It has been over a month since I left Sharrock Pitman Legal but I am still listed as a lawyer on its website. Should I insist on its removal? Why havent they removed it? Is it simply because they are busy/havent got around to it? Or is there another reason (such as wanting to portray itself as a firm with more lawyers than it actually has, ie beef up its profile somewhat?)

“So, I commend the enjoyment of life.” (From the Bible – really. Eccl 8:15)

Abortion has always been an emotive issue, and rightly so. I am a Christian and uphold the sanctity of life. However, I have never taken a view on whether abortion is ever right and if so, where I stand as far as the shades and spectrum of the issue is concerned. The issue of competing interests, indeed, of competing lives, is never an easy one. I have never asked myself what stand I should take. Now I am again confronted with this issue. Reason? Some of my church members are urging involvement to make the church’s stance clear, in view of the coming state election (in November). Some of our church members are involved in the state parliamentary prayer network and the Labour Party’s policy on abortion on demand has recently taken on some prominence. The issue seems to be that the Labour Party has apparently adopted a policy of enabling abortion on demand right up to birth. To me, the issue of segmenting pregnancy into three trimesters is a very artificial one. I dont know why this is relevant in looking at abortion. If terminating life is wrong, why does it matter when it is done? Who is to say when life begins? Simply, what is wrong with the view that life begins at conception and if so, and if abortion is wrong, it is wrong no matter when it happens, ie., first, second or third trimester. If it is defensible to terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester, and if life begins at conception, why is then not defensible to do so at the last trimester? So why is the issue of abortion “up to birth” relevant at all? Does formation of additional limbs or organs make life any more “present” or “real”? It is an endless debate. I have previously been unable to find anything on this issue in the Bible and so apart from the principle of sanctity of life, what biblical principles are there to guide us? I guess it is time to do some more research.

“So, I commend the enjoyment of life.” (From the Bible – really. Eccl 8:15)

Guess which one is the mommy of Stephanie? 

This is Stephanie Tang – the first born of Barry and Patricia Tang. They are friends of ours from church . Stephanie is a gorgeous baby. Stephanie’s timing was near perfect – she was born just a few days before Father’s Day, so Barry just made it for this year’s celebrations. We visited them after church last Sunday.

Round about noon on Monday, a colleague was on the Herald Sun website and tole everyone that Steve Irwin had died. I found it a surreal news. I later told Theresa that it felt like when Bruce Lee died, or even when Anwar Ibrahim had been sacked. It didnt feel real. Steve Irwin was an embodiment of life. His rigour, his absolute zest, meant his death felt just so totally unreal. He gave me a lot of laughs, a lot of happy moments, although I was irritated repeatedly by his tendency to antagonise animals. He was a great entertainer and obviously loved his family (especially his wife Terry) and I remain very sad.

“So, I commend the enjoyment of life.” (From the Bible – really. Eccl 8:15)

Just a couple more pics from the dinner on 2 Sept

Last night (2 Sept) we met some 0ld friends for dinner. These were all once members of the Klang Chinese Methodist Church (“KCMC”). Ronald Kang came with Benjamin, his eldest son who is in Melbourne Uni now. With them were Hoa Ern, the son of the KCMC lay leader, Say Or. We later learned his mother, Nancy, was excited over Hoa Ern’s girlfriend, Ai Leng (who wasnt there for the dinner). Also with Ronald was a niece of Lay Hong, I think her name may have been Winnie. Joo Ming and Vivian came with both their daughters, Jamie and Dorothy. Jamie’s boyfriend came along (I think his name was Wen Hao). They both attend Deakin Uni. Kok Eng and Li Lin came with the full army, Joshua, Jared and Jan. Theresa, Kiddo and I bring up the end. After dinner, we went on to Joo Ming’s house at Vermont South for drinks. It was all meant to be a little “Merdeka” thingy but the only stuff about Malaysia we talked about were the Lina Joy case, and various anecdotes of break-ins, snatch thefts and such other unpalatable topics. We didnt gather to talk about Malaysia – we were just old friends from the same church catching up with one another. The food was almost a side show, and it might as well have been. It was supposed to be Nasi Kandar but it wasnt anything like the stuff I used to have at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman in KL – the joint where the rice was heaped onto a plate and the chicken or fish, bathed in thick dark gravy, was pressed onto the rice with some mamak’s bare hands. Sound disgusting but the taste was truly unforgetable. The one we had was not too bad, but … easily forgetable. We all enjoyed it none the less, with the possible exception of Ronald, who didnt handle spicy food too well…

This was taken right outside our house yesterday evening, around 6pm. It sort of reminded me, in a silly way perhaps, of the recent super nova phenomenon, so when I saw it, I quickly grabbed our little Canon point-and-shoot toy to capture the moment. Maybe the light caught my Gordon-filled system more than it should, but I was really looking up into the sky when I noticed it, and thought it was beautiful. 

They’ve got a new fellow “running the administration” of the country now. Mohd Sidek was from the University Malaya who then went to New Hampshire College. This college is so far out of the radar as far as decent universities go, it certainly doesnt speak well of the top civil servant’s academic abilities.

Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary, Rafael Hui, on the other hand, attended Harvard. Their Singapore counterpart, Peter Ho, went to Cambridge. I guess Malaysia “kasi chance” to those who attended unknown tertiary institutions of learning. Malaysia Boleh.

“So, I commend the enjoyment of life.” (From the Bible – really. Eccl 8:15)