Gold Necklace Robbed By Plumber?!

On February 23rd, my roommate filed an order to investigate the lost of her expensive gold necklace that is believed to be stolen by our plumber. She kept it hidden behind some of her toiletries and found it missing once she got back from the Chinese New Year holidays.

The reason why the plumber is believed to be involved is because on Thursday of the CNY holiday, our landlord gave the key to the plumber, after two days of overseeing the whole plumbing fiasco. The plumber was also with two of his co-workers, an Indian male and and an Indonesian male-which are yet to be found.

The only thing valuable inside our room was the necklace as I had taken every piece of jewellery with me when going home. My roommate searched intently for her necklace but did not find it. This ultimately broke her heart because the necklace was worth at an estimation of RM 900 and is a family heirloom, given to her by her late grandmother.

She filed for investigation of our plumber's name (which I dare not state) at the Section 11 Police Department, Shah Alam. I followed her for moral support. Once there, we met with the Sargeant Inspector as he asked my roommate questions.

He soon told us that our plumber has a bad background with the police. He was charged with breaking and entering of a 19-year-old girl's house from PTPL. Our plumber is now imprisoned by the charge of lying directly to a police officer because he lied about the whereabouts of his employee.

The case is further investigated. I will update you soon.

The Dalai Lama Joins Twitter!

I have a major debate on Thursday on whether social networking sites being bad versus good for you and I stumbled on something weird and out-of-the-blue. The Dalai Lama is now on Twitter!

The Tibetan spiritual leader that leads people into the ways of spiritual light and the age old principles of tolerance and peace is now utlising the Internet. His office in India set up a page for him, telling of his current interviews and photos of his current trip to the USA.

He has not written any personal messages yet to further educate people of the world of his wisdom and laughs about the idea of having a social-networking site. More and more of the leaders of the world are now hooked on Twitter, as it is a way to be closer with their followers and therefore solidifying and further creating a special bond. It also is a beneficial mutual relationship, as the personality can read what their followers think about their plans before making any abrupt desicions.

As I have mentioned before about Najib's Online Tea Party with his Twitter followers, it is a good idea because of the mutual benefits. The personality gets to evaluate their decisions based on the public's viewpoint and the people now have a voice that somebody will hear too.

Sticky!

I had always admired the beauty of ideas, visions and wisdom people portray in their art. Art is such an expressionism of oneself and I had always admired that. From the brilliance of individuals such as Andy Warhol's modern art to Edgar Mueller's street paintings, I just thought that I could not be more impressed, but the participants of Scotch Packaging Tape art contest proved me otherwise.

Imagine creating something spectacular only using Scotch tape. Call me crazy but this is what the applicants must do to enter and show the judges what their masterpiece. I was marvelled by the entries! There were sculptures of a dragon, a postman, a child on a swing, a jellyfish, a peacock, an octopus, a fisherman and a pregnant lady. Both the fisherman and the pregnant lady used 4 rolls of tape. Meanwhile sculptures of a drumset and an office desk used 48 and 36 rolls respectively.

The winner will receive 3200 pounds when judging takes place next month. That is a whole lot of money and but the winner will be known worldwide for his/her contribution of art in a new medium.

The see-through sculptures look amazing and real! I am also impressed by the strength and durability of Scotch Tape that is able to produce so many artwork such as this. Let's try to build a sculpture on our own!

Death By Depression.

Depression is not something that should be considered lightly. It is a severe dysfunction that can affect one's view of this entire world that we live in. Depression has no boundaries and affects anybody from all walks of life. Race, religious beliefs and social classes does not matter. Anybody around you could be affected. Severe depression can cause individuals to cut themselves or worse, develop suicidal thoughts.

This is what that Law Seow Ean, a thirty-year-old secretary from Georgetown, Pulau Pinang was going through. At 9.15 am, her mother found her body hanged with a towel from the ceiling fan of their house in Jalan S.P. Chelliah.

The family knew that she suffered from mild depression and has been taking medication. Normally, a patient would be given anti-depressants such as Prozac to help control their persistent dark moods. A few days earlier, Law was said to be complaining about having a fever and having trouble sleeping due to the heat. Insomnia is also one of the symptoms of depression.

The George Town OCPD Asst Comm Gan Kong Meng said police have classified the case as sudden death. The body was sent to the Penang hospital for an autopsy.

This is another death won over by depression. For me, death by depression is a sad loss because it usually involves in individuals such as Law, taking their own lives. In Islam, it is forbidden to perform suicide, but some people just could not stand being in the state that they are in and rather die than live another second. This is you should never be hurtful to the ones around you as this can affect them mentally in harmful ways. Take care of everyone around you and show them that you care. A little TLC (Tender, Love and Care) goes a long way.

Law Seow Ean would have celebrated her birthday on Feb 26th. R.I.P.

The New Malaysian E-Passports At RM 100

Adventurers and travel-seekers are in for a delight! The new Malaysian e-passports was launched by our beloved Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, on February 2nd.

The new passports are equipped with extra security features, such as microchips and higher resolution photographs. Therefore, the new passports cannot be easily forged (yay!) and this new technology will make it easier for the government to keep track of Malaysians who overstayed their 'visits' to a foreign country.

* 32-page passports valid for 2 years = RM 100
* 32-page passports valid for 3 years = RM 300
* 64-page passports valid for 5 years = RM 600

These passports can all be obtained from the nearest immigration department.

Malaysians do not have to change their passports as it will be issued upon renewal.

The passports are indeed cheaper than the usual price of RM 300. This will lessen the burden of pricey family trips because parents can just focus on spending during the holiday itself , not beforehand. It is hoped that airport taxes are reduced too. I am definitely pushing my luck here. Did I mention that these new and improved passports can be used in 74 countries? A trip to Cabo, anybody?

Aceh holds out a transvestite contest!

I was ecstatic when this happened. Aceh is holding out their first transvestite contest! The beauty pageant was held in the central capital, Banda Aceh.

While most might raise an eyebrow to the occasion, but the event was held to increase the friendships between fellow transvestites and to stop the stigma surrounding them.

Dozens of contestants signed up for the event and 19-year-old Zifana Lestisia from the northern district of Lhokseumawe was chosen the region's Social and Culture Envoy 2010. He will also represent Aceh in the international level.

This opportunity will show them that are beautiful and indeed welcomed in the community. This will also bring them self-confidence and a sense of knowing that they are not alone. God is fair in each and every one of His creations. Therefore, as His 'khalifahs', we shall be fair to those who are different than us and show them that they are loved and cared for.

Some might not agree with my sentiment, but I stand tall with my perspective. May I remind you of the passing of the great Yasmin Ahmad, who has contributed so much inspiration to the citizens of Malaysia. She taught me that whether you are Malay, Chinese, Indian, transvestite, bisexual, or even gay, we all stand united as one. And that is what 1Malaysia is truly about. Accepting one another with no boundaries whatsoever.

Four died in car crash

As I have stated before in my previous post, I was fortunate enough not to see any accidental tragedies on the freeway. But not many of us are that privileged. Four members of a family were killed in a car at Km84, Jalan Kuala Lipis-Merapoh, Sunday. The incident happened around 2.15 am, during this joyous ‘balik kampung’ season.

The four of them were heading to Kuala Krai from Kuala Lumpur when their car (a Proton Wira) skidded, crashed into an oil palm tree and landed in a pile of bushes around 50 metres away. They were heading back to Kuala Krai for the holidays.

The family members, consisting of the mother, Zarimah Hussin, 31, her daughter Nur Sabila Sakila Mohamad, 9, Zarimah's brother Alias Hussin, 22, and their cousin, Mohd Shahrul Azwan Abdullah, 15. According to Lipis District Police Officer, Abdul Razak, three of the family members, Zarimah, Nur Sabila and Mohd Shahrul, died at the scene while Alias passed away at the Gua Musang Hospital.

Abdul Razak adds that the three bodies, except Alias’, were sent for post-mortems before it can be claimed by respective relatives for burial. The post-mortems are done at the Lipis Hospital.

It is advised for the people planning to go back for the holidays, to avoid driving at night. Some prefer it as to avoid jams but think of the danger that it can cause to your loved ones. A little traffic can’t compare to the lives of the ones you love.