Do you remember your school song?

SK Seri Hartamas' school song sung by Class 2012

LA Salle Klang's school song sung by Class 1985

I sure do. However, do you remember the NAME of your school song? No, I don’t. All I remember was that it goes something like this, “All through our classes, a voice is resounding.....”. I remember the lyrics well but somehow the NAME of the school song just slipped my mind. You probably wonder, how can a person still remember the school song after close to 30 years. Well, as my former schoolmate and friend, Winston Pang said, “How can you ever forget a song that you have sung every Monday for 5 years. Somehow the words are etched in your brain just like information stored in a computer hard disk”. That was a good reframe by Winston! Last year (2011), we had a class reunion (Class 1985) at La Salle Klang. We actually visited our old classroom and had the same class monitor (Harry Hubert) and our Form 2 class teacher (Bro Andrew Loke) with us. We decided to reminisce our old school days by having the class monitor giving his usual command “Class stand, good evening Bro Andrew” and then followed by us (the former students). We ended by singing the school song which everyone remembered.

Recently, I attended Ashley and Douglas’ “Prize Giving Day” and “Graduation Night”. There was a good mix of students coming from different classes and from different years singing the school song. I am not sure whether those who were leaving school realised at that time, that was probably the last time that they would be singing the school song in their school uniform. Anyway the school song was sung in high spirit with pure gusto. Have a listen to both school songs (both mine and my children) and see who gave a better performance! :-)

Have you tried the "salted peanuts" on board Malaysia Airlines (MAS)?

If you have not, you should. The "salted peanuts" are really good!

I know I have written about Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and talked about its service before in this blog. Like all things in life, we have to be fair with our comments. If we feel there are certain things lacking then we should voice out our concern and perhaps even suggest ways that can help to improve the situation. Likewise, if there are things which are done well, we should be generous with our praises and that is exactly what I am going to do in this posting.

My views on Malaysia Airlines’ food are still the same - unpalatable! However, I reiterate my admiration for the cabin crew and their inflight service. On our MAS flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur recently, we were served with some refreshments. The refreshments consisted of drinks (juices, sodas, beer, wine or water) and packets of salted peanuts. The cabin crew who attended to us was one Lee Siok Choy (I hope I got his name correctly) whom I noticed was very good in his job. He would made cheerful remarks to the passengers while serving them. It wasn’t so much of what was said, it was more of the way he interacted with the passengers that made them feel at ease. He was also very attentive and efficient. Before the food cart was pushed towards our section of the aircraft, he was already taking orders for food (you know the standard “would you like the fish or the chicken?” Initially, I doubted that he could remember all of the orders but surprisingly he remembered them and directed his colleagues to serve the right food to the respective passengers. Ashley, Jennifer and I ordered the Noodles (Vermicelli or “Bee Hoon”) with beef while Douglas had chicken. It was a mistake to order the Noodles as it didn’t taste good at all. As a matter of fact, Ashley threw up on board the flight, not sure if it was caused by the food but I suspected it may have something to do with it. The only consolation was the mango ice-cream which was very good. The mango ice-cream was from Australia.

I didn’t realise at that time that our cabin crew Lee Siok Choy was observing that we were not eating the food except for the salted peanuts which by that time I had already consumed four (4) packets. Lee Siok Choy has a very keen eye, he saw that both the passenger in front as well as Jennifer have empty mineral water bottles in their seat pockets. He immediately offered to fill up the bottle for them which they happily accepted. When the time to serve the snacks came, we were given the option of either “chicken or vegetable pie”. Sounds palatable? Well, the pies came in a cardboard box and it was nothing like the chicken pie or vegetable pie that we know very well. We have been frequently served with this “snack” whenever we flew with MAS. Naturally, I declined the “snack”. Lee Siok Choy was shocked that I declined the “snack” and asked again and again whether I am sure about it. He said to let him know if I changed my mind. Anyway my decision was firm.

As the plane was about to land and being the observant person, Lee Siok Choy offered to give me a few packets of the salted peanuts which I have been eating to fill my tummy. That was a very nice gesture which I truly appreciated. I must add here that all of the cabin crew on board that particular flight were friendly and helpful but to me, Lee Siok Choy stood out. He has got some good people skills and I believe would make a rather good Mediator. So, Lee Siok Choy, if you are reading this post and you are interested to be a Mediator, please let me know!

Meeting Sir Peter Mooney

Dato' Dr Sir Peter Mooney and me

Yesterday, I had the honour of meeting and having lunch with Dato’ Dr Sir Peter Mooney. My father and I were very keen on meeting Sir Peter, especially after reading his book, “A Servant of Sarawak: Reminiscences of a Crown Counsel in 1950s Borneo”, a fascinating book about Sir Peter’s journey and life in Borneo. I will share a little more about the book later. My good friend, Catherine Eu (former Executive Director of the Bar Council) put me in touch with Sir Peter and we set a date for lunch at the Chinese Restaurant located at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur.

Sir Peter Mooney autographing his book

Now, you may be curious to know who exactly is this person, Sir Peter Mooney? Dato’ Dr Sir Peter Mooney is an illustrious lawyer being the co-founder of Skrine, one of Malaysia’s leading law firms and had served as the Attorney General of Sarawak in the 1950s. Sir Peter Mooney hailed from Ireland but was educated largely in Scotland. Being a brilliant student, he literally sailed through his education on scholarships  based on merit. Sir Peter Mooney had his first taste of Far East when he fought in one of the toughest battle in World War II in Burma. Sir Peter Mooney fought with the British Fourteenth Army under the command of General Sir William Slim (who incidentally became the Governor-General of Australia in 1953). After the war, Sir Peter Mooney continued his education and subsequently was called to the Scottish Bar. Sir Peter Mooney practised law for a short while in Scotland until he was appointed as a Crown Counsel for Sarawak by the Secretary of State for the Colonies in the United Kingdom. Being a linguist, Sir Peter Mooney managed to pick up the local languages such as Malay, Iban and Mandarin rather quickly. Sir Peter Mooney was subsequently appointed as the Attorney General of Sarawak and had faced many legendary opponents (Defense Counsels) such as David Marshall and Lee Kuan Yew. Many of the notable names which we frequently come across in history books such as Sir Malcolm MacDonald and Sir Anthony Abell were people that Sir Peter had worked with and were colleagues of Sir Peter.

Sir Peter's book - a good read

I found Sir Peter Mooney’s book, “A Servant of Sarawak: Reminiscences of a Crown Counsel in 1950s Borneo” a rather good read. The author’s style of relating his experiences and the thorough and vivid description of how the lifestyle of the people in Borneo at that time gives you a feel of the 1950s in “wild Borneo”. The readers could actually feel and see the things that Sir Peter had gone through in those years (perhaps not the same experiences he had but you get an idea). The author shared some interesting cases which he handled and made it even more interesting by adding some anecdotes here and there. The book is written in a simple style and easy to understand. This book is highly recommended for those who wants to know about the colonial times.

Dato' Manan listening attentively to Sir Peter's experiences in Borneo

With Datuk Mahadev Shankar (former Court of Appeal Judge)

The lunch was marvelous. I ordered a number of dishes consisting mainly of vegetables as Sir Peter is more keen on vegetables compared to meat. Joining us for lunch was my dad, Dato’ Abdul Manan Othman (former Cabinet Minister), Catherine Eu (former Executive Director of Bar Council)  and Puan Hendon Mohamed (former President of the Malaysian Bar). I have also invited Lim Chee Wee (current President of the Malaysian Bar) but he sent his apologies. During lunch, we bumped into Datuk Mahadev Shankar (former Court of Appeal Judge), we shared some jokes and had a few laughs and he had to go on his way to another function.

Sir Peter Mooney with a copy of my book

I brought along a copy of Sir Peter’s book and requested for his autograph which he obliged. After that, I presented Sir Peter an autographed copy of “Mediation Skills and Techniques” and a few memorabilia. Sir Peter Mooney is a great man and I must say that it is indeed an honour and privilege to meet you, Sir Peter (if you are reading this post) and hope to catch up with you again!

Thank you and good-bye SKSH - "SKSH forever"

"SKSH forever"

The Proud Mums

Ashley with few of her good friends

The "cool boys" of SKSH

The words said it all

The Finale - "Sealed with a Kiss"

Saying goodbye...until we meet again!

Ashley embracing her good friend, Safia Razin

On 6th November 2012, Jennifer, Douglas and I attended Ashley’s farewell night at Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Hartamas. It was a fun evening with good food and entertainment. The event was well attended by the Standard Six pupils (the event was for them as they will be leaving school soon), the Principal, teachers and parents. The Standard Six pupils put on a very good show with some individual singers, choir and dancing ala 1960s style. The theme of the night was “Retro Night”. Jennifer and I didn’t know what “Retro” was so we googled it and this is what it says, “old fashioned” style. Again, the definition was rather vague and we clicked “images” and then we got it! It means the bell bottom and colourful era. Initially, Jennifer wanted to wear “kebaya” but that may not fall into the category of “Retro” so we decided to wear something less formal.

The Standard Six pupils put on a splendid show. You could see that a lot of efforts were put into the performance. What amazed us were the camaraderie and the genuine friendship shown by the pupils to each other. If only the adults could behaved like that, the world would have been a peaceful one. For a short while there, even the parents were behaving like 12 years old - giggling, laughing and teasing each other.

The food was good with a lot of nice local flavour such as “satay ayam” (chicken satay), “soto ayam”, nasi tomato, fried fish fillet, “ice kacang” and “teh tarik”. The food was served ala “buffet style” and the lines were orderly.

The finale on that evening was an emotional and touching one. The Standard Six pupils were invited to the stage to deliver three (3) songs as a final tribute to the teachers, parents and friends. It started with “Ilhamku” (My inspiration), “To Sir with Love” and the last one was “Sealed with a Kiss”. I could observed from the songs that somehow the lyrics and the tune had an impact on the students’ emotions. “Ilhamku” was sang quite solemnly and then when it came to “To Sir with Love”, some of the students’ voices were already cracking and when the famous words “Though we gotta say goodbye for the summer.....” from “Sealed with the Kiss” was sung, tears were beginning to flow. What made it even more emotional was than when “Sealed with the Kiss” was sung, the students in an orderly manner moved and shook hands with each other. Some even embraced and let the tears flowed freely. Even some of the parents including Jennifer shed a few tears. After having spent six (6) wonderful years at Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Hartamas, you can’t help but feel emotional. Jennifer, Ashley, Douglas and myself would like to say a big “thank you” to all the wonderful teachers and friends that we have met along the way. Whenever you are in Sydney, please look us up!

A story about "EXPECTATION" - keep well, Adam!

“EXPECTATION” - a big word which we normally use in training and sometimes in Mediation as well. Trainers and Mediators would asked the participants or parties, “What are your expectations for being here today?” This is a way of gauging the parties’ needs so that the Trainer or the Mediator can attempt to meet those needs. However, I am of the view that for the Trainer or Mediator to have a certain “expectation” of the participants or the parties may not be healthy. By having “expectations”, you are already forming a pre-conception of what is to take place. If the results are not up to the Mediator or the Trainer’s “expectations”, then the Mediator or the Trainer’s self-esteem and emotions will be affected. Let me share with you a story about “Expectation”.

Yesterday, I received a telephone call from Adam, an old friend of mine. Adam is a survivor of many life challenges. He survived a heart scare (went through angioplasty many years ago) and defeated cancer (he was in advanced stage and overcame that challenge). Once Adam went into remission with the cancer, he has completely changed his lifestyle. He exercises regularly, he watches his food intake and he is really a big fan of nutritions and supplements. Apart from that, Adam (like me previously) attends Zhi Neng Qi Gong (a form of Chinese energy exercise that increases your Qi (energy)) classes regularly. I must say that Adam look very well, better than I have seen for years.

Recently, Adam went on an extensive tour of China. He told me it was a very strenuous trip with a lot of walking and climbing. He enjoyed the trip thoroughly. When he came back,  he thought this would be a good time to go for a stress test since his health and stamina were at their peak. He made an appointment with the Medical Centre and went for the stress test. Adam “expected” the results to be flying colours in view of his stamina shown during his recent trip to China. When the results came back, the cardiologist informed Adam that he wasn’t too happy about the results and asked him to do an angiogram to explore further. Adam was disappointed but nevertheless, decided to do the angiogram in Sydney. Adam’s family has a long history of heart issues so Adam thought at worst, the heart issue can probably fixed by having another angioplasty. That was another “expectation” from Adam.

So, Adam left for Sydney and went to one of the best Heart Centres in Sydney. When he went for further medical tests and angiogram, the cardiologist had some even bigger news to tell Adam, something that Adam did not “expect”. The cardiologist informed Adam that he had five (5) blockages) and needed to do a by-pass. Adam agreed and has now recovered well and live to tell the story. All it took was just eight days stay in the hospital which included the two days stay for the angiogram and other medical tests.

One thing I learned from this story was that by having an “expectation”, Adam was already forming an idea in his head but fortunately for Adam, he is also a practical person, so he knew the reality of things. In case, some of you may be wondering whether it is worthwhile to take supplements, exercise, practicing Zhi Neng Qi Gong and eating right in view that all of this still happened to Adam in spite of him living such an healthy style? Well, let me state my theory on this. It is precisely this healthy life style that Adam adopted that prevented him from suffering the consequences of the blockages. It is also precisely this healthy style that helped Adam to recover so fast and so well. For all we know, Adam could already had this blockages years ago but because of his rigorous exercise and healthy lifestyle, he did not experience any symptoms and as a matter of fact gave him the extra boost and energy to do things that he wasn’t able to do before. So, let me say again, exercise, eat right, lead an healthy lifestyle and do not have too many “expectations” in life and you will live a long and meaningful life.