Merdeka part 2
Cis! ye of no faith! for what do we need a flag pole, when we have 2 nails, some rafia string, a mop stick and shan? our flag is waving merrily in the breeze as i type (outside the conference room window, if you were wondering), so be happy. Merdeka again.
in my spirit of patriotism yesterday, i forgot to mention that mehala and pramo are both on leave for the whole week (i think pramo's back on friday), so the office is very quiet and does not smell of coffee at all...
last friday, we all got very excited b'cose we thought we discovered a restaurant around the corner called Cis - practically our office slogan, you might say... turns out it is called C18 in curly writing... we attempted to have lunch there, but our food only turned up after 1.55pm, so we left the place with a lot of dark thoughts... but knowing kavi, i bet we go again to try the chinese set lunch - this time pre-ordering by phone first...
i also seem to have failed to mention the fact that on the 18th all four of us girl lawyers (mehala, kavi, pramo and i) went to the bar council EGM to oppose certain aspects of the proposed amendments to the Legal Profession Act, which are currently being tabled in parliament. The EGM for me was hilarious, but the other girls came back feeling disillussioned that some of the members of the august body that is the malaysianbar could blather about like such idiots in a public meeting...
in retrospect, i have to say that we all left with a slightly bitter taste in the mouth - for me, the responses that we got from the barcouncil that day did not boost my faith in them, that they were out there to protect my interests as a lawyer, for surely that is one of the things they are to do...
it also seems to go agains the principle of the malaysianbar, which if you see here is apparently, "...Upholding the cause of justice without regard to its own interest and without fear or favour." and this i do not see them doing, if they cannot see that some ofthe proposed amendments are wrong. and that's all i have to say about that.
oof, seem to have wandered off a bit there... back to merdeka. is august 31st our indepence day or our national day? malaya gained its indepence from british rule on 31st August 1957, but August 31st was also declared as the National Day after sabah and sarawak joined up with the federated malay states and became malaysia. did you know that? i also donno whether i know that, but wait, let me check.
ok, here it is from wikipedia
Malayan Independence
The effort for independence was spearheaded by Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, who led a delegation of ministers and political leaders of Malaya in negotiations with the British for Merdeka, or independence. Once it became increasingly clear that the Communist threat posed during the Malayan Emergency was petering out, agreement was reached on February 8, 1956 for Malaya to gain independence from the British Empire. However, for a number of logistical and administrative reasons, it was decided that the official proclamation of Independence would only be made the next year, on August 31, 1957 at Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), in Kuala Lumpur.
(The man on the left with his hand up is Tunku announcing the independence of Malaya from the British on August 31 1957 at Stadium Merdeka. He is saying "Merdeka" by the way.This photo brings back poignant memories for everyone who was old enough to remember anything from that era. My grandma would actually get a tear in her eye when she told me the story. It was all very real for them and sort of a full stop after the horrors of the war, the japanese occupation and subsequent british takeover. But for people of my generation and onwards who have been effectively and totally colonised by American culture, television and music, it all seems very far away, and sort of long long ago, in a land far far away.)
The formation of Malaysia
The Federation of Malaysia, comprising states of Malaya, North Borneo (later renamed Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore was to be officially declared on the date August 31 1963, on the 6th anniversary of Malayan independence. However, it was postponed to September 16 1963, mainly due to Indonesian and the Philippines' opposition to the formation of Malaysia. Indonesian opposition later escalated to a military conflict.
Indonesia considered Malaysia as a new form of colonization on the provinces of Sarawak and Sabah in the island of Borneo (bordering Kalimantan, Indonesia), which they laid claim on. To assure Indonesia that Malaysia was not a form of neo-colonialism, a referendum, organized by the United Nations, and the Cobbold Commission, led by Lord Cobbold, were formed to determine whether the people of Sabah and Sarawak wished to join Malaysia. Their eventual findings which indicated substantial support for Malaysia among the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, cleared the way for the final proclamation of Malaysia.
The formation of the Federation of Malaysia was then announced on September 16, 1963. However the Independence Day celebration is still held on August 31, the original independence date for Malaya. This has caused some minor discontent among East Malaysians in particular since it has been argued that celebrating the national day on August 31 is too Malaya-centric.
Wow! see you can learn also from this blog. we are not only about lunch and food after all...
in my spirit of patriotism yesterday, i forgot to mention that mehala and pramo are both on leave for the whole week (i think pramo's back on friday), so the office is very quiet and does not smell of coffee at all...
last friday, we all got very excited b'cose we thought we discovered a restaurant around the corner called Cis - practically our office slogan, you might say... turns out it is called C18 in curly writing... we attempted to have lunch there, but our food only turned up after 1.55pm, so we left the place with a lot of dark thoughts... but knowing kavi, i bet we go again to try the chinese set lunch - this time pre-ordering by phone first...
i also seem to have failed to mention the fact that on the 18th all four of us girl lawyers (mehala, kavi, pramo and i) went to the bar council EGM to oppose certain aspects of the proposed amendments to the Legal Profession Act, which are currently being tabled in parliament. The EGM for me was hilarious, but the other girls came back feeling disillussioned that some of the members of the august body that is the malaysianbar could blather about like such idiots in a public meeting...
in retrospect, i have to say that we all left with a slightly bitter taste in the mouth - for me, the responses that we got from the barcouncil that day did not boost my faith in them, that they were out there to protect my interests as a lawyer, for surely that is one of the things they are to do...
it also seems to go agains the principle of the malaysianbar, which if you see here is apparently, "...Upholding the cause of justice without regard to its own interest and without fear or favour." and this i do not see them doing, if they cannot see that some ofthe proposed amendments are wrong. and that's all i have to say about that.
oof, seem to have wandered off a bit there... back to merdeka. is august 31st our indepence day or our national day? malaya gained its indepence from british rule on 31st August 1957, but August 31st was also declared as the National Day after sabah and sarawak joined up with the federated malay states and became malaysia. did you know that? i also donno whether i know that, but wait, let me check.
ok, here it is from wikipedia
Malayan Independence
The effort for independence was spearheaded by Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, who led a delegation of ministers and political leaders of Malaya in negotiations with the British for Merdeka, or independence. Once it became increasingly clear that the Communist threat posed during the Malayan Emergency was petering out, agreement was reached on February 8, 1956 for Malaya to gain independence from the British Empire. However, for a number of logistical and administrative reasons, it was decided that the official proclamation of Independence would only be made the next year, on August 31, 1957 at Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), in Kuala Lumpur.
(The man on the left with his hand up is Tunku announcing the independence of Malaya from the British on August 31 1957 at Stadium Merdeka. He is saying "Merdeka" by the way.This photo brings back poignant memories for everyone who was old enough to remember anything from that era. My grandma would actually get a tear in her eye when she told me the story. It was all very real for them and sort of a full stop after the horrors of the war, the japanese occupation and subsequent british takeover. But for people of my generation and onwards who have been effectively and totally colonised by American culture, television and music, it all seems very far away, and sort of long long ago, in a land far far away.)
The formation of Malaysia
The Federation of Malaysia, comprising states of Malaya, North Borneo (later renamed Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore was to be officially declared on the date August 31 1963, on the 6th anniversary of Malayan independence. However, it was postponed to September 16 1963, mainly due to Indonesian and the Philippines' opposition to the formation of Malaysia. Indonesian opposition later escalated to a military conflict.
Indonesia considered Malaysia as a new form of colonization on the provinces of Sarawak and Sabah in the island of Borneo (bordering Kalimantan, Indonesia), which they laid claim on. To assure Indonesia that Malaysia was not a form of neo-colonialism, a referendum, organized by the United Nations, and the Cobbold Commission, led by Lord Cobbold, were formed to determine whether the people of Sabah and Sarawak wished to join Malaysia. Their eventual findings which indicated substantial support for Malaysia among the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, cleared the way for the final proclamation of Malaysia.
The formation of the Federation of Malaysia was then announced on September 16, 1963. However the Independence Day celebration is still held on August 31, the original independence date for Malaya. This has caused some minor discontent among East Malaysians in particular since it has been argued that celebrating the national day on August 31 is too Malaya-centric.
Wow! see you can learn also from this blog. we are not only about lunch and food after all...
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