ARC DE TRIOMPHE.
Commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate his fine victory at Austerlitz. France was master of Europe then. It was completed in 1836. The arch is located in a middle of a large round about known as Palace Charles de Gaulle. As many as eight major roads congregate at this point making it a traffic nightmare as far as I can see, but the Parisian seemed to manage it some how with the assistance of blaring horn of course.
The inner wall of the arc was decorated with 558 names of generals who had served under napoleon. Beneath the arch lies the tomb of the unknown soldier from the world war one. We spent one hour exploring the monument.

MEETING FORMER SCHOOL MATE.

Wan Hassan called me around 3pm and told me he was transiting at main terminal building waiting to go back to Kuala Terengganu.
Time to catch up with an old friend from Kuala Trengganu who I have not met for several years now. He looked just like before even after having seven children. We talked, mainly about our families what is our retirement plan.
I learned that he had written three books and one them had been published recently. The book is about town planning. He is getting few ringgit royalty for the book but what is more important to him is that he is able to contribute to the younger generation. His other book is on travel.
I am very proud of you Wan for achieving that. Lets hope we meet again soon.
Note: Wan Hassan was staying at Rumah Shahbandar, room 5 while I was staying in the house but in room 2.

Brand New Friend.
This is a hilarious funny novel about a young couple, Rob and Ashley who is about to settle down after staying together for several years. Both wanted to maintain their platonic relationships to their best friend after marriage. The problem is Rob best friend is a girl, Joe and Ashley best friend is a man, Neil. It became very complicated when Joe realized she was actually in love with Rob. Her sacrifice in letting Rob marrying Ashley gave the story a happy ending.
The book give us an insight of the promiscuous life style practiced by western society to day where marriage institution is no longer relevant.

Where is Mona Lisa?
You are now my Queen!

The Louvre Museum.

The original building dated as far back as 1200AD. Initially it was meant to store royal archive as treasurer but on and off was also used at royal residence. The present appearance was the result of Napoleon III desire to complete the louvre in 1852. Apart from the thousands painting and sculptures of various ages, the louvre is well known as the residence of the famous master piece Mona Lisa. The complex is so huge that one day is insufficient to cover all the ground.

It is a place where you can stare at all the nude painting without feeling guilty or ashame of yourself. After all it is work of art and I am sure the painter wants you to appreciate their work. The painting depicting coronation of Napoleon I was painted on an enormous canvas measuring 580 square foot. It was three years work of Jacques-Louise David. A visit to Paris is considered not complete if one skip the Louvre.

MONA LISA

Judging by the throng of visitors she received daily, it will not do justice not to have a separate account to describe this famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. The model is a young Florentine women, who in 1495 was married to Francesco del Giocondo. Thus the work is also known as La Gioconda. It was one of Leornardo favorite painting. It was mentioned that he carried it with him every where. Eventually it was sold to Francis 1. It was considered prototype of renaissance painting. It really became famous in 1911 when it was stolen from the Louvre. It was missing for almost two years and rediscovered in a hotel in Florence. Why it is considered a master piece, only the real artist can appreciate it. It is said the slight smile of Mona Lisa is the attraction. The painter used a special technique of continuous interaction between light and shade which made the painting looked difference with the time of the day. All signage at louvre lead to the painting, so it was not difficult to find it on the first floor. You will be greeted by large crowd, all inching their way to have a closer look at the painting. It is a small painting compared to those gigantic painting elsewhere in the building. Barrier was erected in front it as not to allow visitors to get too close to it. In addition the painting is housed behind a thick glass wall. As many as 6 security guards could be seen around the painting at any one time. The satisfaction of seeing the painting could not be described here but I think it is worth the 9 Euro entrance fees charged. Leonardo, despite being jack of all trade, engineer, inventor,philosopher, poet is famous for creating this master piece. He is truly somebody who live few hundred years ahead of his time.

Fatin and Aina

EIFFEL TOWER

Designed by famous French architect Gustave Eiffel, suppose to be a temporary structure as part of World’s Fair 1889, celebrating 100th year of French revolution. Initially the steel structure was considered ugly by the Parisians however it was very popular with the visitor so it remained as landmark and icon of Paris till to day. It received more than 6.5 million visitors annually. It stand at 324M, not veryhigh compared to other modern tower such as KL tower which standat 421m. It was built in record time of 2 years, 2 months and 5 days.To say that it is beautiful is an understatement. It looked more like a vertical steel bridge to me, however I am attracted by the practical aspect of steel lattice work which we learned during school days being put to good use. The tower still has practical use as transmission tower in the modern era.It open to visitors 7 days a week. Other works associated with Mr.Eiffel is Statue of Liberty and Panama canal.

Mahatma Gandhi wrote in his autobiography about the tower. He was studying in England at that time.

'A particular attraction of the exhibition was the Eiffel tower , constructed entirely of iron and nearly 1000ft high. There were of course many other thing of interest, but the tower was the chief one, inasmuch it had been supposed till then that a structure of that height could not safely stand. Tolstoy mentioned that it was a monument of human folly.'

Students waiting to enter the lecture hall.
OB for me! (my daughter's hostel).

Kolej Matrikulasi Negeri Sembilan (KMNS)

My daughter was accepted by KMNS to do matriculation. I went to Kuala Pilah, yesterday to register her admission. Kuala Pilah is known as the driest place in Malaysia as oppose to my hometown Taiping being the wettest one. If not for the admission I do not know when do I have the opportunity to land myself on this town.

We exit PLUS at Senawang and followed the road signs. The road was a winding one once you past Senawang township. It reminded me of my drive to Fraser's Hill few weeks earlier. After travelling for about 35km we reached Kuala Pilah town. KMNS is located further up by 5 km toward Tampin.

The campus looked very presentable despite earlier input from friends who said it was a run down facility. He probably comparing it to some of the new establishment in other states. Despite influx of new student coming to register the staff handled their job like professional. It gave the parents so much confidence to leave their children with KMNS.

I was fortunate enough to meet En. Mat Sani, Penolong Pengarah who head of the IT Department. He went beyond my expectation in answering all my enquiries and his conduct is exemplary to other officers.

I looked forward to my future visit to KMNS to see how my daughter is getting along.

The mini clock tower.
The origin of Frase's Hill.
The Police Station built in 1919.

Fraser’s Hill being more than 1500m above sea level enjoy a cooler temperature compared to Kuala Lumpur but apart from that it is just as humid and wet like the rest of Malaysia. What make this hill resort more unique compared to the other hill resort in the country is the ‘Little England’ atmosphere it try to portray.
Fraser’s Hill was named after Scottish tin trader, Louis James Fraser who was operating there in 1890s. The mining activities ceased by 1913 when the place ran out of tin deposits. The former mining area is where the present day Fraser’s Hill Golf Club is located.
The British colonial administration decided to developed the area into a hill resort in 1917 to serve as a week end retreat for the Europeans who resided in Kuala Lumpur. Many of the old building still have the old colonial architecture to remind us of the era.
There are numerous trails to choose for those who like to explore the green forest where 250 bird species can be found. The trails carry name like Maxwell trail, Abu Suradi trail, Bishop’s trail, Hemmant trail, Rompin trail, Kindersley trail, Mager trail and Pine tree trail must have mystery tale behind it.
Now is the time to visit this interesting hill resort before further development robbing its uniqueness.

DINING at THE SMOKE HOUSE.
(Friday 9th. May 2008)

The Smokehouse Hotel is a small establishment in Fraser’s Hill. It only have 14 rooms. What make it very special from the rest is that it was set in an English Tudor style. The hotel was built in 1939 during the colonial era. The interior is decorated English style. It remind me of bed and breakfast set up that is very common in UK.
I went to the hotel with my family to have dinner. I hardly parked my car when the manager came out and greeted us. We were the only customer at that time. He invited us to come inside for tea while waiting for our dinner to be prepared. We were given a quick tour of the honeymoon suite since time was on our side.
The dinner was finally ready and we were served like some colonial masters who just came in for week end retreat from the City. It was a memorable experience for us.

DAYS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD.
This is a collection of 50 historical events occurring in the last 2500 years that leave an impact on today’s world. Each event was analyzed by the author in details to explain their causes and consequences. Starting from assassination of Julius Ceaser right up to the destruction of World Trade Center.
If man can learn from history, we will have an everlasting peace on earth but that is not to be so. Throughout the history of mankind we have been fighting culminating with the two world wars.
Many scientific discoveries which changed the way we live were also covered, including invention like telephone and steam engine.
The book make an interesting reading as well as very educational for all ages.

Author: Hywel Williams
Publisher:Quercus 21 Bloomsbury Square London WC1A 2NS

Week end at Fraser's Hill.

The last lime I went to Fraser's Hill was about 6 years ago. So I really looked forward to spend my week end there with my family. We left KL at 0200 pm and reached the foothill of Fraser's Hill called the Gap, about two hours later. We just missed the slot to go up, so had to wait about an hour before we could continue our journey. As road from the Gap to Fraser's Hill was quite narrow, for safety reason, the traffic had to be regulated at hourly interval.

There were a lot repair work going on along the stretch between Kuala Kubu Bahru and the Gap which slowed us down. I could not locate the spot where Sir Henry Gurney was ambushed by the bandit during the emergency period. I wanted to show my kid the historical place. There was a sign telling the road to Kuala Lipis was closed until further notice. No wonder the traffic was rather light. To be continued.

Danielle Steel – H.R.H – (Her Royal Highness)

Princess Christianna of Liechtenstein was destined to rule her country one day. A glamorous job which she dreaded as she preferred to lead a normal life. While serving as a Red Cross volunteer in Africa she met and fall in love with a co- volunteer, Dr. Parker.
Torn between state constitution which obligated her to marry a royalty, Christianna face the prospect of unhappy life as her father, Prince Hans Josef refused to give his consent.
In an unfortunate event, her father was killed in an assassination attempt.
She was then installed as the next ruler for her country. As the reigning monarch she was able to shape her future through constitutional amendment which entailed her to marry the man she loved., giving the story a happy ending.
Light reading recommended especially for romantic readers.

CAN YOU SEE THE STRINGRAY? WHAT CAN YOU SEE WHEN THE WATER IS CLEAR.

I was at fresh fish market, Baserah during the week end. I saw this small stream beside the fish market. The water was crytal clear. You can see all kind of things being thrown in there including dead fish and squibs. I imagine the dead fish will be washed to the sea eventually and the food cycle will be repeated.

The prices for fresh fish is so expensive nowdays. It is really a waste to see the dead fish ended at the bottom of the river. If only we can redirect them to the needy. We have to keep the river clean too if we want to manage our environment efficiently.

YOUNG BIKERS HAVING BEST TIMES OF THEIR LIFE.

I was at Batu Hitam beach, Baserah, Kuantan when this group of young bikers stopped near my car. What attracted me was the way they parked their machines, in a nice orderly manner, as if it was their standard operating procedure. They gladly posed for me when asked.

Are these the Mat rempit gang who raced their machines during weekend endangering the life of others? I do not think so judging from the polite conversation I had with some of them.

The Memoir of a Geisha. It was a good movie but I felt something was missing. The movie went too fast a pace. There was gap here and there. What attracted me to the movie was the presence of Malaysian actress in the form of Michelle Yeoh. Well, not many Malaysian made it to Hollywood. The ending was a bit artificial. So to satisfy my curiosity I have to read the novel itself.
The story was about a poor girl Chiyo who later became one of the well known geisha in Japan., Traditionally the Japanese looked at geisha as a very respectable profession. That is until after 2nd world war when the Americans, during their occupation of Japan, gave a different definition of geisha. The respectable entertainer now has become nothing more than a social escort or just an expensive call girl.
Chiyo was sold to an akio or a geisha house where she was groomed to become a geisha. The hardship she went trough make us appreciate why they surrendered themselves to become a geisha. They believed that they had an important role to play in the Japanese society at that time. As they grew older, they felt that it was their duty to train others to take their places. Chiyo was groomed by Mameha a well known geisha before the war and took the name Sayuri when she became a geisha.
Some peculiar practices by the geisha make the geisha world very unique. ‘Mizuage’ is a practice where an apprentice geisha surrendered her virginity to the highest bidder before she can become a full fledge geisha. Taking a ‘danna’ is where a geisha become a preferred mistress to a particular patron. A geisha will dress differently if she is no longer a virgin. A geisha is not supposed to fall in love, even if they do, they must hide their true feeling.
Sayuri did fall in love and toward the end find the true happiness
It was a good movie no doubt but the book was even better.

THEN..ooh!
NOW.... wow!

SUZIE QUATRO UNZIPPED.
Suzie who? I bet not many Malaysian know her. When I first learn from WWW that she had written a book about herself, I went all over town searching for it. The guys at MPH, Popular and Border never heard of her. Well I am not surprised . I fell in love with Suzie ( I mean her song) way back in 1975. That long huh! Yeah! I was sporting my shoulder length hair then and did many things that I don’t even dare to write here. In case my children may think that their dad had gone crazy. That was in Sydney, Australia.. He he he ..So many big and little secret safely tucked away down under. Fortunately I have a brother who is a pilot with our national airlines. So he bought me the book on his subsequent trip to London.

THE REVIEW.

Wait! Not so fast. I don’t expect Suzie to write after all she left school at 14 to pursue her singing career. She dropped out from school. She formed an all female band and it was quite popular in the 60s. In this book she tell all, bare all, I guess that is what she meant by ‘unzipped’. Despite owning LPs and CDs and fancying her music I never knew the kind of life she had gone through. Like her eldest sister was born out of wedlock, no big deal but her parent were from strict Italian Catholic upbringing. That was something. She was on the dope. I always thought she was cool like Marie Osmond. She admitted losing her virginity at 18. Even that was revealed in details (ha ha you want to read the book now)…since you can’t get the book here let me tease you… “we undressed, fell on to the bed and made love. It was like floating in the sea of pleasure. I wasn’t a virgin anymore……he touched my mind, my heart, possessed my soul.. and I never gave myself so completely to anyone ever again". Of course you are virgin only once, Suzy and what you do with it, is none of my concern.

The music scene was in UK at that time when the Beatles started making their mark. So off to London she went. It took her another two years before she had her first hit. That too when she almost gave up and was about to return to US, broke. That is what I called perseverance and it pays in the end.

She started her world tour. She was very popular in Australia and Japan. She is the only lady rock singer who played the bass guitar at the same time. She wrote most of her song based on what she had gone through in her life. She got married and started raising her family as a rocking mother. Even when she is on tour she took her family along. That is something that I didn’t know. How difficult that was and her marriage started to suffer. She decided to separate from the husband and raised the kid by herself. She remarried much later.

What can be learned from her is that you will succeed in life if you tried very hard. Nothing come easy in life. She is a grandmother now and still rocking away. When asked when she will put her guitar down. She replied the day when I wriggle my bum to the audience and I only hear silence. That is a long way to go man as she still looked very sexy in her leather jacket. Anyway that is coming from one her ardent fan..me.

It is a book that all Suzie Quatro fan must have, not because of sophisticated language it was written but because how simply it was written from the heart.

Tun Dr. Mahathir officiating RYLA2008
Some of the 100 participants of RYLA 2008, this is the KANCIL Team.

The Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is being conducted annually by Rotary District 3300. It is a leadership seminar to prepare youth to be the future leaders. This year RYLA is being hosted by Rotary Club of Melawati and take place at Nur Eco Resort located at Pangsun in Hulu Langat District.

In the space of four days these youth in the age group between 18-25 are exposed to leadership training, discussions, inspirational addresses and social activities designed to enhance personal development, leadership skill and good citizenship.

RYLA started in Australia when the state Queensland was preparing to receive Princess Alexandra for state visit in 1959. A group of youth were trained to participate in some of the activities. As the program had produced a group of outstanding youth, the Rotary movement there decided to make it an annual affairs. Since 1971 the activity had been adopted by all Rotary district world wide as a district activity.

RYLA 2008 was launch by TDM on 3rd April 08. TDM gave a talk on 'Visionary Leader'. Nothing political of course as Rotary activity always put aside politic, religion and race issues. The participants were very lucky indeed to hear personal experience of the former Prime Minister. On the final day which is Sunday 6th Apr 08 they will have another opportunity to hear from the first Malaysian Angkasawan.

Note: My daughter was one of the participant.

AG William, President Amin, Rtn Azalea, Rtn Helmy and DG Joe.

DG Joe delivering his speech.

DISTRICT GOVERNOR VISIT.

The highest post in any Rotary District is The District Governor post. One of the job that is expected of Distinct Governor is to visit each club in his district at least once during his tenure ship. That is quite an incredible task considering an average district has more than 70 clubs. So it was indeed an auspicious occasion for members of Rotary Club of Kampong Baharu when District Governor Dr.Joseph Rejendran (Joe) visited them on the 12Th of March 2008.
DG Joe arrived early for the function accompanied by Assistant Governor Group 5, Dr.William Lau. The venue for the meeting was moved to Maju Restaurant, Maju Junction in order to accommodate the bigger crowd expected. DG Joe gave a rousing speech how to keep Rotary movement relevant to the society. The Rotarymission to eradicate polio on this earth received a boost by US100M contribution from Bill Gates of Microsoft. He challenged all Rotarian to raise another US100M to match his contribution. A challenge that was gladly accepted by Rotarian and will receive major focus in the next few years. In conjunction with the visit RCKB inducted another new Rotarian, Puan Azalea Abdul Wahab, who become RCKB 15th member.

Steel bucket for tin dredging.

The younger generation may think these two bucket could be part of transformer monster that had fallen off after a fierce battle some where in the galactic. I do not blame them as the museum authority do not make any effort to identify these items to the visitors.
At one time these manganese steel bucket played an important role in Malaysian economy when tin provide major income to the country. Weighing more than five tonne each, 155 of these bucket connected by chain, formed part of tin dredge that dug out tin ore from the ground. The bucket chain can go as deep as 40 metres into the ground.
The tin dredge itself could weigh as much as 4500 tonne and cost about 5 millions ringgit in 1920. As many as 40 of these monsters can be seen at one time in Perak state alone during the time when Malaysia was producing about 55% of world tin.
To day one of the three tin dredge left in the country can be seen at Tanjung Tualang Ipoh which has remain as part of our heritage.

Standard Five pupil of Sultan Idris Primary School Kuala Kangsar 1964.

I was doing spring cleaning and stumble across this old photo taken in 1964. It bring back my childhood memories. I was only eleven years old then. I wonder how many of may classmates still alive. What happened to them? Where are they now. Do I still remember their names?

Rtn.Ruzman and Rtn Azlan at MAS Hangar 05 KLIA.
Rtn Azlan on the Right hand seat.
Smile you are on candid camera!

Friends came visiting.
It was indeed a pleasant surprise when two of my friend from Rotary Club Kampong Baharu called to inform that they happened to be in the vicinity. Actually they had an appointment to see some guy in the in flight services department which is located on the same floor as my office. I took them to the maintenance hangar since they had not been there before. They had a good look at the Boeing 777-200 aircraft, shich was undergoing a maintenance check.

ROTARY CLUB OF KAMPUNG BAHARU INDUCTING NEW ROTARIAN.

In a simple but meaningful ceremony on 27 feb 08 President Amin of Rotary Club of Kampung Baharu (RCKB) inducted Major(R) Mohd Zainudin Al-Helmy to the club. In his inaugural speech Rotarian Helmy mentioned that he had been observing Rotary movement for quite sometime. After careful study he realised that Rotary is the right platform for him to contribute to mankind. This has encouraged him to get to know the Club. Well Rotarian Major Helmy, you have indeed made the right decision. We at the club will fully support your aspiration and looking forward to help you in meeting your commitments. Thank you to RCKB Charter President Tn Hj Razali for introducing him to the club.

Similar induction ceremony being repeated thousand times worldwide. That is how Rotary club around the world have more than 1.2 millions Rotarian. The club was started in 1905 by Paul P. Harris in Chicago USA. The main objective of Rotary is service ie in the community, workplace and throughout the world. Rotary volunteers build goodwill and peace, provide humanitarian service and encourage high ethical standards in all vocation. The Rotary motto is ' Service above Self'

KUALA LUMPUR MONORAIL.

It looked like a double edge bullet train but as they say look can be deceiving. If you happened to be in certain part of Kuala Lumpur you will be able to see it crawling slowly on its dedicated track. The monorail service was introduced in 2003 as part of city master plan in providing mass transit system to the Kuala Lumpur population. It joined the other four light rail transit system namely STAR, PUTRA, Kommuter and ERL. Monorail operates daily between 0700 am to 1000 pm. The monorail track extend for about 8.8 km on gigantic pillar. Eleven ultra modern stations intersperse the track to service its passengers daily.

Out of curiosity I went on the monorail ride few weeks ago. What an exhilarating feeling it was especially when you have stand inside one of the coach. Despite the monorail slow speed compared to other mode of transportation it has the advantage of moving above the congested traffic below it and that was itself a blessing on any given day in Kuala Lumpur.

At the moment the operator is still struggling to get a return on its investment even with 45000 commuters daily. So whether it is the answer to Kuala Lumpur traffic woes or not remained to be seen. In the mean time its service do provide additional attraction to foreign tourists.

Fuel Conservation.

The airlines industry is very sensitive to fuel prices as it make up between 30 to 40 percent of the operating cost. For an airlines with RM13B annual revenue, an increase of crude oil price of 1USD per barrel could easily impacted the bottom line by as much as RM50M annually. To mitigate fluctuation in fuel prices financial mechanism like fuel surcharge and fuel hedging has been put in place recently.
Various step being taken to reduce wastage of fuel, for example usage of jet engine on the ground is being kept to the very minimum. To power the aircraft on the ground alternative power source like ground power unit is being used. Operation in the air being optimised by flying at the ideal altitude and cruising at the right speed. The implementation of such measure require cooperation from various quarters including the pilot and the maintenance crew.

In the 60s crude oil price was 3usd per barrel, now it is costing 116usd per barrel.

(Up date 3rd July 2008)

Cost of fuel continues to soar. To day it went above 144usd per barrel. The list of airlines joining bankruptcy list is getting longer. In the last six months, 24 Airlines had either stopped operating or had gone bankrupt. The surviving one is talking of cutting services this coming winter pattern. Mean while cost cutting measure being implemented more rigorously. Except for areas involving safety and security the rest not being spared including passenger comfort and convenient.

Recent fuel hike by government too is complicating the issue as airlines have to fork out more to run their support services.

(Update 18.10.08)

Fuel price had gone down to 70-80 USD per barrel. Airlines can breath a little bit easier now. How ever with recession looming the market is shrinking.

Taiping Railway Station.

The oldest station in Malaysia. It was opened in the year 1887. The first track linked Port Weld and Taiping, mainly to transport tin ore from the district to the rest of the world. Port Weld had been renamed as Kuala Sepetang recently. I used the station during my secondary school days when returning to my home for term break. My house was located at Kota West on the outskirt of Taiping town. It was considered one of the bigger railway station in Perak at that time since the train transit there for longer period.
Somebody mentioned to me there is a train museum nearby but so far I could not locate it. On my last trip there, I saw a notice board informing visitors that a new railway station will be constructed to replace the current one. So one more of my nostalgic landmark will be eliminated from the face of the earth.

Anime and Comic Fair. 23-24Feb 08.
The venue was sparsely decorated except for few bunting and a backdrop. The floor was covered by tattered carpet which has seen its prime time. The makeshift stage was naked exposing all its sexy legs. No VIP officiating the function. It was indeed a very low cost affair. Well may be I should call it low cost affair event (LCA ) just like Tony calling his airlines AirAsia low cost carrier (LCC). Despite the LCA tag from my observation the event was a thundering success. It managed to create the atmosphere with its loud funky anime music. Judging from the throng of visitors who paid rm5 entrance fees the organizer probably even made a handsome profit at the end of the day.
I learned quite a lot of new thing from the two days event. It seemed the ‘anime’ characters and comics have quite a strong followers with our present youngsters. No wonder I have seen many comic and toyshop sprouting all over the place. Kids willing to spend thirty ringgits for Manga comics nowdays.
It was my kids first time experience in hawking their merchandise. I believed they gained valuable experience from the two days exposure. In the end it was not the P&L that matters but the invaluable experience gained that count.

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS.

Abundance opportunities for today's kids to try their hand at almost anythings including becoming a weekend businessman. Green Concept Studio provide this avenue by organizing Anime and Comic Fair at Berjaya Times Square this week end 23-24 Feb 2008. http://www.animecomicfair.com/
Using their own initiatives my daughters and her friends contacted the organiser and secured a table where they could conduct their business. They have been busy the last few days collecting and making products they want to sell on that day. I am amazed by the various items they have been making which include hand drawn comic and fridge door magnetic button. Apparently they learned the trade during 'Kemahiran Hidup' classes. Alas the present education system do make a small inroad here in preparing our kids for their future.
When I tried to help, I learned that my role have been reduced to providing transport or as a chaperon for the day. Well who knows one day they might become CEO on their own right. So much from their dad who have been a fix salary earner for the last 3 decades. I wish them all the best, have fun and get the experience.

PERSONAL SAFETY SEMINAR.
It was a humid and hot night. I decided to take a night stroll and asked my two daughters to accompany me. We were just two blocks away from our rented chalet when suddenly I saw three shadows loomed in front of us. It was too late to turn back. The shadows materialized into three hooded men. Instinctively I pulled my daughters into an open space, remembering what Master Saiful had told me earlier, as open space provide more room to maneuver. I was already taking a defensive stand when the first attacker set on me. As he plunged toward me I moved sideway at the same time took a left hand, right hand jab followed by well placed kick on his right knee. The attacker fell on the ground. At the corner of my eye I saw the other two attackers were struggling to hold my two daughters. They were kicking and elbowing the attackers. Taken by the sudden action the attackers let them loose. That all was need I shouted to them at the top of my voice to run at the same time hoping the attackers did not pursued us.Well if that was a real scene we would not have got away so easily but fortunately it was only simulated attack during Safety seminar organized by Rotary Club of Kampung Baharu with the cooperation of KickStart Academy. The safety seminar was attended by six Rotarians, guest and family members numbering to fifty participants. It was held at Dusun Eco Resort near Bentong from 8-10 February 2008. As the crime rate in Malaysia is on the rise, the members of Rotary Club of Kampung Baharu feel that there is a need to increase public awareness on personal safety to ensure that they have a better chance of survival incase they become the unfortunate victim. During the seminar the participants and their family members were given valuable insight into various techniques to analyze, avoid and react to potentially dangerous situations. Simulated scenarios like above were created to enable the participants to experience almost lifelike situation. The value of the seminar was further enhanced by CP Haji Razali Dato’ Rahmat, as a guest speaker, by delivering a talk titled ‘You and the Law’. In his closing speech President Amin congratulated KickStart Academy for partnering with RCKB in mounting such an excellent Seminar which is much needed in Malaysia.Note: Rotarian Master Saiful Hamiruzzaman is Chief Instructor for KickStart Academy and Malaysia Martial Art Association (MMAAA). Further details at http://www.thegreenhornet.com.my/; http://www.kickstart-my.com/ Tel:(603) 2300 2287 / 1434