RIFLE RANGE BOY

Seeing slippers around the corridor of the apartment reminded me of RRF. It used to be the kids' pastime to kick somebody's (especially your enemy's) slipper off the balcony to see whether it lands on passer-by's head Just the other day, I found myself invited to a Belgian friend's friend's house. After finishing their contract in Malaysia, they were heading home sweet home. They came in as a newlywed couple and they were returning with a newly born baby of a month old! Why I got invited? As the couple had 'gate-crashed' into my Deepavali open house celebrations before, they felt morally obliged to invite us (me and wifey) to this predominantly Belgian crowd filled farewell cum baby Mats' 1 month celebrations. Now, why am I ranting about a baby's celebration? After getting trapped in the maze of parking lot which had all exits (stairs and lifts) needing authority card to swipe for its usage, I finally made it to the c...

Malaysiakini S Pathmawathy May 26, 11 9:49am Every year, we hear stories of high achievers not being able to secure government scholarships to pursue the courses of their choice despite fulfilling the necessary requirements. Heamanthaa Padmanaban was among those had suffered this setback to follow her ambition to study medicine abroad and also did not qualify to take up a course in biotechnology locally. The 17-year-old from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Tuanku Jaafar in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, scored 9A+ and 1A in last year's Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations and was an all-rounder in extra-curricular activities. "I qualified for cross-country runs and played hockey at state level, and was a schools champion in chess and badminton. " In April last year I was among those chosen to participate in the Malaysia-America Soccer Exchange programme with 12 other women," Heamanthaa ( right ) said told Malaysiakini . All these, besides her...

I do come across people who complain that the work that they do is much too difficult to do and they need to take rest off work. Over the years I have been desensitized by these moans that I just tell myself, “You think my job is easy?” – talking to sluggards like you!When I was working in Klang, I encountered many plantation workers negotiating with the Medical Officers to squeeze out as many days of medical leave as possible. Initially, I thought that these people were plain lazy. I found later that it was not so straight forward. After working many long weary hours, they were paid ‘peanuts’.   A rainy day means no work and no pay. If they fell ill, they have to take a long bus trip to town – Awake at 4am –preparing house chores to catch the 5.30am bus to reach town to collect a number to see a medical officer who starts work at 8am; they will depart from the hospital close to 12noon. By then, they could not go back to work and they lose a day’s pay. If the worker managed to p...