Tsunami: Interpretations too clever by half

Apparently for some people, the tsunami tragedy that claimed over 150,000 lives across more than 10 countries doesn't really have much to do with geology and shifting tectonic plates at all. Just read what I came across on the Friendster bulletin board a few days ago.

Bala Tsunami pada 26 Disember 2004 yang telah menimpa Aceh, Utara Malaysia, Phuket, India, Sri Lanka dan Tanzania turut menenggelamkan Pulau Diego Garcia milik Amerika Syarikat yang terletak di lautan Hindi.

Berita ini walaupun dilaporkan oleh Harian Metro pada keluaran seminggu yang lepas, tetapi media antarabangsa tidak memperbesarkannya kerana pulau tersebut adalah merupakan sebuah pulau yang menempatkan pengkalan tentera udara Amerika yang terbesar.

Malapetaka yang menimpa Amerika Syarikat ini telah menyebabkan presiden negara tersebut gundah gulana selama dua hari selepas tragedi 26 Disember tanpa membuat sebarang kenyataan media. Pembaca boleh menyelak semula akhbar lama dan akan mendapati bahawa George Bush baru bersedia untuk membuat kenyataan media terutamanya berhubung dengan malapetaka tersebut pada hari ketiga selepas kejadian.

Difahamkan apa yang menyedihkan Bush ialah kerana Amerika baru sahaja dalam tempoh sebulan dua ini berjaya menyiapkan satu kekuatan baru di pulau tersebut dengan persiapan senjata- senjata canggih terkini, tentera dan yang paling penting adalah perisik-perisik Amerika yang bertugas di pulau tersebut. Bala Tsunami telah melenyapkan terus pulau itu bersama-sama dengan 5,000 orang tentera, perisik dan senjata.

Mengikut satu sumber, persiapan terkini Amerika di pulau tersebut adalah bertujuan untuk melancarkan serangan terhadap Republik Islam Iran dalam satu tempoh masa yang terdekat kerana Amerika gagal berkompromi dengan Iran melalui tuntutan supaya Iran mengiktiraf negara haram Israel.

Perancangan jahat Amerika dan sekutunya regim haram Israel ke atas Iran sebagai sebuah negara yang mendaulatkan sistem Islam telah digagalkan oleh perancangan Allah yang lebih sempurna.

So trains were derailed, resorts flattened and whole villages swept away, even in predominantly Muslim countries, just in order that a remote US Indian Ocean base could be wiped out? Very nice theory, eh. I wonder where, in the author's twisted mind, are the 150,000 (rough estimate) civilians who lost their lives. Collateral damage??

It is this kind of propaganda that makes one totally disgusted. Far from helping or even expressing any form of sympathy in light of the humanitarian disaster, some quarters choose to make up "theories" such as this. This is rabid anti-Americanism taken to its illogical extreme. Not that the people who make these nonsense up are even helping their cause. Quite the contrary, in fact. I can assure you that this kind of sentiment, wherever it is picked up, immediately provides more fodder to xenophobes in the West such as the British National Party (BNP) to advance their own radical theories of racial superiority and clash of cultures. Thus more hatred is stoked and proper dialogue/understanding between West and East gets further impeded. Who loses? The people who honestly want to live in peace on this earth.

Just for the record, Diego Garcia has NOT EVEN been destroyed by the tsunami. This was in fact made clear by the US and British (to whom the island actually belongs) the moment satellite information was available. For further proof and information, as well as satellite imagery from the island itself see http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/diego-garcia-imagery-3.htm.

Tertiary Studies - Midway Point Passed

In July 2002, my proper tertiary studies began with enrolment at Kolej Matrikulasi Yayasan Saad (as it then was). The idea was to complete 5 years of study - 2 years of A-Levels and 3-years of undergraduate study in the field of law.

On 15 January 2005, I commemorated the symbolic passing of the halfway mark in this effort - looking back on the completion of 2-and-a-half years of study and also ahead, to another 2 years and 6 months at University College London where I now find myself.

Milestones such as this provide opportunities to reflect and to consider what we have made of the opportunities in our path, as well as how we will best address the rigours of the years to come. It symbolises achievement, and it also poses a considerable challenge. Moments like this serve as a reminder that time has passed quickly away, but also that the road ahead is long and fraught with difficulty.

In the years gone by I am glad and thankful for the opportunities that have come my way, as well as the blessings of God, and the support of my family, teachers, friends and loved ones all this while. I thank God that I can honestly say I did my best; no more, no less. I am grateful for whatever achievements I managed during this time, especially in the field of history which I am personally passionate about. Yet life must not be built around material achievements, for these are fragile, momentary and passing; a drop in the ocean, a grain of sand on the beach compared to what people have achieved before, what continues to be achieved and what will inevitably be achieved in future. Rather I would measure my success by any happiness and friendship that I may have brought to the lives of others, and by the extent to which I lived my life in the way my Creator has called upon me to.

In the time to come I hope I will be able to adjust my priorities to changing circumstances. The challenges present in this situation are many indeed. Nevertheless although priorities can be adjusted, principles will not.

Days In The Highlands: Scotland '05

So it came to pass that, having heard of the existance of some New Year Day street party called Hogmanay in Edinburgh, I and a group of friends (Amber, Siew Ching, Saravanan, Soha, Linda) planned a trip to see the action first-hand. Sin Yi joined our group later so it turned out to be a mini-gathering, along with Kai Lin and Phey Ming the Edinburgh hosts and Wei Ting, who was staying with Phey Ming at the time. So here is a brief account of what happened.

First, you need to be mentally prepared if you try to take advantage of low-price bus fares to Scotland. This is because the 9-hour journey to Glasgow and then 1 hour-plus transit to Edinburgh by Megabus can really kill you. Especially if you had little sleep due to party and/or chatting with friends the night before. Especially if you are on Megabus, whose seats cannot be reclined. Especially if your Megabus happens to be stuffy upstairs all the way. We did it. I think my blood pressure took quite a beating, but I survived. Kewl eh.

Second, Scotland is such a beautiful place that it's really worth visiting at least once if you're in England, Wales or Ireland. The rolling highlands north of Yorkshire are very panoramic and you can see real British farms and countryside like those in postcards, storybooks etc. Edinburgh itself is tremendous, you've got to see the Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile ascending up to the Castle and the numerous tourist spots in the Scottish capital that make a trip there very worthwhile.

One notable feature of the Scottish people is their strong sense of identity, whether it is by demonstrating elements of their Highland culture (kilts, bagpipes etc) or by holding to a separate form of identification such as St Andrew's Saltire the blue-and-white flag of Scotland and the anthem "Flower of Scotland". The people of Scotland are clearly less than contented to be identified as simply part of Britain, much less to be in any secondary position to the English (leaving aside performance in football). Somehow, I recalled a depiction in The Guardian of posters handed out by the Black Watch Regiment, a Scottish unit forming part of the UK's Iraq contingent, to the people of Iraq. The friendly soldier handing a flower to a child sported a Scottish flag, not the Union Jack, which did strike me as quite surprising since we frequently refer to "British troops in Iraq". How much of the target population might recognise it as a Scottish emblem, as distinct from a British one, is of course another matter.

Anyway, Hogmanay turned out to be quite a nice street party, with performances of Highland culture, a bagpipe band rendition of "Scotland the Brave" (which by the way is a very historic and inspiring tune) and, of course, a midnight countdown to the new year. There was more than a tinge of sadness present due to the tsunami disaster engulfing South Asia at the moment, which was duly marked with a minute of silence an hour before the countdown. Unfortunately, moments after the countdown the crowd turned rather unruly, with people pressing hard for the exits in a relentless stampede. In the melee, yours truly was struck from behind on the head by some unknown yob (I presume drunken), though no serious damage resulted. In the event, I neither 'turned the other cheek' nor struck back, though I would strongly have preferred the latter course of action. Unfortunately, the identity of the bugger who committed the most dishonourable act of striking from behind in the crowd remains unknown.

Anyway, the mild disruption was set aside soon enough in the pursuits of the following days, which included a visit to our college senior Min Hui and his girlfriend on New Year's Day. On the same day it was my good fortune to see natural snowfall for the first time ever, the sheets of rain turning into flakes of ice in the cold winds of Edinburgh. The next day we climbed Arthur's Seat, a craggy hill outside the Old City whose peak offers a tremendous 360-degrees view of Edinburgh and its surrounds. Towards the top of the hill we encountered small snowdrifts and frozen terrain, so it was really a unique and memorable hiking experience. The evening we spent visiting the Castle and Princes Street, the central commercial avenue in the city, before adjourning to a theatre for "Phantom of the Opera", for which our hosts very kindly managed to secure us Edinburgh-rate tickets at a fraction of the normal London rate. Our party returned to London the next day, spending the day travelling.

There was a little more stuff that sounded interesting but that we didn't have time for, such as a day trip further north into the Highlands, to the Scottish lakes and the North Sea islands. But I guess that is stuff for another day, another journey since we had not factored it in our travel plans, those being primarily to see the Hogmanay festival and to visit friends (both of which we accomplished to much satisfaction).

On the whole it was a most refreshing and eye-opening journey to experience a different land, a different culture. I am most indebted to Kai Lin, who very kindly put up our entire, rather large party in her flat for the duration of our stay, and also took us around to the many places we visited. Many thanks also to Phey Ming, who accompanied us to several places in Edinburgh as well. It is very rare indeed that friends like them come along, and without their contribution the venture would most certainly have not run as smoothly as it did. Kudos also to everyone in the group for being such great company over the hols and on the trip.

Year-End Holidays: What Happened Next

Ok, so the Christmas gatherings were fantastic. The day after was Boxing Day, which I was informed is a pretty major shopping occasion in this country, so at an "early" time for me, i.e. 11am, I got hold of a Bus Pass and nipped down to Oxford Street, hoping to catch a glimpse of the crowd.

Okay, well 11.30am isn't exactly early, but that didn't mean the crowds had dispersed by then. Quite the contrary. It was the first time I've seen red London buses (those heading in the direction of Oxford Street) actually not stopping by bus stands, since they were full to the brim with passengers. This of course left lots of indignant people at the bus stops, with hands stuck out and the buses just zooming by. It was only after a short trudge down the bus route to Holborn Station that I managed to clamber aboard a bus with a little space available.

I think the crowds that day were just phenomenal, there was so little room to move along Oxford Street at midday. Seeing the festive mood and the onrush of people was quite fascinating for awhile. Then I realized that despite the shops being plastered with "Sale" posters and there being indeed some substantial reductions in the price of designer labels and shoes, I could ultimately get the stuff I need (such as cheap sports shoes) at Petticoat Lane for even cheaper still. So, under the budgetary Rule of Minimum Expenditure, I ended up buying nothing much at all except for 3 books under Waterstones' "Get 3 for 2" scheme. That also because "The Da Vinci Code" had been highly recommended to me by my friends Black and Grace, and the award-winning nonfiction "Gulag" was also among the books on offer. The third book was John Grisham's "The Last Juror".

After Boxing Day came the visit of Black to my place on the 27th-29th, the 2nd ex-KMYSian to stay over at my place after Ikmal's planned stayover on the 23rd was called off due to his missing the bus at Sheffield. =) Ikmal "YDP", Mas and Abn did turn up on the next day, though, it was nice of them to drop by for a Christmas visit, sit around and have some mince pies in the real "open house" fashion.

Anyway, as he says on his blog, Black became the latest in a long list of persons to be impressed with the heating in my room =P oh well, it cost me 12 pounds 50 after all. Took Black around the usual "circuit" I bring visitors to - UCL, Oxford Street, Chinatown/Leicester Square - and the British Museum, which is about 15 minutes' walk from my place. Black left for Apu's place on the 29th.

On the night of the 29th was an absolutely fantastic gathering of old boys from High School at Holbein residence, Imperial College - many thanks to Alvin, the host, who organised the get-together and put up most of the participants overnight. Truly fortuitous to have all the HSBP Batch of '97-'01 guys in UK/Ireland - Alvin, Eddy, Selva, Sze Yong, Teow Wee, Thurston and myself present in London at once, and I must say the dinner we had together went on very well indeed. The fellowship was excellent and there was also a bottle of wine courtesy of Eddy, which may or may not have accounted for some, er, uncharacteristic (most of us, at least) behaviour that night. =D

What a way to see out the year ... in the company of erstwhile friends. No doubt an experience to cherish for years and years to come.

Christmas @ London

This year's Christmas has been truly beyond all expectations ... I probably had even more fun here than I normally do back in Malaysia =)

Had a visit from Amber and Siew Ching on the 23rd, the latest ppl to try the mi goreng Cina ("probably the best mee in the world") and nasi goreng telur at 26-5-05 Frances Gardner House =) For Christmas Eve, met up with Eugene, Siew Ching and Huey Chin at Holborn for more Chinese food (never get tired of the stuff) before going on a walk to see the massive Christmas trees and decorations at Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square.

Attended midnight service and communion at St George's Church Holborn with the rest ... such a brilliant commemoration here in the home of Anglicanism.

Christmas Day itself - there was a big gathering at my place, 26-5-05 Frances Gardner House. Linda, Siew Ching, Huey Chin and Eugene (new friend from LSE). They made "tong yuen", a Chinese delicacy made of tiny flour balls in ginger soup. Not exactly Christmassy, but more to commemorate the recent Winter Solstice Day, which is a festival in the Chinese calendar. I prepared noodles and Mexican chili, and the "guests" also brought some potato and snacks of their own, so it turned out to be one great potluck. It did help that none of my other flatmates (locals and Europeans) were in, so we more or less had the whole flat to ourselves.

Never thought that Christmas here would be so memorable and interesting. Many thanks to the friends who came, and to those who wished me well from afar. Truly, friendship is one of the best gifts we can give to another, the others being love and charity.

Happy New Year 2005