Can my daughter wear yellow for school today?

My daughter asked me yesterday if she would be arrested by the police for wearing her 'baju sukan' (sports gear) that is yellow in colour. We all laughted at her seemingly innocent question and assured her that nothing of that sort would happen.
Normally I drop her 50 meters away from the school and she walks to the campus with her brother everyday. But today as I sent her to school for her extra class, she insisted that I drop her inside the school campus for fear of being arrested by the police.
Though I was shocked at this request, this made me think about the pathetic situation this country is facing today as we struggle to explain the logic of certain actions to our younger generation.
'Cycle rally lorry rally' is a phrase that I learned during my childhood days. The person who can repeat this phrase a few times without any mistakes is considered an intelligent person. This is a tongue twisting exercise.
I tried it many times but could not master it until I practised it with much concentration. Many tried but could not make because they had given up half way. It is the word 'rally' that makes it difficult to pronounce the phrase correctly.
It was really fun to play this game and all of us enjoyed doing this. I still play this game with my children. Perhaps, all of us can try saying this phrase “cycle rally lorry rally' and see if we can repeat this without any mistake.
The Bersih 2.0 reminds me of this phrase that I learned when I was just a 6 or 7 year-old child. But today the word 'rally' has created fear in the mind of many Malaysians.
The police and government appear to be suppressing the rights of citizens to express their legitimate concerns in a peaceful manner. It is tragic to see that we have authorities who, without fail, have the gall to link basic issues raised by the rakyat, to religion and race and try to score political points.
It is a disaster to see that we have authorities who even dare to demand that Ambika's citizenship be revoked, thereby showing little respect to the constitution of this country. It is unbecoming to see the silence of authorities when individuals and groups dare to declare war against citizens who speak up their concerns and want to claim their rights.
We have groups and individuals who deliberately want to create chaos by calling for counter rallies with the insiduous aim of inciting disturbances in this country. But surprisingly all of them are portrayed by the media as heroes!
But the major setback among all this is the response of the authorities to address the issues that is being raised by the civil society group. The authorities seem to be going after people instead of addressing their concerns. The general perception is that the government of the day is defensive and working against the rakyat.
We have to understand the meaning of s rally and Bersih in the context of a tainted electoral roll, biased media and a mysterious postal votes system as alleged by the civil society groups.
Rally basically means “to gather again; to reunite.” etc. In financial terms, it means 'an upswing or brisk improvement in market activity and prices after a downturn'. The word bersih means 'clean'.
When we put all these issues together, and then look at the word 'rally' and 'bersih', it really makes sense for right thinking Malaysians to say it correctly. But this can only be done if we concentrate on issues rather than persons. Going after individuals will not solve the issues raised by the civil society groups.
In my understanding, Bersih is not about any particular individual but about issues and concerns of citizens on the conduct of elections in our country. That is why even our King suggested that the intention of Bersih is noble.
If we only focus on these issues, then we can understand Bersih correctly. The government has a responsibility to clear these issues raised by the civil society groups as proposed by the King.
Those who do not focus on the issues but on individuals cannot understand the words 'rally' and 'bersih'. It is like those who still find it difficult to say the phrase 'cycle rally, lorry rally' correctly, because they are not focused.
Rally is for right-thinking people and not for people who wish to hold a 'counter-rally'. It is for people who want to do it peacefully. But those who want to repeat what others are doing are called 'copycats'. They do not have any stand but simply want to follow what others are doing. It is not for a purpose. It is primarily to make chaos.
When people fear that the credibility of any institution is compromised for power and personal gain, then we must be ready to hear the corrective voice of people and understand the issues clearly in order to make the system right.
Here we cannot be defensive. Transformation can happen only if we accept our weaknesses. Many religions and nations have taken the path of reformation only by correcting its past mistakes. As Gandhi had said, "a religion that takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them is no religion". This is true in the case of nations as well.
Today, Malaysia is gripped with a paranoid culture where so many hate campaigns in the name of politics and religion are propagated by certain quarters. In addition, our society, including children are also fed with pornography and sodomy by the media.
The portrayal of such unsubstantiated stories in the media makes us wonder if our society has lost its good sense. Anyone who says the word 'rally' and wears 'yellow' are treated with suspicion and even linked to Christian and communist conspiracies.
In that sense, my daughter's fear is genuine. What is the guarantee that any one person on the road will not stop her and ask for her particulars because she is wearing yellow? What is the guarantee that a police officer will not stop her and ask her intentions?
The task of every Malaysian, irrespective of gender, race, religion and political ideology today is to say correctly and loudly what is to be conveyed to the government of the day to solve the concerns raised by the civil society groups. i.e. an independent election commission, an independent media and cleansing of electoral rolls.
We need to ask: How transparent would our election be if we require the voters to use the indelible ink for voting? How transparent would our electoral system be if we have a legitimate postal ballot system? How about a caretaker government to conduct elections?
How can this be a threat to any nation? How can the people who voice these concerns be treated like terrorists? The question is not about holding a rally or not holding it or holding it in Merdeka Stadium or on the streets of KL. The question before the government is to set a mechanism to address the concerns of the electorate, the rakyat of Malaysia. Let sense prevail for the sake of our children and future generations.

Rev Thomas George is a clergyperson of the Mar Thoma Church.

'Transformers 3' Scores $400M+ Opening at Global Box Office

Marking the second hugely successful day-and-date global release this summer, Paramount's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" grossed $379 million at the worldwide box office through Sunday, according to studio estimates. The total will easily exceed $400 million by the of Monday.

Paramount estimates that the sequel will meet its pre-release domestic projections with $181.1 million by the end of day Monday.

"Dark of the Moon" also set a four-day Fourth of July holiday-weekend record with $116.4 million over the frame -- narrowly beating Sony's "Spider-Man 2" ($115.8 million), pending final tally.

But it was the foreign market, 70 percent of which chose to see the movie in 3D, that drove "Transformers 3."

Opening up in 58 territories across the globe at the same time it premiered in 4,013 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, the film enjoyed the third biggest foreign Wednesday-through-Sunday opening ever.

Earlier, IMAX announced that "Transformers 3" had set a global-opening record, grossing an estimated $22.5 million on worldwide IMAX screens through Sunday.

The huge overseas start comes just over a month after Disney's day-and-date global release of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" yielded a $256.3 million opening abroad. That film went on to cross the $1 billion mark this weekend, largely on the back of the foreign market.

"If we hadn't chosen to debut the movie later in Japan and China, we probably would have had the all-time record," noted Don Harris, general manager of distribution for Paramount.

Here's how the top 10 finished. Full report continues below chart:

Releasing a film around the world the same weekend it premieres in the U.S. and Canada -- what the industry calls a day and date premiere -- started as a means of combating piracy. The logic: why wait for illicit copies of a film to spoil emerging markets like Russia? Just get the film out there.

But with "Pirates 4" and "Transformers 3" showing the strategy has a potentially explosive upside, might we see more of these types of worldwide releases?

Could be.

"Just from a publicity standpoint, it's easier to get [the cast] together at one time and take them on the road," said Harris, noting that the "Transformers" crew got all its press junkets out of the way in a worldwide barnstorming tour that started in Russia, wound through Germany and ended in New York.

In the U.S. and Canada, "Dark of the Moon" got an A grade from movie word-of-mouth researcher Cinemascore, which helped the film overcome the bad narrative aftertaste of 2009's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

About 62 percent of the audience was male, and 55 percent was under the age of 25, making "Transformers 3" one of the few movies this year to truly resonate with young-male moviegoers.

Lebuhraya Karak yang Berhantu…

KISAH KARAK.....

Sebenarnya Karak ada dua jalan, satu jalan lama Karak (KL-Bentong) dan satu lagi Lebuh Raya Karak (baru)
Apa yang menariknya dalam banyak-banyak tempat yang dikatakan berhantu, pasti Karak akan tersenarai,malah di Karak ini lah bagi aku tempat segala hantu. Mana tidaknya seingat aku hampir 10 jenis hantu yang ada kat Malaysia ini ada di Karak.
Antara Hantu Yang Pernah Dikaitkan Dengan Karak :-
Langsuir
Budak Sekolah (merayau-rayau)
Wanita Tua
Bas Lama
Penunggang Motor (Kepala ada badan tak ada)
Perempuan Bawa Anak (batu nisan)
Pontianak
Hantu Pocong
Hantu yang Makan orang (Paling popular)
Volkswagen kuning(dah lupa ada dekat karak @ lebuh Raya Jelapang).

MAKA TERSEBUTLAH KISAH….
Semasa ingin menulis artikel ini ada la tanya kawan-kawan aku tentang jalan lama Karak ni…dan antara cerita yang aku dapat kumpulkan..

Lebuhraya Karak
Lebuhraya karak mula dibina pada 1970 dan mula dibuka kepada orang ramai pada 1977 . Lebuhraya ini menghubungkan Kuala Lumpur dengan Karak dan jaraknya lebih kurang 60.0 km . Lebuhraya ini mempunyai sepasang terowong di kawasan peranginan terkenal iaitu Genting Highland .

1. Antara kemalangan yang paling popular adalah pada 20 Januari 1990, di mana 17 orang terbunuh termasuk 11 orang anggota FRU bilamana berlaku pertembungan diantara kenderaan FRU dengan sebuah lori, sebuah bas dan 10 biji kereta.
2. Kalau korang perasan dekat Genting Sempah (berdekatan perniaga lemang) Banyak Lori berenti pada waktu malam(tidur)..dikatakan tidak sah kalau tidur disitu tapi tidak kena “tegur”.
3. Volkswagen kuning
Selalunya pemandu akan dikacau selepas terowong karak..dia akan potong kereta korang, dan selepas itu dia akan bawa perlahan..ada yang kata jangan potong kereta kuning itu,kalau potong juga…..
Dan apa yang menarik tentang Volkswagen kuning ini,seingat aku pada tahun 1998 masa itu aku diasrama tengah dengar radio Era (masa tu Era baru je wujud).Seorang pemanggil call Era dan cerita pasal Volkswagen kuning ni dari A sampai Z,dan bila deejay tu tanya mana tahu tentang cerita ini,pemanggil dari Jelapang(Perak) itu dengan selamba kata dialah pemandu kereta itu dan talian terus putus….
4. Kereta Misteri
KARAK – Penemuan sebuah kereta Kia Optima yang terbenam ke dalam selut dari ketinggian 100 meter di Kilometer 35.4 Lebuh Raya Karak, berhampiran terowong Genting Sempah menghala ke ibu negara kelmarin menimbulkan pelbagai misteri.
Kereta berwarna perak itu dipercayai terjatuh dari Jalan Bentong Lama , Batu 18 di sini sebelum ia ditemui oleh penunda kereta, Wong Kam Wai, 31, pada pukul 3 petang.
Namun Ketua Polis Daerah Gombak, Asisten Komisioner Abdul Rahim Abdullah berkata, sehingga semalam polis menolak wujudnya unsur jenayah atau kemalangan yang boleh dikaitkan dengan penemuan kereta itu.
“Kalau berlaku kemalangan, mesti pembahagi jalan sudah remuk seperti dilanggar.
Jika ada jenayah mesti ada mangsa di sekitarnya,” kata beliau ketika dihubungi.
Kereta Kia Optima yang berharga lebih RM100,000 itu ditemui ketika Kam Wai sedang menaikkan sebuah kereta Satria Neo yang terbabas di Kilometer 35.4 Lebuh Raya Karak.
Dalam pada itu, satu sumber berkata, ketika ditemui kunci kenderaan ada pada kereta itu namun enjin tidak dihidupkan.
Bagaimanapun,usaha untuk mengangkat kereta ini tidak berjaya. Apabila di pertengahan, dua buah kembalik yang mengangkatnya tiba-tiba mengalami masalah mekanikal dan kerosakan pada sistem hidrolik.Ketika itu,kereta ini hanya beberapa meter sebelum sampai di tepi tembok lebuhraya.

Usaha mengangkat

Ketika kembalik kedua membantu, ia turut menerima nasib sama apabila tiba-tiba mengalami masalah mekanikal pula.Akhirnya, kereta misteri ini terpaksa di”semadikan” semula di bawah jambatan tersebut!
(sumber dari kosmo!)
Jalan Lama Karak
1. Seorang polis, satu hari naik motor ikut jalan lama ni….nak dijadikan cerita sampai satu kawasan tu,dia nampak banyak kereta paking tepi jalan,tapi yang peliknya kat situ gelap gelita,seorang manusia pun tak ada dan yang paling pelik,semua kereta yang paking tu jenis kereta lama tapi masih cantik…Apa lagi rempit la sambil pegang pistol sampai genting sempah(petronas).

Jalan Lama Karak

2. Menurut cerita ramai juga yang ingin mengelak kesesakan lalu lintas ikut jalan lama karak(nak balik KL).Tetapi hampir 80% orang yang lalu disini bukan sahaja waktu malam,tengah hari siang buta pun akan berpatah balik. Sebab dah tak tahan menanggung seram!
3. Dalam satu cerita lain, pemandu bas di situ pernah bercerita pada satu malam selepas bas terakhir dari KL ke bentong lebih kurang pukul 9 mlm, dia telah mengambil penumpang di kawasan tersebut yang kebiasaanya sunyi..Seperti biasa kondaktor bas memberi tiket.Riuh rendah la dlm bas tu sebab ramai penumpang..Bila hampir sampai di Bentong penumpang-pemunpang turun di satu kawasan hutan@kampung….Sampai di Stesen Bentong bila konduktor bas tu nak kira duit balik terkejut tengok dalam beg dia penuh dengan daun saja, mana perginya duit tadi ?.
4. Pernah juga terbaca ,beberapa orang polis pernah terserempak dengan Rashid Maiden (Bekas ketua Komunis Pahang) bersembahyang berlapitkan daun pisang ditepi jalan,tetapi mereka hanya tergamam melihat kelibat Rashid Maiden sehingga la selesai sembahyang..selepas itu..hilang..
5. Mengikut cerita dan laporan akhbar, mangsa menghantar isterinya yang bekerja sebagai Manager McDonalds di Genting Sempah.Masa perjalanan pulang, si suami tetiba hilang di Jalan Lama Bentong- Gombak disyaki kemalangan di salah satu gaung. Si isterinya berjalan menyusuri jalan lama tu selama seminggu untuk mencari suaminya malangnya tak berjumpa.
Kemudian, dalam sebulan lepas tu orang asli dan pihak polis menjumpai kereta si suami dalam gaung di KM 40 Bentong tetapi tiada pemandu di dalam. dalam lebih kurang seratus meter dari kereta itu, mereka terjumpa tulang manusia yang lengkap berbaju Melayu tapi tiada langsung daging pada badan mangsa. Baju Melayu tu masih lagi elok, dan jika dikatakan mayat dimakan binatang liar, tiada sebarang kesan kecederaan dan tulang semuanya lengkap.
6 . Tentang hantu yang makan orang ni pula berlaku pada era 80’an ..si suami ni pergi mencari air kerana kereta dia “temperature”naik.Si isteri tunggu di dalam kereta,lama juga dia tunggu suaminya….lepas tu datang kereta peronda polis,si polis suruh isterinya keluar dari kereta dan terus ke kereta polis dan polis tu cakap “jangan pandang belakang”..bila dengar polis cakap macam itu,si isteri ni terus pandang..Apa yang memeranjatkan ialah si suami ada dekat atas bumbung kereta dengan anggota badannya hancur!
ANTARA LEBUH RAYA YANG BERHANTU :-
GURUN, KEDAH
SUNGAI PETANI - Gara-gara terkejut ternampak kelibat ‘wanita berkebaya merah’ melintas jalan, seorang lelaki nyaris maut apabila kereta dipandunya terbabas dan terbalik di susur keluar Plaza Tol Sungai Petani Utara dekat Sungai Lalang di sini kelmarin.

Kancil yang terbabas

Walaupun bernasib baik tidak kehilangan nyawa selepas kereta Perodua Kancil miliknya remuk teruk, pemandu kereta yang hanya mahu dikenali sebagai Chan, 51 , kebingungan memikirkan tragedi itu.
Semasa kejadian pukul 6.45 petang , Chan yang telah berkahwin dalam perjalanan pulang ke Taman Bandar Puteri Jaya di sini selepas melawat keluarganya di pekan Ko’bah, Pendang.
“Semasa tiba di selekoh berhampiran susur keluar plaza tol itu, hujan renyai-renyai dan saya menaikkan cermin tingkap.
“Pada masa sama, seorang wanita muncul dari celah pokok bunga yang ditanam di kiri jalan terus melintasi kereta saya dalam keadaan melenggang-lenggok sehingga menampak betis sambil tersenyum memandangnya.
(sumber dari Kosmo!)

Orang ramai melihat lori yang terjunam jatuh dari Lebuh Raya Utara-Selatan di kawasan Taman Perumahan Taman Keladi, Sungai Petani semalam.

SUNGAI PETANI – Siapa wanita berkebaya merah yang melintas jalan hingga menyebabkan seorang pemandu lori parah manakala kelindannya cedera ringan apabila lori yang dipandu terbabas sebelum menjunam jatuh dekat kawasan Taman Perumahan Taman Keladi semalam.
Ketika kejadian pukul 8.15 pagi itu, pemandu lori terbabit, Mohd. Sobri Shaari, 42, dan kelindannya yang dikenali sebagai Atan, 37, sedang dalam perjalanan dari Bukit Kayu Hitam menuju ke Bagan Ajam, Butterworth.
Menurut Atan, ketika kejadian dia sedang berbual dengan Mohd. Sobri berkaitan dengan seorang wanita yang ditemuinya di Bagan Ajam.
“Ketika rancak bercerita, Mohd. Sobri tiba-tiba menekan brek lori sambil mengatakan ada seorang wanita berkebaya merah melintas di tengah jalan di Kilometer 105.8, Lebuh Raya Utara-Selatan.
“Oleh kerana ketika itu lori dipandu agak laju, Mohd. Sobri hilang kawalan menyebabkan lori terbabas sebelum menjunam jatuh dari ketinggian 10 meter ke atas sebatang jalan di kawasan Taman Perumahan Taman Keladi,” dakwanya semasa ditemui di tempat kejadian semalam.
Sebelum ini Kosmo! pernah melaporkan seorang pemandu kereta Perodua Kancil nyaris maut selepas kereta yang dipandunya terbabas sebelum terbalik ketika cuba mengelak daripada melanggar seorang wanita berkebaya merah yang melintas jalan di susur keluar Plaza Tol Sungai Petani Utara, berdekatan Sungai Lalang.
(sumber dari Kosmo!)

Wanita bekerbaya merah yang berjaya dirakam!