HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008

Happy New Year 2008 to all whoever visited my blog. I admit my posting's graph is going down at the moment. I hope it will go up in 2008.

To my favourite bloggers akula, azwan, cosmic gurl, dnas, da winged acrophobic, jules, kuzza, uba and redhead (.... and I am sure the list will grow in 2008 and beyond), I wish you guys all the best 2008 could offer.

The same wish goes to whoever visited my blog.

THE DOOMED FLIGHT BA 149

Have you ever heard the doomed flight BA 149?

I bet you have never heard of it.

Well it was a flight from Heathrow bound to Kuala Lumpur, refuelling in Kuwait City on the night of Saddam's invasion of Kuwait.

This is a chilling story of the victims of a covert MI6 mission that used British Airways flight 149 on the night of the start of the first Gulf War on August 1st 1990. It was a mission that then went badly wrong, delivering 367 civilian passengers into the hands of Saddam’s Republican Guard. In a traumatic and long-lasting ordeal, they were taken hostage and dispersed to allied targets in Kuwait and Iraq as part of Saddam’s human shield. An attendant was raped by Iraqi soldiers. BBC had reported it as an ill-executed covert MI6 mission at the start of the first Gulf War, The Secret of British Airways Flight 149, has been broadcast on BBC2

BA 149 was secretly used at the 11th hour by an MI6 operation to get a covert unit of former Special Forces men and Intelligence Officers into Kuwait for the purpose of gathering intelligence ahead of Saddam’s looming invasion of Kuwait.

No-one would ever have known of the mission had the plane completed its re-fuelling and departed. But there was a major miscalculation. Saddam’s tanks had crossed into Kuwait earlier than predicted on the morning of August 2nd and met little opposition. As they sped towards Kuwait City BA 149 was still three hours away from landing. But while other flights were diverted from Kuwait City International Airport, BA 149 was not. It was a race against time - a gamble with the fate of 367 passengers and 18 crew at stake - a gamble that MI6 seemingly were prepared to take to get their secret unit into Kuwait.

Me and the Malaysian Passengers

Malaysia was not an enemy to Iraq and due to that fact all Malaysian passengers were handed to the Malaysian Embassy in Kuwait and they were then transported to the Malaysian Embassy in Baghdad. To cope with the big number of refugees, the Malaysian Embassy in Baghdad requested all Malaysians in Baghdad to house some of Malaysian passengers of Flight BA 149. As for me, some of the female passengers stayed in my house before arrangement made to send them out of Iraq.

As a bachelor that time and I was pampered by the ladies during that short period. Twenty of them stayed in my house ranging from 4 years old girl to 65 years old grandma. My house were cleaned, the marble floors were so shiny, no dust, the curtains cleaned and I had hot and good food everyday when I returned home from work. It was heaven. They even wore my clothes because they were handed 'sehelai sepinggang' to me. A chinese girl student wore my 'kain pelikat' everyday.

After one week all my 'dayangs' had to leave. The Malaysian Embassy had arranged busses to trasport all stranded Malaysians to Amman, Jordan and a chartered flight flew them home to KL. They cried before they leave. They gave me presents which I kept in good condition. A paper weight from a student is still on my work desk today. The grandma asked me to visit her in the UK.

When they left I felt so lonely. My house back to its usual mess and no more hot food waiting for me when I returned home from work.

God, I missed them.

WHATEVER HAPPENS TO OUR STOCK MARKET?

My Ms. Pretty remiser texted me a few days ago.
"Our msian gov is not helping our mkt wt the announcement of proton".

I replied.
"The present leadership memang tak market friendly pun. So many market unfriendly issues. How are you?"

She texted back.
"Our leaders r very dumb. They r just not thinkin bout msian welfare. Cakap aje byk. Im ok., just angry wth d govt thats all"

Well.... I can smell it that the people in the market are becoming more and more restless. They want to see some market friendly moves. Issues of failure to get Proton's foreign partner, Bersih Rally, Hindraf Rally, VK Lingam saga, wasting money on Angkasawan and so many more are damaging our reputation and our market.

Our government's damage control failure is hurting the market. Just admit it.

I am pulling my money from the market, at a lost, as for now. Cash is King, but stock market is not. At least for now.

OF A KELANTANESE, A SRI LANKAN, A MOROCCAN, A MALAYSIAN WHO NEVER LEFT UK AND CHEF WAN

It had just been reported to me yesterday that Chef Wan is in London for some TV show and interviews with a few magazines. And of course a few non-profit organizations will seize this opportunity to haul him for some cooking demonstration in the pretext of charity drive.

One confusion yesterday will definitely made his day. The organizer, a Kelantanese lady requested for a transport for Chef Wan from his rented apartment to the location. The request was made to a Sri Lankan supervisor who is in charge of transport arrangements.

Her request sound like this "Karunanithi please send a driver to pick the CEH".

The Sri Lankan then called the drivers room and a driver "Mohammed please go to this address, go to apartment 24 and collect a CHEAR".

The driver then asked "How many chairs". The supervisor said "Only one". The driver responded "I need a messenger to come with me because there is no parking at that address. I cannot leave the car. The messenger can go up the apartment a collect the chair"

The supervisor said "Bring Mat Salleh then". Mat Salleh is a Malaysian, born in the the UK and cannot speak even a word in Bahasa.

So both of them left for the address. When they arrived Mat Salleh went into the building, passing Chef Wan who was standing there and rang the apartment.

"I lived here" said Chef Wan. "Oh hello" said Mat Salleh, "I am here to collect the chair".

"It the chef, not a chair" said Chef Wan, "and I am the Chef". "No" said Mat Salleh, "I suppose to collect a chair".

By now Chef Wan had heated up. Not only they were late, now they want to carry him as a chair to the car.

Mat Salleh called the Sri Lankan supervisor informing that there was no chair there, but an angry-looking guy who kept on repeating that he is the chef. The supervisor then called the lady Kelantanese organizer for clarification only to find out that it was actually a chef to be picked up, not a chair.

On his way to the location, Chef Wan grumbled in his usual Cik Kiah style while both the Moroccan and Malaysian just kept silence.

He will probably tell this tale in one of his show later, I guarantee......

THE MALAYSIAN CURRENCY CRISIS, HOW AND WHY IT HAPPENED - A SUGGESTED READING

Well,well. Do you think that I am going to suggest a newly published book to read? Maybe later, but this time I would like to suggest you to read The Malaysian Currency Crisis by the former Malaysian PM.

For those who have not read this book, I suggest you to go and get one. It explains what is the Asian Currency Crisis 1997-1998 all about and how wrong the decisions made by the former DPM cum Finance Minister which almost brought us to total collapse.

Ironically I haven't heard a single refute from the former DPM nor his famous threat to bring the former PM to court on the issues raised in the book. Or probably there were that missed my attention. Or there were none to bring the whole truth from his viewpoint.

I finished reading the Malaysian Currency Crisis in one day (it is a small thin book anyway). I had read this book afew times over and over again.

I had also read Anwar Ibrahim's Asian Renaissance. I read up to 6 pages, closed the book and kept it in my bookshelf until today. Never open it again.

The self-proclaimed Renaissance Man just couldn't come close to the stature of the Grand Old Man or a Statesman to be exact.

... AND HERE IT IS, ANOTHER SUB-PRIME CRISIS

Right after the rattle of sub-prime mortgage crisis seems to subside, another sub-prime menace is already here, waiting for us in the horizon. This time a much bigger sub-prime crisis, the credit cards debts estimated at US$915 billions. We will have to accept it now that the US is heavily indebted. The Americans are living their 'American Dreams' on the borrowed money. Unlike the Euros, the US dollar is not back-up by gold reserves. It is back-up by the words 'In God We Trust'. It is a matter of time the crisis in the US would burst wide open. When thats happen, we will go down the drain with them.

On top of that, the petrol price is keep on rising, as a result of weak US Dollars. Petrol price is quoted in US Dollars in the world market and if you remember Dr. Mahathir had many times suggested for petrol to be traded in the Euros, a suggestion that fell into deaf ears. Now we are paying for the price.

I filled up my car this morning and got shocked that the price today is £1.01 (around RM7.00) per litre. It was £0.69 when I arrived in the UK. A more than 40% increase. So brace yourself for an evitable rise of gasoline price in Malaysia, which is happening very soon or latest right after the anticipated General Election.

A PRICELESS GIFT

My definition of priceless is something that money cannot buy. Eventhough I have the money but if there is no price on the thing I wanted to buy, I still couldn't buy it. And so I have this gift, such a priceless which I keep very close to me.

I lived in Iraq quite sometime ago, during the time when Saddam Hussain was alive. I can say that from a few Arab countries that I had visited, Iraq is the most special of all. Iraqis look rough, just like any other Arabs, but they are the nicest Arabs to me. I travelled to Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Morocco (although Egypt and Morocco are in the North Africa, but they are also of Arabs stock) and Iraq and its people are always close to my heart.

Iraq is a land of plenty. No only she hold the second oil reserve in the world, but the land there is so fertile with Tigris and Euphrates river run accross her. For me Iraq should be one of the richest country in the world. But alas, like being cursed for hundred of years, life in Iraq remained difficult as though being damned by the curse of the black gold she owned.

History had shown how the ancient Iraqis had repelled the Roman Empire. I won't be a surprise if they can still repel the Americans and the British in the present time.

While I was there I befriended this old man whom I called Baba Aziz. He was the head of the community where he lived, at the outskirt of Baghdad. I was going out socially with his daughter, well as a friend, but not as a special, although in the beginning I had this idea to have her special. The Iraqis like to bring their friends home and I was introduced to her family, to her father. He introduced himself as Aziz and I called him Baba Aziz since.

I was amazed by his fluency in English, nothing compared to my broken language. A very polish and respected gentleman. He was 63 years old that time. We spend hours talking everytime we met. I didn't have to talk much because there was so much to hear from him, the great civilization of Babylon, the cradle of mankind and many more things about Iraq. All I had to do just lent my ears. I learnt that old folks will love you if you just be a good listener. Thats what I did best. There was so much experience to share from him.

Whenever I go to see him, I will bring a carton of Malboro cigarettes, although I am not smoking. His daughter had warned me not to bring cigarettes to him, but she could not say much as her father was so happy to have my company and nobody will stop him from smoking while I was around. He told me that he just want to smoke as there is not much left for him in his life anyway.

One thing about Baba Aziz, he always hold a tasbih (prayer bits)and this one particular tasbih has never left his hand. It looked like being made from a rough glass.

On one of visit, he held my right hand and put this tasbih into my hand. He asked me to keep it. He told me that this particular tasbih is very special to him and it was made from the windscreen of the Iranian fighter jet that was shot down during the Iran-Iraq war. A piece of the fighter windscreen was given to him by the Iraqi government as an honour because his eldest son, a commander in Iraqi military was captured by the Iranians and he had not heard about him ever since. He sent the piece of the windscreen to the tasbih maker and since then that tasbih has never left his hand.

I told him that I cannot accept that gift as it meant so much to him. He may want to keep it close to him all the time. He insisted and that he had already accepted me as his son and he want me to have it. I was so touched and so honoured to inherit that gift. I finally accepted it.

The new war broke out as a result of Saddam's invasion on Kuwait and I had to leave Iraq. I was in a real rush and I couldn't say goodbye to Baba Aziz. Iraqi telecommunication system was heavily bombarded and I couldn't call Baba Aziz at all after I left Iraq. I had totally lost contact with him.

I do not know his condition now. Is he is still alive in Iraq's present condition. He must have suffered a lot. I pray for him and his family to always be in god's protection.

And I still miss his company so much. I have been keeping the tasbih close to me all the time. A priceless gift that I always treasure.