Just as we had a great night enjoying the timeless music of Simon and Garfunkel on Thursday night, we arrived at work on Friday morning to the news that Michael Jackson had died.

Music evokes memory. As I closed my eyes and listened to various pieces on Thursday night, I remembered my schooldays and younger years. Michael Jackson will always have that effect on millions of people.

I first heard Simon and Garfunkel maybe 30 years ago. I heard a cassette tape being played with what were then very unusual sounding songs. They sounded unusual but were very attractive. It was the “Bridge Over Troubled Water” album. I think. Not long after that, I watched parts of a video. This was when videos were in chunky VHS cassettes. That video was the reunion concert of Simon and Garfunkel. I was hooked.

A few years later I hurt my back. I hurt it very badly. I was in and out of the hospital over a period of maybe 5-6 months. I stayed, at one point, up to 2+ months. Guess who kept me entertained most of all when I was all tied up with traction devices?

Things stayed quiet for a while for those 2. They “broke-up”. Not long after that, Paul Simon showed up solo. Well sort of. He had a whole troupe of South African musicians with him. His “Graceland” album was a ground breaking music phenomenon.

I was in Uni in Sydney by then. I was too broke for most things. I most definitely could not afford to buy the album. I had to enjoy “Diamonds on the sole of her shoes”, “You can call me Al” and of course “Graceland” itself all on radio. Thankfully, Aussie (Sydney) radio was pretty good back then and stations like 2Day and 2JJJ were blasting Paul Simon’s master pieces end to end.

Paul and Art now have grey hair. Art, surprisingly, has almost as much hair. But it is clearly greying. Paul has greyed worse than Art. They both move even slower now. But I bet they’d sound just as great. I’ve got 3 tickets to see them live tomorrow, at the Rod Laver arena, in my hot little hands. Tress, Kiddo and I will be there. What a treat.

Tress and I got married…

It is well established that the standard of English in Malaysia has fallen below even the lowest acceptable level. It is rubbish. Few will be able to read or write or speak English properly. Already in my generation, many can’t write properly. The advent of the internet age has aggravated this.

I have a confession. I log on to Face Book every day. I do so for the same reason more and more people do it. I want to check on what has been happening to friends and relatives, and especially see photographs of my nephews and nieces. If I let the standard of English on Face Book bother me, I will cringe so hard I’d probably swallow my eyeballs. It is appalling. Almost everything is excruciatingly bad. I sometimes cut and paste some of the comments to send to some people, just to have a laugh.

The same problem exists in online publications. I mean Malaysian ones of course. I regularly visit popular Malaysian sites like Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today and The Malaysian Insider. The English in these sites is almost as bad. I don’t know what sort of editing goes on but a lot of the letters for example, are just appalling. Obviously you ignore the hopeless garbage which appears in most comments but when an article or letter is published with glaringly poor standard of language, you’d have to wonder.

Emails and text messaging don’t help. I have made an entry on this before – the ubiquitous keyboard (or keypad) and screen has made many dispense with the need to think about what they create with these tools. “Aiyah, you know what I mean la” should be no excuse for poor writing.

Tolerate poor English long enough and you’d have a country reeling. Following is an article from The Star.

It is still not too late for the Government to check the decline in both English and Bahasa Malaysia, and strengthen the education system.

By Veera Pandiyan (The Star)

FIFTY years from now, global communication will be conducted mostly in three languages – Chinese, Spanish and English. Hindi, Bengali, Urdu and Punjabi will also be big because of India’s growing population, while Arabic, too, is set to be significant for both religious and economic reasons.

That’s the opinion of Henry Hitchings, author of Dr Johnson’s Dictionary: The Extraordinary Story of the Book that Defined the World, and The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English.

He reckons that many languages would have disappeared by then, irrecoverably, taking their cultures along with them. Hitchings, whose views were among those highlighted in the Freakonomics blog of the New York Times last year, makes some pertinent observations.

While there are 6,500 languages, only 11 – Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi, French, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, German, Japanese and Arabic – account for the speech of more than half the world’s population. He says, whether we like it or not, what happens in the world’s major languages tend to be seen as more significant or more worthy than those in the lesser languages.

For example, a book published in English will have a far wider reach than one published in Czech, regardless of quality or merit. This is the reason scholars seek to enhance their credentials and visibility of their work in English. It also explains why universities, which used to be national institutions, have become an international marketplace. Globalisation has also made English especially important in IT, business, diplomacy and rapidly changing technology. Up to two billion people will soon be learning the language. Hitchings says the yearning to learn English reflects a desire to be plugged into a kind of “world brain”.

This particular observation might strike a chord with those who are alarmed at the declining standards of the language in Malaysia: “To many people, the spread of English seems a positive thing, symbolising employment, education, modernity. But to many others, it seems ominous. They hold it responsible for grinding down or homogenising their identities and interests.”

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he was surprised to find out that a pass in English was no longer compulsory for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). He was ostensibly more shocked to discover that national schools were no longer teaching grammar. The Education Ministry is currently gauging public feedback on whether it should make English compulsory again for SPM. The response so far has been overwhelmingly no rather than yes.

It looks like it’s not just the teaching of English that the ministry is grappling with. The standard of Bahasa Malaysia (BM), too, has also been steadily sliding over the decades. Unlike before 2000, when a credit in BM was a must to qualify for SPM, a pass in the national language is all that is needed to qualify for a certificate. As in the case of English, it is obvious that the passing mark for BM, too, has been dragged down gradually. Rumour has it that it can even be brought down to 30.

But like limbo rock, just how low can you go? It’s disgraceful, but despite the quality of English and BM having sunk to abysmal levels, the stance is still one of denial and reluctance to face facts. Instead of admitting flawed policies and looking for long-term solutions, the priority seems to be on putting on more blinkers.

Officials are now worried that as many as 130,000 students – a third of the 440,000 candidates who sit for SPM yearly – will fail if English is made a compulsory subject. What about the consequences of failing to check the rot? Wouldn’t the next generation of Malaysians be left gasping in the wake of others moving ahead in an increasingly competitive world?

Let’s face it. The selfish and misguided agenda of the so-called champions of the national language who had been pushing for English to be placed on the back burner has wrought enough damage to the country. Ironically, their misplaced zeal has not raised the standard of BM to become a good enough medium for learning science and technology, never mind the much-needed translation of books.

Yet, some of these dinosaurs are still mouthing ridiculous views like describing rural students who fail English as “victims of English language colonisation”. Especially at a time when the Government has little choice but to weed out the root causes of failures in our education system.

Yes, the Government must upgrade the quality of teaching and learning of both English and BM, and speedily boost the professional skills of teachers. But more so, it must come to terms that grave mistakes have been made in the past – mostly for political expediency.

But we can still gain if we choose to change, even at this late hour.

As Hitchings says, one of the intriguing consequences of globalisation is the changing of English’s centre of gravity. Its future is going to be defined not in America or Britain, but by the new economies, in places like Bangalore, Chongqing or Bratislava. Or even Kuala Lumpur, if we choose to act quickly. English is becoming the language of the urban middle class, and with the ability to use it becoming a basic skill, prestige attached to speaking it with native fluency will shrink.

As technology breaks down borders, it will no longer be sensible to think of a precise association between particular languages and particular territories. As he rightly observes, nobody owns languages any more.

> Associate Editor M. Veera Pandiyan wishes to share this quote from Khalil Gibran: Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself.

I just saw the below story on the BBC news site. Imagine this happening in Malaysia. Families of leaders will be populating Pudu or Sungai Buloh before too long. With leaders like Yudhoyono, Indonesia will only move well ahead of Malaysia. I hope he continues to lead Indonesia.

Malaysians can start preparing their kids to be maids and constructions labourers in Indonesia before too long.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8104448.stm

Indonesia leader’s in-law jailed

By Karishma Vaswani
BBC News, Jakarta

A corruption court in Indonesia has sentenced a relative of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to four and a half years in jail.

Aulia Pohan, a former central banker, was found guilty of approving illegal payments to members of parliament.

Pohan’s daughter is married to President Yudhoyono’s son, and his corruption trial has been closely watched by many Indonesians.

Indonesia often ranks as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

A mate used to say when it rains, it pours. It happens to most of us. Events don’t just happen by half. Things just take off in a way that leaves you feeling reeled. Well, a bit.

The Age a few days ago suggested as many as a third of Victoria may be infected with the piggy flu. Even if that preposterous proposition turns out to be true, our household has beaten it. Kiddo and I makes two-thirds. For all you know Tress may also have had it but she never had any temperature so chances are she didn’t have it.

That period starting 6 June hit a nadir, (most probably) on 9 June. I was nursing a bad case of flu, the day was miserably cold (with rain and hail) and each of us was separated from the others. Kiddo was holed up in an isolation ward somewhere in KL GeneralHospital. Tress was quarantined at her parents’ home in Klang and I was wrapped in a few jumpers under a blanket here in Melbourne.

Francis Coppola’s Godfather trilogy kept me company that day, with intermittent surfing on the internet but what I really wanted was for the day to get warmer and for the aches and pains to ease up. Not for the first or last time I also wished we had a dog. He or she wasn’t going to fetch me a hot cup of tea or bring me my cough medicine but the company would have been far better than the Corleones.

The single piece of good news that day was Kiddo would be able to leave the hospital the next day.

Ah well, it’s all behind us now. Tress and Kiddo came back late Saturday night. They arrived just before midnight. I had filled up a small flask with hot chocolate and they warmed themselves up with it in the car. That didn’t take a niggling thought off Tress though – she had dutifully declared, in a health card, that they have had the flu and the health personnel at the airport suggested Tress had to be home quarantined for 7 days.

Obviously we thought that was unbelievably stupid. The irrational fear and reaction, emanating probably from uninformed staff, was most frustrating. Tress had just come off 7 days of home quarantine and she has just been told she needs to be quarantined again for another 7. I told the health personnel this was just unbelievable – a euphemism for stupid. It probably wasn’t fair on them but it has been so stressful and frustrating for us.

On the way home, I told Tress to just ignore it. That wasn’t her. As we only went to bed close to 3am the night before, we all slept in and missed church the next day. The next day she called up a couple of people, including Nurse-On-Call. Everyone told her the home quarantine wasn’t necessary. To take our minds off all this we took a drive and went to Brighton beach for some wonderful fresh air. When we came back someone from the airport called and told Tress she wasn’t required to be quarantined anymore. Her relief was almost palpable.

After a home cooked soupy dinner we went to bed early. My test results weren’t available yet so I was asked to work from home. I dropped Tress and kiddo off at the train station, went home and fired up the laptop. About an hour later the HR head emailed to say I could go in since the infectious period is well and truly over. It was too late to find a parking spot in the train station so I drove in. Work was good. It was just good to resume normal activities again.

I left early to get to the doctor again, for the test result. “Influenza A detected”. That’s “Swine Flu”, I told the blighter for a doctor who didn’t seem to know.

I was watching the BBC World News on tv when I heard this. Cristiano Ronaldo will apparently go to Real Madrid for 80 million. GBP. He arrived in 2003 for what, 12million? With that kind of money in the kitty, what would SAF do? Hang on to Tevez and bid for Ribbery?

Kiddo in KL; Tress in Klang, and I’m in Melbourne. Each locked up inside separate premises. All pigged.

Yeah, we have been struck with the Swine Flu panics. Kiddo picked up some flu symptoms last Thursday. She and Tress left Melbourne anyway and when they arrived on Friday, the airport thermal scan picked up her temperature. She was driven straight to the KL General Hospital.

On Saturday they confirmed she has THE flu. Swine Flu. H1N1. Influenza A. Actually it is only a mild form of flu but more of that later. She was told she had to be quarantined for 7 days. Tress too was home quarantined. When I heard, I also home quarantined myself.

Yesterday morning I went to the local GP down the road, the Forest Hill Medical Centre. They were initially reluctant to see me but I said (I thought) I didnt have the sypmtoms, a bad cough notwithstanding. The cough has been with me for close to a week anyway. It turned out I also have a temperature so the doctor took a swab sample for tests, and promptly told me I had to stay away from work until the tests results are back. The doctor said this was just precaution. He said Swine Flu is actually a very mild form of flu. When I asked him how is it a mild flu has killed many in Mexico, he said other forms of flu has killed up to 25,000 in Australia alone. There has been no death from this in Australia and 100 in Mexico has to be taken into perspective against deaths from other forms of flu. Anyway, he didnt seem pleased he had to treat me, so I didnt prolong the conversation. He prescribed Tamiflu and a strong cough mixture (a codeine linctus). These, and flasks of warm water, were to be my companion for the rest of the day.

The temperature turned out to be the tell tale sign – I felt miserable for the whole of yesterday. I was aching all over, felt tired and weak and just miserable generally.

I talk to kiddo and Tress 2-3 times each everyday, and kiddo always sounds close to her usual cheery self. Last night Tress said Kiddo will now leave the hospital tomorrow, which is fantastic news. God is good.

Recent letters to Malaysiakini set out, yet again, the plight of non-malays, the remedial step taken and the criticisms copped. See attached letters. The last is my response …
Fight or Flight.doc

The following are results from an OZ-words Competition where entrants were asked to take an Australian word, alter it by one letter only, and supply a witty definition.

Billabonk: to make passionate love beside a waterhole

Bludgie: a partner who doesn’t work, but is kept as a pet

Dodgeridoo: a fake indigenous artefact

Fair drinkum: good-quality Aussie wine

Flatypus: a cat that has been run over by a vehicle

Mateshit: all your flat mate’s belongings, lying strewn around the floor

Shagman: an unemployed male, roaming the Australian bush in search of sexual activity

Yabble: the unintelligible language of Australian freshwater crustaceans

Bushwanker: a pretentious drongo, who reckons he’s above average when it comes to handling himself in the scrub

Crackie-daks: ‘hipster’ tracksuit pants