Here Comes the Supermoon

According to calculations by an astrologer, Richard Nolle, the moon would be at its closest to the earth tonight. He calls this phenomenon as the Supermoon. According to Nolle, the moon would be the closest to earth at about 356,577 km away. This means that we will see a very bright moon in the sky tonight.

Image Source : Wikipedia

Nolle also believes that the Supermoon will be responsible for many disasters on earth. He quoted the example of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami as an example of the result of the moon moving too close to earth.

However, scientists like Mila Mitra who is Scientific Officer at SPACE doesn't agree with Nolle's conjectures. In fact, the moon was closer to its furthest point at 390,000 km away from earth on the day that the tragedy struck Japan.

Regardless of the arguments over the powers of the Supermoon, my daughter is so looking forward to look at the full moon tonight in its full glory. So prepare your telescope and let's just enjoy the full moon tonight.

Mahathir Lied in His Memoir

Mahathir now had to explain himself when he claimed that he'd visited with the late Dr Benjamin Sheares in 1981. He had nothing good to say about the visit. No surprise there.

He said that he wasn't greeted properly and wasn't even given a state dinner. While visiting the late Dr Sheares, he claimed that his visit was cut short because the President of Singapore had another appointment. He said that he felt "sorely used". Don't know what that means.

The visit took place in December 1981 and it was later pointed out that Dr Bejamin Sheares died in May 1981. So with whom did Mahathir visit? Sheares' ghost.

Mahathir later admitted that there were lapses in his memory. He might have forgotten the exact dates. Wonder what else he forgets?

Given the fact that he'd forgotten an important state visit, could he also have forgotten other facts that he claimed took place in his life? I don't know. After all, he's not a young man.

Date of SPM 2010 Results

The Ministry of Education announced that the date of release of results of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination is on the 23rd of March 2011, Wednesday. Students sitting for the examination last year, a total of 467,970 candidates will be able to obtain their results at their respective schools.

My daughter sat for the SPM examination last year. I'm truly anxious as she probably is to see the results. I have high hopes but as long as she passes her SPM, I would be very glad. She'll probably score well in English Language as she always does but she's very weak in Mathematics. She loves Science though. I hope for the best.

They Hear but They Don't Listen

It's finally resolved. The Bibles that had been impounded at the ports are now available to all the Christians in  Sarawak. And many people are relieved especially those whose been waiting to get their hands on the Bahasa Melayu version of the Bible and starts to worship Allah.

I don't understand these people; either they hear but they don't listen or they're just dumb and stupid. It seems that these Christians are not on the same wavelength as the Muslims who are opposing to the translated Bible.

These Malaysian Muslims are not imposing their beliefs onto the Christians. They are just opposed to the fact that these Bible use Allah to refer to their God.

Can someone clarify to me one thing? Does the Christians worship Allah? Is Allah their God as it is the God of the Muslim people? If the answer to both these questions are yes then the Christians are actually Muslims? No?

What is impossible to accept by Muslims is that in the Bible, it is stated that Jesus Christ (pbuh) is the son of God when it is specifically stated in the Quran and stated by the prophet Isa (pbuh) that he is not the son of God.

Can't they see that this will create a confusion? In one religious book, Allah has a son and in another religious book, Allah doesn't bear children. How confusing can that be? And which version can one believe?

As far as I know, there are verses in the Bible that gives the name of the Christian God as Jehovah so why not use this name? Why use Allah?

I am reminded of an evangelist named Ahmad Deedat who'd been trying to convince the churches that Allah is the name of God in the Bible. His claims had been repudiated by all the pastors and priests in the Western world. And here we have Christians who accept Allah as the name of God in their Bible. I'm totally confused.

Allah is the Muslim God

There's much talk in the media now about the translation of the word God in the Christian Bible that are said to be for the Christians in  Sarawak.

The 35,000 bibles that were imported from Indonesia were impounded pending a court case regarding the use of the word Allah in the Bible.

In a majority Muslim country like Malaysia, using the word Allah in a Bible can be quite confusing. Personally I thought that Allah is the name of the Muslim God. It's not a generic word like "Tuhan".

Why did the translator use the word Allah when a more generic and less controversial term is available? Allah is a specific name to refer to the Muslim God.

The Christians also has a name for their God so why use Allah? Why not just use the generic term for God and that is "Tuhan".

I really don't understand all the fuss when it can all be settled just by changing the name for the Christian God. The Christians don't worship Allah so why do they accept such a translation? Or are they secretly Muslims hiding behind their Bibles?

The Christians are accusing the government of refusing their rights to worship when what the government is doing is just to get a more accurate translation of the word God.

Berita Harian Insensitivity

Image Source : Wikipedia

In the recent wake of the Japanese tsunami that saw over 2000 bodies being washed ashore, the Berita Harian through stupidity or insensitivity had published a cartoon to depict this sad tragedy.

I don't want to publish the picture here but if you want to view the offensive cartoon, you can go here.

The Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim had told reporters that the popular Malaysian Malay language newspaper had been given "stern warning" and had been warned from repeating the offense.

The newspaper had since issued an apology for the offensive cartoon. The cartoon which depicted Ultraman running away from a large wave labeled tsunami was created by Zoy.

Is it enough just to apologise without any formal repercussions? Perhaps the newspaper can explain that to the thousands of orphans and family members who had lost their loved ones in the tragedy.

450 Malaysian Students in Yemen Are Starving

Image Source : Wikipedia

Parents who have children studying in Yemen must be very anxious to find out the situation in Yemen.

Almost 450 Malaysian students in Yemen are finding it hard to withdraw money to buy daily necessities.

The clash between the army and the opposition party in Yemen had made it difficult for these students to use the automatic teller machine (ATM) to obtain the cash to buy food and other necessary items.

Malaysian students were advised to move out of their houses and move to a safer haven at a compound that is nearer to the offices of the Persatuan Pelajar Islam Malaysia (PERMAYA) which is near to the Iman University.

Officials are waiting for the Yemen government to approve the transportation of Malaysian students out of the war-torn country. The Malaysian Royal Army (TUDM) has been ordered to be on standby to transport the Malaysian students out of the country.

After Egypt, Yemen is the next middle east country to face unrest from its general populace. Such unrest not only disrupts living conditions but also affects those who want to study in the country. Hopefully, the Malaysian students are safe and are not at the point of starvation.

Akademi Fantasia Last Showdown

Since the beginning of the musical reality show Akademi Fantasia started in 2002, the show has launched the careers of many Malaysian singers including Mawi, Vince, Stacy, Shahir; among others. This year will mark the last season of this popular reality show.

The reason given by Astro Channel Manager, Azlin Azmi is that there have been too many reality shows already and it's time that Akademi Fantasia to end. Sounds like quite a flimsy excuse to axe a successful reality show.

No television station would axe a show unless it is not attracting anymore viewers. That is a strange way of saying that the station is having financial problems. Or aren't they?

Whatever the reasons for axing a popular television show, the ninth and last season of Akademi Fantasia would be hosted by Aznil Nawawi and would be aired on television between April 2nd to June 11.

So for Malaysians who have always dreamed of being a star, this is your last chance.

Mahathir Still Being Himself

The former prime minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohd had just launched his latest memoirs. I haven't read the book yet. I doubt I will upon knowing what the book might contain.

It seems that Mahathir is still just being himself. He only knows how to put others down. I expected that a memoir would be filled with things that one had done and not things that others had done.

It seems that he's spent much of his time writing about the evils that his former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim had done.

It's such a shame that a great leader like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohd would indulge in mud-slinging in a book that would live through posterity; like a Malay saying "Membuka pekong di dada" or translated literally it means washing your dirty laundry in public.

Please lah, Tun Mahathir, stop washing your dirty laundry in public. No matter what Anwar had done, he's still a Malaysian and a fellow Muslim. What is the purpose of exposing what he'd done? To embarrass him? That would mean a malicious intent on Mahathir's part in exposing such matters.

As humans, we're not infallible. We make mistakes but to expose others' mistakes and errors is equivalent to exposing your own dirty laundry.

I guess it's true what Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said about Tun Mahathir. He only knows how to criticize his successors.

Who Do These School Bus Drivers Think They Are?

I'm so fed up with the attitude of some of the shool bus drivers at my children's school. I send my children to school myself. I don't trust the school buses to safely see my children to and from school. I'd rather take the responsibility of seeing my children safely to and from school.

I always make sure to send my children to the front gate of the school every time I send them to school. But one of the school bus drivers always seem to think that I have no right to be dropping off my child at the front gate. She seems to think that only school buses are allowed to drop their passengers in front of the school front gate.

I'm really annoyed with her attitude. I don't take more than two minutes to stop and drop off my child at the front gate. How long does it take for a school bus to stop and drop all of its passengers? More than I do, I'm sure. So why is this school bus driver picking on me?

She's so irritating and annoying; threatening to complain to the school. I dare her to do just that. I think the school should allocate a safe place inside the school compound specially for school buses to park. This way they don't crowd the road outside the school where other parents are waiting to pick up their children.

Parents don't take long to pick up their children but school buses take forever to wait for all their passengers to board their buses so they should be given a safe place within the school compound instead of causing a traffic jam outside the school.

Public transport in Malaysia is appalling; to say the least. Without public transport to and from school, school children have to rely on school buses to ferry them to and from school. Therefore, it's just wise that schools should have a special parking space for these school buses to wait for their passengers within the school. This way the road outside the school compound won't be jammed with both school buses and parents' vehicles.