More Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa OP detected.

The Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa, or SP award, is the highest federal award one could obtain. It superseed all the Dato' and Tan Sri's and all the fancy me-mancy award one could get (either through proper award process, or by *window shopping*)

So far, after the flashback of the news of OP Jalil Ibrahim that was post humanously confered the award, i've managed to track down, with the help of the OPA network, 2 others receipients of this award.

One of them is the Late OP Mohanchandran Velayutham, (Army Captain, Renjer) 1963-1964 Alpha Company.

He was killed in battle at the Kinta Valley Forest Reserves. Excerpt from this battle is available here.
(many thanks to Major(R) D. Swami)

The other one is OP Hamid Awang, 64-66 Alpha Company.

I shalt try to get more detail on OP Hamid Awang.

Malaysian heros, and those that faught and believe in what they faught for, should be remembered. I truly believe the younger generations and generations to come must be aware of all the sacrifices our forefather has done, so that all of us now could live in peace and harmony.

To all of you braveheart, I Salute You.

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Remembering the Late OP Jalil Ibrahim

I received this email and link from my alumni's mailing list.

Reading it, i realised that doing what you believe in, and believing in what you believe in, seems to be harmful to your life, at times.

It may be 22 years since this happened, i sure hope the person/persons involved do not have a good night rest.

I was told that OP Jalil Ibrahim is the only civilian to be accorded Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SP), the country's most senior Federal award, for his outstanding bravery and dedication to duty.

To the family of the late OP Jalil Ibrahim, may God bless his soul and many best wishes and regards to your family.

Thanks Arif Astaman, for the link to this forgotten hero.

News Excerpt here

In case the link goes offline, here is the write up in yesterday's NST, Malaysia.

CATCHING UP WITH...: Gone, but never forgotten
Sarban Singh

Nov 27:

It has been 22 years since the BMF scandal paralysed Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad. The bigger story was the murder of BMF assistant general manager Jalil Ibrahim, who was sent to Hong Kong to investigate alleged irregularities at the bank’s subsidiary. SARBAN SINGH revisits the case and talks to Jalil’s widow, Rosnawi Ibrahim, on life after his death.

JALIL Ibrahim would have been a grandfather if he were alive today.

Not many remember the bespectacled former student of the Royal Military College who was killed in Hong Kong in July 1983 while investigating a case involving the fraudulent award of RM2.5 billion (then) in loans by Bumiputra Finance Berhad to the Carrian Group helmed by Malaysian businessman George Tan.

He was killed by another Malaysian, Mak Foon Than, who was eventually sentenced to death by the Hong Kong High Court.

The case received wide coverage as the names of several Malaysian politicians were dragged in. The Carrian group’s spectacular collapse the same year was also to become Hong Kong’s largest bankruptcy.

BMF was the subsidiary of BBMB, which was then Asean’s largest bank.

Jalil’s wife, Rosnawi Ibrahim, says her Malacca- born husband had always liked working with figures and that was why maths and accounting were his favourite subjects in school.

A bright student, he went on to pursue a degree in accountancy at New Zealand’s Christchurch University.

Upon his return in 1971, he was offered a position to teach at Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak, one of the premier schools in Seremban.

That was where he met Rosnawi, a teacher at the school. They married in August 1974.

The following year, Jalil applied to join Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad and was made an officer at its internal audit department.

Rosnawi, who had just completed her degree from Universiti Malaya, was transferred to another premier institution, the Tunku Kurshiah College.

A hardworking and honest officer, Jalil was promoted quickly. In 1980, he went to Switzerland’s Imede University to do his Master’s in business administration.

Rosnawi said upon his return, the management didn’t know where to put him. "They moved him from one department to another but Jalil knew his calling was doing audit work."


In early 1983, the BBMB management discovered irregularities in the award of loans amounting to RM700 million by BMF to three property developers — the Carrian Group of companies, Eda Investment and an individual, Kevin Hsu.


Jalil was sent to Hong Kong to conduct an audit. Within a month, he submitted a report, and among the questions raised was the identity of the Malaysian who owned 25 million shares in the ailing Carrian Group and whether the loans were given out simply because the borrowers were well connected.

He then wrote to a Malaysian politician asking him to confirm whether he owned the shares.

As Jalil unearthed more irregularities, he was required to travel more often to Hong Kong.

In early July 1983, Jalil returned home to celebrate Hari Raya with Rosnawi and their children in Seremban and his mother Bebe Ahmad in Malacca.

It was to be his last visit back alive. After spending 10 days in Malaysia, he left for Hong Kong again.

But before departing, he handed over a confidential report to his superiors on the wrongdoings at BMF.

Jalil, who was the head of the internal audit department by then, was back at his desk at BMF Hong Kong the next morning when he received a call on his direct line.

He left just before noon and, according to police investigations, he went to the Regent Hotel to meet a Malaysian businessman.

He reportedly told his staff that he was going to meet a "Datuk". The next day, police found Jalil’s body at a banana grove at Taipo Kau village in the rural New Territories.

However, it was only 48 hours later that Rosnawi was informed of the murder.

At the time of his murder, the eldest child, Ruzail Fitri, was only eight, the second, Razman, was in kindergarten, Ros Anita, the couple’s only daughter, was three and the youngest, Ahmad Razlan, six months.

"He used to write to us every week. He sounded very tense and would tell us how selfish some people in the finance company were," says Rosnawi, who retired in December 2000.

The autopsy report and police investigations later revealed that Jalil was strangled with a white bathrobe belt. His body was stuffed into a large suitcase, which a porter at the hotel was told to cart through the Regent lobby and load into a taxi trunk.

Suddenly, Rosnawi’s world was shattered. She had four young children and the future seemed bleak.

"But I was lucky because I had nine siblings who used to come around every time.

"My in-laws and colleagues also provided me with plenty of emotional support."


Rosnawi, playing the role of both father and mother, made sure her children received proper education and grooming. The children repaid her sacrifices by graduating from university.

Ruzail went to Universiti Utara Malaysia, Razman to Cornell University, Ros Anita completed her Master in Engineering at Imperial College in Britain, and Ahmad Roslan has just graduated from Universiti Teknologi Petronas as a systems engineer.

Ruzail has a two-month- old daughter.

According to Rosnawi, Jalil, who used to commute daily from their home in Seremban to work in Kuala Lumpur was a doting father.

"Although he would go to work before dawn and return only at dusk, he would still pat the children to sleep.

"And as far as the children were concerned, it was only the father who could do that."

She fondly remembers that her husband had a penchant for Fiat models.

Rosnawi never liked her husband’s job because as an auditor, he was required to do a fair bit of travelling. But she never stopped him because that was what he wanted to do.


"We sort of got used to him being away from home for long periods. But it eventually sank in that he would never return home."


Yes, she did have her share of problems bringing up the children as a single parent.

"Like any other children, mine too would rebel at times. But it was never a major problem."

The BBMB management, she added, was also kind enough to subsidise her children’s education through university.

Although she is grateful to God for her children’s success, Rosnawi had hoped that her daughter would take up medicine.

"But when she told me that she wanted to be an engineer I gave in to her wishes."


Jalil’s colleagues described him as a dedicated and honest employee.


"He was a workaholic. When I visited him once in Hong Kong, he was so busy that he could hardly find time to show me around," says Rosnawi.

"It was the wife of his colleague (another BMF assistant general manager) who took me around."


She says Jalil, being a Malacca-born, loved asam pedas and kicap-based dishes, was an avid sportsman, with football, hockey and badminton his favourites.

Asked if she was prepared to forgive her husband’s killer(s), Rosnawi, after a brief silence, says, as a Muslim she would be compelled to do so.

"But whatever I do, he would never come back alive. My religion teaches us to accept and forgive."

She added that the question remains whether the convicted murderer acted alone or was part of a bigger conspiracy.


Jalil was missed most whenever her children graduated from university and when the couple’s eldest son got married.

Rosnawi says Jalil was a disciplinarian probably because of the training he received at RMC.

"But he was not really strict with his children because they never gave him much trouble.

"But in school, he was feared. He was known to use military-style discipline when teaching."

Rosnawi lives in the same house the couple bought after they got married.

Asked why none of her children followed their father’s footsteps, Rosnawi said Ruzail was interested but never applied to join the banking sector.

"Maybe it was because at the time he graduated, the country was facing an economic crisis."


What does she do now that she is retired?

"Well, I attend religious classes and, whenever possible, lend my support to associations whose cause I believe in."

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OPA lost to STJOB

Yes.

We lost.

But we had our head held high. No doubt the better team won. But we lost by a mere 2 points, or one conversion.

Both teams has almost equal ball possesion but we ended up giving more penalties to the winning team.

Forwards were loose at time and not as tight as some of us wanted it to be.

Adding on to a few missing players, which might, or not might have created any differences to the game's outcome.

Injuries, espcially on the jumper, which only managed to catch the ball on air like once or twice.

It's almost like a fairy tale gone wrong.

Nevertheless, there is only one way to go. And it's UP.

Final of the Alumni's league will see HSOBA playing against STJOB next week.

MCOBA lost their game too yesterday.

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OPA in Semifinal of Alumni's Rugby League

Hi all,

Good news that i forgot to update everyone about.

Last Sunday, OPA (Old Putera Association, Royal MIlitary College) has beaten SDARA to proceed to the semifinal of the league.

Below is the short match report from the League officials.

"21 Nov 2005

Suku akhir Ragbi Liga Alumni 2005 menyaksikan kesemua empat pasukan pilihan mara apabila Malay College Old Boys Association (MCOBA), High School Klang Old Boys Association (HSKOBA), Sekolah Tuanku Jaafar Old Boys Association (STJOBA), dan Old Putera Association (OPA) menang ke atas lawan masing-masing di dalam perlawanan suku akhir yang dilangsungkan di Padang Utara Petaling Jaya 19 dan 20hb November lalu.
Di dalam perlawanan separuh akhir nanti juara Kumpulan A HSKOBA akan bertemu dengan naib juara Kumpulan B MCOBA pada 26 Nov nanti. Satu lagi perlawanan juara Kumpulan B OPA akan bertemu dengan naib juara Kumpulan A STJOBA pada 27hb Nov. Kedua-dua perlawanan akan berlangsung di Padang Utara."

Translation:
The quarter final matches in the Alumni's league saw the 4 favourite team of Malay College Old Boys Association (MCOBA), High School Klang Old Boys Association (HSKOBA), Sekolah Tuanku Jaafar Old Boys Association (STJOBA) and Old Putera Association (OPA) winning against all their opponents in their matches at Padang Utara on the 19th and 20th November.

The semifinal will see the champ of Group A HSKOBA playing against runners up in Group B MCOBA on the 26th November.

The other semifinal match will see the champ of Group B OPA playing against the runners up of Group A STJOB on the 27th November.

Both matches will be played at Padang Utara, Petaling Jaya.



Chances of OPA winning and going into final?

HIGH.

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updated template

i've recently been encountering some casino pop up ads in my blogspot account and also sound from this current blog.

suspected some javascript from some add ins i added in (hahaha, ok, very very redundant england this...)

so...i went on and remove:

1. google search bar
2. moon phase
3. weather pixie
4. online user indication
5. technocrati *canggih* pictured profile link
6. Chatter box.

will see how it goes over the next few days to check which is the real culprit.

meanwhile, my marathon training has since commenced since last week.

I'm not too sure when is the date of the KL International as yet, hence i'm experimenting with a 14 weeks and a 16 weeks training schedule.

The 16 weeks training schedule seems more challenging and could almost promise me to be able to finish the KL Marathon.

Since it will be my first marathon, and possibly my first race as a 30-35 age group, i shall ease myself into finishing it...

If everything goes well, ie the marathon at teh end of February 2006, then the 16 weeks schedule is just about right.

Yesterday, i did some interval training. It involves 2 sets of 3x800m with 90 seconds rest between reps and 5 minutes between the sets.

well, obviously i was panting like some dog by the end of the last 1600meters.

Maybe i should had just set the speed to a max of 13.5km/h instead of 14.5km/h because by the time i'm on my last set, 12km/h seems to be a big challenge...

I clocked in 7.4km in 40 minutes yesterday, rest included.

Oh ya, and it ain't sexy/cool to be panting like some constipated dog next to some babes that is walking on the threadmills, both left and right of me.

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The Mangkuk That was me.

It's confirmed.

I did 11 lap in titiwangsa triathlon.

how did i come to this conclusion?

well, it's purely simple maths.

say when you leave transition, you count 0.

so, when you count 1 , you finished one lap, right?

And, when you count 2, you finished two laps, right?

now, what happened was, when you count 9, you finished lap 9, meaning it is the last lap and you should enter the transition after that lap...

well, mr mangkuk here went to count 10, which is LAP 10 and did just one extra lap.

I just gave myself a big birthday present by doing one extra lap when everyone else is doing 10....

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha....

duh!!!!

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What a weekend!

I never does always talk about birthday as i do not always celebrate it, unless i felt like it.

Somehow, last weekend was an exception. I signed up for KL International Triathlon, swam it, bike it and ran it like any ohter triathletes and tri-wannabe wants it (i'm in the latter category).

The whole celebration started on Saturday as i went to pick up the race kits for me and Steve. I then went to OP President open house which serves great rendang that i lost count on how many plates of it that i ahd (i'm protien-loading, not carbo ;-)).

Then later than night, everyone in the family, except my 2 busy sister in law, went for a vegetarian dinner in Metro Kepong. Dad's a fulltime vegetarian, so, it's better to forgo the foie gras and creme brule and settle for something healthier (frankly, i only found out that foie gras is actually duck...).


My two wonderful sisters. Though they are a pain sometimes. Ma was drinking tea.


Me, wifey and mum in law. Which i call, Mum.


We don't usually takes family picture, this one is one rare moment.


Moments like these are even rarer....


My sisters bought me a cake. very thoughtful of them!


I then cut it after they mumbled sang me a birthday song...there is a wedding dinner going on, don't want to UP them la!


My sis birthday was a month ago...hence, i also share with her la the cake!

We went back after that, full. Obviously. The restaurant's food is great. I've eaten in many vegetarian restaurant before, but so far, this is the best, affordable and this isn't the first time we are there to eat.

Wifey bought me the shirt that you saw in the pic. Pre-birthday gift wor...hehehe...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Woke up at about 5am on Sunday and was given a birthday kiss by wifey. Went to take a shower and applied enough vaseline to even lubricate a faulty joint in any trucks. No more chaffing, i hope.

by 5.30am, we left the apartment. One thing about living in a highrise as opposed to landed property, your car can never be just outside your door. And to make matter worse, low ceiling height in the parking area will not make it possible to mount the bike ONTO the car inside. Wifey drove the car out and i placed the bike on top of the car and drove to titiwangsa.

There was already a crowd by the time we reached there. Morning jogger seems to be confused by the sudden influx of bicyles and people in tights and some in tri-suits. Adilah and Steve arrived soon after. Adilah managed to sign up two more of her regular friends to do Tri for the first time. Tri Virgin, as some of us would call them.


we got our body marked like some cow to be sent for slaughter.

Saw my junior from RMC, young 16 year old chap, on his first full tri. Well done Ju Shen. He came with his dad, also an OP, and his two younger brother, which will be enrolled there in RMC.

I saw Azwar and his lovely daughter and wife.

At 7.50am, Mr Chan had all of us standing next to the lake. We were briefed and a few international participants were introduced. Race started at 8am sharp and everyone just ran into the lake, unwary of possible giant Toman or mutated leeches that might just snap/suck/bite/eat us up.

This is my first time swimming in Lake Titiwangsa. It's a ex mining pool, which means, at it's deepest portion, it might even be the home of some lochness monster (malaysian version of course).

Water was murky but surprisingly it taste just like tap water. It got me thinking for a while, either the water is clean enough to be drank like tap water, or our tap water is as dirty as the lake's water!

Your take.

The first 750m was kinda easy as i appeared at the end of the first lap to run to the second lap. I swam a bit faster this time (always breast-stroke) and true enough, unless you are fit or strong enough to go freestyle all the way, it's better to stick to breast stroke as i find myself swimming at the same speed as the person infront, beside and behind me.

I finished the swimming and ran to the shower, which my wife managed to snap a picture off.


No, that's not Mini-Me. I'm backing the camera.

I ran to the bike area and saw Steve about to leave. As usual, he swim faster than me, as per always. Also, i was lapped by Azwar twice.... hehehe...


I wore my shirt, don the race number and the helmet and reached out for one Cloud 9 chocolate, which is why my face appear constipated.


And as i was exiting the transition area, Purple shouted to me and gave the thumbs up sign. I had to do some explaining later to wifey over this incident :P


I came in from cycling and took anohter Cloud 9 for energy. Took my glucosed filled bottle along as well. Sorry, mouth was full of those sticky caramel filled chocolate.

I saw steve as i was coming in from my last lap of cycling. He already completed his biking and was runing the first 3km.


This is Super Steve. No ordinary Canadian could do what he does.


Adilah on her first tri...Her initial fear of being swallowed by the lake tortoise didn't come true, obviously!


And this is Steve, lappping me on the running, he finished his 9km of run and i'm just finishing my 6th Km. We managed to pose for pic :D

Somehow, i felt that i wasn't running as fast as i should. Maybe it is because...i don't know...leg felt heavy...lung felt ok, but leg was heavy.


me, 500m to go to the finishing line. I'm grimacing in pain. Suffering on my birthday. Paying back the pain my mum had to endure giving birth to me 29 years ago.


Steve finished a good 10 to 15 minutes infront of me, coming in at about 2H30mins.


Meanwhile, dumbass me came in a goof 10-15 minutes after him...no official timing yet, but at least i didn't lose to Ju Shen, which almost beat me, by the way!


Pic with Azwar and his cute daughter! Well done bro!


Me and steve. He had finish changing by the time i came in from the race...


Ju Shen, me and Steve after the race.

I do not have the official time as i didn't wear my watch. infact, all i know is i just swam, bike and ran the whole course.

I was also told by my wife and one more person that i did 11 laps. I thought i did 10 laps. They said i should had come in after i counted 10. But i guessed i did 11, because after i counted 10, i thought i did 9, and the 10th is the last lap. Nevermind then, at least i did an almost 40km bike, as the distance was actually about 35km as per what was told by Mr. Chan during briefing. I should had counted the bumps...there were 17 in each laps...hahahaha...

I went back happy. Having my wife and another tri emdal to my name, on my birthday!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I went back home to my parent's place as mum called wifey to bring me back for mee suah. Just a symbolic gesture for my birthday. It's akin to wishing me a long long life la!


Mee suah, dried oyster, mushroom, chicken breast meat, 2 eggs. All in Ikan Bilis broth...yummy. I almost cried eating it...a bit sentimental la while eating it!

Ma was sweet enough to cook this for me. My dad bought me some of my other favourite food and he even cutted the honeydew for me to eat...felt like some VIP yesterday!

After that, i went to Mum's house, My sister in law bought me a shirt. More present for me birthday boy. hahaha...felt like a kid again, really.

Then, i decided to share the finisher medal with one more triathlete in the house.

Murphy, which went missing for a few hours on friday. He escaped the house through some hole in the gate and went on to do his own triathlon before wifey found him stuck at the neighbour's gate. I suspect he swam the drain, ran with a few cats that most probably beats the dog out of him and everything, except cycling.


I'm Murphy, The Tri-Doglete.

many thanks to all that had wished me on the day before and yesterday. You guys and girls certainly made my day.

Also, many congrats to Adilah for doing her first Tri. To Terrence too and also one more of his friend. Also to Purple that did the relay for the first time and vouch to do the sprint next triathlon meet in Melaka next year.

For those friends that had joined the PCC ride, please furnish me with your report, please.

:D

and one more, before i end the report.

I went home, did my laundry and while putting the clothes to dry, i noticed that the sky was extremely clear and blue. It made me felt so ever happy...Maybe the Big Boy up there is wishing me a Happy Birthday too.

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It's all F-Up y'all

just read what Pipot has to say about some issues on national supermen and women NOT being selected for the Sea Game.

read on...i personally felt that Malaysian sports scene are pretty F-up in many ways...popular sports get all the attention despite being less than even Jaguh Kampung...Badminton is still being played by old men and being coach by even older men.

not so popular sports were side lined with Nicol not getting the so called support that she deserves.

heck, how could even lawn bowl be a physically draining thing beats me.

maybe we all should just stick to playing galah panjang, konda-kondi and chopping maybe....

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SMS from Aussie

"mtb 99km today. in some no-shop-town tonight. See www.mundibiddi.org.au."

Steve went to Aussie for holiday. Steve packed his bike along with him.

Really envy him.

am checking out Munda Biddi site now...

so much is done for nature preservation in Aussie land and here, we in Malaysia, only wants to start doing something once the million years old jungle in Ulu Kelang was steam-rolled over in the name of development....

sigh.

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Tagged by Cyber-Red...

OK, thanks to this girl, i'm tagged and i felt kinda obliged to, well, get this done and over with.

here goes:

10 years ago I was:
19 years old, just finished my STPM practical papers and exams was starting in like "yesterday". Yes, was freaking out like no one's business and i guessed doing Form 6, academic wise was the worse decision i've made in my whole life. Was also doing some crazy stuffs like pedalling via the old Bentong road to the Foothill of Genting and PIMPING with the Police to send me all the way up so i could cycle down the Genting Road.

5 years ago I was:
24, and just graduated from KDU with a First Class Hon Degree in E&E. Was already working my arse off to pay my tuition fees and moonlighting as some kuli wiht some event organiser to move those huge speakers here and there. The biggest event i did was Gillian Hung's wedding at the Ballroom of the hotel at StarHill, can't even remember that hotel name..because the last i went to KL was like, err...last month, when the AXN race was going on. I know, i'm very ULU.

1 year ago I was:
28 and decided to join those races called torture and self inflicted pain. Did my first race in PJ Half where it took me 1H 7Mins to finish my first 10km race. Ever since then, i was hooked and racing since then. Also, i got registered to the love of my life.

Yesterday I was:
At my pal's place for deepavali where i hanged out from 12am till 3am for supper and going to his place later for the celebration where we talked cock the whole day long.

5 snacks I enjoy:
Choc. Kerepek Sambal. Rum n Raisin choc.

5 Songs I Know All the Words To:
Are you lonesome tonite.
Last Waltz.
Two Less Lonely People in the World.
Kau Ilhamku
Marie's Her name (his latest flame)

5 Things I would Do With A 100 Million Splurges:
Pay off current house.
Pay off wifey's car.
Get House for parents.
Get car for parents.
buy lottery to hope to strike anohter few millions.

5 Bad Habits:
Bite my nails
Swear at stupid Malaysian drivers
Trying to be perfectionist.
Bossy.
talk too much.

5 Biggest Joys:
Wifey.
FInishing Desaru Long Triathlon.
Getting my own house.
paying off my current car.
Loved ones.

5 Favourite Toys:
My assortments of torchlights.
My assortments of things that emit lights.
My bicycle.
My lego sets.
My other bicycle.

5 Things I Would Never Wear:
bright coloured clothing, except if it is reflective all over.
waist high jeans.
vacuum cleaner boot cut jeans.
sleeveless T when walking around town (these are ONLY meant for sports, not to show off your armpit hair, or lack thereof)
funny gayish printed t.

5 Favourite TV Shows:
CSI - all 3
Lost
Amazing Race

5 Fictional Characters I Would Date:
I'm married.
I'm married.
i'm married.
i'm married.
i'm married.


5 People I Tag:
Kong
Loctor
Jay
Periliousperi
Viv

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