Going deep in Treaty of San Francisco

I have been pondering about the Treaty of San Francisco for a very long time, primarily because of its connection with the Taiwan Question. The Treaty of San Francisco is the peace treaty signed with Japan to end the Pacific War.

In order to understand a treaty, we must understand how law works. The workings of law flow from established principles. Importantly, to understand a peace treaty, one must first know about laws of war. Peace treaties must be read with a military mindset to arrive at accurate interpretations.

Article 2 of the treaty remain one of the most difficult to interpret, because it involved territorial detachment from Japan without naming new sovereigns. I have spent much time trying to figure this out, and finally I did. Those who know about interpreting treaties do not simply reveal this knowledge.

As I continue my journey in learning about the treaty, some interesting things do come up. These are loopholes indeed!

Article 23 - The United States of America as principal occupying power.

During Allied occupation of Japan, the United States acting as the principal occupying power is fact. Military occupation was divided among the Allied Powers, namely United States, China, Soviet Union and Britain. As the United States was the principal, the others were agents acting on behalf of the principal. The statement of United States as principal occupying power is merely a restatement of fact in the treaty, not an elevation of the status of United States to give it more power. Principal occupying power over what is not stated, but it should be interpreted as "over Japan and former sovereign Japanese territories". As territories renounced by Japan remain under Allied occupation, it gives the United States the legal basis to involve itself in Taiwanese affairs.

Article 25 - Allied Powers are not only the nations conducting military occupation in Japan, but also includes other countries at war with Japan and signed the Treaty of San Francisco. Allied Power signatories can be considered occupying power over Japan

Article 25 of the Treaty reads: "For the purposes of the present Treaty the Allied Powers shall be the States at war with Japan, or any State which previously formed a part of the territory of a State named in Article 23, provided that in each case the State concerned has signed and ratified the Treaty. ...."

Japan was under military occupation of the Allies and not United States, China, Soviet Union and Britain acting on behalf of themselves. Each occupying power act as part of a military alliance. But, for the purpose of the treaty, any country that signed and ratified the Treaty of San Francisco is considered an Allied Power. The treaty binds all signatories by law as Allied Powers. Therefore, all the other signatories can be considered occupying powers over Japanese territories. According to the laws of war, because military occupation continues in territorial cessions and detachments after peace treaty and will continue until legal supplantation, Article 25 grants all Allied Power signatories the privileges of being occupying power over former Japanese territories. This can be interpreted to give benefit for Taiwan, as the resolution of the Taiwan Question shall come under scrutiny of the signatories. It is principle that the resolution of the Taiwan Question shall have the assent of the people of Taiwan.

China did not sign the treaty. As a result, China received no benefit from the treaty, except those outlined in the treaty texts. The same goes for Soviet Union. It is obvious that China does not gain sovereign right over Taiwan from the treaty. What more, since China did not sign as an Allied Power signatory, China does not hold the right over Taiwan as occupying power. The Treaty puts China as having no right over Taiwan by law. The Treaty of Taipei, an extension of the Treaty of San Francisco, recognised Chinese right of jurisdiction over Taiwan but not sovereignty. But the basis for right of jurisdiction is lost when Japan denounced the Treaty of Taipei later.

The US resorted to shutting China out of the Treaty of San Francisco as a Cold War containment strategy. That puts China on the opposing side with the Allies over resolution of the Taiwan Question.

关于台湾国族认同问题 - 回应刘乐妍

Taiwanese entertainer Fanny Liew wrote a piece about identity politics in Taiwan. She contended that Taiwanese and Chinese identity should not be at odds with each other. Her family fled to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist (KMT) regime to Taiwan at the conclusion of Chinese Civil War. I showed that her viewpoint is limited by her family background, and the island of Taiwan speaks a different narrative than hers.

There are currently three types of identities held by the population in Taiwan: Purely Taiwanese, both Taiwanese and Chinese, and purely Chinese. Each of these types of identification are characteristically distinct from each other, as it turned out from academic research.

您在2016年1月18日发表关于国族认同的文章我迟至2017年我方有机会阅读。过去一年里，我钻研了台湾国际地位与身份认同政治，开始时我一窍不通，到今天得以理性地回应您的文章，这可是个艰苦的过程。

您在文章提及家庭背景，您的祖辈参与第二次中日战争和国共内战，随着中国国民党逃到台湾的土地，并带着中国大陆的历史记忆在台湾此落地生根。我不难看出，您的家庭是典型的外省人。您在文中主张，台湾人和中国人的身份不需要对立。纯粹地以主观看待身份认同问题恰恰是您最大的盲点，因为许多事物乃大学问也。

我在此说明，台湾人的历史记忆各不同。本省人（包括原住民）的记忆有别于外省人。

本省人的历史记忆是什么？我就要从《马关条约》说起。台湾自从割让给日本后，退出了中国的历史舞台，而进入了日本的历史舞台。日治台湾的初期，本省人有武装的抗日运动，但全都被日本镇压了。从此，中国的历史不再追究台湾，可是台湾在日本的统治下继续发展。
每个人终究是历史的产物，造就他们今日对人物，乃至他国的态度。日治时期，实行总督制，台湾人成了二等公民。日本在台湾搞的建设，推行教育，大大提高台湾的文明水平，这些功劳是不容否认的。我了解，您的祖辈当初不敌共产党而到台湾，事实上本着日本留下的基础继续建设，也不会歌颂日本对台湾的所有贡献。

日治台湾的后期，搞了皇民化运动，教育台湾人取个日本名，学日文，效忠天皇，生活习惯与真正的日本人无异。日本当时搞皇民化的目的，无非就是从台湾征取兵力，以应付作战的需要。有者从日本得益，有者当了军夫为日本作战，而李登辉就是典型的例子。您可能不知道，1945年4月1日，天皇颁布了诏书，明治宪法全面在台湾实行。二战时期，有日本飞机从台湾起飞去攻击中国的目标，当日的中国也有参与空袭台湾的目标。您有听过台北大空袭这一事吗？历史课本怎么没写呢？

1945年10月25日，台湾重回中国的统治。中华民国宣称，台湾被 ”光复” 了，可是实际的性质，普通人都没搞清楚。须知，今日的国际法规定，拥有领土的实际统治不意味着拥有领土的法定主权。没有法定主权，又怎么有领土的实际统治呢？我知有两种方式，一是租借，二是军事占领。当时的中国接管台湾，是代表盟军进行军事占领，而台湾的主权并没有转移到中国那里。台湾的主权转移有待与日本签订和平条约，方才有效。

当时的本省人还有效的持有日本国籍。蒋介石派了国军统治台湾。受过日本教育的本省人当年对国军的印象如何？国军就是不守纪律的流氓！国民党随意印刷钞票，导致恶性通货膨胀，又加上台湾物资拿去资助国共内战，民不聊生。很不幸的，1947年爆发了228屠杀事件，有人死在 ”祖国“ 枪下，台湾对中国的幻想破灭了。

盟军还没解决台湾的归属，国民党就不敌共产党，逃到了台湾，成了个流亡政权。怎么说是流亡政权呢？就是政权的所在地不是它的主权领土。有人听了这话可能不高兴，但这可是国际法学说，外交人员的眼中，中华民国的真正国际地位。蒋介石曾沉痛地说道：“我们（中华民国人 / 外省人）今天都已成了亡国之民，……”

在1951年的对日和平条约《旧金山条约》，日本只被要求放弃对台湾的主权，而没有点名任何国家接收。如何解读这个合约条文也把专家弄得团团转，简单的说台湾的主权就是转到本省人手中，有待他们主张最终的归属。外省人是何人？他们就是真正的，法理的中国人。显然的，中国没有接到台湾的法定主权，时任中华民国外交部长叶公超已多次声明这一点。
接下来漫长的国民党威权时期，也就是两蒋时期，政府对台湾岛民实行了党国教育，教台湾人做中国人。我之前不是提了日本对台湾实行皇民化教育吗？党国教育和皇民化教育的性质根本无异！两者都是同化教育：一个教你做中国人，一个教你做日本人。

直到1980年代后期，台湾开始解禁，走向民主之路，实行与有别于中国大陆的社会制度，开创了台湾认同。

两幢事件，重创了台湾对中国的认同。一是1994年的千岛湖事件，再来是1996年随着总统直选的台湾海峡导弹危机。海峡导弹危机更使台湾认同大幅度上升，远远超过当时受教育的年轻人，去中国化和台湾本土化政策尚不足以解释此转变。试问，如果中国大陆是祖国，祖国会对人民做出这种事吗？

2000年成功实行政党轮替，台湾独立运动当道，起了巩固台湾认同的重要作用。2008年马英九主政时期开启的大三通，两岸人民接触频繁，越察觉彼此的差异，越加深台湾的单一认同。

今日，无论本省人或是外省人，两者纵然没有共同的记忆，却生活在台湾岛上，成了命运共同体。既然您在自由的台湾占有一席之地，您应该珍惜祖辈当年用生命捍卫三民主义，奠下台湾实行民主的基础。您的祖辈在中国大陆的战场上遇到的日本是敌人。可他们到达台湾时，台湾人印象中的日本是殖民者，他们没那么恨日本。还是多亏日本，国民党在台湾有立足之地，才赶得上台湾经济起飞。在国际关系里，敌友关系随着形势转变而易位。
如果说中国的历史是朝代更替的历史，台湾的历史就是一套殖民史。

由此可见，国家认同取决于各种客观的因素，包括历史和社会环境，并不是一张证件就足以定论的。各不同的历史记忆，不同世代的环境，也不断地重塑着身份的认同。国家认同，不只停留在一面旗帜，或是名词，它更体现着一套价值观，一套生活哲学。国家认同，对我作为外国人而言，是给予您定位的名字。我不反对您说 ”我是中国人“ 以反映您对中国的情结，可当别人说出单一的 “我是台湾人” 时，他不只说出对土地的认同，更要表达台湾有别于中国的历史经历。

What is the difference between Taiwan and Republic of China?

Scratching on the surface, it seems that the Republic of China equals Taiwan, and the Republic of China currently represents Taiwan. Many people claim that Republic of China is the official name for Taiwan.

The confusion and mixing up of Taiwan and Republic of China continues until this day. Isn't this puzzling considering that Taiwan is calling itself Republic of China? Why isn't Taiwan calling itself with an official name that refers to itself, but a neighbouring country?

There is a bit of history involved in this. I must bring up the matter of Chinese Civil War, because it created the unique scene today. The Republic of China was founded by the Chinese Nationalist Party, and the Chinese Communist Party was formed some time after. War erupted between the Chinese Nationalists and Chinese Communist over the system of government to be implemented in China. The Nationalists wanted a constitutional republic but the Communists wanted to form a socialist republic. The Nationalists lost to the Communists and retreated to Taiwan, relocating their seat of government and bringing all national symbols (flag, official name, national anthem) with them. They rule over Taiwan and creates the impression that Taiwan and Republic of China are no different.

From our first impression, Taiwan equals to the Republic of China, and the Republic of China equals Taiwan. The flag with a sun on a blue sky, on a background of red represents Taiwan. There seems to be nothing wrong. Everything seem to be in their place, as we see from the outside.

But when I ask,

What is the Republic of China?

What is Taiwan?

Many think that both refer to the same thing.

But don't you think there's something wrong here? Does Republic of China refer to Taiwan, or China? Does Taiwan equate to being China?

At this point, most people can tell that Taiwan is not China. But there will be people defending that Republic of China is Taiwan. And insist that using the name "Republic of China" is nothing wrong, since it represents a country.

But when posed with the question,

Why Republic of China cannot join the United Nations? Why Taiwan cannot join the United Nations? 

Most people do not have a clear idea on the matter to answer this question. To answer this pressing question of international dignity, one needs background in international law, at the very least.

And most importantly,

Where does the Republic of China flag, or the so called Taiwanese flag, come from?

What hinders the return of Taiwan to the international community is the confusion between Taiwan and Republic of China. Learned experts are not confused, but the majority of laypeople are not able to differentiate the two names. Under the One China Principle, there can only be one government that represents China. The right to use the name of China, and the right to represent China is currently held by the People's Republic of China.

In order to find a way out for Taiwan, first the names must be precisely and unambiguously defined.

Taiwan Area as defined in the international peace treaties

Taiwan: An island located off the coast of East Asian continent. For a very precise delimitation, the area of Taiwan should be referred as the area ceded to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki and the same area detached from Japan in Treaty of San Francisco. The area of Taiwan includes (i) The island of Taiwan and other small islands associated with it, and (ii) The archipelago of Penghu, that is all islands lying between the 119th and 120th degrees of longitude east of Greenwich and the 23rd and 24th degrees of north latitude.

China: A unified country occupying a large area on the East Asian continent. It was ruled by dynasty over the course of history, and the territory of each dynasty is different. Her sovereign territory includes the Kinmen and Matsu Islands.

Now let us define "Republic of China" and "People's Republic of China". Are both the same?

Territory of the Republic of China upon its founding. Notice Taiwan is not its territory.

Republic of China: The republic in East Asia that was formed in 1911, after the overthrow of Qing Dynasty, ending thousands of years of imperial rule. This is the official name of the Chinese republic from 1911 to 1949. It's territory includes present-day Mongolia, and did not rule Taiwan for most of its time. It became a government-in-exile after the Chinese Nationalists lost the civil war with the Communists, and relocated to Taiwan.

Internationally recognised sovereign territory of People's Republic of China.

People's Republic of China: A socialist republic founded by the Chinese Communists after they defeated the Nationalists in a civil war. The official name of China after 1949.

Republic of China and People's Republic of China actually refers to the same country, that is China! The actual Republic of China is the republic from 1911 to 1949. These are two different eras of China, much like succession of dynasties. In terms of international law, Republic of China is followed by the People's Republic of China with a State succession event.

Taking history into account, Taiwan does not equal to Republic of China! Know how to differentiate between these names is the key to understanding issues like Taiwan independence. Finding a way out of Taiwan's international isolation also requires this knowledge.

A consequence of the Chinese Civil War is the mixing up of the identity of Taiwan and a previous Chinese government. Name rectification is way to go for Taiwan!

Happy New Year 2017

I'm back! Oh no, my blog has gathered a thick layer of dust.

Put a picture of a bunny, because it's cute!

So, what I have been doing for the past year? My attention has mainly been put into studying international law and history of Taiwan and China.

I am still in my PhD project, but I have put much of my energy into looking at the Taiwan issue and writing all my findings up as a book. This is a lot of energy, and a lot of effort. What I have learnt may not have immediate benefit for me, but at least it is useful for later.

It took so much work, there must have been an event that gave me a big push to do it. I have not imagined making this far.

I become aware that international law is the key to understanding international documents. While I am not practicing as an international lawyer, international law is useful for historians to understand documents, especially treaties signed between countries.

In the age of Internet, finding information has never been easier. I don't need to go to a library to read ancient texts. They are now uploaded onto the web. Imagine accessing dynastic records of China on my computer screen and cite them. I always have the convenience of entering a keyword to Google and many things, some rarely seen, can be brought to the light. I have read the lesser known stuff, such as prophecies regarding the future of China. One must be astounded by the perfect fulfillment of prophecies.

What have I been turned into? Should I continue to be a scientist, or a historian?

My friend once remarked to me, I should blog about politics, that I have the potential to make it big with such a topic. Maybe, I have found a good topic to blog about. I have always kept an interest in the culture of East Asia. The relationship between China and Taiwan, or better known as Cross Strait Relation, seem an attractive topic, because I can make use of my proficiency in Chinese.

I have this regret. That I should strive for a person I want to be and not to be dictated by someone else.

Happy Valentine's Day 2016

Today is Valentine's Day, so what to talk about? Hmm....

I'm still single as of now. Don't blame me for not having a partner now, but rejoice because I have a place available in my heart.

Whenever Chinese New Year comes, relatives will bombard me with questions of getting a girlfriend. I'm so annoyed with the question so much so that this question has become a taboo topic for the festive seasons.

There is no use in trying to force two incompatible people together because in the end it will just..... NOT WORK. I've even tried it myself and got hurt, because something that doesn't work will not work in the end.

I went up to the net to read stories of how incompatible people got married due to pressure from parents, only to fall apart later. I've read of how friends and relatives introducing prospective mates only to find that relationship didn't develop further. One can meet so many prospective mates and not meeting someone that suits one's heart.

A relationship must have a good foundation to start. There must be a basis for relationship for it to work.

It's said that the best person to marry are those you know since young. You grew up with them and got familiar with their strengths and flaws.

When I was younger I was so eager to get a girlfriend. Just yesterday I checked my Facebook for a down memory lane. I checked out the girls I've grown interested during high school. This feeling came to me. Now, I actually complain that they no longer look young as before. A relative of mine told me the same.

Every man will have it: prefer younger women. I was young when I first heard it, and it has kicked in when I started looking at my favourite idol group A Pink. I was 24 at that time.

Guess what? I'm looking at TWICE, an idol group debuted not long ago. All members are younger than me, the eldest is 6 years and the youngest member is 10 years my junior. They have the youth I'm looking for! To date, I haven't meet any girl like that in my personal circle. Yeah, I have gone through dry spells.

I can't believe that I'm looking at girls 10 years younger than me in K-pop videos.

There are such people in my university but to find love is not easy.

Postgraduate dating pool is just too small and the people too old and not having anyone I desire. Oh, I'm complaining non-stop.

There's this dream from every fan: To marry their favourite celebrity. There are a few success stories that should serve as inspirations for me. I really admire the persistence of Lee Min Ho in courting miss A's Bae Suzy. He repeatedly made requests to Suzy's side, but got turned down a few times. He had strong interest in Suzy and finally he got it!

It's obsessive of a fan to make such a wish, but it's possible right? :)

TWICE member comparison chart and the family book confusion

Source

How long has TWICE debuted? Not very long is my short answer. Describing their popularity shot up like a rocket blasting into space is not an exaggeration.

I've had so much of their debut song Like Ooh-Ahh - (Ooh-Ahh 하게) in their MV, dance practice and regular music shows - countless videos alraedy. The amazing fact is I never grow tired of it.

They become popular enough to be featured on Weekly Idol. Based on information from the show, someone (Instagram: @jihyo.twice) compiled a chart comparing members of TWICE.





The chart is a good summary of the show, and a very valuable piece of infographic indeed!

The obvious question is of course, the age of the members. The maker stated that "Jihyo (early 97-liner) is friends with 96-liners but Mina born in the next month considers Jihyo as a more senior person". So, why are Mina and Jihyo who are born in the same year are treated differently? And it appear puzzling that Jihyo treats those born in the previous year as people of her age. It appears that this "family book confusion" has no explanation, and Jihyo is playfully named the culprit.

Let me tell you this. There is an explanation for seniority in K-pop groups and it has to be done from an East Asian perspective. Are you ready?

Seniority in South Korea is calculated based not on the Western calendar but the lunisolar calendar. The lunisolar calendar was invented to mark seasons, each lasting two weeks, to facilitate agricultural activities. That's because China and East Asia in general were agrarian societies in the past. Interestingly, the date of each season is fixed in the Western calendar. The new year in the lunisolar calendar falls on 4th of February [in the Western calendar] each year.

What about the date of Lunar New Year? For the purpose of determining a person's age, the date of Lunar New Year isn't used. The same point has been iterated by Chinese Feng Shui masters for determining Chinese zodiacs.

Now look at the chart again. Jihyo was born on 1st of February 1997 and that puts her in the same rank of seniority to those born in 1996.

Next question: How do I come up with this explanation? First off, I am a Chinese and observe the lunisolar calendar. One fact is, East Asian cultures are very similar to each other because they stem from common roots. There are many things of East Asia that do not make sense from the Western perspective, but make a lot of sense to me. While the job of K-pop news sites is to present news stories, but readers are free to judge the stories from their own cultural perspective, which may not be entirely correct. To judge a story accurately, reading commentaries and opinion pieces may help, and the actual key is to have good understanding of East Asian cultures.

Lastly, I must commend the Koreans for preserving the Confucianist values better than the Chinese.

Source

The shocking truth I discovered about Christmas

It's the Christmas and holiday season. What are you doing?

Did the title surprise you? For most of you, it may offend you because of long rooted tradition. But if you take the time to listen, you can gain something! If you're here, I congratulate you! You'll hear of the actual thing about the origin of Christmas celebration. Let's continue with an open mind, and then make up your mind shall we?

I did research on Judaism to know about the true roots of Christianity with an unassuming mind, and one question was of course the celebration of Jesus' birth. I've discovered about this for quite some time, and I decided to share it with you now.

Since I was a kid, I was taught that Christmas is a religious festival celebrated by the Christians and Jesus was born on this day. The entire world is tricked into believing this. I'd give you a pass for saying Christmas is celebrated by Christians (mainstream knowledge), but when it comes to advanced level, the actual facts say otherwise.

The word "Christmas" doesn't appear in the Bible. There isn't a command to celebrate Jesus' birthday in the New Testament portion of the Bible. By Biblical evidence, Jesus wasn't actually born on December 25. There's a guess for the approximate time about Jesus' birthdate (link), but the exact date isn't known until today. Furthermore, early Christians had no problem about not having Jesus' actual birthdate and didn't celebrate Christmas.

Furthermore, Jesus also stated that his followers should place more emphasis on following his teachings rather than praising the mother who raised him. In other words, he asked us to focus more on pleasing God rather than honouring human beings.

How it all began? It all began with Babylon. Christian pastors have always preached about being under the Babylonian system. Babylon as an ancient civilization is long gone, what they mean to say "under the Babylonian system" is the system of false worship that still plagues us today. To explain about Babylon is a topic of another blog post, but let's focus on Christmas this time.

So, what's the true origin of Christmas?

The plain fact is, Christmas has a pagan origin. Pagan worship predates Christ for a long time, and one of the cult is the worship of the Sun God. There are many cult worship of the Sun, and Rome has the reputation to absorb pagan practices throughout the empire. During the reign of Emperor Aurelian, he built a massive temple of Unconquerable Sun and set the god's birthday at December 25. Another thing is, the Romans also celebrated the holiday of Saturnalia from December 17-25 with the custom of lawlessness during the week. One of the custom was "singing from house to house naked" - sounds eerily similar to Christmas carol! Which one is the true origin, I am not exactly clear.

So, when Emperor Constantine declared Christianity as state religion of Rome, paganism was still at its height. Instead of wiping out the practice of paganism or asking pagan Roman to change their practice, he had the pagan practices adopted by Christianity (populist approach). The Church appropriated the practice and thus born Christmas! Much better than traditional pagan practices :)

So, you can see how powerful Rome was, to the extend that it affects our practices today.

The true origin of Christmas tree

This is a bit hard to answer. The answer for no goes like this: Tree worship is a pagan practice. A Babylonian fable told that from a dead tree stump, came forth an evergreen tree - symbolises the dead Nimrod come to life! This custom spread to other pagan civilizations but all can be traced back to Nimrod. The Romans had a custom of decorating their fir trees with berries during Saturnalia.

But another source says, Germans and Scandinavian residents put up evergreen trees to signify their hope for the upcoming spring during the Middle Ages. The first Christmas tree was decorated by Protestants in the 16th century. There is no spiritual significance in having or not having Christmas trees.

The true origin of Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a corrupted form of the name St. Nicholas. Nicholas was the most senior member of Council of Nicaea, from which came forth the New Testament

Through time Nicholas was idolized and became a cult. In 1931, the Coca-Cola Corporation contracted Swedish commercial artist Haddon Sundblom to create a coke-drinking Santa. Sundblom modeled his Santa on his friend Lou Prentice for his cheerful and chubby face. The corporation insisted that Santa’s fur-trimmed suit be bright, Coca Cola red. Thus born Santa Claus: a blend of Christian crusader, pagan god, and commercial idol, very popular among the children today.

Does the Bible mention about customs of celebrating Christmas?

Absolutely not! The Bible mention not about remembering when was Jesus' birthday. Celebrating Christmas is more of a man made institution.

Conclusion

The custom of Christmas celebration actually comes from pagan practices. The celebrations we have today is a mix of true Christianity and paganism. Over time, Christmas becomes a festival for commercial purposes.

After you've read my post, you have this knowledge. What can you do? Go with the flow. Use this opportunity to be charitable on Christmas day. But remember to tell your children the truth when they grow up.

Either to celebrate Christmas or not, it's a personal choice. Let not condemn anyone for celebrating or not celebrating and make it a joyous occasion! If you choose to go strictly Biblical and not observe it, it's your choice too.

Further readings:
The True Origin of Christmas - this is easy to read, and provides a good overview
Pagan Roots? 5 Surprising Facts About Christmas - also quite easy to read
Simple to Remember - The History of Christmas
Jesus is Savior - The Plain Truth about Christmas
Hope of Israel - The Shocking Pagan Origin of CHRISTMAS!
Why Do We Have Christmas Trees?

What truly makes me happy?

I always have the thought that no one reads my blog, plus I'm occupied in everyday life, so I hardly update. TianChad asked me about my lack of blog updates when I bumped into him at Mid Valley. It seems that he's interested to hear from me. Awwww thanks, at least someone cares about my blog.

The title may sound a little depressing but hey, it's time to have a conversation with myself.

I have been through a few unhappy episodes during the past few months. They happened during events I attended, but those episodes really bothered me to the point that my performance for PhD was affected. Diabetes patients, I'm so sorry for this.

I talked to friends on Facebook, and it really helped. You know who you are :)

People always share good things over the web, and I admit that I do feel jealous. I was always like, "How on earth does he/she get to try out all these new things/attend these events?" That was me since high school/college. I knew I'd crave to try these new things or meet those bunch of people, as if I'm entitled to those things?

When I started to get my income, I feel that things do become a bit better. I explored during my free time by myself, and it really helped. I could buy some things from my friends. I did most of the things on my own accord, and fortunately, most people I met have a beautiful personality :)

I've take the bold step of creating a fanbase for an underrated K-pop group and led me to a few nice people too. I think I've found my niche, and I'm glad for it.

Speaking about romantic relationship, I myself have yet to get into one. I know some of you may have gotten into relationships in high school/college/university or in the workplace.

Until now I've yet to meet The One. I've tried in the past, but no success. The fact is, you can't make someone to like you.

There was once I had the thought of looking at Malay girls to get my easy way out with a high price. Thank god someone saved me from heading that path.

My coursemate had once lamented that it's hard to find romance in the lab.

I'm still waiting for a compatible person when my circumstances change, and meanwhile I've read a lot of articles on relationships and being a person. They really help in getting myself to have better understandings.

I've finished talking about things that bothered me. Now, what about the one thing that keeps me happy?

This South Korean idol singer:

She's A Pink's Son Na Eun, beautiful on the inside and outside.

She's an epitome of the woman I want to find. I've been asked on the type of woman I'd like, before her debut I find it hard to answer the question. Now, I can say Naeun is my type of girl.

When she was casted in We Got Married, I followed all her episodes, and imagined myself in the male idol's place. What a way to watch the show!

Whenever I watch her in broadcast, she puts a smile on my face, because she's the most beautiful thing to see in the world. Her smile is just mesmerizing. I don't need her to have a powerful voice, but her's is the sweetest thing to hear.

The closest I could get to her was during MTV World Stage in Malaysia, while she was performing on stage. I desire to see her up close and be starstruck. That will make me the happiest person in the world.

Given the chance, I'd fall hard for her.

For now, Naeun gives me life.

How a foreign worker caused my most embarrassing episode in Low Yat Plaza

I am a tech lover, it's natural that Low Yat Plaza is my favourite hang out place when I'm free. I had fond memories of working there, and sometimes I come to visit my friends in the IT shops.

Despite her stellar reputation as an IT hub, I had an embarrassing episode of using the toilet all but no thanks to gross incompetence of a foreign labourer. The incident has been a while now. I decided to write it down before it slipped from my memory.

On a visit, I had a bad stomach ache. I rushed for the toilet only to find that all male toilets were in the process of cleaning and maintenance. I checked out toilets on other floors only to find the same.

The urgency of my circumstance prompted me to make use of toilet for the disabled. The toilet entrance was manned by a Bangladeshi worker. I told him that I was going to use the special toilet, paid the usage fee and grabbed some pieces of tissues. Off I went to take care of my business.

I was sitting on the stool, and without warning

A [MALAY] FEMALE JANITOR ENTERED THE TOILET!!! She wasn't a pervert, just that she needed to change her water for cleaning.

How freaked out I was the moment someone invaded my privacy in the toilet.

She immediately made her way out and I continued my business to completion.

The moment I stepped out, I heard her yelling at the Bangladeshi foreign worker [in Malay], "Just now I asked you about whether someone is in the toilet, and you didn't respond to my question!!!! See what happened because of you!!!"

I was taken aback that the Bangladeshi couldn't understand a very simple question, let alone answer it!!! He was completely ignorant that I was in the toilet for the disabled. He ignored the scolding and acted like he didn't know anything at all. How can he be so careless??!! Such negligence cannot be tolerated on the job!!! I was completely pissed that he cost me my modesty!!!!!

I was unhappy but decided not to bother about bringing up the matter to Low Yat Plaza management.

I don't like it when employers resorted to hiring cheap foreign labours as an easy way out. Foreign workers -

• Don't represent the country's image well
• Have little understanding of the culture of the country
• Can be very incompetent on the job
• Faces language barriers and make communication difficult
• Drain our money away to their home countries

On that day, my image of Low Yat Plaza went down the drain. Don't get me started on other problems posed by foreign workers.

Some simple rules I follow for Parking

Having a car to get around town is a necessity for Kuala Lumpur dwellers like me. My car gives me the convenience I need to travel to work and of course let me hang out at my favourite places.

When I was going out with my father as a kid, I noticed him parking his car illegally and caused inconvenience to both of us. Once I missed my music class because his car got towed away. At other times he brought home parking tickets worth RM 200 - 300. My mom has been rebuking him a number of times already.

It's no fun losing your money to offences like that. I can eat at luxurious restaurants with RM 200 - 300! The choice is always yours! When I grew up, I decide not be like that.

Whenever I arrive at my destination, the first thing to do is to find a parking spot. I follow a few simple rules when it comes to parking my car.

1. Park at legitimate parking bays. In the city, it is very hard to find free parking spots so don't expect one. Unless I am familiar with the place, I'd rather pay a few bucks for peace of mind rather than parking illegally. Parking illegally not only incurs hefty fines when caught, what more imagine the hassle if your car get clamped or towed away. 
2. Consider getting a season pass if you come to a place regularly. For a monthly fee, you get to park as long as you want, and it's cheaper than parking on an hourly basis.
3. Don't skip paying for parking! This applies to parking spots at business areas under jurisdiction of local governments. You'll never know when officers are on duty. There was once I saw an MBPJ officer issuing fines [to cars without ticket] right after I got out of my car. Don't give them any reason to issue you summonses.
4. Take a look at the fee structure before you press for a ticket. If you are not happy with the fee structure, you have the right to backtrack. Once I reversed my car out of the car park; cars behind me gave their way to let me go.
5. If you must double park, make sure you leave your mobile phone number on the dashboard. But even that is not fail safe - once I had people unable to contact me due to my dad switching telco [my number is a supplementary line], the other time I didn't receive calls when I was in an area with poor cellphone coverage.

So, I shared with you 5 pointers on parking. It's not hard to follow, right? By being law abiding citizens, I can enjoy all I can without causing unnecessary incovenience to others. The peace of mind to me and others is priceless. No one wants to be angry over parking issues right?

If you don't follow, you might end up like this:

What I'm up to in October 2015?

My blog has been accumulating dust since I last updated it for MTV World Stage in Malaysia. Life has been pretty busy indeed.

One year has passed since I started my PhD at University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus! When I entered my program, I had high hopes. There were a number of PhD students in my previous institution, and they looked fine doing their project. It turned out that I went through countless frustrations through the process, for problems I have unaware of. That went on for one year. On top of that, there are progress requirements to meet, and at a point I was pushed to my breaking point. That feeling is not a joke.



One important thing I've learnt about doing science in Malaysia: the environment is hostile. Not to say scientists in Malaysia are unfriendly people but buying supplies to carry out my work can take up much time. I had to watch the exchange rate, because chemicals are quoted to local (Malaysian) vendors in US Dollars. Orders take weeks to months to arrive, compared to next day to a maximum of two weeks in Western countries. Now with the falling Ringgit, it's reflected in every item I am to buy and that's going to affect the number of things I can do.

If you have followed me enough, you'll know that I'm into K-pop. I'm following mostly cute girl groups, and I do occasionally watch sexy concepts. Indeed I'm a big Pink Panda when I went to MTV World Stage to watch A Pink performing live.



By chance, I stumbled upon Minx 밍스‬ and remarked the unexceptional talent of the members. They are a sister group to Dal Shabet and belongs to Happy Face Entertainment.

No one was doing a fanbase for Minx in Malaysia, so I started a Facebook fanpage for the girls without a second thought. The next thing was to promote my fanbase to other Minx and K-pop idols' fanpages.

That night I was contacted by a fan after the admin of Minx Taiwan told him about it. We talked about our interest for Minx. It turned out that he had the idea of setting up the Minx fanpage for Malayisa, but he was busy following Minx's activities in South Korea and I went ahead of him. In that conversation I appointed him as the second admin of the page.

I hope to step on Korean soil one day but meanwhile, I am focusing on bringing timely updates from Minx!

At the initial stage, I approached AOA and Dal Shabet's Malaysian fanbases to help me promote. I am grateful for their help and mentoring indeed!

At the time I created Minx's fanbase, I couldn't find quality English translations of the girls' updates. There is Minx Taiwan translating from Korean into Traditional Chinese. There is Minx Philippines using Google and Bing Translate and clean up the result. There is Minx Turkey eagerly craving to make updates accessible to their fans, but couldn't do so due to language barrier.

So I came in to translate Minx's updates from Chinese into English. Slowly, the fandom of Minx is being transformed. Filipino fans have access to quality English translations. Minx Turkey is beginning to have more frequent updates thanks to my translations.

My role model is Apink Malaysia, the top Malaysian fanbase for A Pink. I really admire their consistency and breath of content, and their passion for the girls.

My organic likes plateaued at 68. I needed to reach out to more potential fans. So I approached Josh Lim, now the boss of LikesBeforeLove. I am aware that I am spending hard cash on this.



Thanks to his mentoring and effort in creating Facebook ads, my Minx fanpage has hit 1000 likes when I wrote this. This is a feat I've never achieved before, and I couldn't do so on my own strength.

The fact is, Josh Lim has worked with clients from celebrities to businesses to help them gain fans and generate sales leads.

What have I learnt through creating a fanbase for Minx?

• Whether you are creating a social media page for work or leisure, it'll end up as competitive as a business. People come to your page with expectations that you're able to provide them something.
• Spending money to promote so that people notice your work is equally important as your hard work itself
• Work with people to achieve a common goal. While I strive to secure my leadership position in the fandom, I share my expertise and be receptive to collaborations to achieve the common goal, that is to make Minx a success in K-pop.

I wish to talk about many other things I've gone through, but my main limit is time. Before I sign off I'd like to encourage you to have a blog to share your interest and thoughts on things. Yes, there's Twitter and Facebook to talk about the short stuff, but nothing beats the versatility of a blog to fully express yourself. As Daphne Charice has said it, please continue to read, respond and contribute to blogs. Don't let blogging (Malaysian scene) die.

Minx's Love Shake reminds me of Girl's Day, here's why

I had been following K-pop for 5 years now. Wow, five years! The first time I heard of Girls' Generation's Gee and Wonder Girls's Nobody, Korean was an alien language to me. I didn't understand a single word. All I knew was the catchy and repetitive Gee gee gee gee baby baby and Nobody nobody but 'chu. The rest of the song were jumbled up and random syllables.

Down the road, I made an effort to learn the basics of the language and trust me, it really paid off. I'm now able to distinguish syllables in a song, as well as getting the main idea of the song though common words found in lyrics. I'm now able to speak a few isolated words in Korean (Yay!)

At first I was into Girls' Generation. With the help of English K-pop news sites, I got to know Secret, then Girl's Day, and more idol groups.

I was in love with Girl's Day since their Hug Me Once era. The catchy tune and cute vibe drawn me and I love them more each day.



Watching live performances of Hug Me Once on music shows was even more incredible. The girls always look cute on stage!

Hug Me Once M/V


I am so in love with the Girl's Day that I started digging their previous songs. Oh, please ignore their awful debut song.

Twinkle Twinkle M/V


And releases after Hug Me Once

Don't Flirt or Don't Let Your Eyes Wander


Don't Forget Me


Starting from Expectation and Female President, Girl's Day started to get sexy which I'm not really into. Nevertheless, the songs are still good and suits them well.

Since then I did not see cute comebacks from Girl's Day. I really miss the time when Girl's Day was cute!



A few years later, I saw rookie group MINX performing Love Shake. Not only was Love Shake catchy but I was struck by its resemblance to previous work of Girl's Day. Some viewers share my sentiment that MINX reminds of Girl's Day doing cute concepts.



I looked for song credits and found out that Love Shake is composed by Nam Ki Sang - that led to my very own eureka moment! Turned out Nam Ki Sang also composed the big hits of Girl's Day Twinkle Twinkle, Hug Me Once and Don't Let Your Eyes Wander. Female President and Expectation included, all of these songs contain DNA from Nam Ki Sang. The cute songs from Mr. Nam have these in common: an overly cutesy tone and high notes suitable for decent vocalists.

Nam Ki Sang is one of my favourite composer who got me more interested in K-pop with his sugary tracks. I must thank Girl's Day for doing a good job but I mustn't forget Mr. Nam for coming up with good songs!

One last note, a composer must find the right singer for a song to be a hit. I did listen to Dal Shabet's version - strikingly, the lyrics and background vocal are identical, but I feel that Love Shake is made for Minx because they pulled it off in a much better fashion.

A Pink celebrates 4th debut anniversary with volunteer work

April 19th is an important date for Pink Pandas, because it's the day A Pink said hi to us!

I am a proud fan of A Pink! Since their debut four years ago, I've been enjoying my every moment with A Pink whether on music shows or variety shows.

Why do I love A Pink? They are pretty. They are talented bunch of people. They are cohesive. They are professional. They never disappoint me. They mean love to me. I smile whenever I see them on screen. I look forward to their stages. And the list goes on!

Most importantly, they are a group that takes care of us fans. I feel as if I'm interacting with living persons. The members do speak to us and make us feel welcome. They are genuine persons unlike some unreachable gods out there. There is no wall that separates us fans with our beloved A Pink.



What did the members do on their debut anniversary? They did volunteer work with their fans! Tears flow down my cheeks when I heard it.

On this day, fans organised volunteer work in celebration of A Pink's debut. They neither ask for the presence of A Pink, nor were they aware of A Pink actually knew of their work. Then came to surprise! A Pink members showed up to take part in the volunteer work! I must add, they got down to the ground and performed the work with their fans.

Such an act made A Pink more genuine and sincere. That was not even a media campaign. All they had was a pure and willing heart.

Why you should be a Pink Panda? You'll be proud of your celebrity on and off stage. You'll also be proud of their fans too!

I'm never ashamed of being a Panda.

How EXID's "Up & Down" shoots up in the chart

The other day, I came across a news article of EXID's Hani asking a fancammer out for a meal. That's a news for a fan like me! What an honour wasn't it? However, the fan has declined the invitation. I'm so touched by Hani's kind heart. Hani was quoted as saying, "I'm currently thinking about how I should thank you, and I hope you take care of me in the future as well."

I came to know EXID through their music video Every Night. Although I could see glimmers of talent among members of the group, it didn't catch my interest. And then I found out their sudden rise in popularity, so I'm all wondering how did that come about!

Many would say, EXID become famous because of a fancam by Pharkil went viral and made their song "Up & Down" regained popularity. This is as good as a short answer but not the full answer to the question.

I am going to write you the full answer to the question. Ready? Go!



The original music video of "Up & Down" was released on 26 August 2014. The song didn't gain much popularity among K-pop fans. After the stipulated one month promotional period, EXID wound up activities across South Korean music shows.



In this undated video, South Korean race queen and model Ryu Ji Hye 류지혜 danced to EXID's "Up & Down", scantily dressed on her own live DJ show (similar to MFace). The video footage was uploaded by a viewer. Netizens discovered Ji Hye's dancing from a fashion blog site, and almost all male readers viewed the video.

At the end of Ji Hye's dance cover, viewers were suggested Pharkil's fancam of Hani.



Now this is where miracle happened! This fancam, uploaded on 9 October 2014 was discovered from Ji Hye's sexy video. And guess what? Viewers were treated to Hani's 하니 sexy move in tight stage outfits! The song was catchy, and viewers were like why I haven't heard of this before! The fancam went viral and pushed EXID's "Up & Down" up the music charts months after release. This phenomenon is known as reverse driving, by the way.

Seeing the shoot up in popularity, the agency asked EXID to promote Up & Down once again on music shows. Idol groups normally don't get second chance like this, but they were in for real treats thsi time. On the second round, their song was rated HOT stage. EXID even won some shows, a feat they have never dared imagine before.

EXID was in really in luck! Who knew a sexy fancam attracted the interest of many and saved the group.



Watch EXID's reaction to their first music show win to know what I mean!

Hani is eternally grateful for this miracle. It was by random chance they became successful, and it turned out so well for them. EXID rose to fame from the effort of a fan is big news, but Girls' Generation/2NE1/A Pink winning music shows thanks to their large fanbase is no big news. At the end of the day, without fans, there will be no celebrities.

Some have claimed that it was because Pharkil's fancam that EXID became successful, others argued that EXID made themselves successful. Guess what? Now we're presented with a familiar problem. I call this a chicken or egg problem.

Which came first, chicken or egg? The actual answer is: both must come first. EXID worked hard and not gave up in the entertainment industry. Pharkil didn't shoot his viral fancam by chance but he has perfected his shooting over long periods of star spotting. At the right timing, both came together and created a miraculous phenomenon.

So, the moral of the story is, continue doing what you love and reward will find you one day :)

Being used - part 2

I have vented my displeasure towards this "friend" of mine in Part 1. I've acted nice in front of him and his family but that doesn't mean I am totally comfortable with him.

Flashback to the year when I was in second or third year of university....

I was in an outing with my college mates from my days at HELP University College. While I was strolling in The Curve, he rang me up asking me out for yum cha (catching up over a drink). I agreed (in hindsight that was a foolish decision to make, but if not, I would not get to blog about this). So that means ending my outing there and then because of the time factor.

I ended up in Jaya One with his group of friends. Suddenly he talked about attending a Saturday church event with his friends all without asking for my say over the matter. In so he committed an utter disrespect of me, but I kept quiet to save him face.

He even claimed that the event in the church is an annually held paid event.

I was brought to Full Gospel Assembly (FGA) along Old Klang Road.

And guess what? It was an ordinary service conducted in Chinese, free of charge. I was feeling pissed for being cheated like this. How are you supposed to represent Jesus like this?

*********

It was the next week, he called me up for a yum cha near Old Klang Road in the afternoon. The catch up session ended and I was supposed to meet dad at Bangsar. Public transport weren't efficient but I was supposed to commit myself to go.

And guess what? With his friends, he manipulated me to attend the church service. So I called up dad mentioning that I can't go with him.

It was co-incidence that my church friend from Planetshakers in Melbourne was attending the same service. I thoroughly didn't enjoy the service. To put it in words, I didn't feel the Holy Spirits' presence.

After the service, back in my house, I rang up my Melbourne friend and complained of the mistreatment I've got.

*********

It was my final week for holiday since I have to be back in Melbourne for studies. I attended the Saturday night service, but this time with my Melbourne church mate. The church members told me about an investigation launched when they heard my complaint, and punished those responsible for it.

It has been close to two years since I came back to Malaysia for finishing my fourth year, and that's the reason I didn't bother to contact my "friend".

My Message to the Churches in Singapore

by Fynding Noor
The Real Singapore
25 December 2014

Dear The Real Singapore,

I write this letter as a Singaporean Muslim.

I address this letter to the believers of this church, the priest and pastors, our interfaith workers, and all people who commemorate the birth of Jesus, Peace and Blessings be upon him, & Lady Mary, the purest woman of this world and most eminent in the next world.

Recent events such as the evil ISIS torturing our Christian brethren in Mosul and the very recent shootings and unfortunate incident of innocents being held hostage in Sydney – all of which claiming to be done under the name of Islam has caused great upset, anger and hate for the rest of the world.

This outrages us as much as it outrages you and hurts us as much as it hurts you and angers us as much as it angers you, perhaps it angers us even more so because these evil perpetrators have hijacked our religion and misused it to fulfill their hidden motives and agendas.

Although these incidences and acts of terror are happening outside of Singapore, the ripples of their actions are starting to hit our shores.

One of our greatest blessings which we share in common, amongst many others, is to call Singapore home. We were born and raised here. Our closest friends are Hindus, Christians, Catholics, Buddhists and Muslims and believers of many other faiths. And we really wouldnt have it any other way. Neither will we tolerate anyone, regardless of who they are, to threaten this peace and love that we share amongst us.

The majority of Muslims, 99.999% of us, are lovers of our Prophets and Messengers. All of them. They are one and we prefer none of God’s messengers over the others and unto Him do we submit.
In fact, it is part of the faith of a Muslim to believe in the Holy Bible and Jesus, upon him be peace as with the Torah – the scriptures of the Jews and Moses, upon him be peace.

Believing in them is a testimony of our Faith.

In 628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery came to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and requested his protection. He responded by granting them the following charter of rights.

St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mt. Sinai in modern-day Egypt and is the world’s oldest monastery. It possesses a huge collection of Christian manuscripts, second only to the Vatican, and is a world heritage site. It also boasts the oldest collection of Christian icons. It is a treasure house of Christian history that has remained safe for 1,400 years under Muslim protection.

The following was penned in the Charter of Rights.

“This is a message from Muhammad son of Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by God, I hold out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.

No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His prophet.

Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate. No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.

The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval.

She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.

Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation of Muslims is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).”

This promise is eternal and universal. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) ordered Muslims to follow it until the Day of Judgment just as we follow his last sermon before his passing.

The charter imposes no conditions on Christians for enjoying its privileges. It is enough that they are Christians. They are not required to alter their beliefs, they do not have to make any payments and they do not have any obligations. This is a charter of rights without any duties.

I know I do not speak for myself alone but the majority of Muslims, not just in Singapore but all over the world. We stand with you in solidarity. We pray with you and for you. Our peace is yours and your peace is ours. Every word in the Charter stands true as it was in the time of the Prophet as it does today.

Previously, perhaps it was enough that we knew in our hearts that good people on both sides exists, but with the negative media only showing discord and injustice, doubt arises and we start to wonder.

The intention of this letter is to reinstate and assure our fellow brethren that we are ONE.

Muslims celebrate the Prophet Muhammad on varying occasions.

In the coming month of December, I would like to join you in your gatherings to celebrate Jesus. His birth, life, message, teachings, the second coming, the Messiah, the Spirit of God & the Virgin Mary, our Holy Mother.

Let us, together, stand united against attacks on any religious communities.

With love and prayers,

on behalf of my Muslim friends all over.

PS: I do apologise however, as i understand there are different sectors within the Christian community itself and perhaps you may or may not identify with this letter, but my message of peace and solidarity stands nonetheless.

I sent this letter over 200 churches in Singapore, but i dont think that is all of them. I have tried looking for various sources for the email address and in my process could have spammed a couple of churches. (Im really sorry.)

I hope that this reaches out to people of goodness on both sides to send a message that we need to do a lot more to reach out to one another and bridge our communities.

If not now, then when? If not you, then who?

Peace be upon you always.



*Original Blogpost can be found here: https://fyndingnoor.wordpress.com/

Being used

At this moment, I have a reason not to feel good. I have been thinking of a recent episode when I felt used by someone.

This person is a high school junior of mine. In my high school, for some reason, I was feeling down. Apart from getting good results, most parts of my high school were bitter memories. Looking back in hindsight, I had friends who cared for me no matter what, but that was also a weak spot for devils to take advantage. He looked like a good friend, but when I was too sad to notice any hidden agenda in him.

I have known him for years. Since returning to Malaysia after I finished my degree, I actually never bothered to contact him. I remembered what he did to me years ago which I wasn't pleased - I shall talk about that episode in another blog post. Just very recently, not long after I started my graduate studies at University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, he messaged me through Facebook to reconnect with me. Perhaps I should forgive him, and give him another chance. I joined him for one activity. After that, he started asking me out for a few of his activities but I did not join.

In an evening, while I was busy with cell culture stuff on campus, he rang me out about an activity that night. That was a last minute call indeed. He mentioned about a medical specialist delivering a talk and wanted me to accompany him. After I finished my cell culture work I made the journey from Semenyih to Sri Petaling.

When I arrived he said what... "You missed the best part [by the speaker]!" I was actually a little offended to hear that, but I kept it to my heart, if he had considered how troublesome it was for me to come on short notice, and the journey I took. Then, I was brought into a seminar room where the talk was held. I was asked to made a payment of a small sum which I wasn't told about - wasn't too happy about it, but I kept my cool largely.

And guess what? The speaker did talk about some valid points about nutrition indeed, but the crux of the matter was to sell me nutritional supplements! The proper name for this kind of "talk" or "seminar" should be called a product party. The ploy to used by this junior of mine is to mention about some prominent/famous/successful person will be speaking only to con me to a product party! The language used by the speaker wasn't so difficult to understand. Even though I spent no penny, a few hours of my time will be out.

I looked up and saw white plastic bottles used to package nutritional supplements, each displaying its product label prominently, standing on shelves attached to walls. I've been seeing similar products in the past, in childhood and adulthood, knowing that these supplements aren't cheap to buy. Very well, a sign of what my junior is up to, even though years have passed.

Then, I turned my head to the back and noticed two portraits, each displaying a couple. I supposed they are married couples. I recalled seeing one of the portraits which I saw a few years back, at another place - the husband and wife who are members of a particular direct selling company. Another blatant giveaway! A few years may have passed, but I certainly remember.

Don't treat me like a fool anymore. I spent none of my money on a single product (except the entry fee); in the future I ain't got time for that. What do you suppose a friend is for?

My journey as a fan of Felixia Yeap @ Raisyyah Rania Yeap

I have been following Felixia Yeap since her days of doing sexy shoot and being the first and only Playboy Bunny from Malaysia. She undergone a 180 degree change that took her fandom by surprise. It has been a while since she started donning the Muslim headscarf (hijab). By the time I pen this down, much has calmed down.

Pre-Hijab Felixia



The time I discovered about Felixia was on Facebook, already a Playboy Bunny. Fellow property developer Eric Yong has written about her a few times, featuring her with the tag Blogger Hotties. Photos of Felixia featured by Eric was fumingly sexy. You can say that Felixia was at the prime of her sexy career.

At the time I'm penning this post, Eric Yong's Blogger Hottie are no longer there.



At one moment I dug through Felixia's work, posted in her Facebook photos. I could remember there was a photo which she lie on a bed, her abdomen facing down. All her curves were gorgeously presented. Like a great piece of art, portraying the geometry of a human body, I couldn't help but exclaim. That was one piece of Felixia's work that I remember the most.

The photo I've described above is no longer there.



To be honest, I envy those who get to meet Felixia in her pre-hijab days.


I've watched every one of her sexy videos on Youtube. Then, her Youtube channel was FelixiaAV. Haha, I remember it correctly! Those videos are history now. There was a striptease. There was a video of Felixia singing.

What I like was, Felixia actually made eye contact with viewers!



I miss the sexy version of Felixia. She was once our Playboy Bunny, known for a playful image. It stays in my heart forever. What is more, I have to remind you that without the sexy Felixia, there won't be the current Felixia.

Hijabbed Felixia

Maybe it was a coincidence. Felixia was thinking about learning to dress in the likes of Malay-Muslim. And what I did during that time? I knew not of Felixia's upcoming transformation but I had a unlikely stirring in my heart. What I am going to tell you sounds strange and unlikely. You may even laugh at me!



Before I continue, let me tell you my backstory of Muslim headscraves first! When I was a little boy in primary school, I had not met many Malays. Butsince secondary school, I had Malay teachers in large numbers, teaching me various subjects. That started my curiosity on their head dress.

During class I would secretly observe their headscraves and figure out what's underneath. I have even used the sunlight from the window to my advantage! Hahaha.

My secondary school lasted from 2002 till 2006. During those times the tudungs available was just square scraves. The inner scarves were thick and hideous. Styles were boring.

After I finished secondary school, I went for Edexcel A-level in HELP University College and stopped encountering hijabbed Malay girls.



Around March 2013, an ad from thepoplook.com got me hooked. The model was so pretty! I was lured into the world of Muslimah fashion that I had no idea how vast it is.

So, a chance has finally come to fulfill my curiosity. There wasn't a good opportunity back then; and I was too embarrassed to discuss about my fascination with tudung during my teenage years. Slowly, I got my hands on hijab wearing tutorials on Youtube and Malay girls' blogs.

Headscraves are just simple piece of cloths, but when worn they adopt three dimensional shapes.Sounds a lot like a protein - a single polypeptide chain that folds into 3D shapes that enable them to function.

The tutorial videos are very engaging to watch if you have means of appreciating it. I have to admit this is a pretty good set up to look for pretty girls :P From the videos I learnt that Muslim fashion is no longer a boring thing. This category of fashion is evolving into a formidable industry driven by the rise of purchasing power among Muslim consumers worldwide.



By the time Felixia started donning hijab on a daily basis and chronicled her journey on Facebook, I had already learnt the new aesthetics to appreciate her new beauty! The hijabbed Felixia is more feminine and evokes a sense of respect. She has grown, but not on the kind of path we'd expected.

On another note, I know that whenever Islam is mentioned, it struck fear in the heart of most Malaysian Chinese people. That's not without reason - non-Muslims in the land had been mistreated here and then, as far as cases like body snatching and unilateral conversion is concerned. I can totally understand why netizens were leaving negative comments when Felixia started to follow Muslim fashion.

Heck, I was even struck by a pang of sadness while at work. I kept that to myself.



I talked to a few of my Facebook friends about this. One of them joked that this is my new [clothing] fetish. It's just a quirk. But, I identify with Felixia for having a quirk. She wears the dress; but I have the eyes to appreciate it!

Don't get me wrong. I am not interested to marry any Muslim girl.



Felixia Yeap is now a Muslim convert and adopted the name Raisyyah Rania Yeap, and I only got to meet her at that point. No matter what, she's still popularly known as Felixia and that name is here to stay. I am a fan when I started to know of her, and I am still with her now.

If I wanted to see sexy girls now, as Felixia has put it, there are plenty of that around.

She reiterated that she remains a Chinese and not masuk Melayu as many have speculated. However, this is a point I beg to differ. If you have followed her closely on Facebook, you'll notice that she consumes Malay food and surrounds herself with Malay people now. Her fandom has also been remodelled - I see more Malay fans commenting on her updates now. De facto, she has masuk Melayu. The current Felixia caters to Malay people rather than her fans of the past.

There is no turning back after conversion to Islam, I can only pray that her choice is a good one. Once again, I miss the old Felixia.

A Christian mum's reponse

by Christine SK Lai
The Malay Mail Online
24 November 2014

NOVEMBER 24 — My eldest princess announced to the whole wide world that she had dumped God; she termed it as “coming out of the closet,” likening it to the homosexual who boldly declares to everyone (God included) that he is free to do what he wants with his life. So there. Well, it’s not that it was a recent thing anyway. It’s pretty old news as far as I am concerned. Still to go “public” — I guess she must feel good about it. Do I? Honestly? Of course not. Which Christian parent would feel good about his/her precious child “leaving the faith?” But it’s nothing earth-shattering. Children keep breaking their parents’ hearts all the time — that’s the price of love. I dare say every parent, Christian or non-Christian, has shed — and will no doubt continue to shed — buckets of (mostly unseen) tears over their children’s decisions in life. But I think it’s harder for a Christian parent to take, because we know it’s our children who lose out when they give up on Some One as fundamental and essential as God.

Still I am somewhat amused by all the responses to her article. I suspect people, especially Christians, don’t know how to react to me. I gather everyone in the church which she used to attend with me must be having a gala time circulating her article. Ok, maybe I exaggerate. But it was funny how they looked at or talked to me during the initial days of its publication. I think they expect me to be...embarrassed? Ashamed?

Perhaps they were thinking, “Kesian....poor thing, some more she’s a widow.... Hai, children these days...” They get uncomfortable, I can just see it in their eyes, unsure whether/how to bring up the subject with me. Some commiserate. A couple wats-apped me the ‘offending’ article and asked somewhat incongruously “Hey, just saw this... did you know?” Duh, as if I didn’t know. Others simply said, “We will pray for you and for her.” Well, I say thank you to these. I don’t know about my daughter, but I readily admit I need all the prayers I can get.

I have not responded to her article until now, we have not talked about it at all. We did our talking, screaming and shouting years ago when she decided she wanted to live life the way she wanted, instead of the way God wanted. It was a drama, which I am sure neither of us want repeated. Of course we have also kissed and made up after the “volcano” exploded; that’s what love is all about. Disagreement doesn’t mean we can’t love one another. Besides if my God loves her enough to respect her choices, so must I. Like she said if she wants to go to hell, that’s her choice. So be it. Though I am sure it breaks God’s heart that any human being would want to purposely go their own way, because He knows inevitably that leads all the way to a soul’s destruction, when He has shown so clearly another better way.

Someone once pointed out, God doesn’t send people to hell, neither need the devil drag us there; we choose to go there ourselves. Jesus Christ has never and will never force, manipulate or sweet-talk anyone to follow Him. If we are to come to God, we must come willingly, out of love, nothing else. He will have it no other way. And if we do come, it must be on His terms, we must let God be God after all. We ignore, reject, deny or refuse Him at our own peril. Could it be that that’s the underlying problem with all our endless discussions about God? That in our heart of hearts, we actually fear the consequences of believing. After all if there really is a God, it would require us to examine and change ourselves to see if we conform to His holy standards. Whereas if we can just “dismiss” God away, we don’t need to answer to anyone except ourselves for the way we choose to live.

At the end of the day, all these arguments about God are just that — arguments. No one, nothing can prove or disprove the existence of God. Not archaeology, philosophy, psychology, technology or whatever-logy can put a “finger” on God. Not the most brilliant mind, smartest scientist or deepest thinker, certainly not I. If He is, He is. His existence doesn’t depend on man’s belief or unbelief. He doesn't need me or anyone to defend who He is or what He does or doesn't do. Nothing changes His love for us, whom He considers the masterpiece of His creation.

No, I am not embarrassed about my daughter’s declaration of atheism. In fact I am very glad she wrote so publicly about it. When I read the responses to it, I cried. I cried because here in concrete form was God’s answer to a mother’s unceasing prayer that He would send someone, anyone to tell her what I no longer know how to tell her anymore.

He sent not one, so many...I am just amazed that people would take the time and care to explain, exhort, elaborate and elucidate the truth of the Scriptures that answer all the very valid issues she raised in her article. Without fail, every Christian response affirmed and comforted me as the very real manifestation of God’s love expressed by a community of faith that is the distinction of all true Christians. It just goes to prove that my God is not a mere “religious crutch” or a collection of rules and regulations but a living, thriving God who will use every means to connect us back to Him; no matter that we turn away, He doesn’t. His heart is always open, even when ours are closed.

It really doesn’t matter to me if my daughter reads, dissects, accepts or rejects the responses that answered her questions. The fact remains, not only her, but many other people got to read too, because it was in public domain. That’s how great my God is; He doesn’t just answer one person — He answers every person who dares to ask. The only catch is we may not like His answers. I am so humbled and yet so proud to have such a personal Almighty God to acknowledge, love, honour and worship.

If we are honest with ourselves, it really boils down not to a matter of proof, but a matter of will or will not believe. The Christian faith has been assumed and criticised as a blind leap into the dark. I am no expert theologian, but that's not my experience at all. I don't claim to understand God, in fact I confess many times I actually don't understand Him.

But just because we don't get answers that satisfy us cannot mean something is untrue, invalid or non-existent. That's way too simplistic and really a rather convenient excuse of getting rid of that disturbing 'issue' called God. It puts the 'blame' and responsibility on Still it's nothing new. Human beings have always put God on trial. They did that to Jesus 2000 years ago, matter of fact we are still doing it today. Actually they killed Him. We are still trying to 'kill' Him too. But the great news is my God just won't stay dead. He is a resurrected alive God, and He will have the last word, when He puts us all on trial.

God dealt graciously with me 12 years ago, out of His great love and mercy He saved not just a grieving wife but a husband about to die. Now every day of my life I can only mouth inadequate thanks and gratitude that all is well with my soul, for I have tasted and know that the Lord is good even when circumstances are bad. There comes a time when true faith doesn’t remain at the level of “need.” True faith must go beyond to grasp that God isn’t our personal genie to satisfy our every whim and fancy. True faith that stands firm demands that we “know” that we know whom we have believed.

I can't “show” God to any atheist, as much as I want to for my own daughter, whom I love dearly. But one thing I can do — I choose to believe God loves her more than I ever can, so He will never leave nor forsake her, even if she thumbs her fingers at Him. He is ever the Good Shepherd who hounds after even 1 lost sheep to bring it home to Himself. That's His very own guarantee and I know I can hold my God to His eternal unchangeable promises. After all, He did say He is Father to the fatherless and a defender of widows.

That means my children and I are definitely on His “to do” list. I couldn't ask for more.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.

The SECRET of scoring well in exams

I went to visit my friend Feeqsays the other day, and he asked about how I succeed in studies. I gave him a few simple answers, like I am passionate about what I am doing, I read a lot, etc. The question he asked is worthy of a deeper thought, and I believe many of you in schooling years are also asking the same question.

Whether you like it or not, taking exam is part of study. I can relate that exams are stressful experiences. From my own experience, Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia was the most stressful exam I've ever sat. Before my first paper, I felt like vomiting due to the tremendous amount of stress.

Coming back to the point of exams being part of education, exams has a purpose to serve for both students and teachers. As a student, you are tested so that you can prove yourself having knowledge of the subject you have learnt. As a teacher, how would you know if you have done a good job teaching your students? You can find out through a test given to your students. In essence, exam is a feedback given to the teacher to let him see how well you learnt, and to measure how well he/she teach. This works both ways for you and your teachers.

To score well in exams, working hard for a subject is a must. Nowadays there are a lot of seminars and tuition centres that teaches you about techniques of answering questions. You are taught to answer questions in a particular way to help you score. Answering skills is only one aspect of scoring in exams and I don't discount the fact.

Given that the Asian culture is to score well in exams, many people memorize ways of writing the answers, getting the score they wanted but ended up with no understanding and appreciation of what has been learnt.

Now I am telling you an important secret many may have missed.

Exam is also about Communication

Has anyone told you that exams are also communication in action? Knowing what the answer is to a question is not a big problem provided that you've studied hard enough. Knowing how to write the answer is an art that carries more weight than knowing what is the answer. The question of how to write the answer is actually a question of communication. Let's put it this way: How to communicate the answer?

My teacher once said about knowing how to communicate with the examiner. Speaking about communicating with the examiner, many of you may be new to the idea. We don't see the examiner face to face. We don't know who the examiner is. So, how to communicate with a person when you don't even see him or know who he is?

Communication with the examiner happens a little differently compared to the day-to-day interaction with our friends. It's more like reading a news article - the journalist don't know who you are, but he/she is communicating the news to you so that you know about it.

Now, I want you to remember this important point. From the moment you pen your answer, you are starting the process of communicating with the examiner. The examiner is a human being. The examiner reads your answer and decides whether he/she understands what you have written. Treat the examiner as a person who don't know about the subject, and your job as a candidate is to communicate to make a point known. Whether your exam is in science, business or art, you'll be using bits and pieces of language to tell the examiner what you know, or what you think it is, or why something shouldn't be the case. Whenever a point needs to be made, language is involved; all that you learnt about a language are actually not confined to language classes. You are free to use whatever grammatical structure available to present your points and take care that no one misunderstands what you are saying.

Answering questions in mathematical papers is not spared from the process of communicating, either. When the answer requires you to state calculation steps, please do not skip that (obvious reason: marks awarded for steps!). Actually, the greater purpose of including calculation steps is to communicate your thought process leading to the answer, so make sure you do not skip a step that renders a reader (examiner) unable to follow your working and needed to make guesses. Also, if you need to invoke a mathematical law/rule/theory, you'll need to state the name of the law/rule/theory in your answer because it is a critical link to the answer.

Your job as a candidate also involves making life of the examiner easier. Toolkits of language are great help to make your point clearer as well as indicating the direction of argument you are going to make. When one page isn't enough for your answer, help the examiner to find where your answer continues with simple words like "(Please turn overleaf)" or "(Continue on next page)" or "(Answer continues on page XX)". They carry no marks, but examiners appreciate it lots for making their work pleasurable.

Coming to the conclusion of my post, I would like to ask you once again: What are tested in an examination? An examination not just tests about knowledge, but also communication. With good communication, you'll score well in exams and get anywhere in life :)