SECURITY ALERT MODE is now on in full swing in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, as a total of at least 76 people have been killed in a bomb blast in the city and a shooting spree on an island nearby respectively.

In the afternoon of July 22, 2011, this relatively peaceful oil-rich European nation was shaken by a powerful explosion which tore through a couple of important and key government office buildings near the Prime Minister’s Office in central Oslo. Seven people were reported to have died and scores others injured, caused by the bomb blast.

Not long after the bomb attack, a lone gunman dressed in police uniform rampaged into a political youth camp rally on the island of Utoya and shot to death at least 80 young members of Norway’s ruling Labour Party. Reports said that the gunman, a 32-year-old Norwegian, has been arrested by police. It is also reported that both attacks which have shocked Norway and the rest of the world may be related.

Some of the bodies of the Norwegian shooting spree victims sprawled on the Utoya Island shore

So such horrific incidents brought into focus security issues which are becoming more and more crucial in the light of terrorist attacks throughout the world. Root causes of terrorism are still being widely debated but more importantly every nation now has to step up national security measures in order to prevent unforeseen tragic events from happening in their own respective countries.

The Abode of Peace, Brunei Darussalam is no exception given the openness of our sovereign monarch in His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah’s willingness to mingle freely with the people, particularly during current ongoing festivities to celebrate His Majesty’s 65th Birthday. Come Sunday 24 July, thousands of Bruneians will throng the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, to attend another public event of His Majesty’s ‘Meet-the-People’ gathering session in conjunction with the royal birthday celebrations.

And rest assured, the Royal Brunei Police Force and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces as well as other government security agencies will leave nothing to chance and no stone unturned to ensure that it’s all systems go for the event to take place peacefully, Insya Allah (God Willing).

PEACE.love.kindness

The captain of FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 Champion Team Japan, Homare Sawa, holds aloft their winning trophy

After a 2-all draw in the full-time match which went into extra-time, the women’s world champions had to be decided by penalty shoot-outs and the Japanese edged out their American opponents by 3 goals to 1 to claim their winning trophy.

It was a historic victory for the Japanese team nicknamed, “Beautiful Flowers”, since they became the first-ever Asian women players to have achieved such an amazing feat. It was indeed a sweet victory for the team from the Land of the Rising Sun that really cheered up their entire nation which has, only four months ago, been devastated by a triple whammy disaster i.e. 9.0 magnitude earthquake; a giant tsunami and a nuclear plant tragedy during which hundreds of lives had perished. It motivated the ‘underdog’ Japanese team comprising mostly amateur footballers to beat the defending champions, Germany, in the semifinal and gradually another all-professional American soccer team in the closely-fought final game.

In contrast, this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup championship has outshone a much lack-lustre performance of the 2011 Copa America Men’s football championship being played in Argentina.

The host nation and another top-ranked team, Brazil, were both humiliated when they lost their respective quarter-final rounds of the South American event. Incidentally, both matches were also decided by penalty kicks resulting in victories by Paraguay over Brazil and by Uruguay over hosts, Argentina, respectively.

Despite the fact that both Argentina and Brazil boast of top-notch skillful players in the likes of the current world’s best footballer, Argentinian midfielder Lionel Messi and an up-and-coming young Brazilian striker, Neymar, luck was just not on their teams’ sides! The only other tournament favorite with high FIFA-ranking, Uruguay, on the other hand may emerge as Copa America champions since they have the formidable striking duo of Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan. But as they say in football, anything can happen since the ball is round…

PLK

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzadin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam

I don’t have to go at great lengths to describe full details of my beloved ruler who has wisely governed his small nation (nicknamed the Abode of Peace with a mere population of about 400,000 people) since GOOGLE and WIKIPEDIA searches should be able to reveal all correct facts about the sovereign rule of His Majesty.

As a loyal subject, I have no qualms about the greatly-improved quality of Bruneian lives since His Majesty first ascended the throne in August, 1968. After all, I am living proof of a ‘cradle to grave’ beneficiary of my country’s welfare system under His Majesty’s superb leadership… at least I hope so. What’s so great about our working monarch (His Majesty is also the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Defence Minister, Supreme Commander of the country’s Armed Forces on top of other official portfolios all rolled into one Royal holistic command), ordinary citizens like myself are able to meet and greet to shake His Majesty’s hand at least once a year in the Nurul Iman palace during the annual Eid Mubarak or Hari Raya Aidil Fitri celebrations. This caring monarch has such an amazing people-friendly attitude and down-to-earth personality every time His Majesty mixes freely with his subjects during state functions and regular visits to the community at large. As far as I can remember, His Majesty has spoken to me in passing during walkabouts over the years at least three times simply asking me: How are you doing? Or something like that… His Majesty hardly knows me at all personally!

So I think my beloved ruler is as good an exemplary leader as the world’s elderly statesman, Nelson Mandela of South Africa. I just realize that the former South African President is also a July birthday celebrant (to be exact on July 18th). And Mr Mandela is 93 years old this year! Out of that, 27 years of his life was spent in jail. Now this grand old ‘Apartheid’ Freedom Fighter is one heck of a guy I would love to meet one day (wishful thinking, this may be). HAPPY BIRTHDAY Your Majesty and Your Excellency respectively. Oh by the way, the United Nations has declared every 18th of July as the International Mandela Day. I have forgotten all about the American Independence Day on the 4th of July, too.

The former President of South Africa, Mr Nelson Mandela and his family

peace.love.kindness

On the rocks by the sea...

Mulanya timbul jerawat di muka
Aiks! Lanjut usia masih naik muda?
Lepas itu degupan jantung, kabak-kabak
Selang sehari, gigi sakit rahang bengkak

Tidur malam tak lena, makan tak lalu
Cucukan urat, kenyat-kenyat ngilu
Alang kepalang sakitnya merata-rata
Naik ke kepala dan turun ke dada

Setiap kali menyuap makanan
Terasa sakit tapi bisa ditahan
Antara dua solusi, pilih mana satu?
Mau cabut gigi atau tambal kuyu?

Sakit diuji Ya Rabbi

Penyakit jangan dipinta
Tanpa diminta datang juga
Sihat dan uzur, tak kira usia
Semua pasti merasa, tua dan muda
Sihat wal-afiat, Alhamdullillah syukur
Sakit menimpa, jatuhlah tersungkur
Begitulah resmi hidup sementara
Penyakit adalah ujian Allah jua
Ada banyak macam jenis sakit
Mata nampak, dalam hati perit
Penyakit zahir atau rohani
Penghapus dosa terkecuali
Sakit hasad dengki, iri hati
Penyakit kronik, akhirnya membawa maut
Paling sakit, nyawa dicabut Malaikal Maut.

Keris Warisan
July 6 at 1:03pm

Getting ready to face the Almighty...

Peace.Love.Kindness

Most people these days are ‘holistically-connected’ to their smart phones or tablets 24/7, 365 days and worse still, even talk or SMS or surf while answering the call of nature in the toilet/washroom. Nothing is as disgusting as that, to me personally, at least. 

Fortunately or unfortunately, I’m not one of the modern-day hi-tech gizmo geeks. As a matter of fact, I could live without a cellular or hand-phone. I’m now joining the ranks of American WWF wrestler-turned-politician, Jesse Ventura, who never want to own a mobile phone.

My last postings were a couple of poems to express my disillusionment over the recent uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa namely Tunisia, Egypt. Gradually, the “Social Media Revolution 2.0″ as one Egyptian blogger-activist dubbed it then spread across Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, etc. These volatile situations in the Arabic nations have added on to the ongoing Mideast tensions in the decades-old Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. Only God knows when the Libyan Civil War and so-called ‘Arab Spring’ will ever end. Thus far, both the Tunisian and Egyptian long-time leaders – Presidents Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak respectively – have been ousted from power by their own people last February. And now the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Yemeni leader, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, are on the brink of being overthrown by ‘people-power’ in their respective nations soon enough, only God knows Best (“Wallahu ‘Alam Bissawab”).

Turning back the clock, time seemed to have stood still on March 11, 2011 when it was Black Friday for Japan, one of the loveliest countries I’ve visited thrice before. A couple of days prior to that, I came across a news report about a 6.2 magnitude earthquake had hit Japan but it was brushed aside as minor.

It did cross my mind the fact that a couple of my Bruneian Facebook friends happened to be in Tokyo then for a meeting. That tragic Friday afternoon, as I browsed through posting by Facebook friends around 3 pm, I saw a couple of Japanese friends posting photos of their offices in disarray with things falling around.

At first I assumed it was probably due to the minor earthquake a couple of days before. But when I saw a YouTube of an Al-Jazeera news footage of a really huge tsunami which devastated parts of the Honshu Island, only then I realized a much bigger 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquake with its epicenter under the sea, had apparently triggered a killer-Tsunami. It was such a breath-taking and somewhat shocking live coverage of the natural disaster. I followed the live feed streaming online via the NHK Japanese Broadcasting International website for days later. It’s been more than three months now since natural and man-made disasters struck Japan… and it will take many more months or years even for the good people of the Land of the Rising Sun to fully recover from the shocking tragedy. God Speeds! 

PLK

Bright afternoon, clear skies
Blue sea, strong sun’s rays
Monkeys roam free, a flock of birds
National pride — independent sovereignty.

People’s anger, a tyrant leader?
Decades of rule, subjects’ surrender
Harshest of sufferings, not to render
Chaos sets in, uprising greatly peaks.

Contrasting situations — between nations
Rich men, poor men — dangerous gaps
A ticking time-bomb, suddenly explodes
A country’s head, immediately rolls?

Peace. Love. Kindness

Merdeka ceria atau fobia derita?

Keris Warisan

Yet another revolutionary story
People Power in Egypt came to light
Through the one-eyed screen
Of the Internet 2.0 or Facebook
Heroes come and villains go
Same-O, same-O, same old story
Told in a rewritten and oft repeated
History of human conflict and misery
A president toppled in global disgrace
Decades of reign only to fall in days
The youth of his nation stood up
Against the dictator or real leader?
Time was not on his side, definitely
His time was up before dawn awoke
Democracy was the masses’ war-cry
For better or for worse, high and dry
A centuries old civilization has to die.

Peace. Love. Kindness

So the Red Devils are way ahead in this season’s Barclay’s Premier League Championship title race, being the only unbeatable team. Liverpool is without question out of the BPL title bid by a long shot but the Reds may just be the team to defeat the Red Devils in their return match at Anfield. They have lost to Manchester United twice already this season playing away at Old Trafford (Premier League and FA Cup 3rd Round matches respectively) so it will be the sweetest of revenge for Liverpool if they could win their next home game against their arch-rivals!

Around the same time I was watching the Liverpool vs Wolves game, my other favorite sports icon, the world’s Numero Uno tennis ace, Rafael Nadal also won his earlier round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, playing against local Aussie player, Tomic. I am rooting for Rafa to win back this year’s Aussie Open which he had won in 2009.

Apart from the defending title holder, Roger Federer, I think Rafa has also to worry about newer and younger up and coming players like Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov who has upset the 4th-seeded Robin Soderling from Sweden.

Closer to home in Malaysia on Sunday evening, the Malaysian badminton hero Datuk Lee Chong Wei stamped his superiority over the Indonesian champ, Taufik Hidayat, to record his 7th Malaysian Open championship. Both players are now in Seoul to play in the Korean Open in their bid to become this year’s badminton World Super Series top champion. But at the rate 29-year-old Chong Wei is playing, he looks unstoppable! His stamina and confidence in the court seem just incredible, having been coached and mentored by a former world badminton champ also from Malaysia, Datuk Misbun Sidek.

Asian football is also showing signs of positive improvement with the hosting of this year’s Asian Football Championship in Qatar. Both Australia and South Korea, who qualified themselves in last year’s South Africa World Cup finals, will face Uzbekistan and Japan (another World Cup 2010 qualifier) respectively in the AFC Cup semifinals on Tuesday, 25 January 2011. The host team Qatar lost their match in the earlier round of the tournament but they will be an Asian team to watch in the future since Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup finals!

With the 2012 London Olympics getting set and ready full steam ahead right now, the world of sports still remain as the only peaceful means of bridging whatever differences and diplomatic difficulties amongst the community of nations.

The most amazing thing in this global age of highly-sophisticated advancement in information communication technology, almost everyone can simply watch live sporting events staged anywhere from wherever they are in all corners of the earth. It is a small world, after all! And the classic Disney song says it the best, fun way ever…

Peace. Love. Kindness

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR OF THE RABBIT 2011 IN ADVANCE TO ALL CHINESE GLOBALLY!

The Rabbit
Rabbits are private individuals, a bit introverted and withdrawn. People born into this sign would rather work behind-the-scenes instead of being the center of attention in any situation. Do not misunderstand…the Rabbit is not a recluse. In fact, he is a reasonably friendly individual who enjoys the company of a group of good friends whether at a business dinner or a holiday party. Rabbits just like to be a part of the gang as opposed to the leader of it.

Years of the Rabbit
Rabbit Years are fourth in the cycle, following Tiger Years, and recur every twelfth year. The Chinese New Year does not fall on a specific date, so it is essential to check the calendar to find the exact date on which each Rabbit Year actually begins.

THE SIGN OF THE RABBIT: Rabbits, like their animal counterparts, are quite calm people who do not exhibit aggressive behavior and will avoid confrontation at all costs. When angry about something, a Rabbit will approach it calmly and considerately, hardly ever raising his voice or becoming visibly annoyed. Because of their serenity, Rabbits seem to miss things, whether they are confrontational in nature or not. However, the Rabbit is quite keen and pays close attention to the situations developing around him. He is intelligent and quick and can talk himself in or out of most situations with no problem.

The Chinese Rabbit is one of the most stylish creatures of the Chinese Animal Signs and finds interest in different cultures. He is classy and sophisticated, and can be found adorning one of the latest fashion magazine cover looks. Rabbits also like artistic ventures, such as painting and music and are generally quite present in these worlds. They love to express themselves, which is evident when joining them at home for a function or a cup of coffee.

RABBIT FACTS: Fourth in order, Chinese name-TU, sign of peace

CHARACTERISTICS: Keen, Wise, Fragile, Tranquil, Serene, Considerate, Fashionable, Sneaky, Obsessive

IN YOUR ELEMENT: The characteristics of the Rabbit are tempered by one of the five Chinese elements of Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth overlaying a 5-year cycle of characteristics on the original 12-year cycle.

THE METAL RABBIT 1951 AND 2011: Metal gives Rabbits a more resilient demeanor than the other more quiet Rabbit. These Rabbits are very ambitious and can be quite crafty in their dealings with others. They throw themselves and their emotions into everything they do, making them intense lovers, but not outwardly affectionate lovers. Their determination can affect their work as well, whether through personal relationships with colleagues or with the work itself, a Rabbit can be known to immerse himself in his projects…business and personal.

THE WATER RABBIT 1903 AND 1963: Delicate and docile, Water Rabbits will pretty well go with the flow to avoid any conflict or argument. These situations hurt them and bother them because they are such sensitive creatures. They are usually sociable and relaxed, although sometimes they get withdrawn and introspective. They are supportive with family and friends as well as business partners and display an empathy that makes people flock to them for friendly advice and comfort. Sometimes, they can easily be taken advantage of because they are so generous with themselves and their emotions. So they have to be careful not to let their guards down so quickly.

THE WOOD RABBIT 1915 AND 1975: Wood Rabbits tend to be the least bit indecisive. This is probably due to their always wanting to play the peacemaker and not wanting to hurt other people’s feelings. Wood Rabbits are incredibly generous souls and like to avoid the spotlight instead preferring to live amongst others. These people are always kind enough to help you move into a new house, make you a hot cup of coffee or to listen while you rant and rave about your latest character flaw. The Wood Rabbit can sometimes be too kind for his own good, thus causing him to be taken advantage of and sometimes even used by others unknowingly. Rabbits have to learn to say no and to out their feet down or their cups will overflow.

THE FIRE RABBIT 1927 AND 1987: Fire adds an unspoken magnetism and mystery to the Rabbit. These creatures have a burning desire to get out there and live life to its fullest. They are active and adventurous and love anything that sparks their creativity or curiosity. They can throw tantrums here and there, if provoked, but most of the time they work very hard to avoid conflict or unpleasant confrontations. Fire Rabbits are charming and tend to push their emotions into the backs of their minds, but will speak up if necessary.

THE EARTH RABBIT 1939 AND 1999: The Earth element gives these Rabbits a sense of reality and practicality that others don’t illustrate so freely. They are able to give sound advice, which in turn gets them respect and trust from those who solicit their counsel. They take pride in their homes and work diligently to make them a place of security for their loved ones. In the same breath, Earth Rabbits put a great deal of value on material comforts and like to make money.

So much for ‘rabbity’ facts, I personally would love to possess the characteristics of a badger instead of a rabbit. Why? A badger’s survival instincts and inner physical strengths are really amazing! It seems so pure and yet so demure… and badgers seem brave and fearless, too.

peace. love. kindness