldest. Hanafi, 9W2TZ, insisted to be in the group and Au took him in it. The group would have welcomed Bahar, Rajamani, Sanggat and a few others too. Malcom resides in Australia and would occasionally used ham terms during the chat. Nobody wants to come on the air anymore. Whatsapp never fail. It is something that was never dream in the yester years. These people would not care as what happen to Malaysian amateur radio. Their views on the objectives of the RAE will turn out to be very fuzzy to the new ham generations. Certainly it is not to instill the knowledge of the SOP.

Ham world has now been a part of commercial kingdom, a big business of radio equipments, facilities and antenna. Unlike the old days when radio enthusiasts had to combine  tubes, resistors, capacitors and coils and solder those parts themselves to be on the air. Today even a dipole is sold. One does not require any knowledge on oscillators or balance modulators, or even the formula to cut a dipole. There are tons of them in the market. There are thousands of people who don't even know what RAE is but are active on the air.

My friend was partly correct to say that RAE is to know the Operating Procedures.  The technical know-how is irrelevant. Unless it is categorized as a traditional and cultural package, the relevancy to the modern world could be dismissed.  There is a test of regulations and procedures, the the technology of basic radios and transmitters, the antenna and propagation, and finally the Morse test. More than half of the new generations would reject it outright. The free and floating interpretation of anything pertaining to amateur radio will stay as a norm. That's the reason why in Malaysia we have the MOTA, TOTA added to JOTA and IOTA. And there is a walking Club going about preaching what amateur radio is.

Attempts had been made by 9W2TZ, Hanafi, to resurrect the old hams. Nobody seemed to show any interest. Hanafi tried to coax a few of his close mates, but he failed to revived the glory of the past. He did all he could to make 40 meter to be opened to class B so that he could speak to the old hams and to recollect the reminiscent of the past.

The world is too far apart between the old hams and the new. The old hams are too old and sickly and one leg is already in the grave. Their minds are slow and archaic. They cannot match the new hams in any field. The young ones are vigorous, more knowledgeable and skillful. Moving out of the fraternity and facing the other side is more peaceful and comfortable.

31/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

A BIZARRE FUSE

I have an ICOM 756 Pro3 and one FT857. They were virtually left in a cold for a good many years. Several days ago the Icom power-off by itself after several minutes. The power off time was faster as days fast, until the rig could not be switched on any more.

I checked the fuses on the power cable for continuity. It was hot when I held it. Then I opened up the top cover of the transceiver and tested the circuitry fuse. It was also fine. I would not dare to meddle with any other part of rig. They are Greek to me. I put back the cover with a sad feeling for I though it could not be resurrect anymore. Deadly dead.

I switched on my Yaesu. It was too noisy compared to 756 Pro3. It swirled in my mind to buy another rig with adjustable bandwidth and adjustable RF gain. One Communication in Shah Alam listed two sets with such a facility but they are not cheap. At the same time I tried to browse the websites on the ICOM power-off problem. Nothing helped.

Intuition seemed to whisper to my ears to check the voltage from the power supply and along the cable path. I did. It was 13.8 volt at the source. But to my amazement the voltage across point A and point B of a fuse were different. I plugd this cable on my 857. Likewise,  indeed there was no power. Then I was so sure that there was nothing wrong with my lovable 756. The Yaesu cable was plug to the ICOM and at the same time, I changed this mysterious fuse. How could a voltage drop differ between the two points unless it changed the property from a fuse to a resistor. The fuse wire should have broken when excessive current passed through it. It didn't. I concluded that it was this heat that built up the resistance of the wire.

I still am wondering what gave me my second thought to check the voltage drop before and after the fuse. People in the websites have been discussing similar problems without even realizing that the possible fault was outside their radio. Who would if all the fuses looked fine, unbroken and there were continuity ? Probably faith, hope, logic and determination combined to inspire me examine the cable.

Once probably in a lifetime we would come across a bizarre fuse like this.

30/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

CARVING OWN'S FATE

I think I need to try, requesting somebody for a 100K loan. I wonder what sort of response will I be getting. I was approached for a 300K loan. I said nothing because it is an absurd amount. Then there was a plea for a lesser amount, a 100K. My mother used to say ,"What do you think, Am I am a bank ? " So were many other people would throw the same answer. What made them think that I am very wealthy and loaded ? Because of my frequent travel ?

The person seeking loan drives a BMW and donned gaudy dress while I always have an eight ringgit shirt on me, at home, in public or in foreign land. I have a car that could not be sold even for RM50. I save more than half of my pension for traveling, the rest for food and utilities. What have I to give them loan without collaterals but mere verbal promise to pay ?

I won't bear the sins of the sinners. If they have planned for the future and for the rainy days they would not have been in such a very difficult positions right now. They were too smart and too haughty to listen to advice. They chose the path to disaster, instead of the safe path we showed them. And in the first place they should know that I am only a retired old man, struggling hard on my meager pension, wearing shabby dress and driving an old Kancil.

Funny, some people can easily forget things. I have seek their assistance to send me to the airport, a bus or a railway station whenever I wanted to go traveling. But they were always busy. I had to solve my own problem. They knew it yet they have the audacity of asking me for a 100K loan. I would not lend them any even if the cash is in my hands.

Sometimes I do think that it is better to stay away from people, friends or families. To die alone is more peaceful than being among the people who always drive me crazy, torturing my mind and strike me hard with horrid words. In fact I have requested on migration procedure and the agency is waiting for my CV and other detail information, just to find a peaceful santuary.

How could I live in peace for just 5 more years without people bothering me with their plights and problems which they themselves created it ?

I wish I have the big money as my friends used to have. I don't have any other property but the current home. I don't run any business. I live on my pension fund. I travel on my pension fund. Don't they think of my situation ? I feed my cats with my pension money. I managed it from God's providence. For my own sustenance it is more than enough. What would I do if I have a hundred thousands ? I keep it, not lavishly spend it. I told my friend to save when their business was good. It just fell on the deaf ears. I was shock to know they don't even have a 10K of saving. They have had a million before, the amount I would never have dream of.

These were the strong people in UMNO. Years before I have pointed out what UMNO had done to the Malays. The whole family argued out with me. They glamorizing the party, the savior of the Malays. Obviously I had to tell them to seek the help of the their beloved party. It was impertinent of me but it was the only right thing that they can do. Why ask a Pariah for a huge sum, not Najib or Rosmah who own the whole of this nation ?

I feel sorry for them and sorry to those who committed sins on themselves. They carved their own fate and destiny.

29/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

THINKING OF MIGRATING ?

Most people migrate to find a greener grass on the other side, for a much better life in the new land. America has been the land of opportunity, where immigrants from Europe landed by waves, long after the Puritans decided to leave England escaping persecutions from their own Christian folks. The greatest and most numerous were the Chinese, brought in by the locals to work in mines and railroads. In the 20th centuries other nationalities were employed in commercial and agricultural fields. Economy has been the man reason.

Not many ran away because of political oppression. The movements of the Vietnamese to the United States were inevitable after the downfall of the non-Communist Vietnamese government. It was the cordial relationship between USA and Korea, and the poor economic condition as well as the Korean Wars brought them into the United States. Today everybody is looking for opportunity anywhere to migrate for the better life.

At seventy plus, I am thinking hard of going away too, where I can vanish from my family, to find a peace of mind and to make the best use of my remaining days, a tranquility. I know several people who were frustrated with their spouse or kids and ran away from home to some unknown places. It was just simply a conflict of thoughts. I hate excuses and arguments. What hurts left a big and deep scar forever. The kids or the spouses would demanded for submission or forgiveness. But not everyone could forgive and forget. I was made that way.

A lady friend does not know where her husband went, dead or alive, since the '70s. Another knows roughly where the father went but does not exactly know where. There a big number of missing adults persons in this country and the world at large. Many migrates without telling anybody.

I can sustain myself if leave my home now. I am thinking hard about it and the country I wish to go. I have told my late wife's relatives that I would be moving out of my house sometimes after my wife passed away. She passed away in 2015 but I am still at my home. I talked to my students about going away. She did not encourage me. Somehow the time will come. Once I packed my bag and drive out of this town, I will never return home again.

You may be wondering why I want to go away, far far away and lead a solitary life. I will never regret.

I released my frustration to only one person. After I die the story will be told. Right now I chose to be sullen.

26/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

WHY WASTE MONEY

A shop is selling a manual Morse key like this for RM350.00. You may be spending about RM100 if you order it from the E-Bay. To me RM350 is too high. It is not a question of affordability but whether it is worth the money. We don't even pay for the workmanship. It has no aesthetic beauty itself. You can pay if it costs you for less than a hundred, or around that price. You may not have time to construct one.

Each ham has to have two keys, for working high speed and speed at below 12 wpm. Instead of wasting so much money you can alternatively find for a substitute. I found a mini paper stapler costing RM2.50. I split it up into two parts using a hacksaw blade, and fixed it to the table using a double sided tape.

Well, what you need to do is to solder the two wires to the two parts of the stapler instead of using a clip as shown here.

If you have excessive money then by all mean you can buy anything you want, even a hundred thousand ringgit antenna.

Even after splitting the stapler we can still use it and brings it along with us for use as both the portable small CW key and the paper stapler.

The thrill of ham radio is home brewing. Of course buying is less fun. This is not homebrewing. We just made a little modification. Simple gadgets give us some kick. I go for the cost saving ventures.

23/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

DON'T BE TOO HAPPY KEDAH

We are mere spectators. Most of us prefer to pay to watch the game, willing to queue up for hours under the blazing sun for a ticket. It is not one or ten but there are tenths of thousands of us, the soccer fans, the fanatics. Some could play the game, a few, like me, do not. But that does not stop us from spending big sum just to enjoy the match. Beside us there are a few individuals, who are not players nor administrators, are within the the inner circle of the team. They get free passes and mingle themselves freely with players, coaches and officials. These people know the players well, the planned strategy and the team organization, far greater than us, the spectators.

At every match we could view the game and the pattern of the movement very well, of being at a higher level of the stadium. We could see who consistently made the passing errors, who can dribble and who would always lose the ball. And when we yell at any errand player, we were not wrong at all. There were thousands of us making similar judgments. It is true that we are not the professionals, nor a football star. That does not mean our judgments are always wrong. We know the strength and the weakness of our own team.

Kedah had just won the FA cup, beating Pahang by one goal, Kedah scored three and Pahang two. More than 70% of Kedah's supporters admitted that the second half was a dreaded game, stopping our breath, and shattered our souls. It was not a tactical stance at all on the part of Kedah, but Pahang had overpowered the enemy under spell,  possessing the ball, and controlling the game, stole it from Kedah's feet and fiercely charging into Kedah's zone, wave after wave tirelessly, only failed to put the ball in the net. Kedah was exhausted and saved by luck. It was the referee's whistle that blew all the hell and tensions away. The supporters became themselves again, alive and relief and singing and dancing all night long.

They said that it was winning that counts.  But it didn't play like a champion. The second half was dreaded and scary. It was not entertaining at all. At once it strike in my mind that there was some lacking in coaching procedures, failing to exhibit as what Robert Albert and Azraai Khor had done, ensuring consistency from the start to the end. Ramon Marcote and Shebby shared similar views with the spectators.

I do not suspect corruption though I could suspect runners for the bookies. It was just our team did not expect the resilience of the challengers to fight back that fiercely. We had not prepared enough. We had not expect such a convulsion.

Liridon, a brilliant player, failed to score when facing a goal keeper one to one on several occasions. So was Ken. If anybody had took notice of these they would have discussed it and find remedies for them. Akram always made errors in passing the ball to the foe. He too must be told to correct himself and to be more careful and alert.

Winning the FA Cup is not a decision to affirm Nidzam as a full time coach. We first need to know what contribute to the winning of each game rationally, free of sentiments. What if we take out all the import players ? Will  our performance be the same ? I doubt. But once we became champion with the complete natives except for Hussein who resided between the border of Kedah and Perlis.

If nothing change on Kedah side, the team will surely be facing a grim Malaysia Cup tournament. JDT and Pahang will whip the FA champion for revenge, till Kedah has no place to hide it's face. The coming games will be the battle of wit, mental prowess, resilience and stamina. Other teams strive to enhance their abilities. I would not be too confident just because Kedah emerged to be the FA Cup champion.

22/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

MANAGE THE GROUND FIRST

I retired in 2003. Since then there are a lot of changes in education system. The last I heard was today. Schools are now busy with a new system which they called the education of Higher Thinking Order. Being away from education system for a long time, the idea shocked me greatly. So far in this country I have not listen from anybody giving presentation like that of TED. Speeches from the politicians were the worst, without shame protruding our system of thinking, full of fallacies and contradictions. Our top educationists even forbid school teachers from thinking and expressing their ideas.

To me the Higher Thinking Order system is likened to a sky kingdom, from the geosynchronous orbit upwards, and above that is an alien kingdom. Our schools do not even reach the aerospace physic yet. Our boys don't even know the elements, the waves and the light yet. And now we are telling them of the sky kingdom. What we have to do is to manage the ground first.

You can't think without facts and knowledge. Students have to know how to work on numbers mentally, the addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. Abstract facts need to be well elucidated. Could a student of physic explain how a radio select different stations ? Could we visualize the relationship between an electron flow and the electromagnetic wave ?

The knowledge is a mere tool to be applied with the help of a language in the thinking process. It has to be wide enough to allow a person to compare and contrast, to see the relationships among them and analyzed using facts and logic. The following effect  is always obvious. People cannot talk of quantum if they don't know atoms. They can't talk about atoms if they don't know elements. They can't talk of consciousness and reality if their visions are myopic.

The prerequisite for the high order of thinking is freedom of thought and expression, depth in a certain body of knowledge. Malaysian educators have not attained the required standard of mental state where sciences and philosophy unites, neither could achieve successful transformation of imagination into reality. Hence we should not blindly follow the Western education experiments. Our system gives preference to obedience than intelligence. Open minded and critical thinking has no place in our society. We close the door through censorships, brainwashing and the command of complete obedience.

Try to ask a question "...what cause our ringgit to decline..." , before you answer the question through analytical process the answer will be fed to you and you have to accept it. It has no place for the rebuttal. The higher order thinking has to lay down the facts before and the facts after, to analyze all angles of possibilities that could have caused the downfall.

There is no guessing of the religious and facts of sciences. There is no such thing as "I think 5 plus 7 is 20 or 30 plus 30 is about 61...". There is  no such thing as "...I think zakat is not necessary..." In medical science and engineering and religion precision are required. In logic circuits creativity and logic are essentials. In politics lying and deceptions are their daily refreshments.

To avoid wastage of resources and another repeated social and economic failures the educationists are reminded to look before they leap. In the meantime they have to make sure the basics are well imparted. They must manage the ground well enough before jumping high into the sky.

19/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

MY TRIP WILL END SOMEHOW

Words and phrases that came to my ears about traveling; which is the best country you have ever been, have you ever been to the whole world ? Rahman has been throughout the world, but he has not found any lady for his wife yet, this bus driver has been throughout the world, Cikgu, what will you be doing after you have completed visiting the whole world ?

No. I have not been to everywhere. I will never finish the world. I have not even been to many interesting places in my own province yet, nor my state nor my country. A low class outcast like me have to cut corners here and there, saving a little for my future and a little for my trips. When people bought gifts and souvenirs, I didn't, not because I was thrifty but because I didn't have money.

I didn't travel to look for opportunity like looking for a wife, or to elicit funds from wealthy travelers for my private school. I travel to see places, people and their culture, and to fulfill my dream to be there at the historical places. Sometimes I want to eat good food at places I know where food were delicious. You always feel the God's providence,  blessing on us, the less unfortunate among the people of higher echelon. If a wife of a Minister could fly by a comfortable private jet, the lowly too are bestowed to fly even at the rear end of a cheap carrier.

It is the hardest to find a wife while on the trip. A Playboy can easily pick up any girl on a street. He can take, use and throw. A wife is forever, in happiness and sadness, in health and sickness, in poverty and in abundance. You can't pick up a woman whom you hardly known. If you don't know a woman for three years how could you know a woman by a couple of weeks on a short social intercourse. Yes, I saw many beautiful women on the trips. But I always felt very scared of them.

It was an Indonesian maid who asked me what I would do after I have seen all the places in the world. I employed this maid on a time rate basis but I paid her on the piece rate. Though it is RM10 per hour, I would pay her a hundred ringgit when she completed the required task, which would be about three hours. "Mila, from next week onwards till about a month I will be making a trip to Makassar and Egypt. I will not call for your service," I told her before my last trip. I usually took her once in a month. It is in her imagination that I am a globe trotter. On one of these days I will have to tell her that my traveling is over. I am tired and short of money.

Those who have nothing to do but to envy and happily ridiculing the others I would not care and bother them a bit. I drove my students to successes and happiness. They in turn have served their kids and families and God. If God will even a pauper can enjoy the global trotting. A boy working on a Thai train was happy to narrate his trip to Barcelona and Brazil to watch great games of soccer. "My boss sent me and paid for all my trips," he told us. God does not make heaven only for the rich and the famous. Not even Najib can buy a ticket to heaven. Money is not everything. It takes a very chronic sickly person to tell us between good health and banks of dollars. You will feel the despair when someone you love rejects and leaves you, in spite of you being a tycoon. A lonely and well to do person was known to shoot himself for an unknown reason. Belittling the others is not a noble profession. It is a form of sickness.

My next trip is to Chiangmai in August this year. I have paid for the trips and the local domestic flights to Kuala Lumpur. The tour agent informed us of the slight change in the itinerary. Malindo air will not land in Chiangmai but at Bangkok. I computed that we will be wasting about 8 hours in all. There will be a lot of rushing here and there making each site visit shorter. In all I would have completed three trips this year alone. The total expenditure would cover my funeral and other death rites.

Really, I am eying the E-Hang company in Guang Zhou. I fantasize it is a great dream for an old man like me. I want to buy 2 sets of the heavy duty drone motors for a project. I need to find someone to draw a blueprint of the object from a draft I will be making again. I had already made one but I don't  remember where I put it. As for now my pocket is empty. But I will make sure my dream remains.

Whether I like it or not I know my active life will come to a stop. Even this blog will cease to appear. It will be a time when I will pray to God to take me away the quickest. No more looking for a wife nor for a accompany. The maid will be wondering why I do not call her anymore. My cats will get thinner and meowing for me. It is nothing to be sad about. It is a cycle of life. For those who are immortals, and could defy death with money, we wish them luck. Rosmah is always young, no wrinkle and no hoary hair. Her comfort is the glorious life she is leading now. Our comfort is when we forget the world and the humanities.

God tells us to bring with us what we are told. And so we need to strive to do it. No glittering gold and ornaments, no private jet and and cozy bed and no body guards.

18/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

A TEACHER'S DAY

Teacher's Day may never die. Many of the teachers were gone and forgotten. We don't know where they were interred. Like many of us the teachers die too. But the spirits live. Those who were once a teacher still bear the noble pride of being one, and having an ecstatic feeling of the atmosphere of this meaningful day.

We are the forgotten lots. But no one could make us forget that we were once a teacher. Everyday people call us CIKGU, the Mamak shop, the people we met and the people we don't know.

I look back at the pictures of the school I worked before. It is not the same anymore. The face has changed. May be for the better. The wall of the rest room was knocked down, the structures erected by the students were taken down and even the name of the school has turned into a college.

To us teaching was a sacrifice, with a divine intent of making our students to be successful in life, as a responsible citizen, wise, pious and filial to the parents.

I had never been a good teacher though I tried to be one. Wisdom grew with age and time. We had had the good and the bad times.

But I never regret of being a teacher. My teacher was not a graduate but he made me into one. One of them cried when I accosted him and I asked him, "Sir, why do you cry ? "

"...because you remember me," he replied. Indeed he was my primary school teacher and I left him more than 40 years since. When my old and retired teachers visited me at my school, I treated them like VIPs. They were indeed my teachers.

I would always remember my friends, the dedicated teachers who had been working very hard to make our school the bench marking institution. They lie deep in my heart. Many have retired like me. Truly I will always appreciate and adore them.

We celebrate the Teacher's Day by congratulation each other from home. Those in schools are entertained by their students, playing games and receive gifts. I have not even having my breakfast yet. I have to begin with a brunch after I have finished typing this piece.

You may have seen how Mr Bean hilariously celebrated his birthday in a solitary home. Solitude does not saddened me. It inspires me to look for old pictures and made some postings on the Facebook. There have been responses from my students.

Thank you to my teachers and happy Teacher's Day.

16/05/2017

 

 

THE TOPICS

Someone commented that my Facebook postings were always gay and happy, rich with stories of joy. He was the same person who fiercely attacked me when I passed a remark about his posting displaying a small Myanmar militants with sarongs holding machine guns. I said the attire was not proper in a war. that was all and I never argued with him anymore. He had been following all of my articles published. Those were the articles I cut and paste, taken from my blog.

My blog is not for public perusal. It is just a venue I used to release my emotion and feeling, releasing the tension and pressure to cool me down. But I always know someone is bound to stumble into it, may read a few articles and soon forget about it. It is also the chance I take to write in the language that I failed to pass in every test and examinations, a language I once abhorred. It is a fulfillment. And I paid for it. To a few friends I whispered that I have a blog.

I did not invite the guy to visit my website nor telling him that I have one. He is just like any other Facebook users or UMNO Cyber troopers who are ruled by sentiments rather than facts and rationality, the lack of analytical ability. Fighting with them is just like fighting against the dumb wall. I remember seeing a drunkard yelling and shouting at a coconut tree. The best is to forget them.

My stories have been full of grammatical and spelling mistakes. I did not do any proof reading as my intention is never been for broadcasting. I admitted to those friends who told me that from time to time they visited my site. A few told me they love to read on political stuffs. I cannot fill all the pages with political stories. I don't earn money out of praising or condemning political figures. And I cannot change the world by cursing them. Rosmah never change despite my swearing about her lavishness and demeanor.

Like many others I have sad things happening in my life, the hurt and broken heart, the bleeding, the mental and emotional agony. They are heavily suppressed in my mind, not to be blazoned in media for the masses to know. I don't want to stay in  sufferings all my life, for I may die in five years time. Why should I post all the sad things for people to read ? Some wives were telling the readers about their husbands and domestics problems. Others venged personal attack on family members or their enemies.

It is not that I do not think of finding some non partisan topics to write to avoid politics but they do not convulse themselves in the thin air for me to pluck. The ICF5900W was very coincidental. The Bus Ride in Los Angeles came to my mind when thinking of going to the airport by bus. The Three Worlds We May Live To see was written when I was thinking of designing a man carrying quad copter. An Incident At A College Gate was to remind managers that they should be careful in discharging their duties.

Writing has to be factual and true though the other side may deny them. When there is a need for a conjecture it has to be stated as a guess. When Altantuya was murdered people were asking questions as who ordered the killing, who approved the C4 bombs. The two officers cannot act on their own accord. So were obvious questions and the obvious guesses. It is that much that we can do, nothing more. People do not like to hear the truth. Leave it to God.

Ridding beyond imagination is to be able to see into the dark side of the unknown. It is dangerous to open your mouth, the ability to see behind MH370 incidence, the grim fate of the nation and the Malays. You can touch only on the surface but not detailing the dark part of the mystery of the unknown and the unseen. If I could I would narrate where the GST and all other public funds went to. But I could not. A few has the clairvoyance. They too prefer sullen and calmnessl, leaving things to God.

I am not the kind of person who would entertain such kind of a facebook user as above, and others like him. I live in sorrow as well.

16/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

REKINDLE ICF5900

Way back in the early '70's and 80's the old hams were crazy on Short Wave listening. They use the old salvaged war time receivers like the AR88 dropped from the plane for the military immediate used, big, heavy and monstrous. They were not portable. The Japanese came out with the smaller portable versions. I remember 9M2CF, Chow showed off his super sensitive receiver the ICF 5900W.

No shop in Malaysia sold communication receivers or receiver with the BFO for security reason. They were banned. Somehow we either beat the two radios together to decipher Morse codes and the SSB singnal, or smuggled one from our neighboring country. ICF 5900 was cheap, less then RM300 but it was an incredible radio. I brought it anywhere with me just to monitor the daily 40 meter local ham communication.

Today is year 2017, almost 42 years later, I was surprised to watch an in-flight movie on Qatar air entitled Before Mars depicting the same hardware with an exception, of having a microphone-plug attached on it's side as shown by the second picture on the left.

Hannah Seung was using the radio to communicate with a rocket ship heading towards Mars using 144.49 mega hertz. She was calling A1SS. Surely it was a fictitious movie but the present hams would surely be asking a lot of questions. Was the person who wrote the story a ham, an old ham or a new comer ? Why he chose the receiver ICF5900 instead of designing up a new radio of a new shape and form ?

Radio enthusiasts can have the pleasure of scanning the You Tube searching for Before Mars, only a 33 minute entertaining movie.

 

 

 

15/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

THE FATE CREATED BY UMNO

When you accused Najib for destroying Malaysia and drowning the Malays, the Prime Minister blame Mahathir for failures in Forex and BMF. People were asked to be either anti Najib or anti-Mahathir lest the Malays realized UMNO was leading the country since independent. They carved out the policies, rules and regulations, manage the nation and national coffers. Now the party is trying all out to shake off the responsibility and out of nothing blaming DAP for all the treacherous and dismal failures.

Put in a simple term if Mahathir robbed a million and Najib robbed another million, UMNO had robbed us the total sum of two millions. But Najib is putting the Malaysians and the Malays in a more difficult position, the worst ever sufferings of the Malays ever experience in the history of the nation. Their arrant stupidity, foolishness, gullibility and short sightedness are solely to be blamed. They continued to choose the same leaders time and again.

The Malays have decided to choose their own destiny, happily designing their own bleak future. A man who lose his job under Najib vehemently defended Najib, saying the whole world is suffering from economic woes, believing that Malaysia is the best country in Asia and the best among the Islamic nation economically. A Malay woman defending the rising cost of living saying that Malaysia has food to eat and things to buy despite the rising prices of commodities. My wife was a strong defender of Rosmah Mansor despite suffering from all sort of sickness before she died. "Rosmah," she said," is the wife of a Prime Minister. She has the right to don any expensive items she likes."

I live during the era of Tan Siew Sin and know how the country fully used the nation's wealth for the benefit of the denizens. There were subsidies then. Unfortunately I live to see how our coffer was plundered using various ways and means now. And the first time I have been seeing a national leader is running around for personal security reason, distrusting even his UMNO supporters, selling land to foreign country and spending tons of money worldwide to clean his image.

People are asked to compare their lives with people of other nations as a mean of deception, to get their approval and the hardship they caused on the populace and the crimes they made. What we need to do is to compare us with ourselves, between what were before and what are now, the taxes, the cost of living, the prices of houses, the crime rates, the unemployment of youths and the missing billions.

My concerns and worry is penned down not for the perusal of others. I would whisper to only one or two to visit my blog. I know nobody can do anything to halt the blunder. Life will continue to deteriorate and worsen till the Malays vanish from this land and become a debase minority, the outcast of this land. They will be labeled as the terrorists and thrown into dungeons.

Had I not foreseen that it is the Malays who will rise against their chosen leaders ? Had I not foreseen they will be dragged, kicked and incarcerated ? I said them before the world of internet and I repeated them again in my blog. I argued and challenged it in the Facebook. But sadly enough the Malays chose to burry themselves. Only if they look back into the past, compare with the present and predict the future.

12/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

IT IS FATED. ASK GOD

Why asking too many questions ? Both Islam and Christianity discussed the ideal and concepts of predestination, which in Muslim, is Qada and Qadar. Fates decide what the rulers and people in power would do and fates decide what the denizens would receive. If we live long enough we will see the design of the fate. We already have seen one. And we will wait for another. Insya Allah.

Why kicked and punished those who asked for clean and fair election ? What is the different between a Zionist and UMNO ?

EGYPTIAN TRIP

It was on the 29th of April 2017 when we took off from KLIA by Qatar Air at 9.15 am, transit at Doha for 3 hours before departing for Alexandria. Again pictures speak louder than words but there are too many of them to fill the space. So I try to choose some to give my friends some pictures of what Egypt is like compare to us.

In Alexandria we visited historical mosques and catacoms. Catacombs are somewhat like coffins, made of stone.We would be wondering how they manage the corpse.

The city is facing the Mediterranean sea. Many parts of the places we visited were pungent and the smell came from the uncollected garbage. Only around the castle of King Farouk the place is well kept.

Our hotel was near the sea. Though it was a big I would grade it as a 2 or 3 star only. Either thr tour agency is trying to saver money or Alexandria has no better place than this.

The cruise boat was far more excellent than this one.

From here we moved to Cairo the next day by bus.

Our first stop in Cairo was an Egyptian museum. Camera was not allowed. You have to pay extra 100 Egyptian pound to see the real mummies. But it was worth the money paid.

All along I have been visualizing pyramids located at a distant location in the desert. May be it was. They keep a small portion of the desert for it. The rest was conquered by concrete and structures. In short It is surrounded by the city of Cairo. Our tour leader discouraged us from entering into the pyramid as there is nothing there anymore. What is a sphinx then ? It was not a god or a mystery. It was a wasted stone that the King wanted to throw away but the subject promised the king to carve it out beautifully and let it be not thrown away.

In Cairo we were brought to the Papyrus factory, Al-Azhar mosque and the city tour. There are the clean and the dirty part of the city, unfinished structures with iron bars protruding. And beggars are everywhere especially around the mosque area, inside and outside people are asking for money.

From Cairo we were to take a train to Aswan, a 12 hour night ride. The cushions probably were as old as the train, making me thought that the Egyptian simply do not care about neatness, the absence of aesthetic value.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The train ride however was quite comfortable to me except for the dingy cabin. A dinner and breakfast were provided.

Aswan dam is for the Hydro-electricity. Not all the populace like it as it sacrifices much of the Egyptian culture and community.

It is still a pain in the neck till today.

   

After the visit to Aswan dam we were brought to the cruise boat. Call it a ship if you will. It was the best ever hotel we ever had in Egypt. On the first day, after checking in, we went to an island of Botanical Garden by small boats. It was good for  relaxation, free of dust, and enjoying the fresh air..

The Nile cruize was from Aswan to Luxor, our last port of embarkation.

Amazingly our local tour leader in Aswan, Mahmud, knew how to read the ancient Egyptian writings. He translated the meaning of each image in a calendar, explaining the meaning of the eye, the image of the characters carved on the wall.

Our boat anchored at nearly all the ancient temples.

As I said, heat was our first enemy. The blazing sun dried our throats and burnt our skins. Dust were there all the time because it is their home.

We were taken on the horse ride to the Valley of the Kings where

mummies of kings were processed. During the mummified processed all the organs were taken out. After the intense cleaning the heart was put back in the body. Each king had his own mummified chambers.

When we went back to our cruise ship cool wet towel and a drink were prepared for us.

This was May. I could not imagine the June and July temperature.

The whole theme of the Egyptian tour was on the ancient Kings of the old cities ruling before Christianity. Alexander the Great, Cleopatra and Pharaohs left a long history. Pharaohs and Cleopatra were not one but several. Moses, Musa, was the name given by a Pharaoh, which means the son of the river.

We were three nights on the cruise boat. The top deck, the Sun deck, was too hot during the day time. We would be there during the night time, appreciating the sceneries along the Nile. The last there was a fabulous show of belly dancing. Our women stayed away from fun.

I caught flu on the last day in Egypt and it got worst when I arrived KL. Now I am still having consitent  coughing and high body temperature. Thanks God I somehow manage to briefly documenting the the land where I always want to go, to touch the historical pyramid.

10/05/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

MAKASSAR 19 - 23 APRIL 2017 VISIT

When Rusli asked me whether I would join him to Makassar I accepted it immediately. Makassar, Ambon, Ternate and a few more islands were mentioned in the history book, known as spice islands that attracted the Portuguese and the Dutch to this area in the 15th century. I was anxious to know how Ujung Pandang is like now in the 21th century. We took Air Asia on the 19th April 2017 from KLIA2 and three hours later landed in Sultan Hassanuddin Airport Makassar.

Pictures speak louder than a thousand words. I won't want to say more than displaying a few photos to represent the sketchy picture of the place.

But I would like to say something about the food we ate. We were warned by a hotel worker foreigners have to pay more for everything.

We ate at the hotel, two well known restaurants and the roadside stalls. The average price for a hotel meal was RM25, spicy but lovely taste. The Nelayan restaurant charged us about RM60 with plenty of crispy fried prawns and squids. We could not finish all and had the squids and the prawns packed for our hotel worker. The most shocking was the meal at Dinar. A couple of crabs, 6 pieces of prawns, rice and drinks cost us RM240.

The cheapest was a complete meal with big fried fish, sambal belacan, rice and drinks was only RM12 for two persons. It was darn cheap, nice and delicious. So be careful when visiting Makassar on your own.

Basically Makassar is like any other city in Southeast Asia. There are efforts to beautify the town. The roads are Mac Adam, no holes here and there. There are industries.

To my assessment the population of Sulawesi are better off than in Malaysia at the present moment. But we were told that there were thieves and robbers at night in some part of the city area.

We were told that there was a Red Light area like those in Amsterdam and Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur too.

We had to leave Makassar on 23rd morning, taking a normal taxi that cost us about RM50 plus the toll. In Makassar the passengers got to pay the toll. Toll roads are not everywhere but to the airport, else you got to take the congested normal state road.

I would advise you not to go the theme park. It is not a real attraction. They just want to make money. It is a stuffy place with only a few rides. Parents took their kids there when they went for shopping at the park mall.

 

 

will cont. when we come back from Egypt ( Wow...I can't finish the story...)

MY FIRST SMART WATCH

I have always wanted to own a smart watch before I die. While Majeed was back home in India his son was telling me about his father buying a 5/6K Rado watch, " Cikgu my father is already an old man and he is going to die soon. Why should he waste his money on buying the unnecessary thing...." Majeed is about my age. When he came back from India I requested him to put on his expensive watch and I showed him my Casio solar that is very reliable and accurate. I bought mine in Japan. And in Tokyo also I nearly purchased a beautiful face smart watch had not Rusli told me it would render me with no purpose as it has to have a smart phone as well.

When I was a kid, I remember reading a science fiction cartoon, Dick Tracy, a police detective communicated using his wrist watch. And I know there is such an amazing gadget manufactured and used in espionage job. Today, at the beginning stage, such a gadget is being developed, both to be paired with a smart phone for communication and the stand alone multi-function wrist watch. The spy watch that can be used for communication using magnetic wave is not marketed yet. It will be in a few more years.

I was amazingly surprise to see Rusli, my radio friend, is donning a smart watch on his wrist, when we took a trip to Makassar on the last 19th. of April. He bought it through Lazada. I could not buy anything through the internet as I do not have a credit card nor getting myself into the on-line banking. I feared some smart hacker would hijacked some of my savings.

I browsed web pages to see whether I can buy things with COD or direct from the shop. I notice there is a Samsung outlet at Aman Central. 

At about 2pm I arrived at the stall, made a purchased and immediately came home without seeking for detail information on the setting up procedure. I thought I could do it alone without assistant.

Tomorrow I am going to surprise Majeed and his workers, wanting to show off what I have. I am going to call Rusli using the Samsung Gear S3, pressing the call button on the screen. And I will show the various watch faces.

"This one in very accurate," I will be telling him. "The clock is controlled by GPS. It is not like your clock on the wall. Look, last time 5 minutes late and now 7 minutes. This is perfect. " I will be telling his son that I want to enjoy my remaining short life before I die. I know he will be asking me a lot of questions. And I have to be prepared to bluff them as much as I can.

I had a fun time with the restaurant owner and the workers this morning. I showed him my new watch, and dialed his number. I could see his surprise at the ringing sound. "Go and pick up your phone," said I. He heard my voice when I talked to the watch. "How much is it and where do you buy it ? "He asked.

There are numerous watch faces, lots of free stuffs. I chose the one with the candle as I love the swaying of the light as it is glowing.

I connected it to the home wifi and enjoy the Youtube clips.

Without pairing to the Android I can still enjoy browsing internet anywhere the free wifi is available.

There are many useful featured and facilities especially for a sportsman.

If you want to have a GPS you only need to pay less than USD2.

I thank God the Almighty for the Providence. I can still taste the wonders of the world.

26/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

THE MALAYS AND THE CHINESE

I have always wanted to believe the Malays and the Chinese Malaysians are the same, beside the color and language difference. Generally the Chinese is a little bit better in the mental utilization. I remember in my boyhood days that there was a small movie house called a Royal Cinema where the current Alor Ria resides. There were two categories of tickets sold, the 25 cent and the 65 cents. You won't stand to have a chance to buy the normal priced tickets on a popular movie because they were sold by the black market at a much higher prices. The Malay movie goers would still buy them from the Black marketers. On one popular Chinese movie the mobs increased the ticket by more than double. What happen was NOT even a single Chinese bought the ticket and went home instead. Effort to reduced the price by half also failed. None cared to turn back.

That's what the Malays were before and that's what they are today. They continue to spend money on expensive items and entered expensive restaurants.

The second difference is the Malays are gullible people. They usually believe what they are told, taking the lies to be the truth. They are cheated by their friends, lending money and become guarantors. They have constantly been deceived by media and politicians. The Chinese do not believe in promises and are resistance to deception. They are more mentally alert while the Malays are lazy to think.

The third is that the Malays have a poor vision of the future. They can't see what's coming. The trend of the future is based on a long progress of the timeline from the past few hundred years to the present. It is not that they are fuzzy about the past but they are totally blind and ignorant. A few would be computing the future and take steps to prepare themselves, while more than 90% don't.  They sell their properties and spend all their money, saying that God will provide them with sustenance.

No doubt a few young people who have found that living is hard, strive to make a living and begin to make a little savings. I talked to a stall owner selling drinks and beverages and learnt that to him 150K of capital is indeed a huge sum for him. My Chinese friend was talking of his 700K savings for his future retirement.

So I conclude that the Malays cannot be the same as the Chinese and will never change observing their current trends of behavior.

I am not belittling the ability of my own race. We have professionals, millionaires,  graduates with PHDs and successful businessmen. We also have millions of arrant fools among us. But which fool will admit that he is one. No criminal and murderers will admit who they are. Every thief and robber, kidnapper and gangster has his own justification.

You need to observe our top and lofty Malays on the top of the echelons from all walks of life, from top to bottom of the social strata. It will shorten my life by 5 years if I were to talk about the people in politics, who don't really know what winnings are. For instant winning a position but losing a country is not really a winning. The early British colonialists were cunning enough how to make our rulers feel the winning euphoria, giving titles and money and shower them with praises and adorations. They studied our mental and emotional makeups. They ran the country, the Rulers took care of the religion.

If the Malays feel that they are threatened they have to blame themselves rather than anybody else. A very few can be taught to think. The rest think they are already smart and wise, and tend to brag to the world of their greatness. Yet they never stop  blaming the Chinese for their plight since 40 years ago. By the time they become sober, they will find things are too late.

18/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF

SOCCER HAS LIFE TOO

I have been trying hard to refrain myself from a devilish comments or remarks involving royalty or other matters related to monarchy not because for fear of being lock up in a dungeon but because  I chose to respect the once divine institution. Kings had long been regarded as the shadow of God in traditional society both in Europe and Asia, bestowed with divine power exceeding all other mankind. Malay Sultans were believed to carry a DAULAT, a kind of magical aura that protected them from the sorceries of bad citizens. DAULAT contains a huge ball of powerful spirit around the divine Kings.

Even in this 21st. century the Queen of England is said to be an alien being strong enough to control mankind. You may have heard of the few with reptilians eyes.

Malaysian rulers are protected by our law. They are almost immune. They are not to be criticized for any reason. Several people have been arrested for remarks viewed as rude or insulting to the integrity of a royal figure.

Sadly enough foul mouth still spewing unhappiness over royal involvements in sports and soccer. I don't mean to be impertinent or to any disrespect to anybody as I am expressing my views. Sports is a public entertainment though the final reward is good health, both mentally and physically. They can take away youths from the streets into the arena, save them from drugs and crimes. It built a community of discipline and responsible citizens. It therefore does not belong to a politician or a propaganda tool of any political party.

The spirit of a game can be ruined and killed by any powerful person who thinks the world belongs to him. In my whole life, I have never been impressed by talks and promises. I believe in the behaviors and the deeds done. And I don't follow the crowds but the truth and realities. We don't see the same thing the same way. 50-50 is big enough. 90-10 is a pure disaster. Who dare to test it without being fear of being apprehended ? I believe 90% will be holding to the view that politicians and royalties should not use sports for their own glory.

The most popular sports in this country is soccer. Thousands flocked to the stadium to watch the game. Bowling, squash, badminton, tennis, hockey and other individual games do not draw crowds but they are not totally ignored. The Malaysians show utmost support of these sports in the international competition. The grand acoustic music of Negara Ku is a priceless pride to us.   Our small nation stands tall among the rest of the world. We are aware of the role of the government in producing the world class ship. We share the pride together.

But when sports involve local competitions and it is a number one sport then the public gives  full focus. Everyone opens his eyes. People talk about the refereeing, about bookies and corruptions, about the dirty tactics, about the dubious attempt to weaken strong teams and about the betrayal and the betrayers. You can judge how fanatic the fans are when they can sleep at the ticket counter overnight for the tickets to be sold the next morning. It is more than crazy. Try to imagine their degree of disappointment when something fishy happens in the middle of the season. It is an abnormal practice.

FAM is quick to be despised and scorned. I am so very certain Malaysian soccer will not be better. Success is not by the show of arrogance or lavishness in spending. I dare to put a bet of 10K (That's all I can afford) with the FAM on my prediction which will bear the truth. My confidence is based on two factors, namely the comeuppance for the vanity and swaggering, and secondly, the other the rest of the world are not sleeping.

The soccer ball has life too. It contains the hearts of the living fans, millions of them, who crave for fairness, good game and the show of skills. The players ignite and activate the hearts by making it flies, floats, bumps and rolls. The voices of the spectators echoing to the sky that there is a game going on. It provides luster and joy. Soccer without spectators is like a man without a soul or a spirit.

Let not any man murder the sanctity of the beautiful sports, casting away the spirit and its magnificence. Or else we could also say 'take all ...take all. And we leave it...' We need criticism, pros and cons, ideas and rebuttals. Can we do it with Kings and Ministers ?

17/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

BUS RIDE IN LOS ANGELES

Whenever I went to Los Angeles alone I usually stayed at Buena Park at a motel I knew owned by a Taiwanese. Buena Park is about an hour away from the Los Angeles airport by car and 1 1/2 hours by the airport bus. The average transport transfer was USD10.

What I like about this place was the availability of an Indian restaurant which I depended on it for my meals. A packet of prawn or meat Briyani was USD12.50. In those days 12.50 was just like RM35. The morsel was so plentiful that I had to consume twice to finish it. It was truly extremely delicious. Buildings around the area were not crowded and the road was not busy. Cars and busses passed within half to a minute duration. 500 meters away was a theme park called Knot Berry Farm where you can find crowds all the time. The Disneyland was a dollar away by the local bus.

We would expect the denizen to own cars for daily conveyance. But the bus would be reaching almost every street, sometimes zigzagging the small streets in the housing area, moving and stopping, picking up passengers. In Alor Setar there are many roads with the bus stands without a bus passing by. It is vital of everyone to own a form of transporter, at least a bicycle. Any Bangla worker living around our area would walk to town about 5 or 6 miles away. It leaves us to wonder the difference between the American and the Malay thinking. I mention the Malays instead of Malaysians because they are the administrators of the town from top to bottom.

Whenever I got up on a bus going to Disneyland I mentioned my destination. The bus driver would give me a transfer ticket if the bus did not head to the theme park. The driver would just mentioned 'Disneyland Bus Number....' when arriving at a stop where I need to change a bus. I didn't have to buy another ticket, just show the transfer piece to the new driver. And at every bus stop you will know at what time the bus will arrive. Amazingly that it is very accurate, dead on time.

I usually paid a dollar, sat on the bus until the end of the trip at the end station. The driver would ask me where I wanted to go. "just for the sight seeing," I said. And we always had conversation before he started the back journey. One driver was from Pakistan, but never looked like one owing to his skin complexion and his American slang. "How is Anwar Ibrahim ?" He put forward a shocking question to me.

I went to beaches, library, various malls and the whole of Orange County just by bus. I saw the vast area populated by the Vietnamese and the Koreans. It had always been a joyous ride.

I would have wished our local authority would have some sense and to act to elevate difficulties faced by the public. I sometimes think our moral responsibility has eroded and replaced by the pursuit of profits. Everyone is only thinking of money and to be wealthy as quick as possible. We have been causing problems to the people without our knowing them.

The bus trip to Los Angeles city proper was USD3. Again the bus would render to enter small towns and villages for passengers. It took me more than 2 1/2 hour to arrive the Downtown LA. It was shocking to see the homeless Blacks and White were still sleeping along the road and on the pathways of the building at 10am. Others were queuing for free food.

I strolled along the roads and streets, appreciating the beauty of the city and the demeanor of the people. Usually by the stroke of some luck I always reach the famous Universal Studio and enjoyed myself in the theme park till the city turned dark. And somehow I got back to the bus that would take me back to my motel. There was no GPS then and I didn't have a map with me. I knew my sub-conscious mind was working,  registration and computing my previously walking path. My eyes were trying to identify the building related to the bus stop where I disembarked.  I always made it time and again during every visit.

I remember my Public Finance teacher told us that the state is not to make profit on it's citizens. It is to serve them. A state is not to borrow money to share among friends but for the future benefit of the society. Busses could ease congestion and reduced parking problems. Cars are safer to keep at home than in town. Someone must look into the matter, studying the new bus route seriously to facilitate access to every household. Of course we don't expect every bus to pass every door step in every village. People can walk at a reasonable distant to wait for a bus.

I stopped going to USA for a long time. I have been there too many time, and had learnt many things about America and the Americans, well enough to identify the good people and the semi-human freaks demons who prey on their own citizens as well as other helpless souls elsewhere.

To me the busing system was excellent and commendable. You might want to try the Greyhound bus from Kuala Lumpur to New York one day that crosses Kyber pass and Himalayas...??? Greyhound is an expensive but a comfortable ride.

17/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL

They tell you of the affordable house here and there. Try to contact them and you may die of frustration. A single storey small house is about RM400K and a double storey semi-detach is RM750K. A shop house will cost you more. You will have to pay about RM5K a month for 20 years to settle the whole loan. How to pay the 5K monthly when a husband-wife income is only 2K ? For small fries it is better to scrap the dream of buying a shop house to earn a descent living.

You may be able to meet the requirement. I can't afford it. There are tenths of thousands young people are without their own homes. The agony is felt much by the jobless young people. The elderly refuse to give up their jobs until they reach 65 and letting the young blood seek their own bread somewhere else.

The rushing for the land by the developers is because it brought a huge profits. They shared a small portion of it with the politicians and lobbyists. The small portion is not a thousand or two but totaling millions and billions. Hence agriculture land are shrinking very rapidly. There is a fast changing in demographic pattern. Where are the missing Malays gone ?

I did a quick calculation that if I could rent a shop house for a thousand ringgit a month, it will be RM240K for twenty years, and RM480K for 40 years. Even if we double the rental, it will take 20 years to get to RM480K. In that case, taking account of our lifespan and our active life it will be cheaper to rent than to buy. It has to be a long term rental contract.

I notice that the young people are looking for alternative venues for making a living. They resort to mobile shop, request for mobile night market to survive. The capital is much more smaller and the rental is the payment to the town counsel. At least they strive for some descent cash rather than involving themselves in criminal activities and immoral trade, or forming a small band of mafia network.

I can't afford a 750K home or a 900K shop house. Those who live on BRIM and millions of others will not be able to own such a property. The Malay developers are not keen to sell to the Malays at a discount rates. There have been a big mockery of the affordable homes. Internet advertisers seem to fool the people. No wonder a Minister advise young people to rent a lodging. I think it is a wise advice.

With all the government's help I should be rich. Despite my university education I am still poor and my kids are jobless. I decide that my kids should strive on their own by doing some business. It is not a simple venture. Even FGV, 1Mdb, MAS and a few other organizations with experts fail. They laymen find tall walls around them. I noticed at the Uptown they are only resellers save the food vendors.

Before GE13 I predicted a bleak future for the Malaysians. Worse will be coming after GE14.

17/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

TRAVELING IN THE MODERN DAYS

I asked Majeed whether there is still any ship that taking people to India. He smiled. "No more Cikgu," he said. "People fly these days. It is faster. Only three hours." He narrated it took three days to go to India by ship. But it was fun as he got to know people and making friends along the trip." Majeed owns a Tomato Rice restaurant, which is not really up to the standard of one, a little messy and tables aren't dressed at all. He has 4 workers with him, all from Southern India.

"Nowadays Cikgu, people go on high seas to have vacation, the tour," he continued. I agreed with him. I saw these ships at Penang port, Australia and while in Balkan states. If you have about 2K you can enjoy the complacent trip to Langkawi and Kerabi, a round trip of about 3 to 4 days would cost that much. Many have been on the cozy ships. I haven't yet. I am not in a position to describe more about it.

The conversation with Majeed reminded me of the Malaysian Muslims going to Mecca to perform their pilgrimage on ship before. It took a month and a lot of preparations. When they came home they would tell all sort of wonderful stories about the experiences on the ship. Many people died while on the journey.

Today a plane takes you only 8 hours to Mecca, cutting time by more than 29 days. Majeed took 3 hours to arrive his destination. From Alor Setar to Kuala Lumpur is only 45 minutes. Sometimes I tried to imagine how long it took for people from Melaka to go to Perak in 1600 or 1700 by foot across the thick forest, bumpy meadow and fields. When historians mentioned Melaka conquered Pahang, I can't imagine the nature of the war and how they could sustain their strength after a long march.

Today we have train that move at the speed of a few hundred miles an hour. Workers can shuttle to the workplace instead of renting houses in another town. We don't know when we can go on a one hour train to KL from Alor Setar. There will be a lot of structural and other social changes once the traveling time takes up a new shape.

Traveling is so easy and comfortable that more and more people travel overseas on leisure, young and old. The young ones usually go on their own after making elaborate plans and setting secured strategies among friends. I found teenage girls travel by themselves in twos or threes. The elderly, half of them retirees, chose travel agencies.

I have been to the United states and Hawaii for more than 18 times, seventy five percents of which were on my own. I either hired a car or took busses for local traveling and sightseeing. At my younger age I could drive a car from Los Angele on the Western side to Florida on the Eastern plank. Now the idea of driving 300 miles scared me and a horrid notion.

Many a time I had food in my mind when going overseas, mainly Briyani. I hunted  Briyani in Hong Kong, tasted it in Tokyo, Australia, New York, Los Angele, and London. My eyes would be looking for Long John, the seafood restaurant in the United States, a huge crab in the bay area of San Francisco. The Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Australian and London Briyani were almost equal in their taste. For my next trip, 19th April 2017, to Makasar I already marked the Seafood restaurant on the Google map. I usually made a point to put it in my agenda.

Other than food I also prefer a comfortable stay, a 4 or 5 star affordable hotel, staying alone for a quiet peace of mind, to slumber on a soft bed. I no more request for a partner when going with a package, and ready to pay extra for a single supplement.

I asked Majeed to join me in seeing places. I said to him, "Majeed, we are old now. You have your sons to cook and take care of your restaurant. Let's go and see the world before we die." And one of his usual response was that he is a poor man. Yet he had a 6K watch on his wrist. And he once asked me how I could live with my 3K monthly pension. I mentioned to him of his possible boredom in counting money and sitting down days in and days out. He will die seeing the image of money when he should also spend his wealth to enjoy himself. He would just smile.

Today the only hassle of going oversea is the increasing cost and the burden of the exchange rate we have to bear. The Thai and the Indonesian currencies are much better than ours. It is not due to the regional economic fault but the deterioration of ours. Don't ask me why. Ask Najib for the true answer. And I used to pay 7K for a New Zealand's trip, which is now 14K. Even compare to the last year's price to many destinations show a remarkable hike in cost, almost double or triple. You tend to see Dato' and Datin and doctors and engineers and high profile retirees and businessmen with you in the trip. I would always stay alone and aloof at the back seat on a bus and walked alone at the visiting sites. I would stand outside the souvenir shops where my group would spend blissfully. They are the affordable people.

The more affluent sailed on their yacht across the wide oceans aided by GSP, satellite and modern communication equipments. Or fly on their private jets. Once, an American farmer beside me at the top of the Grand Canyon told me that he should have brought his own plane to see the beauty of the land below. Mind you, a farmer flying an airplane.

Nevertheless never underestimate the sea galleons and the boats and the rafts that were used to conquer nations and enabled mass migrations, and inter island movements in the past, before there were planes, trains and cars. They were handled by resilient bodies with a strong mind, guts and bravery. A galleon could take away a distant nation.

16/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

INCIDENCE AT A COLLEGE GATE

The compliance to a rule regulated depends on the other party's acceptance. The other side could be a customer, a client, a businessman or a person looking for a favor. They will comply to get a benefit or assistance. But they can also be someone whom you may need their help most, to illicit donation, assistance or other services. They can choose to dispel with the set regulation you make for them or obey it. I touched on this subject matter because I had stumbled onto it when I went to Alor Setar Vocational College recently to help in programming the RFID cards for the school attendance system. As I was called by a teacher in charge whom I had informed to get the cards ready, I brought with me the card reader and my laptop. I had a software which I developed mainly for the purpose of writing data on the cards.

Mind you I did not go to the college to beg for donation, meeting a friend or selling my products. I paid my own petrol, sacrificing my free time and energy to help a school where I had served for 20 years before. As I was entering the gate I was stopped and asked to sign the Entry Book. "This is a new regulation," the guard said. Surely I could not blame him for discharging his duty. It is a rule after all.

Unfortunately I too have my own rules as many of the others. I have the choice not to comply with it and went home instead. I was not wrong either. Unheard words from the regulation is 'if you don't want to comply then don't come in. Go home..." What else it could be ?

Some wise persons responded blaming my ego. "The rule is so simple, just sign it," they argued. Of course I would have sign it if I had a  strong urge to beg from the college or to do business of my own choice. It gave me not one bit of benefit. I exercise my right and follow my own rule

This is no doubt only a small and trivial matter. But we fear such a narrow minded, and skewed thinking administrators are rampant and running the country on their own whims and fancies. The affair of this nature could pull the country down the mud, causing the economy to plunge and casting the  blames on the others. The short sightedness and the myopic vision may have caused massive national failures.

Retirees and the elderly though living in the marginal society are still walking straight with a strong fortitude. Many choose to dwell in humility. Swaggering, gloating, bragging and parading arrogance are not in our vocabulary anymore. We may waive the barking and the insults of the vanity. Our sustenance do not depend on them. Confucius was sent to exile in his active life but his help was seek when he was very very tired and the emperor was about to fall. The historians did not cry at the downfall of the emperor and the dynasty.

We are not sages neither the sorcerers but we are also not a group of destitute vagabonds. To us there is no saying such as  the dog has his own day, no vengeance and no more glory. Those are the guys who are shaping the destiny of our nation.

15/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

MY FREAK THEORY ON HYPERTENSION

Most of us are not doctors nor scientists. We tend to diagnose wrong symptoms for diseases and sickness. I for one have been making a lot of conjectures on illnesses, as not being a shaman nor a doctor. But on thinking of people of the past centuries and those who live in the deep dense forests both in the past and present with their own medicines and remedies, I think I should not stop making guesses though it may turn out to be a crime. I don't prescribe them to others. Only to myself. When people are rushing for herbal medications they are not thinking of the cure of the modern chemical medications. Traditional people were not doctors. Neither were they wizards.

I believe, only believe, that there is a positive correlation between hypertensions and human emotions. A person who is easily angered and getting aggressive at a slightest provocation is bound to have a hypertension. One would have caused the other. And they are prone to stroke. Once we are diagnosed with it, there is no medical cure for it. Drugs prescribed by the doctors would only control it. Doses are prescribed according to the level of the blood pressure, whereas I believe hypertension can be checked by controlling the rising emotional state of anger. One has to learn to be cool, not to get angry at any small aggravation or errors seen, not to worry over a trivial or big matters. Whenever there is a problem arising it should be resolved through discussions, which more often than not would find a solution.

A daily rigorous exercise by a person helps. After the chore he will feel fit, healthy and strong. I feel the difference from such a pursuit. I could copy and send Morse codes signal better and with more accuracy, due to the mental alertness. It also elevates worries and free us from undesirable emotional disorder. And try to read jokes and other hilarious anecdotes which tickle us. In the old comic book there was a theme that printed Laughter Is The Best Medicine. All of these have nothing to do with any of the oral drugs.

I don't know whether worry can shorten our lives. It could have affected our brain cells or driving our blood pressure up and eventually lead us to stroke. If there is no proof to validate the relationship, we still have the choice to follow what the doctors say or to follow our own conscience ie. cease getting worried. People get drunk to get away from worry or join a congregation of jovial chums at clubs and coffee shops. Others find a solace in God, frequenting God's house, going to pilgrimage and constantly praying and praying.

The most heinous thing you can do to yourself is to think about local politics. Even the Americans are angry with their Presidents. If you love your own leader by all mean hang a huge picture in your house, follow him on your TV and read about him in the newspapers. If you hate him, just simply forget and avoid watching TV or stop buying newspapers. I talked to the Indian Mamak who said that India is the same as Malaysia. When I came across a Korean movie it depicted a story of Mafia organization controlling the police and the politicians. Why should we kill ourselves with worries and hatred and shouting curses at them ? If they are really bad and rogue, they will be punished by God. We could sustain our happiness by ignoring them.

The vital point of the good health is not so much on the longevity factor but we can move about everywhere without assistance, a freedom that we seldom appreciate. And it is the most valuable gift of God, greater than a billion dollars, and better than a beautiful wife.

14/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

THE THREE WORLDS WE MAY LIVE TO SEE

Only a few left; those who are blessed to see the two worlds. I would regularly use the word WE to mean me and my contemporaries of the same age. Some of us may live to see the third world.

The first world to us was the era without TV, the Mata-Mata with the Tarbush hat, the train with wooden seats. Girls married at the age of 12 and some at 10 (Now by the modern standard they called it rape). They were scared of crossing twenty for fear of being called old maids. That was the age of 'ais kepal', the shave ice ball, the making of swords and guns we made out of wood to play hero and villains during week ends, caught fighting fish, chasing kites and swam into any available rivers and ponds, and when we came home our mothers were ready with a long cane. Every Friday the town board people would enter our kampongs and sprayed insecticides, and at night the night soil carries emptied our toilet pails. The toilets were always outside the house. In those days one could get a job after passing standard 4. After 6 years of primary education a person could be a teacher.

The second world began to appear around the '60s. More schools were built  and there was a big rush for education, reaching the Senior Cambridge. Cars and TVs and telephones began to dwell in homes. There were scooters and Vespas, cheap matinees where we took chances to meet girls at cinemas, boys and girls began to go for dating. The sword fighting and other robust kid's sports began to fade. It was in the '80s that great changes took place, turning the world upside down with micro-chip technologies. The world get so much smaller. The end of the 20th century started a new phase of the new world.

This is the third world that we may not have the chance to see but the new generations will. It is the world once we called a fantasy heaven. It all began with the so-called alien technology, levitation and anti-gravity vehicles. Though the new technology is still a secret of government properties, people endeavored themselves into inventing small flying machines, which are now taking shapes, from a flying hover board to human carrying quad copters. On the other side there are inventions of perpetual battery power. Yes, imaginable fairies will come to live. The flying superman is no more a remote dream. They are not within reach. They are already here and now.

At homes kids do not go for sword fighting game but battle with their friends across the globe on their PCs. Parents with their kids overseas speak visually to them blissfully. 3D TV set protruding images making us to dodge at the fast coming spears or stones. Machines that wash and dry our cloth while we are perusing blog and Facebook pages. We don't have to go to bank to transfer money or paying bills at office counters. A small smart phone facilitate those tasks for us.

What lies ahead we never know. We just sit and wait.

To the newly born nothing will be strange. Even to the living, a change is never a surprise. People don't swoon when you show them a three inch man or a man with a snake head. They don't even appreciate them. Nobody ever asked who invented the power bank, about the change of the storage media from revolving CDs and hard-disks to the SD cards. A few may say Wow!.

Why ? God has created a shock absorbing mechanism in human being. Otherwise half of the world population will demise out of shock.

13/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

A CHANGE OF BEHAVIOR IS A BAD SIGN

What has come over me. Surely I could have not been possessed by a demon for devouring my old wrinkled face with 'bedak sejuk' literally translate as 'cool powder'. Bedak sejuk is made from the ground glutinous rice in small bits, using a banana or any other leaf as a droplets filter. When it is dry it shaped like tiny pebbles as big as guava seeds, and of course white in color. It is non-toxic and free of chemicals. Adding water to a quarter teaspoonful of bedak sejuk, I applied onto my face at night. It is very cooling and comforting. My face will look like a Chinese jumping ghost or a Chinese opera actors.

Do I look any handsomer or any younger ? No. I put it on my face simply because I feel like putting it. Mainly psychological. I have been reading a lot on enhancing beauty by all sort of skin care. People are doing good business, making tons of money and even becoming a multi millionaire. And I have seen women and young girls with beautiful faces, fair and smooth. I come to know that they are not only expensive but also contain banned chemicals.

Our great grand mothers have been using this traditional powder. They did not lack sex appeal. Men were still arose by the white faces. Money was not wasted and the skins were save from dangerous compound.

Even the ancient cosmetics in China contain chemical, added animal fat to make it waterproof. What the Malaysian Muslims do not know is the lotion and the skin care products they use contain the non-halal animal fat. As people are, God and sins will not scare them when they think they earn benefit from any source. And personal health and beauty is nothing compared to robbing and cheating and lying.

Women need to be careful of freak cosmetics claimed to be made of natural plant products like cucumber and seed oil that are not threatening the safety of the skin. The price will still be astronomical as compared to bedak sejuk. A pack of a small container only cost RM3 and can last us for three to four weeks.

Our ancient mothers not only apply the glutinous rice powder on our faces when we went to school but also the hair oil, that was not exotic or majestic, but it was merely the coconut oil. If other mothers didn't, my mother did. She used the same coconut oil used for cooking  on her hair and mine too. What a gracious grace. Now I hardly find coconut oil at home. We are using corn or palm oil for cooking. And my belt was a jute rope, tied like a ribbon in the front. I would still suggest a sort of rope for the loose trousers if anyone could not find a suitable belt, and tuck the shirt outside to hide it from visibility.

Talking about hair oil, today I used gel on my hair, combed it the way I wanted before I went jogging to beat the strong wind that had been blowing my hair left and right since the last few weeks. I can also beat it by tying my hair with a hair band or wearing a cap. I can't imagine how an old man like me looks like with the hair band. Cap would cover my face from the young sexy joggers, whom I love to wink. So I applied a small scoop of gel on my head.

Our people believe that a sudden change of behavior is a signed that his death is near and it is approaching very fast. It is very true that lately I realized I even changed my eating habits. I went for jack fruits, cucumber and fresh orange. I frequented the RM3.50 roti kirai with meat gravy. Whenever I went to buy burger, I opted for shrimp instead of my usual meat. But it is not as strange as putting my face with the white a lump of starchy stuff on my face before I go to bed.

Is it not a weird sign ?

13/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

EMPTY POCKET BIG DREAMER

We are bound to bump into something that is not expected. We never know what. The other night while I was having a dinner at a stall, a young man passed by, accosted me and sat on the chair at the next table. "Long time no see, Sir," he said. "I was the 97/98 student." I did not continue with the conversation but concentrate on the Nasi Lemak. I bought two packets of the delicious rice for a ringgit per packet. The packet was not big but a couple would be enough to fill my stomach. I noticed the young man ordered nothing and sat there doing nothing. After finishing my dinner I bade him goodbye. He called me and asked me for two ringgit. I gave the notes I was holding in my hand and went home.

The next night I went to the same stall again. As I was taking my seat the same man came again and took a seat at my table. I knew he wanted something and asked him to take two packets for himself. He, not only took the Nasi Lemak, but also ordered an ice tea.

While eating he came out with all sort of stories and ideas,"I want to sell fried chickens, Sir. One day I will earn a profit of a thousand ringgit. Within a month I will get thirty thousand...eh eh uh. But money is never enough you know, right ? We have ten thousands finish, twenty finish...right or not ? eh eh uh...I will fry my chicken nicely and earn thirty thousands a month...." I could not stand him anymore, a young man who asked me for two dollars and now talking of tenths of thousands. He spoke with an odor of weeds from his breath. I guessed that this guy must have been  really nut.

I decided not to be courteous and good. As I finished the two packets of rice and he was still swaggering, I told him that I had to leave, for I have to attend a certain urgent matter. I paid RM3 for my meal and RM3.50 for his.

Last night I decided to go somewhere else for my dinner for I had guessed he would be waiting for me again.

There had been reports of the missing cars and motorcycles and house breaking around this area. My mind swirled with wild imagination. He could be one of the prowlers. How many others are like him ? Only God knows. Tenths of thousands have been laid off. Sometimes I asked myself why not these jobless young people go and rob Rosmah, Syahrizat or Najib.

These are our trash, the scum garbage born out of our failures. We just don't care. They were never mentioned in the UMNO general assembly.

12/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

CLASSLESS SOCIETY ?

Equality in the eyes of God differ from equality in eyes of men. On the day the world began and inhabitants multiplied classes emerged to appear. There were leaders and chieftains and specialization of various functions. There were slaves and masters, the affluent and the poor, kings, nobles and the laymen. The Varna system clearly clarifies who were in charge of religion, war, business and the workers.

Classes in society evolved by itself. Skin color, creeds and economic specialization are partly responsible for the class formation. The more powerful seize power and became rulers, making laws on boundaries, ownerships and taxations. There were the ruling class and the rest of then men, who were peasants, labors and entrepreneurs. Landowners and people with capital had to find workers to work in their fields. Whenever local people in scarcity they seek inferior people in other countries. There were some willing workers who usually fill in the factories and there were black slaves to work in the cotton and wheat fields.

More classes loomed as trade expanded and flourished. There were shopkeepers, middlemen and conveyors. There were bankers and people who ran insurance companies. They were mechanics and builders. The symbols of their status were depicted by the dress they wore and the properties they owned. The wealthy sent their kids to prestigious private schools, the poor to the government institutions. The Blacks were deemed inferior, confined to colored bar, drank from different pipe. The brown were looked down by the yellow. Among the White they were attempts to categorized the superior and the inferior race by the bone structures.

Classes were said to be unfair and suppressive. The poor were excessively taxed for the ruling class to enjoy. French and Russian revolutions wanted to rid of the courts of the Kings and the Czars to end suppression and sufferings. Then came the Communist with ALL MEN ARE EQUAL to squash the capitalist society and replaced with socialism. But today if you are in Vietnam or China, do you not see capitalism and classes of people ?

Whether we like it or not the trees grow, the buildings cropped up rushing to the sky, the people are working hard to grow richer. And will we be the ones to say "...cut all the growth. Cut the trees, flattened the buildings. Don't strive to better yourselves.." ?

There is a leeway for everyone to climb a social ladder. We can't idly enjoying our siesta and hope for the money to grow, for the success in business, promotion in an office. More often than not, the more effort we put in the higher we can climb, the greater the reward. It is resilience, acuteness and courage that provide us the way to wiggle to the higher class.

Classless society is a pure absurdity.

In a competitive world indolence will push us into a bottomless pit. We will eventually lose everything.

12/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

I WAS NEW IN HAM RADIO

I was new in Ham radio at that time. I wrote to telecom and made some inquiries about it. The department was kind enough to send me a syllabus, radio regulations and a visual Morse code symbols. All were in English. The first radio operators I met were Eshee, Malcom, Chow and a few others at the Coronation Camp Penang. They were setting up a JOTA station. Later I frequent Eshees's and Malcom's shack almost every week to say hello on the radio. I began to make preparation for the radio examination.

RAE (Radio Amateur Examination) was conducted in English. The paper was divided into two parts, the regulation and the technical. We have to write the answers in the essay form. I remember answering a question on logbook with complete illustration as I was keeping a log as a SWL. And on the technical part I drew a complete schematic diagram on Superheterodyne receiver and giving description for each part of the receiver. And another on the antenna and the propagation.

The objective of the old syllabus was to ensure every ham understood the working or a transmitter and a receiver. In those earlier days hams had to homebrew their own rigs, and transistors came later in the years. Hams need to know the value of the resistors by one look when they were building up or repairing equipments.

There were not many hams then, not more than 400. If you can't understand English then you could not be a ham. The test was in English and the daily communication too was in English. All went well without any hassle and without any problem.

Years later after I became a full pledge ham I heard some top guys in MARTS were talking about giving a chance to those others to come on the air too with limited frequency ie VHF. There were arguments whether to create an opening to a new class or not at all. The opponent of the idea predicted the future problems and havoc. Discussions dragged on. I went back to school in the United States, leaving ham radio for a long many years, almost 15 years or so.

I received a letter from the authority asking me to renew my ticket. By and by I learned that there was a license B created. I did not know the date when it began and who were the main negotiators. Those who followed in several JOTAS were now licensed with 9W call signs. There were repeaters all over.

After awakened from a long sleep I encountered with a new world. It was the second time I was new again. My head was swirling with confusion. There were new things I have to learn which I had never new before. Even new rigs were without built in power supply. They were much more smaller and lighter. When I could repair my Yaesu FT101, the new rig would make me a stupid fool.

Please note that Class B transpired out of a good hearted ham whose intention was to give chances to those who could not pass CW test when Morse codes was still mandatory.

11/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

CHANGING TIME

I have almost given up knowing the current state and progress of Malaysian Amateur Radio, because there are other things that interest me and call for my focus. Hours after hours I spend time on the Facebook and Whatsapp applications, downloading and watching movies and writing blog. When  9M2NZ, Rashid Ghani, asked for my comment on the Radio Clubs that went astray and racial, I was awed. I do not  know anything, about the clubs and other activities. Whatever I know is that we cannot compare the old and the new on whatever matter at all. Things change with time and they are shaped by the changing environments.

Once I disagreed with the change vehemently but later realized it is no point in trying to change the world and I have to be an arrant fool at yelling insults at the dynamic world. If we don't like anything just keep it to ourselves and stay away from it.

After all the change is inevitable. We used to enjoy the shaved ice ball. We can't curse the world when it isn't here anymore and being replaced with what we called 'ice kacang topped with ice cream'. You cranked your car to start it in the old days. It is now replaced by an electric starter motor. In medical, agriculture, transportation and offices everything take a new shape. Good or bad they are here. The old ones have vanished. What is there to lament about.

Whatever we don't like we avoid it. I don't like newspapers. So I stopped buying them. It has been for more than 15 years that I don't read Utusan Malaysia or the New Straits Times. I don't like ASTRO, so I don't subscribe to it. Some old hams do not like the SOP of the new amateurs and just stopped monitoring to their chats. It is not a matter of right and wrong but a matter of taste.

If truly that someone prefers racism in ham radio, it is up to the authority to think about it and decide as to the course of actions. The fact is who are we to impose the ruling and the standard of amateur radio in this country. If they want to form clubs by any name let them. They can't force you to like them and you can't force them to agree with you.

Let us look at something else other than the ham radio. Look at our culture and values that we have been practicing. You do not find modern people donning  dress of the 18th or 19th century anymore. Drugs that were once a taboo and illegal are now legalized. Who ever thought of the same sex marriages ? The complexities of changes are untold stories. Imagine a man who died in 1700 comes back to life, will he want to change the world now ? Can he change the world ?

Some call it destiny. Others call it progress.

What don't change is human emotion and sentiment, and the basic needs of food and shelter. Love, hate, fear, anger, greed and pity are elements in men that persist ever since. And these sentiments that unite and break mankind apart. Classes and status of people are simply natural, determined by creeds, color, languages, geographical locations, culture, education, philosophies and interests. Birds of the same feather usually flock together. That explains why we have nudist community, the gays, the fanatics, the communists, the orthodox and liberalists. And economic division too is a natural process.

We cannot have total unity and oneness in amateur radio due to the increasing population and the above variety of human sentiments. What we see in Malaysian amateur fraternity is something inevitable. If it has not happen yet, it is bound to happen later. Why ? Because we are different in many ways.

Just because people aren't like us, we have to create war on them ? Yet people go to war on their differences.

I finally choose to remain mum whatever people said about me. I don't lose a single cent neither did I gain any pittance. I did not reject signing for the 9Ws and I did not push them away if they seek my other than financial help. I wrote software for Rohizat's workshop and happily exchanging information on traveling joy with him. At my free time I would go for any invitation. But I am not always free.

At this current time soccer is a topic I very much love to discuss. I would queue for hours under the blazing sun to purchase a ticket. I shouted and yell and shriek in the stadium forgetting that I am an old man ready to die anytime. That made my money worth to depart. I scolded the referee, the players and shouted at the coach as if I was the best and the world class player. Actually I can't even kick a ball straight.

I have been in radio since 1975. Try to compute the number of years. And I have 4 or 5 more years to live. What's the hack about fighting over some unjust trivial issues. My life is too short, much much shorter than yours.

11/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

OLD BRAIN

It is really hard to learn at the age of seventy plus as memory cells are rotting and beyond repair. They are selling Korean Ginko which claim to sharpen memory. Money could help in replacing the old with the new cells as what Najib and Rosmah are doing. For laymen like millions of us, we better prepare ourselves to meet God rather than fighting natural acclimatization. How could we acquire new things when the old ones are rapidly fading.

Only the other night when I brought a spectacle with me to watch a soccer match at the local stadium, I found it was not on my collar where I hung it. I only put it on when I wanted to see the person who scored a goal more clearly. A distant night driving in the absent of street lights I sometimes put it on to see the curvature of the road. I don't have a perfect vision but I do not always put my spectacle on.

It has been several years that I wanted to learn and improve my English, a subject that I never passed during my school days. I fail to achieve my objective no matter how hard I tried. It is not because of my stupidity but because the retention power is almost nil. I forget names and I forget the words that I came across. Ageing is inversely proportional to memory. What is there to lament, wail an shriek when nature destines us in that path. Even death is a divine gift.

Last night out of a sudden I had a desire to look at Korean's writing. These days I watched a lot of Korean movies with English subtitle. I just wonder how a word or sound is formed. I would have recognized the Chinese characters, the Thais and the Arabic word formation but not the Koreans. Looking at a page tutorial I began to understand it. To learn it will take me several years to the edge of my living frontier. In short I will be dead first before I can remember a basic and simple Korean.

Though sciences has proven about the declining state of human mind, I don't give up believing in the power of God. I always pray to God for my good health and smart memory. I think my prayer call was met. The lost spectacle was surprisingly found hidden on the back seat of my car two days later, hidden in an awkward position.  I can't figure out how it went there. And this morning I checked my BP and found it was 124/67, and after a late night gluttonous dinner my blood sugar was 6. You may call it co-incidence. I don't. I will continue to strive to better myself in English and seek more knowledge about the mystery of the universe.

Young people do not see us the way we see ourselves. We keep our vanity hidden. I was not wrong in my prediction about Malaysia and the Malays. My aunty at eighty plus said, "They call me senile ? Give me a lot of cash and watch how senile I can be..."

The young are not wrong in thinking there is a decline of alertness among the elderly. Everything slows down, from the neuron to the muscle movements. I have been talking about forgetfulness. If it happens among the young they call it absent minded. That does not mean ageing rob everything from us and we are to retire from active life and seeking knowledge. We have God with with. We ask. God may give, or may not give. But we must also struggle and work for what we desire.

Today the world is kind enough to provide free knowledge into our homes. Despite the difficulty in self learning I will continue to learn a little Korean as much as I know Mandarin and Thais. I wish myself good luck.

10/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

Creating Stories of Me Selling Radio

A radio friend rang me inquiring about a transceiver he said I want to sell.

       "Sell my equipment ? Who told you ? " I asked.

        "Mr X who heard from Mr Y," he said.

I have not seen Y for ages though I met Mr X about 10 months ago. I never divulge to anyone about my departing with my radios. I have two HF transceivers and one dedicated VHF/UHF, which I occasionally used to monitor and sometimes working Morse codes. I did buy a Diamond power supply and gave away free to a poor lady ham who had been laid off from her job. I even bought a new paddle not long ago. How could someone simply spread the news about my emptying my shack ?

It is true that I am a little broke now, not in the sense that I do not have any money to spend but I can't meet all my spending allocations. These are for my car service, for utility, food consumption, car gasoline and for contingencies. I never plan to sell my belongings even if I am starving. Nevertheless I may give things away. That may include my radio equipments.

Sinister talks seem to be a great pleasure to some. They created the non-existence stories which we called fictions, passed around and people believing in the stories would have the misconceptions of many things in the world. The highest evil of all was the false flag aimed at demonizing others to fulfill their agenda, to justify conquest, hence enjoying the rich resources of the land. The lesser evil was to destroy the political carrier of the opponents and to hold to power perpetually. Others do it to play for office. Or as justification for not paying loan or to hide their own avarice and rogue characters.

Newspapers that have carried false stories were sued and suffered heavy loses several time.

Mine is not a big matter. It hurts no one. It is just a trivial disappointment to my radio friend who is desperately looking for a HF transceiver as he has successful in upgrading himself to an A class. I suggested to him to get a new one from One Communication. A fully dedicated HF rig costs RM2.5K, which is considered inexpensive, the Icom718.

Icom 718 impressed me as I worked with a few stations that sent me a powerful and tremendous signal. Listening to the audio, I would think it was from a high end rig.

He would have to spend about 4K for a few decent stuffs; an antenna tuner, and a power supplier. I have not told him that he could get a much cheaper homebrewed rig from Indonesia for a price of about between 800 to 1.2K ringgit. The Jakarta Hamfest is about July. He has a few months to put his money aside for his shopping spree in Jakarta.

I think I need to tell him about the ethics of being a responsible person, to avoid creating stories and to assess the veracity of any news.

06/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

CROSSFIRE SABAH VS READERS

Salleh Keruak: Sabotaging M'sian economy not patriotism

Sabotaging Malaysia's economy by frightening off foreign investors is an act of treason, not patriotism, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak.

"Some people claim they are criticising the prime minister and are running down the country out of patriotism.

"Most historians agree that Adolf Hitler was also a patriot and that Naziism was the product of this patriotism. And 100 million people died because of this," Salleh said in a blog post last night...

Readers challenge

Nkorea1 msia 0 Nobody sabotages the exonomy except ypu umno by running it to the ground and covering up all the losses.. Everything that manages to come out in the open is thr truth. If it is not then show us the proof .. It is because everyone on the outside perceives umnonas a big gpnof dedak eaters . We do not believe ..you.. Show us proof.. You cant just refute itand we fall in line..

Anonymous #44199885 And pray tell us what do you call allegations of kleptocracy and misappropriation of funds from 1MDB which made global headlines and under investigation by authorities in USA Switzerland HK and Singapore to name a few? Is MO1 an alleged kleptocrat a patriot?

Anonymous_1404717623 Those cabinet ministers Stealing our national coffers via corruption, asking under counter commission for projects without tenders are most patriotic, salleh Keruak, am I right?

Nehru Kerua stealing in 95billions is treason to the country and you are part of the treachery with umno mo1 and BN thieves.

RR Pointing out wrong doings of any government is not sabotaging the government but an expression loyalty and concern for the nation and people . It is indeed patriotism. A good and responsible government will correct the wrongs.

Demi Rakyat In other words, Najib is a traitor.

Caripasal Is sabotaging economy by corruption after corruption an act of treason? Corruption committed by BN gomen has jeopadised the daily living of th rakyat

mosquitobrain Salleh Said Keruak, do not talk about patriotism, Negaraku or Rukun Negara not until Najib aka MO1, you and other Umno-Baru warlords are put behind bar for kleptocracy.

Anonymous #28648954 Ya lah Salleh, this means your boss MO1 is the most unpatriotic one of all coz he's the cause of the economic mess we are in, correct?

ex-PJ Very funny wayang happening with Keruak as the star. If an embezzling PM, complicit in murder, does not frighten off investors, what would?

Thickskin How silly and dumb is this ape? How can pointing out the faults in the Government be called sabotage? How can mere words cause investors to be frightened?
Tulan Patriotic? Please ask this question to our thieving PM and his wife, if U dare Sallah Berok.
bumiputeri what about pocketing RM2.6 billion of rakyat money?
Peacemaker Stealing USD$59 billion from government linked companies until the govt become so poor needs to impose GST is an unpatriotoic and treasonous act. All those involved should be tried an sentence to death.
Touche Is stealing RM 2.6 B patriotic ? Idiot.
Anonymous_1431954960 MO1 is the most patriotic Malaysian for being the thieves to steal the country's wealth! All UMNO and Barisan Nasional people be it Ministers or Prime Minister are the most unpatriotic humans in the boleh land.
goldee This monkey is talking about patrotism in his own terms, a stupid assholes.
Dalvik Define sabotaging? When you have billions appeared in your personal bank account - how can you tell that there's no string attached, which may lead to sabotaging?
SORRO This baboon over excessive feeding dedak so what ever coming out from his mouth turned to be shit!
clever voter Its easy to disagree with what Salleh has said. But we live in a world where BN politicians change the rules and call it rule of law. The outcome has blurred the difference between a right and a wrong . Being critical of government is a right, and not tentatmount to treason. The minister has to grow up. There is a no such thing where government is right. The whole world has rightly acted on the 1MDB wrong doings, except the originator of the scandal. Stealing money from public treasury is a treason. In the olden days you get death punishment even if you were caught stealing an apple. There has been so much hanky and panky business in the foreign investment dealings with a country whose priority is to protect its own interest - all others are secondary. This approach sits in nicely in so called foreign investment requirements. In time to come the future generation will be indebted, and curse at this government for their lack of responsibility and moral values.
Justice Oh yes, what about the BN leaders signing away the land of the natives to the companies own by their families their cronies? Is making the natives landless and squatters on their own ancestral lands a patriotic act by the BN leaders and Govt?
Antigila Curi duit rakyat..patriotic ha!...bodoh bangang!..
AJ You are so right Kreiuk. You should start by arresting or prosecuting MO1 who has been labeled by the whole world for sabotaging and embezzling the people's money. All the rest you seem to imply are actually urging you is as many ways to stop this saboteur. If you were a true patriot, instead of a really poor spin doctor, you would be able to recognize this.
tikusmati Fed jup of being kind, nice and polite...just shuddup and get lost....you freaking bus start
Anonymous 2455811486862327 Don't try to lecture us about patriotism when your gang of thieves are busy looting the country.
RCZ You are right, Najib and Gang and the current leader have already and are sabotaging the economy and should be hanged. Or are you ignoring the biggest heist of the century called I MDB?
hplooi Salleh WTF are you doing about Internet connectivity in Malaysia? Why are you so busy body over 'foreign investment' and the strategies or wisdom of said? Connectivity is a major issue for the new economy. (1) Our connectivity infrastructure is NOT keeping pace. (2) The government is not doing enough to protect consumers against the big service providers. Unfortunately, your ministry seems to be apologists and always on the side of service providers. Internet service cost is still high and service is deteriorating. Example I am forced to pay RM49 for Internet TV which I DO NOT WANT in my internet subscription. Where can I complain? Do your work Encik Salleh lebih Teruk.
thana55 When criminal elements are at the country's steering wheel, the rakyat should keep quiet???. We would tend to agree with you if Parliment runs the way it should, the judiciary maintains its independence, PDRM serves the rakyat and not a protector of criminals in high office, MACC nabs big fish without fear or favour, etc. So do not pontificate. It is you and your gang who should be charged with TREASON. Period. By the way why chicken out of the debates...a ckesr indication of who the criminals are.

Investors are not the kampong folks who would blindly believe in what Najib is lying to them. They have been listening to Najib as much as they did to the opposition members. If Najib has been successful with the world he should have been successful in convincing the investors too. I think Najib has spent billions to remove and erase the world's negative perception on himself. The flow of money hurts the country. Is it not true that Najib and his wife are both responsible in sabotaging the country's economy ?

05/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

MORALITY STILL PREVAIL

I have not been in favor of businessmen and Malay taxi drivers. I believe they are selfish, inconsiderate and greedy. They charged exorbitant price to their customers, especially the taxi service in my town. For a distant of 3 or 4 miles they would put 4 persons to fill up their taxis and charged as much as RM15 a person. If they happen to knock your car they won't to pay even a single cent for a damage. The Mamak restaurant like Mee Abu or Yasmeen would cut your throat till you bleed. You will not pay less than RM5 for a simple meal at a Pumpong restaurant owned by a Malay. Here a double fresh orange juice cost RM5 while elsewhere only cost RM4. In my hear I had been cursing these people for their avarice.

Finally I realized that my generalization was wrong. Not all businessmen are that ridiculous. I can still enoy a good meal for RM2.50. The RM3.50 breakfast of Roti-Kirai with plenty of beef in the gravy could last me till 3pm, after having the tasty food at 9am.

Even the stingy Majed restaurant, well known for a tasty but expensive food, is kind to me,  charging me between RM4.50 to RM6 for each meal with free beverage and sliced cucumber. A large prawn which he usually sold at RM10 to RM12 a piece, were sometimes served to me for only RM6. It is a complete meal.

And this evening I wanted to have a taste on satay. Satay is a very expensive dish nowadays. Price of a stick used to be 30 cents and now has increased to 70 cent. At the Night market at a place I used to go was 60 cents a stick. I ordered 6 sticks and asked the man to add extra slices of cucumber for an extra price. Cucumber has a good nutritional values. Some says it is good for kidney. The girl put about 7 to 8 pieces in a small plate. While I was munching the meat, the man added a fistful more of them. But when I wanted to make a payment the man told me to pay just for the satay, not the cucumber. I insisted. He adamantly refused it. "The cucumber is free for you," he said.

And at the same night market the boy who sold the jackfruit for RM10 for two packets, only charged me RM8.

I realize that after all not everyone is greedy nor inconsiderate. But I have yet to find a taxi man in my town who I could favor as a good man.

Morality still prevails even though there may be one out of ten millions who would reject millions of corrupt money for a principle, and willing to starve, rather than colluding themselves with avarice. People who hold to the moral values and consulting their conscience are hard to find even in the Eastern part of the world these days. Most individuals are wearing the masks of hypocrisy. Their hearts and facial countenance are far apart. When confront with money there could appear an immediate transformation of personality.

We can only pray for our fellow humans not to lose their humanity, to believe in the high esteem of morality.

 

05/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

DISAPPEARING SPIRIT OF SOCCER

There are heavy gambling in soccer. They can involve between hundred thousands of ringgit to a few millions. You may be amazed to know that there various ways of betting, not merely the final result of who wins and lose. People may bet on which team will get the corner ball first, the number of cards waves by the referee, the number of corner kicks within 20 minutes and which team will score the most in the first or second half.

The stake could be so big that bookies and gamblers tend to use stealth individuals to breakup or to weaken a certain team from direct corruptions to psychological approach to hurt the coach or players, to break them apart. The stealth individuals are not strangers to the team. These individuals mingle with the officers and the players as an ardent and die hard supporter. Sometimes their sting work. Other time they continue to fail time and again.

I could not understand the reason  for teams who won championships to recruit new players on the following seasons. Sometimes I did think there were invisible hands behind the decision.

The question is whether we need to have stealth private detectives to investigate and observe any strange phenomena.

Why not when soccer has become a big business and ghastly political issue ? There was a clash of Titans over it. Millions of rinngit are changing hands, both in the inside and outside the main soccer fraternity. Salaries for coaches and players have reached the million marks. People are rushing to make a living out of the sport. If ignored and unchecked the sanctity of the game will be totally destroyed. Fans drive hundred of miles from the remote areas to watch a clean straight game, yelling and shouting their heads off, not knowing there are pawns in the field being pushed by the unseen.

Whatever there are opportunities for some people within the community to make big money from a simple decision.

Coaches and players were robbed in the middle of the game to weaken one and to strengthen the other. Referee made bias decision. Goalkeepers caught empty air instead of the slow moving ball. Players faked injuries and quit the field. The real spirit of the game was ruined by punters and corruptors, and by people with power and money.

Funny, there isn't seem to be obstruction rules anymore. Players blocked their opponents in twos or threes while the ball is feet away. There are brawling and knee attacking, and pushing almost coming to a game of rugby. Surely these are not caused by the mastermind of gambling machines. So were the robbing of coaches and players in the middle of the game. The whole stuffs looks like rubbing mud to the beautiful and entertaining sports, erasing the spirit of the game.

 

What different does it made between corruptors and a person who uses a dubious mean to kill a strong team ? Both are killing the sanctity and the integrity of the lovable entertainment.

 03/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

GOD GIVES GOD TAKES

iIslam prohibits arrogance and boasting. There is a word 'Riak' which means to assert oneself with the deliberate purpose of showing off that he is better and above the others. A swaggerer is seen as a person with the 'Riak'. He gives credit to himself for every success of the team or organization. You see these people everywhere and everyday. We were warned by some Muslim scholars to be very careful on what we post and say on the Facebook for it may be construed as 'Riak'. My posting of a picture showing my luggage for traveling is also considered as trying to show off though my intent was for mere information.

Here I would like to focus on one issue, soccer.

Soccer is like a religion to some people in some countries. A war almost broke out due to the quarrel over the game. The sport generates a massive economic activities. Hundreds and thousands of dollars circulate during each game. It is a haven for vendors and hawkers, earning a clean profit up to a 1K at each match play.

In the recent years strong teams were from Kelantan, Pahang, Selangor, Johor, Trengganu, the Police and FELDA. Johor (JDT) was one of the finest and had been representing Malaysia in the Asian Club tournaments. Selangor, Pahang and Kelantan had ever emerged as Malaysian champions too. I do not deny the powerful JDT have been showing a fast, aggressive and skillful play.

Slowly there loom a voice that the success of JDT was due to the effective and a good leadership management. It did not end there. Instead it went on to say that Malaysian soccer had not been competitive in the region because of the failed management. FAM must be revamped. It is not in my position to validate the authenticity of the view. It may be right or it may be wrong.

I have been questioning people on the composition of JDT, the number of Johor native players and the the numbers from other states, who had been the main scorers ? If star players from other states were brought in and the winning goals came from a skillful import plater, we could not attribute the success to the well organized administration.

Fans were seen to pass remarks that JDT has shown a 'Riak' and had been spewing unpleasant statements on the team. They even prayed for JDT to lose against a Japanese team. Last night when JDT was beaten 3 - 1 by Pahang it created a happy moment to millions. Where was the greatness of JDT and the most effective administration ?

It is a human habit to forget God's providence when they are at the top, with wealth and power. They render the great attribute to themselves.

I don't even think Malaysia will be able to qualify the World Cup despite of the new administration for a myriad of reasons.

As to the JDT I only have to say that God gives and God takes.

02/04/2017 ABDUL RAHMAN RAOF 

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