A Potpourri Of My Thoughts

On a Sunday morning, over a mug of my favorite coffee (Douwe Egberts’ medium roast and with strength 3) and reading the weekend editions of the local dailies, lots of thoughts flit through my mind.

So my weekend blog this week is a Potpourri of my thoughts.


First things first. A happy day to fellow Malaysians, who are Muslims, on this the first day of the Islamic (Hijri) Calendar (Awal Muharram 1425).

And as always, at the start of any year it is good to reflect on the past and take stock of the present. To this end, in these times of “excesses”, here is something to ponder on –

What shall we tell our children
now
the trees are gone
the skies blackened…..
What shall we tell our children?

What shall we tell our children
now
they can no longer play in the parks
build sandcastles on sludge-licked beaches….
What shall we tell out children?

Shall we explain
we did it with the best of intentions;
we did it to secure a more affluent future for them;
and THIS is the price one pays for development.

What, in God’s name
can we tell our children

[Pen & Eye column. Cecil Rajendra. NST Nuance Feb 22. 2004]


Oh, I thought too of Premiership Saturday. The “high” I achieved last night sans spirits and drugs was really something. Arsenal 2 and Chelsea 1 was enough to induced this.


Top of the table now. Champions by May? Monsieur Wenger and yours truly included had to swallow our words last year. Maybe we should just let the opponents speak this time –

Asked if the defeat had ended Chelsea’s title hopes, Ranieri told Sky Sports: “Yes, at this moment.

“I think nine points are too much (to make up). But we must continue to build and we must not give up.”

What about the Red Devils? Not just anybody, but their Gaffer himself (MU’s boss Alex Ferguson), have said that while remaining optimistic, his side now faced a difficult task to retain their title.

Quote: “It’s achievable. It’s amazing what this team can do when they get into their stride, we just need to get into our stride,” he told the club’s website.
“But, this is as big a mountain as we have ever had to climb.”

(http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/2/22/sports/7374211&sec=sports)

So if things do turn otherwise for the Arsenal, remember this blogger never said anything.


And then there was this report in Sunday Star’s front page, “Big drive to get customary rites couples to register”.

To give context to this report, last month, in a divorce proceeding, the “Federal Court ruled that non-Muslim customary marriages solemnised after March 1, 1982, when the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 came into effect, were not recognised under the law”.

The seriousness of this ruling cannot be more emphasized when all of a sudden spouses and their partners, some after living as much as 20 years as husbands and wives, become no longer “married” in the eyes of the law and their children, in turn, becoming illegitimate. I can imagine the upheavals in the families concerned.

In a lighter vein, picture long-suffering spouses (of either sex) snapping at the opportunity to say bye, bye without “compensation”(read alimonies). Or a fortyish couple saying “I do” in front of the Registrar of Marriages with their twentyish children acting as witnesses.

I was lucky that circumstances forced my wife and I to register our marriage almost 2 years after we went through a customary one. My better half, Tammy, a Singaporean, had to renew her social visit pass every 3 months because she was not a Permanent Resident and only a legally married spouse can apply for this status.

In the event, we re-married one fine morning at an office in a corner of Sultan Abdul Samad building before the Registrar, one Mr. Thong Wee Kee and with a one-year old daughter (who now styled herself as “No. 1 Sister” in her comments on Niki’s and my blog) in tow.

Many more thoughts, but I don’t want to bore you all. Suffice it to take my leave with this comment on technological advances –

“The only way I can get my daughter’s attention is by ringing her mobile”

One parent’s response to claims that technological advancement is damaging traditional family life.

[Talking Heads. NST Nuance Feb 22. 2004]

Bye for now.