The Tragedy of Precociousness

What a tragedy for the Yusof family. It is really sad. Malaysia has a rather tenuous connection to Sufiah Yusof. After she was reported to have gained admission to Oxford, the Malaysian government fell over backwards to offer her a scholarship just because her mother was Malaysian. I believe that she wasn’t even Malaysian and her father was Pakistani. Whereas the other child prodigy at that time, Chiang Ti-Ming, was completely ignored by the Malaysian government. Full story here. Incidentally, Chiang’s story did not have a happy ending too.

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Monday March 31, 2008
Math prodigy now a £130 hooker claim
PETALING JAYA: Sufiah Yusof, the child Maths genius who won a place at Oxford University when she was just 13, has been found to be working as a prostitute, according to a report in London’s News of the World.

Sufiah, now 23, whose father Farooq is a Pakistani and mother Halimathon is from Johor, was reported to have entertained an undercover reporter in her flat in Manchester.

Claiming that she had posted her services for £130 (RM829) on the Internet, the newspaper said she had called herself Shilpa Lee on a hookers’ website. She is said to have advertised herself as “a sexy, smart student” who preferred “older gentlemen”.

Better times: File pic of Farooq with Sufiah when she was Oxford-bound.

The story in the newspaper comes just days after her father was jailed for sexually assaulting two 15-year-old girls as he home-tutored them in Maths.

Sufiah passed the Maths A-Level she needed for entry into Oxford at the age of 12.

Three years into Oxford, she sparked a massive police hunt after running away.

Top Researchers in Singapore

Whatever one can justifiably say about Singapore – Disneyland with a death penalty, soul-less place, cultural dessert, repressive country etc – at least they got their research agenda of their universities right. Another big boost for the research sector in the country.

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Top scientists to lead research
TWO leading international scientists have been roped in to head key organisations being set up here to study cancer and earthquakes.

The cancer facility at the National University of Singapore (NUS) will be headed by Prof Daniel Tenen of the Harvard Medical School, a world leader in cancer research.

The earthquake centre at Nanyang Technological University will be helmed by California Institute of Technology geologist Kerry Sieh.

It all started with his sacking…

The rot all started with Tun Salleh Abas’ sacking. This is Dr. M’s shameful legacy.

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Sunday March 30, 2008
Former Lord President dwells on the judiciary crisis of 1988
By CHELSEA L.Y. NG
FORMER Lord President Tun Salleh Abas is the embodiment of modesty. After making headlines when he was sacked from the judicial system in 1988, he has moved on to new chapters of his life.

For years now, he has drawn great satisfaction in literally eating the fruits of his labour. The 79-year-old spends a great deal of his time toiling in his dusun (fruit orchard) in Besut while at the same time keeping abreast of developments outside the plantation.

Tun Salleh: ‘I hardly practise nowadays. I am a farmer now’

“I hardly practise nowadays. I am a farmer now,” Salleh said in between chuckles.

“I have bananas, dukongs, durians in my dusun. Can’t really make money because the fertilisers are expensive. But it’s rewarding to eat the fruits you plant yourself. Do drop by during the fruit season in July and August,” said the tanned and be-spectacled former top judge.

Dr. M is a Real Joke

I think Pak Lah is a disaster as much as everyone else. But Dr. M is a real joke. Dr. M is now saying UMNO should abolish the 30 % nomination rule that Dr. M enacted in the aftermath of Ku Li’s challenge.

What a hoot! How shameless and thick skinned can you get! What’s sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander. Isn’t it delicious how one’s actions have a way of coming back to bite one in the ass. That’s called karma baby.

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Sunday March 30, 2008
Mahathir: Election provision being abused to prevent opposition to leaders
KUALA LUMPUR: The nomination quota to contest top posts in Umno should be abolished, as it is being abused to prevent members from nominating candidates, said former party president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He pointed out that when he was president, anyone was free to challenge him, and although there was already the quota in place then, “those days it was easy to get 60 divisions (nominations)”.

However, he added, when Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah wanted to challenge Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2004, he only managed to get one nomination from his own division.

Review of Sweet Salty Spicy

Mrs. T and I went shopping for shoes and nuts today at Bugis. After my usual coffee at Hup Cheong and bean curd with gingko nuts at Bukit Timah Food Centre, we went to Bugis to hunt for a pair of black shoes from Charles and Keith for Mrs. T. We got what Mrs. T wanted and then went hunting for nuts at the famous Fu Lu Shou Complex. The place was on top of a hawker centre near OG. It reminded me of Hong Kong. Anyway, the place sold lots of dried goods and also nuts. It wasn’t very hygienic – but the prices were good and certainly cheaper than NTUC. I will probably toast the nuts in the oven before I eat them. I bought lots of walnuts, cashews, peanuts and almonds. Hopefully, my stash will last me at least 3 months.

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I decided to go to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve this evening with Mrs. T. Took an off the main road trek (Catchment Path) to Summit Hut. Didn’t manage to take the Dairy Farm Loop though. Anyway, it was getting dark and the I didn’t fancy being stuck at night in a secondary jungle. All in all it was a pretty good trek.

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Mrs. T and I went to Sweet Salty Spicy at Rail Mall for dinner. The restaurant was very stylish from the outside. Nice beautiful mural of orchids on the walls, black slate floor, wooden tables and a lot of glass like a posh Italian deli. We ordered the sharing platter, pad thai and green mango salad. Unfortunately, the food did not match the very nice ambience. The pad thai was so salty it made my hair stand – it’s a mistake to put in salty chunky dried shrimps (hae bi) and sweet chai por in the pad thai. The sharing platter was also not too great – the soft shell crab was passable, the crispy crackers with chicken curry were not very nice (crackers weren’t as crispy as the ones in Patara and the chicken curry dip was too salty) and the pomelo on betel nut was all wrong (the blend of saltiness, chilli, sweetness and spice was not done well). The mango salad was also pretty weird. It had salmon flakes and was not sour, sweet or hot enough. We paid close to 60 bucks for two. Mrs. T said we would never come back again. I bet the chef is not Thai. No self respecting Thais will serve food like that. Maybe I have been too spoiled by the wonderful Thai food at Thai Noodle House at Coronation or the Thai Cze Char place at Beauty World Hawker Centre.

Dr. Mahathir’s Legacy

A lot of people forget, it was Dr. Mahathir who destroyed the Malaysian judiciary. He was always arrogantly saying that we should hang all the lawyers first. Look where this attitude has gotten the state of the Malaysian judiciary. The VK Lingam/Eusoff Chin fiasco can be traced to Dr. Mahathir’s reckless actions. Karpal Singh is certainly right to hold Dr. M accountable.

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Apologise, Karpal urges Dr M in open letter

By ROYCE CHEAH

PETALING JAYA: Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh has asked former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad whether he would be prepared to tender an unqualified and unconditional apology to former judges Tun Salleh Abas, Datuk George Seah and the late Tan Sri Wan Suleiman Pawanteh.

In an open letter to Dr Mahathir, Karpal Singh said, in his view, it was Dr Mahathir who had single-handedly destroyed the judiciary which has yet to regain its equilibrium after the 1988 crisis.

He said if there was no response within a week, he would raise the matter when Parliament sat next month.

“It is my view that you abused the provisions of Article 125(3) of the Federal Constitution leading to the setting up of the two tribunals which found the three judges guilty of misconduct,” Karpal Singh said in the letter.

“These three judges were unfairly removed from office.

“It is not the present Government which should apologise, but you (Dr Mahathir) yourself personally.

“The necessity for you to apologise cries to high heaven. Your acts caused the judges concerned and their families untold pain and suffering.”

Karpal Singh added that it was the least Dr Mahathir could do to atone for what transpired 20 years ago.

Buddhist Dog

Had a simple dinner with Mrs. T at Forture Seafood at Bukit Timah. Mrs. T had fish slice noodles soup and I had Hong Kong Mee.

Still feeling the effects of Bodyweight 500 which I did yesterday. My time is not improving. Finished it in 51 minutes 37 seconds. The afternoon heat sapped all my energy and I could barely complete the workout. Wonder whether I can ever complete it in under 40 minutes.

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Love the story about the Buddhist dog below.

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Buddhist dog prays for worldly desires
Monday, March 24

NAHA, Japan (AFP) – - Buddhists clasp their palms together to pray for enlightenment, but Conan, a chihuahua, appears to have more worldly motivations.

The dog has become a popular attraction at a Japanese temple after learning to imitate the worshippers around him.

Review of Soup and Satay at Jalan Jurong Kechil

I went to a charming cafe at Jalan Jurong Kechil called Soup and Satay which only recently opened. The satay was quite delicious – very nicely spiced with lemon grass, beautifully basted, moist and glistening. Mrs. T ordered the fish and chips which turned out to be ordinary. I had the mee soto which was quite yummy – the soup was peppery and not oily at all. The mee soto here is better than the famous Inspirasi mee soto in Bedok. Surprisingly, the best dish turned out to be the tauhu goreng – the spicy peanut sauce was the best I ever eaten.

Overall, a very good find. I would definitely go back to Soup and Satay.

Engineering Courses in Singapore

If you have excellent STPM results and you are contemplating a degree in engineering in Singapore, please do apply to the Engineering Faculty at NUS or College of Engineering at NTU.

Application Deadlines of Singapore Universities for STPM students

The deadlines for applications to Singapore Universities are drawing close.  For STPM holders with good results, please put in an application.  You never know where UPU will send you e.g. some unknown university in Trengganu.  For an overview of studying in Singapore, you can read my post here.  

NUS is 28 March 2008.  Apply here http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/apply/catd/instru.htm

NTU is 31 March 2008

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/Admissions/International+Students/How+to+Apply/malaysia+uec+stpm.htm

 SMU is 8 April 2008 http://www.smu.edu.sg/admissions/apply_smu/apply_international_applicants.html