Papa Pitong and Mommy Roxy

-Papa Pitong tengah buat muka sardin macam takda hal-

Last year, Pitong and I would just care for our better half. Early this year, Pitong and I both manage to hit the right spot. Now, he has 7 additional members to care about!

Yes! Pitong managed to hit 7 targets! On Chinese New Year, during the eclipse of the sun, Mommy Roxy gave birth to 7 pink hamlets. Thank God I managed to transfer her into a separate cage that morning itself or it would have been some ordeal for Mommy Roxy giving birth to 7 baby hammies with Pitong around!

In the beginning, I thought it was Mommy Roxy defecating a real HUMONGOUS crap when I realize that it was impossible for it to be a hammie waste. It was a split second thingy. I saw Mommy Roxy on the wheel with one leg out. The wheel was partially moving when a bright pink thing popped out from her behind. I had a “what in the world is that pink thing” query in my head as I was kneeling down to have a better look.

Lo and Behold!

It was the first of the 7 hamlets popping out within a few hours. It was like she was never going to stop! I thought there was only three and the Bride thought it was only four. Mommy Roxy decided to add both our guesses and have 7 hamlets instead!

She is doing fine now. Recovering and drinking lots of water. It’s amazing how her motherly instinct kicked in naturally as I saw her cleaning up the baby thoroughly from day one until today. As of this afternoon, one of the pink baby hammies is now very quite dark. I think it’s growing some dark colour hair. None of them have opened their eyes just yet. They are soooo pinky cute!

As you can read from the Bride’s post, I was supposed to give the whole family away now that the Bride is with DOT but I manage to find a secured and near place to have Pitong and the gang without harming the Bride and DOT. I made a nice roof and modified some stuff so now they are all outside but comfortably protected from rain, heat and preys!

So Pitong is now Papa Pitong!

Cayalah bro! Masa lu datang, kita sama. Lepas sebulan, kita sama.

Sekarang lu leading gua 7-DOT!

Blog adjourned!

-Mommy Roxy and her 7 Dwarves-

Italian DOT

Guess what?

DOT is now 7 weeks old!

Ada sedikit panic attack last week as there was some spotting. Another panic attack as the spotting came back a few days ago. It is now fulltime bed rest for the Bride. I am glad that she is getting all the manja treatment she needs. It has been a traumatizing week for us… Luckily the Bride is allright and DOT is growing steadily. Within a week DOT grew 3 times ‘its’ size! Bravo to the Bride and DOT!

I have also realized that the Bride craves for Italian food. It has been macaroni, spaghetti, lasagna, pizza and some amazing ala-ala Italian dishes my mother would make for her. One Italian DOT coming right up! Nasib baik dia tak mengidam makanan hamster, kalau tidak, mengamuk Pitong berebut kuaci and jagung!

Luckily my mom loves to watch the food channel on Astro and she has the gift of the best inconsistently good general recipe. It is the Campak-Campak style!

What is Campak-Campak you ask?

It literally means what it is. My mom would watch a cooking show and go down and start to throw in the ingredients without having any accurate measurement. The end result would be delicious but it may not taste the same the second time she does it. The best part is that it will never be bad because she would constantly taste it to improve its taste. She just loves to cook (but despair the cleaning up process) and the Bride is her cheerful food taster. Their symbiosis relationship truly benefits DOT. One mom cooks, one mom-to-be eats and DOT absorbs the necessary. In the end, everybody and DOT are happy!

So to the Bride… Remember to always have a happy DOT and Thought!

Dot adjourned!

Computer Gender

A Spanish Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.' 'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'

A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether 'computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation. The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ('el computador'), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

Who would you think is the winner?

Blog adjourned!

What A Coincidence

A chicken farmer went to a local bar, sat next to a woman, and ordered a glass of champagne.

The woman perks up and says, "How about that? I just ordered a glass of champagne, too!"

"What a coincidence," he said, "This is a special day for me, I'm celebrating."

"This is a special day for me, too, and I'm also celebrating!," says the woman.

"What a coincidence," says the man. As they clinked glasses he asked, "What are you celebrating?"

"My husband and I have been trying to have a child, and today my gynaecologist told me I'm pregnant!"

"What a coincidence," says the man. "I'm a chicken farmer. For years all my hens were infertile, but today they're finally laying fertilized eggs."

"That's great!" says the woman, "How did your chickens become fertile?"

"I switched cocks," he replied.

She smiled and said, "What a coincidence!!!"

Blog adjourned.

Mind Over Matter… If You Don’t Mind, It Doesn’t Matter

Sometimes, as much as we do not want to judge a book by its cover, we seem to do it anyway. Why? It is probably much easier to generalize someone’s attitude into one word than to actually give it a thorough analysis.

One of the easiest ways to determine one’s attitude is by making a comparison. I think the human brain works easier when there is already a precedent attached to it. To redesign something out of nothing is certainly harder than to compare existing material. If the result of such comparison brings an equal equation, than it will be a win-win situation. However, if it highlights a positive and negative mathematical statement, the result would certainly be disastrous for the losing party. Then again, not every two individual can be subjected to the same test.

The All Mighty is certainly not that rigid in creating the best of His creations… right?

In other words, our mind can be tuned to think of the most creative thing. At times, it can just refuse to produce a single thought. At the same time, it can also think of immoral or wrong matters.

When we know how to control our thinking process, we can then have a healthier mind. Controlling the working of one’s mind requires strenuous effort in the beginning. Consistency is vital. Discipline is also fundamental.

But to my mind, the most important element in controlling one’s mind is regulation. With regulation, you will know your boundaries and have motivation to work towards improving yourself to meet the specs of the regulation. If not, you will not know your perimeters. You will think until you lose your mind. That’s crazy!

To me, religion can be symbolically interpreted as a set of regulation. It touches on every single aspect of one’s life. For example, Islam even explains how to wash one’s butt after pooping to maintain cleanliness.

So to all my readers, here’s to a healthier mind!

On a different note… Gong Xi Fa Chai and to those who will be travelling…
Pandu Cermat! Anda Mampu Mengubahnya!

Blog adjourned.

GazaaBoooom!

I read this somewhere. I have no idea how true it is, but in light of the recent attacks on Gaza, I thought maybe I should just post it here. If any of you know the accuracy of the message below, please inform me.

A Quote from Hitler’s personal diary…

“I could have annihilated all the Jews in the world, but I left some of them so you will know why I was killing them.”

History tells us that he always saw his Jewish father torturing his mother. That could be the reason why he hated the Jewish community so much.

But not all Jews support the attack on Gaza. It’s the Zionist whom we should confront…

A common goal can certainly unite the community.

"May Allah bless all of the innocent victims in Palestine and reward them with the best form of rewards for their all of their sacrifices."

Ameen…

Blog adjourned.

Speaking Judgment

Hah! I have wanted to post this but I just didn’t have the time and “mood” to do so.

The first few judgments that I wrote as a Magistrate was to justify the sentences that I gave in open court. I tried to develop my own style in writing judgments. Each one differed slightly from the other. Sometimes I state the facts in the beginning. At other times I reason out stuff first.

Appeal against sentence would see me write on why I gave such sentence. I will get some case law to support my sentences. Some people complaint that it was harsh and would say that I was lenient. It doesn't matter what people say as long as I am within my discretion and I exercise it judiciously.

HRH Azlan Shah LP (as he then was) wrote an excellent judgment about judicial discretion in Bhandulananda Jayatilake v. Public Prosecutor [1982] 1 MLJ 83. The facts of the case were summarized as follow:

“The appellant gave false testimony at the murder trial of Karthigesu who was convicted and sentenced to death. That case rested on the appellant's testimony which provided the main link in the largely circumstantial evidence tendered by the prosecution. The conviction and sentence were set aside by this court when the appellant confessed on oath that he had told lies at that murder trial. He was duly charged and convicted of 'giving false evidence with intent to procure Karthigesu's conviction of a capital offence' under section 194 of the Penal Code. That particular offence carries a maximum sentence of 20 years and a fine. The learned judge imposed a sentence of 10 years imprisonment.”

In deciding that the sentence was not harsh, this is what the Federal Court said:

“It is now said before us that that sentence was wrong; that it was harsh and manifestly excessive. Therefore this court should interfere because every wrong sentence is as much a miscarriage of justice as a wrongful conviction or acquittal.
…
It cannot be gainsaid that the appellant had shown a wanton disregard for truth. The sanctity of an oath meant nothing to him. We therefore conclude that he had acted with malice and with the direct object of bringing the administration of justice into disrepute.
…
Is the sentence harsh and manifestly excessive? We would paraphrase it in this way. As this is an appeal against the exercise by the learned judge of a discretion vested in him, is the sentence so far outside the normal discretionary limits as to enable this court to say that its imposition must have involved an error of law of some description?

I have had occasion to say elsewhere, that the very concept of judicial discretion involves a right to choose between more than one possible course of action upon which there is room for reasonable people to hold differing opinions as to which is to be preferred. That is quite inevitable. Human nature being what it is, different judges applying the same principles at the same time in the same country to similar facts may sometimes reach different conclusions (see Jamieson v Jamieson [1952] AC 525, 549).

It is for that reason that some very conscientious judges have thought it their duty to visit particular crimes with exemplary sentences; whilst others equally conscientious have thought it their duty to view the same crimes with leniency. Therefore sentences do vary in apparently similar circumstances with the habit of mind of the particular judge.

It is for that reason also that this court has said it again and again that it will not normally interfere with sentences, and the possibility or even the probability, that another court would have imposed a different sentence is not sufficient, per se, to warrant this court's interference.
For a discretionary judgment of this kind to be reversed by this court, it must be shown to our satisfaction that the learned judge was embarking on some unauthorised or extraneous or irrelevant exercise of discretion.

We are far from convinced that any criticism of the learned judge is warranted. He took the course he did, in outweighing the plea of mitigation in favour of the public interest with a desire to uphold the dignity and authority of the law as administered in this country.

We agree.

That must receive the greatest weight. It is a serious offence to give false testimony, for it is in the public interest that the search for truth should, in general and always, be unfettered. The courts are the guardians of the public interest (see the Exclusive Brethren case [1980] 3 All ER 161, 172).”

The appeal was dismissed.

See how well it was written? It is like a living judgment, speaking to you as you read it.

Bila lah nak sampai tahap power macam ni…
Blog adjourned.

Constructive Criticism

Blogging comes with some level of responsibility. It is not as free as it is when you have a heart to heart session with your best friend (or spouse). I mention “as free” because even with your best friend (especially your spouse) you can discuss whatever issues but you must use the right words. You do not wish to hurt them (though it happens unintentionally all the time) merely for expressing your own personal and biased view.

But reading comments on blogs can sometime make me think if much thought have been given before one click that “publish comment” button. It makes you look like a fool if you comment on something you are ignorant about.

Is that comment accurate?
Is it appropriate?

Is it fair?

“Oh what the hell, I’ll just hide under the universal “anonymous” nickname in order to blurt out my true feelings.”

Mind you, some of these comments are so dumb you would not expect someone who knows how to use a computer could think that low!

Anyhow, I recently came across a comment on why the Syariah Court is only punishing the few culprits who drank beer at some pub with a hefty fine and 6 strokes of light rattan. (The light rattan for Syariah offences is waaaaaay much easier on the butt than the typical rattan in prison!) The individual questioned why the Syariah Court did not punish those who take corruption and is a habitual adulterer instead.

On the face of it, it may look like a fair comment. But look at it closely. What I gather from the above comment is that it is the Court who should catch the culprit, investigate the crime, prosecute him and sentence the bugger in one go. How else would the Court be able to choose and decide what kind of crime it should hear? Now, is that fair?

Did the thought above ever cross the author’s mind when he made such comment?

I know it’s frustrating that the media highlights petty stuff and not the heavy stuff. But even if you are geram with the news published, don’t put the blame on the Courts straight away. I have sometimes written some stuff be it a pots or some comments when I was really angry but upon reading it back again when “my blood is no longer upstairs”, I thought it was just my ridiculous emotion at work. So please… think before you attack.

Especially if you bombard the Judiciary.

Because the Judiciary cannot reply to your comments as freely as you can!

Blog adjourned.

Awet Muda

Two nights ago, I drove my mom to a nearby grocery store. She met her friend’s daughter at the entrance. As she was chatting with my mom, she noticed me beside my mom and asked me:

“Baru balik sekolah ker?”

Sekolah?? HAHAHA! Maybe at that time, I was wearing a plain white shirt with a Proton logo on the pocket and black slacks macam uniform private school kot. I smiled and shook my head. She then noticed the Proton logo and assumed that I was working at Proton and said:

“Oh, baru balik kerja?”

I just nodded in agreement.

Do I really look that young?

I am also facing a slight difficulty in meetings. If I make a serious look, people would say that I am arrogant. This is probably because my serious look is a bit like Zoolander.

Me looking serious

But if I just act normal and not make any artificial look, people say that I look childish and playful.

Me looking not so serious

Depa jeles kot??

Blog adjourned.

(Jangan-jangan orang nanti ingat I adik-beradik dengan my children hehehe...)

Rock giler!

Two_One By Any Other Name…

Desire, if not guarded, can certainly lead one astray. We need desire to perform. I need desire to go on. Actually, I love the desire that I have in me.

As of middle of November, I have been transferred out of Kuala Lumpur. I am no longer a serving Magistrate in Kuala Lumpur. I say that I am not a serving Magistrate because my name is still in the gazette as a Kuala Lumpur Magistrate but I have been relieved of the duties attached to it. In other words, I can still be transferred back to relieve some Magisterial duties, however, I doubt if I have the time to do that.

Now I can be regarded as a research officer based in HQ. Because I didn’t not what sort of research I would be doing, and upon the advice that I got, I decided to freeze my blog for a while. I was afraid it my new job and blogging might not gel nicely. Now that I know the nature of my work, I can fine tune my previous posts to suit the nature of my research work. Blogging should be safe now. This blog can be unblocked.

Apart from research, I also have to help some administrative stuff. I even got the opportunity to learn drafting, public relations, marketing, branding, bill of costs and many other matters that would and might be necessary in the future. Travelling is also in the diary every month not to forget meetings after meetings with the need to prepare minutes and to follow up the actions resolved. Looking at the paste of the new Chief Justice, minutes from a three hour meeting is expected to be ready in the next three hours.

If you ask me which is more interesting between the current post and being a Magistrate, I’d say that Magisterial skills can still be mastered in the future but this post is only offered once in a lifetime and I’m definitely enjoying it now!

Blog adjourned!

The New Dot!

A week ago, the Bride was complaining about that she was having to many zits.

“Period hormones gone nuts” was what she said. Deep down in my heart, I thought (and prayed) that it was something else.

I was right!

HAHAHAHAHA!

YES!!!!!

I don’t know what else to say. Just read The Bride’s blog for more information.

The first baby scan shows that the zygote is 4 weeks old and measures about 5 mm.

Can you see it?

Oh boy! It’s so comforting to answer “YUP! DAH ADA ISI!!!” now… Hehehe….

Blog adjourned…

(Nak tulis ape-ape pasal benda ni hanya meremangkan bulu roma di tengkuk aku sekarang... )Belum betul2 register lagi kedatangan ini...

For a start I have created a new label... Kiddo!

Youth 09

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Jom!! Semua dijemput hadir...

We're happy to announce that to start off this great new year, Young Muslim Project (YMP) is invited to participate in the, much talked about, YOUTH '09 event.

It's an amazing recognition and opportunity for us and insyaAllah (God Willing), it'll be one of the best ways for us to reach out to the youths, no matter what race, religion, nationality, color or social status.

The theme for our slot is "Unity for Humanity" as we'd like to highlight the plight of the people in Gaza and no matter if you're Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu or of any faith whatsoever, we can all agree that humanity knows no boundaries.

Other than that, we'd also like to meet as many youths (age is where your heart is ;p) as possible, Muslims or of other faiths, so please come and join this event and support us.

The more the merrier :)

There'll be lotsa activities in store for you too so do come and check us out ya!Details are in the poster but you can also check out more info on our NEW blogsite!http://young-muslims-project.blogspot.com/

YMP @ YOUTH '09

Venue: PWTCDate: Sunday 11 January 2009

Time: 2 pm - 3 pm

Entry is FREE!

Entry is free, but it'd be better if you register so that you can get your FREE direct access PASS (no need to queue up!) that comes with lotsa goodies!So we suggest you guys register online first @http://youthsays.com/youth09/getyourpass

What is YOUTH '09?

It's Malaysia's Largest Youth Lifestyle Festival. Check out the website for more info.http://youthmalaysia.com/youth09/index.php

Hope to see y'all on Sunday and please do bring your friends/siblings too ya! :D

Blog Adjourned!

The Surprise Visit

I was informed that the Chief Justice (CJ) made some surprise visits to several Courts of late. It was a real shocker as none of the staff knew he was coming. Some didn’t even know he was the CJ. It may be because you don’t expect to see the CJ at the registry counter without first being informed of his visit.

The CJ apparently didn’t want those special preparations. He wanted to see the real condition of the Courts as what the public and lawyers perceives it to be. When he gets good review about any Court registry, he wants to know that that compliment was genuine and not just some sweet melody uttered for the pleasure of his ears only. If it is legitimate, credits will be the consequential effect. If it is not as what he was informed, improvement is inevitable.

Such surprise visits should not be taken as negative news. It was not meant to look for faults at one particular place. He just wants to see the organization he is leading. He wants to see if the public have any reason to be disgruntled with the service of by his subordinates.

The Malaysian Judiciary should now be in the limelight for the right and appropriate reasons. Reforming the Judiciary is not a one man show. Everyone who wants justice must be involved.

Have you ever thought how you could contribute?

Blog adjourned.

Perception

Perception is perspective. Perspective differs according to individuals. Combine it with personal experience; perception will likely be based on private history.

Take a civil court case for example. When a judge decides for the Plaintiff, not many Defendants would accept defeat and say that “oh boy, that was a good fight. The Judge didn’t agree with my version of the story. I lost fair and square. It’s time to move on.”

Instead, some parties, and I emphasize that these people do not represent the majority of litigants, would say that either the Judge is biased, corrupt, an idiot, not fair, etc. when they lose.

Judgment In Default of appearance by the Defendant is an automatic right of the Plaintiff ONLY if all the papers are in order. If you come without fulfilling the required needs, you won’t get no order in your favour!

If you have been tricked before, you would make sure that you don’t get tricked again on the same matter. If that trick is repeated by someone else, well, too bad for the other guy because not only you would make sure that his trick won’t work, you would also MAKE SURE he does not try to repeat again. Right?

When you up on the Bench however, no matter how ridiculous the attempt is made to deceive you, you must never loss control. Once words are out, there is no way of getting it back. Sarcasm is also very dangerous. That momentary satisfaction gained with such biting words will be outweighed by the price that you have to pay.

The mighty lion toys with the mouse that crosses his path. Any other reaction would mar his fearsome reputation!

Blog adjourned.

The Generous Fool

Kiss Kiss is no longer with us anymore. The Bride suspect it is due to a terrible diarrhea. I think so myself. The only possibility for her to have suffered from such illness is because I generously fed her with ¼ of grape, some corns and a cinonet piece of a banana in about 2-3 days. I had too much hope in training them and wanted to “reward” them. In order to reward them, I wanted to know what kind of tit bit they like. I guess it didn’t turn out as expected.

Pitong got it too but he recovered.

Kiss Kiss didn’t.

After lying weakly for about a whole day we took her to the vet. The vet gave her some supplementary vitamin jab and had some water inserted through her back because of dehydration. When we got back, she was placed in her plastic box with lots of tissue paper. One small spotlight was placed beside her box to keep her warm. Her plastic box was covered with some cloth so that she would not be too hot inside.

A few hours after that, she didn’t manage to hold on.

This New Year didn’t start as happy as I had planned it to be. It seems like everything that I had planned failed.

Just as I thought I would not be burned in hell for some stupid stuff, I facilitated my new companion to meet the Maker.

Even after many years of observation, I still fail to manage the invincible balance.

How fu*ked up can things end?

This is certainly the worse ending I could have ever expected from a very successful year.

I hope your New Year is on a happier note and I wish you many happy returns!

Blog adjourned!