Full steam ahead!!!

AsSalam and hola everybody,

Dah lama gak tak tulis entri pasal my beloved football club, Man United of course... and as the latest Barclay's Premier League result will attest, Manchester United is showing form of a champion. A Roque Santa Cruz goal sandwiched between Wayne Rooney's toe poke and Cristiano Ronaldo's swerving free kick, the performance wasn't actually the best that United could muster but playing against a very spirited and organised Blackburn Rovers side that has been rejuvenated under Big Sam Allardyce, this was no walk in the park.
On Sunday though, Liverpool yet again slipped at the hands of Manchester City and that means United are gaining a bigger point advantage ahead of the chasing pack...so I guess United are doing really well in the race for a third consecutive Premier League title yuhuuuu!!!! Come Tuesday however, the focus shifts to the UEFA Champions League clash with Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan.
United's Serie A counter part is also the pacesetter so far and has found form once again after a series of poor performances. Judging by recent form, both teams are definitely on a roll, although Man United missed the chance to break the European record for the longest consecutive clean sheets, this will be a match to watch for supporters and neutrals alike, after all... this match will again pit Sir Alex Ferguson against his friend-turned-nemesis-turned-friend again, Jose 'the special one' Mourinho. Now this match has all the ingredients of an explosive match, big name superstars such as Ronaldo, Berbatov, Ferdinand, Rooney, Scholes and Ibrahimovich, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Materazzi making up the opponents' star studded team sheet. It's a matter of great concern though for United fans as the defence will almost lose Johnny Evans to injury as the other missing names from the back are Vidic, Neville and Wes Brown.

The last time Man United met Internazionale in a competitive match it was the year they won the unprecedented Treble in 1999. So maybe, just maybe this could be another prosperous year for the Red Devils who knows right..?! So, as a special tribute to this last 16, first leg tie at the Giuseppe Meazza stadia, I'll be posting a video with a rallying message to the United faithfuls tomorrow! Wait for it guys, and let's bring back the memories of 1999. Ciao and wassalam!

Tour of Ganu!

AsSalam...

As I mentioned in my last posting, job commitments took me to Terengganu Darul Iman for a round of marketing visits as well as a quick getaway from the bedlam of it all in K.L. It has been months since the last time I had the chance to explore Terengganu but everything seems a pace slower there, well to be fair, we only made several stops in and around Dungun and Kuala Terengganu but still you can't escape the naturally laid back nature of the people in this amazing oil-rich-state set along a stunning coastal line fronting the South China Sea.
Now, if I were to talk about the task that I needed to complete while I was in the East Coast would be plain boring so let's check out one of my area of interest...FOOD!. At a warung by the seaside in Dungun, I and Abg. Mad, a colleague sat down and ordered what any sane out of town visitors will order...'kepok lekor' of course!


Freshly fried, made in-house with the freshest of fish meat and minimal 'additional flavors' or nothing at all, the 'kepok lekor' is crunchy and crisp on the outside but once I sink my teeth into that traditionally grounded mix of fish, flour and err...salt I guess? I was immediately transported to another dimension, another era if you like. The dipping sauce that comes together with the 'kepoks' was rich in texture, superb in taste and absolutely delicious when dipped with the piece de resistance. Yup, it was THAT good! Or maybe that's just me...and to complete the meal was a cup of ABC of the dessert variety. Generous amount of shredded ice, topped off with silky smooth creamer, sweet colourful sago, a sprinkle here and there of groundnuts and finished off with a dash of super sweet red syrup...you get the idea. It was the perfect meal after a long day drive and a hot sweaty day.

The beach motel that we crashed into was nice, cozy and definitely has that hint of 'kampungness' feeling if you consider the activity of killing hundreds of mosquitos desperate to suck my 'sweet blood' (darah manis he,he,he) a kampung adventure! It was squeky clean nonetheless, sorry yea Mak Aji and thanks for the great discount!


This trip came just a few weeks really after the Kuala Terengganu by-election, won by PAS's candidate Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut... and I think again, the voters sent out a clear message to the Barisan Nasional government that enough is enough. Judging by the recent developments in Perak and Selangor though, I doubt Barisan Nasional even heed the warning signs.
The drive from Dungun passing Rantau Abang, Marang and finally Kuala Terengganu, I DID NOT even found one, uno, satu, wahid flag of Barisan Nasional...nope, not a single one. There were A LOT of PAS's flags however, high and mighty, perched in glorious fashion up on dizzying heights on poles along the roads and on buildings.
This might be a silly conclusion and arguably a relative matter all together but Pakatan Rakyat is undeniably gathering pace and even though they are currently being attacked from all quarters particularly by Barisan Nasional and it's machineries, government or not, it's interesting to see what will follow in the next few weeks ahead.

Sorry for digressing but all in all the trip was a success and right now I'm preparing a sugar-coated, fact-twisting report for the boss to read, and already planning ahead for a Northern trip in the coming weeks. Altogether now, na, na, na, na, na Ganu kite!!!!

Round up, wind up, make up, what's up?

AsSalam and hello everybody...

I'm heading to Terengganu this weekend, to Dungun more specifically but nope before we get ourselves too excited, I'm there on an 'official visit'...cewahh...!! wishful thinking la bro...
but seriously though I will be there on a fully paid trip so what the heck!

Now... a bit of a round up of what has happened during the past week, Perak has a new Menteri Besar ehhem, ehhem... and a new government in place mind you, why you ask? well it's the Sultan's wish, period. why again you ask? now mate you are bordering on menderhaka there you know that, so shut it!
Ahh...never mind that the former Menteri Besar was legally and constitutionally elected by the people of Perak, this is democracy...Malaysian style!!!

Big Phil Scolari was also booted out after successfully leading Chelski to 4th place in the Barclay's Premier League, why you ask? well it's the prerogative of Roman Abramovich you silly, period. why again you ask? now mate you are bordering on libel there you know that, so zip it!
As for Tony Adams, 2 wins in 16 games, 'nuff said! David Beckham meanwhile got the 108th cap that he worked so hard for when he was introduced in the second half in the game between Spain and England, the fact that England lost the game 2-o doesn't seem to bother anyone, well it's a friendly anyway...so I guess everybody's happy then!

Hope everybody will have a smashing weekend! Take care and ciao!

P/S - The 'Battle of the Bukits' i.e Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang by-elections will be held simultaneously on April 7th, it's still not clear though who are the candidates but one thing is for sure though, this battle won't be pretty!

Perak Darul Ehsan

AsSalam...

As of 12.00 p.m today, I'm still struggling to make sense of what on earth happened to the Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak Darul Ehsan.
My prayers and hopes are with YAB Dato' Seri Ir. Haji Mohammad Nizar bin Jamaluddin and his families, may Allah s.w.t grants him the greatest of courage and the deepest of thoughts in handling these obviously devious and nauseating plans.


To say that things in Perak are chaotic is clearly an understatement, if everything goes according to the said plan, by late evening today Perak will have TWO Menteris Besar...now that's just the start of things that I don't even know where it will end!

Perhaps, the people of Perak should be ready in view of this inevitable power struggle, in the meantime I'll be trying to dig up some dirt and get the lowdowns and what is in store for both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional. As it stands, we could only send our 'ihsan' and sympathy to the state that ominously chose its government in the March '08 General Elecion only to be robbed and denied their constitutional rights.

crack that whip!

AsSalam and hello all...

In the aftermath of the AFC's Asian Cup Qualifying match humiliation, FAM has decided to crack the whip on those regarded as 'responsible' for the debacle.

Amongst the noticeable scapegoats are Malaysia's Head Coach B. Sathianathan and team manager Soh Chin Aun. This was reportedly decided after the FAM Executive Meeting last Saturday and whatever was discussed or brought up in that meeting, someone or somebody has to take the fall. Now I don't have Sathianathan's complete stats during his tenure nor do I have any vital indexes that charted the Malaysian National team's performances over the years but I do know one thing though and that is THEY FAILED!

Okay, before I go on please give me a chance to say that by 'THEY' I don't mean the players or coaches only but please include the bigwigs and so called executives in the heady heights of FAM's office. From my various readings, I've come to know that Sathianathan is willing to prepare a full and detailed report on what actually happened before and after the match, this will ultimately include all the allegations about players' fitness and lack of preparation. In all honesty, if the report ever sees the day of light, I'll be more than hopeful for the future of Malaysian football team...it's just that these 'things' tend to 'vaporize' and 'fade away' after a week or two without us the fans ever really knowing the truth and reasons behind it all. Maybe, Sathianathan and Soh Chin Aun were really casualties of an ongoing war against mediocrity but should the report states that they haven't been given enough opportunity, favour and support to run the team than it is actually very silly and a complete farce at the same time.

Just to prove a point, the special gathering between Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaacob, the Youth and Sports Minister with former national players in Bukit Jalil later that week concludes the same point. Here's to a better future of Malaysian football!