War On Terror - Excerpt from Wall Street Journal

Photo Credit : Google

Wall Street Journal


8/15/06
”A Self-Defeating War” - By George Soros

The war on terror is a false metaphor that has led to counterproductive and self-defeating policies. Five years after 9/11, a misleading figure of speech applied literally has unleashed a real war fought on several fronts -- Iraq, Gaza, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Somalia -- a war that has killed thousands of innocent civilians and enraged millions around the world. Yet al Qaeda has not been subdued; a plot that could have claimed more victims than 9/11 has just been foiled by the vigilance of British intelligence.

Unfortunately, the "war on terror" metaphor was uncritically accepted by the American public as the obvious response to 9/11. It is now widely admitted that the invasion of Iraq was a blunder. But the war on terror remains the frame into which American policy has to fit. Most Democratic politicians subscribe to it for fear of being tagged as weak on defense.

What makes the war on terror self-defeating?

• First, war by its very nature creates innocent victims. A war waged against terrorists is even more likely to claim innocent victims because terrorists tend to keep their whereabouts hidden. The deaths, injuries and humiliation of civilians generate rage and resentment among their families and communities that in turn serves to build support for terrorists.

• Second, terrorism is an abstraction. It lumps together all political movements that use terrorist tactics. Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Sunni insurrection and the Mahdi army in Iraq are very different forces, but President Bush's global war on terror prevents us from differentiating between them and dealing with them accordingly. It inhibits much-needed negotiations with Iran and Syria because they are states that support terrorist groups.

• Third, the war on terror emphasizes military action while most territorial conflicts require political solutions. And, as the British have shown, al Qaeda is best dealt with by good intelligence. The war on terror increases the terrorist threat and makes the task of the intelligence agencies more difficult. Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are still at large; we need to focus on finding them, and preventing attacks like the one foiled in England.

• Fourth, the war on terror drives a wedge between "us" and "them." We are innocent victims. They are perpetrators. But we fail to notice that we also become perpetrators in the process; the rest of the world, however, does notice. That is how such a wide gap has arisen between America and much of the world.

Taken together, these four factors ensure that the war on terror cannot be won. An endless war waged against an unseen enemy is doing great damage to our power and prestige abroad and to our open society at home. It has led to a dangerous extension of executive powers; it has tarnished our adherence to universal human rights; it has inhibited the critical process that is at the heart of an open society; and it has cost a lot of money. Most importantly, it has diverted attention from other urgent tasks that require American leadership, such as finishing the job we so correctly began in Afghanistan, addressing the looming global energy crisis, and dealing with nuclear proliferation.

With American influence at low ebb, the world is in danger of sliding into a vicious circle of escalating violence. We can escape it only if we Americans repudiate the war on terror as a false metaphor. If we persevere on the wrong course, the situation will continue to deteriorate. It is not our will that is being tested, but our understanding of reality. It is painful to admit that our current predicaments are brought about by our own misconceptions. However, not admitting it is bound to prove even more painful in the long run. The strength of an open society lies in its ability to recognize and correct its mistakes. This is the test that confronts us.

Mr. Soros, a financier, is author of "The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of the War on Terror" (Public Affairs, 2006).

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Reaching the Roots of Terrorism

Omer bin Abdullah

Terrorism enables the weak to confront the strong, and thus has an enduring appeal to those who are dissatisfied with the status quo. In addition, a relatively inexpensive action can have spectacular results, as we have seen in the aftermath of 9/11.

The Changing Nature of Terrorism

More than 2,000 years ago, Jewish Zealots assassinated their targets, the Roman occupiers, in broad daylight, often in crowded market places or on feast days. This was done to convey their message to the Roman occupiers and their Jewish sympathizers and collaborators. Between 1090 and 1272, the Assassins used similar tactics against the Christian Crusaders.

Until the French Revolution (1789-99), terrorism was justified mainly by religion. This situation changed, however, as nationalism, anarchism, Marxism, and other secular political movements emerged during the 1800s. Modern terrorism, initially antimonarchical, was embraced by rebels and constitutionalists during the late stages of the French Revolution and in Russia by the People¡¯s Will organization (1878-81). The revolutionary, antigovernment orientation of this latter group became the model for future terrorists. By selecting targets representing the state¡¯s oppressive instruments of power, its members embraced ¡°propaganda by deed¡± to educate the public about state-imposed inequities. One of its members assassinated Tsar Alexander II in March 1881.

On June 28, 1914, a young Bosnian Serb radical named Gavrilo Princip sought to free his country from Austrian rule by assassinating Austrian archduke Francis Ferdinand. This act is usually credited with triggering World War I. His militant student group had close ties to the intelligence service and military forces of Serbia, Austria¡¯s archenemy. Like many contemporary state sponsors of terrorism, Serbia provided arms, training, intelligence, and other assistance to revolutionary movements in neighboring nations.

During the 1920s-30s, terrorism became more associated with dictatorial states. The word terrorism was used to describe the wanton violence and intimidation inflicted by the Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the totalitarian USSR. Recent history records the use of such measures by the military dictatorships of Argentina, Chile, and Greece during the 1970s. But these state-sanctioned acts of violence are more generally termed terror to distinguish them from violence committed by nonstate entities. The word terrorism is generally reserved for acts committed by groups outside of government.

After World War II, terrorism reverted to its previous revolutionary associations. During the 1940s-50s, terrorism was used for violence perpetrated by indigenous nationalist and anticolonialist organizations that fought European colonial rule. The most spectacular terrorist incident was the 1946 bombing of Jerusalem¡¯s King David Hotel by the Irgun Zvai Le¡¯umi (National Military Organization), a Jewish underground group. The hotel served as the military headquarters and offices of the British administration in Palestine. The Irgun¡¯s commander at the time was Menachem Begin, future prime minister of Israel and the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize co-winner.

During the late 1960s and 1970s, various disenfranchised or exiled nationalist minorities embraced terrorism to draw attention to their plight and generate international support. A Palestinian group is credited with initiating the current era of international terrorism: On July 22, 1968, three armed Palestinians belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked an international Israeli El Al commercial flight for purely political reasons to create an international crisis and generate publicity.

Also during the late 1960s and early 1970s, North and South American, as well as western European, political extremists began to form terrorist groups that opposed American intervention in Vietnam and what they claimed were fundamental socioeconomic inequities of the modern capitalist liberal-democratic state. Germany¡¯s Baader-Meinhof Gang and Italy¡¯s Red Brigades received training at Palestinian camps in the Middle East. Right-wing, or neo-fascist and neo-Nazi, terrorism movements also appeared in many western European countries and the U.S. during the late 1970s in response to left-wing violence. However, they lacked the numbers and popular support enjoyed by their left-wing counterparts, and so their violence was mostly sporadic and short-lived.

Justifications and Definitions

Regardless of the methods employed, terrorism is by nature political because it involves acquiring and using power to force others to submit to terrorist demands via publicity, focusing attention on the organization, fear, and intimidation. Thus, terrorism¡¯s success is best measured by its ability to attract attention to the terrorists and their cause and by its psychological impact.

Terrorists typically justify their acts by citing exclusion from, or frustration with, the accepted processes of engendering political change. They maintain that terrorism is the only option left, although their choice is a reluctant ¡ª even a regrettable ¡ª one. Whether one agrees with this justification often depends upon where one¡¯s sympathies lie, for ¡°One man¡¯s terrorist is another man¡¯s freedom fighter.¡±

Both national and international law have defined terrorist acts as crimes. Even during war, deliberate violence against innocent civilians is considered a crime. Similarly, violence that spreads beyond an acknowledged geographical theater of war and thus violate the territory of neutral or noncombatant states is also deemed a war crime.

Legal statutes regard terrorism as a crime. Yet there is considerable variation in how these laws define terrorism. A U.S. federal statute defines terrorism as ¡°violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that ... appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping.¡± [United States Code, Title 18, Section 2331 (18 USC 2331)]. The FBI defines terrorism as ¡°the unlawful [emphasis added] use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.¡±

In broad terms, its causes usually can be traced to political oppression, cultural domination, economic exploitation, ethnic discrimination, and religious persecution. Perceived inequities in the distribution of wealth and political power have led some terrorists to attempt to overthrow democratically elected governments. To achieve a fairer society, they would replace these governments with socialist or communist regimes. Germany¡¯s Baader-Meinhof Gang, Italy¡¯s Red Brigades, and the Weather Underground in the U.S. worked for this aim. Some seek to fulfill what they consider a divinely inspired or millennialist (related to the end of the world) cause. The Japanese religious cult Aum Shinrikyo, responsible for a nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, falls into this category. Others embrace comparatively more defined and comprehensible goals, such as re-establishing a national homeland (e.g., Basque separatists in Spain) or unifying a divided nation (Irish nationalists in Northern Ireland). Other terrorists are motivated by specific issues, such as opposing legalized abortion or nuclear energy, or championing environmental concerns and animal rights.

At times, national governments have aided terrorists to further their own foreign policy goals. So-called state-sponsored terrorism, however, falls into a different category altogether, for it is considered a form of covert (secret) warfare, a means to wage war secretly through the use of terrorist surrogates (stand-ins) as hired guns. Such sponsorship has proven invaluable to some terrorist organizations, for it allows them to obtain arms, money, and a safe haven, among other things, and thereby become more powerful and menacing opponents. It also can place at terrorists¡¯ disposal the resources of an established country¡¯s diplomatic, military, and intelligence services, and thereby improve the training of terrorists and facilitate planning and operations. Finally, governments have paid terrorists handsomely for their services, which enables them to present a greater threat to their opponents.

Suicide attacks differ from other terrorist operations, because the perpetrator¡¯s own death is a requirement for success. Suicide bombers, therefore, are typically highly motivated, passionately dedicated individuals who decide voluntarily or upon persuasion to surrender their lives to fulfill their mission. Palestinians, lacking a means of self-defense, have increasingly resorted to the tactic to keep pressure on the occupation forces.

The American Definition

Efforts to eradicate terrorism usually fail because the international community cannot agree on a definition. Now, however, America¡¯s definition is beginning to take hold. On the day after 9/11, the UN Security Council approved Resolution 1368, which reaffirmed the UN¡¯s commitment ¡°to combat by all means threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts¡±; recognized the ¡°inherent right of individual or collective self-defense in accordance with the [UN] Charter¡± against terrorism; and unequivocally condemned ¡°in the strongest terms¡± the September 11 attacks. Two weeks later, Security Council Resolution 1373 was approved. It called for the prevention and suppression of terrorism financing and greater exchange of the operational information needed by UN member-states to fight terrorism.

American leadership, owing to various pressures, is not ready to accept that terrorism is a reaction to injustice. Presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), talking on ¡°Face the Nation,¡± said that to win the war on terrorism, the U.S. needs much more that an intelligence operation and a law enforcement operation ¡ª it needs ¡°the most robust, aggressive, forceful foreign policy.¡±

This ¡°forceful¡± foreign policy is not about enforcing justice, but about using the big stick to suppress any reaction to injustice. He wants the U.S. to engage in governing Muslim countries due to his belief that terrorism results from widespread unemployment, and ¡°as long as they are educated in schools which teach them to hate, to hate Israel, to hate us, and to give them the capacity to become terrorists, we need to change that relationship.¡±

Senator Joe Biden, (D-DE), ranking member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed similar views on May 25 on ¡°Meet the Press.¡± He blamed Saudi textbooks, declaring, ¡°You cannot allow state-run newspapers, you cannot allow the school system you run to preach hatred, to preach anti-Semitism, to preach anti-Western notions and then expect us to say that they¡¯re cooperating with us¡­¡±

The same selective thinking is being propagated by academia. Jerrold Post, who founded the CIA¡¯s Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior, interviewed 21 people held in Israeli and Palestinian prisons, told the American Psychiatric Association¡¯s annual meeting on May 22 that Palestinians have ¡°basically been bred to hate from very early on.¡±

Conclusion

The U.S. has placed itself in a corner: It insists that other governments stop, prevent, and even help it to fight terrorism, and yet arms such practitioners of state terrorism as Tel Aviv.

Today, terrorism refers to those whom the U.S. dislikes, especially Muslims, or who work against a U.S. ally-of-the-moment. Thus, the war of liberation in Chechnya is terrorism against Russia, the war of liberation in East Turkestan (Xinjiang) is terrorism against China, and the movement for self-determination in Kashmir is terrorism against India.

The change of definition and the high-powered media beating the official drums are meaningless, because the ground reality says that justice is being denied. This is where the difference between peace and forced acceptance counts. Even official U.S. occupation, as in Afghanistan and Iraq, cannot extinguish this reality.

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Ex-Malaysian premier still says 9/11 inside job
Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:56:06 GMT


Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad has once again stated that the September 11 attacks were a staged event, rejecting claims that his comments are a publicity stunt.

“What do I gain from a publicity stunt? I am merely going by a public statement. I am not going to be a Prime Minister anymore unless you (pointing to a journalist) want me to ...” the former Malaysian prime minister told reporters on Friday.

After watching a three-hour video of the attack on the World Trade Center buildings, Mohamad, had suggested earlier in his blog that the twin towers had collapsed “demolition style.”

Later on Friday, Mahathir also called on local television stations to show the three-hour video.

"It sounds logical to me. Until today, you cannot even find scraps of the plane that crashed into the World Trade Centre and there is no picture of the other plane, which was supposed to crash.”

"The way the tower came crashing down was also funny. People who saw it were also not ordinary people. They were professional engineers and what they say is quite credible.”

"I wish some television stations would consent to show the video as it is not long and only three hours. You can then see what I saw."

Mahathir also said some people were afraid of saying anything critical about the governments of powerful countries or accusing them of doing something wrong.

"But the government of powerful countries said lies to go to war,” he added

"I have great respect for the Arabs but for them to hijack four planes is not very Arab. Just imagine the amount of planning that would be involved."

Rejecting claims that he was being insensitive to the victims, Mahathir stressed that he was "being more sensitive to the victims" as he was saying the attacks were carried out "deliberately.”

The former Malaysian prime minister also said that his views about how 9/11/2001 attacks were carried out would not affect Malaysia's chances of attracting foreign investment.

"I have said this many times even when I was the prime minister. But we still have the foreign direct investment. However, we cannot rely on foreign direct investments alone. We must build on our own system," he said.

Mahathir made the comments at a debut held for a book titled Civilizations, Nomadic Migrations, Empires and The Trail of Islam, at the Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur.

The book which entails the history of mankind, origin and commonality of major religions, is authored by Syed Salem Albukhary.

MJ/HGH/MMN

Letter to The Editor - Al Ahram Weekly Egypt

QUOTE : "Everyone must understand terrorism is never caused by religion. The roots of all terrorism lie in politics and so do the solutions.

"When (US President) George Bush and (former British prime minister) Tony Blair talk about radical Islam . . . the man in the street in the West is suspicious of all Muslims." - IMRAN KHAN


REMINDER FOR ARAB MUSLIMS



Look at you

Sir-- If Arab Muslims only knew how they looked to the rest of the world they would be ashamed. The Middle East has really brought down their esteem and reputation. That's not to say that other countries haven't helped.

Shareef Muhammad
Islamabad
Pakistan
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved

America - Elections - Islam : Excerpt From African Press Agency

America - Elections – Islam
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Fact :
In 2003, George Soros said that removing President George W. Bush from office was one of his main priorities. During the 2004 campaign, he donated significant funds to various groups dedicated to defeating the president.

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Islam, Arab-Muslim world in American electoral speech
By Matar GAYE, correspondent


APA - Jackson (United States) A few days to the American presidential elections, the threat of a world economic depression and foreign policy issues have significantly been relegated to secondary importance in the political speeches of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain.

However these issues will be the centre of the forthcoming American administration, as they will define the next world geopolitical map.

The nagging issue of the Israel-Arab conflict, the relations between the United States and the Arab-Muslim world could experience developments which would not necessarily bring a lasting peace.

The marginalisation of Islam and Muslims has been spreading industry in the United States since the September 11, 2001 attacks. It lives on the relative ignorance of the American people in international issues and their sometimes strange relationship to the otherness, this ambivalent and complex relation with the other.

Among Republicans, this policy of fear is one of the major components of the winning electoral strategy since the departure of Bill Clinton. Charlie Black, one of McCain’s gurus, said in the June issue of Forbes magazine that "what we would need, is a good attack".

In substance, it would be enough to have real or made-up terrorist attacks against American interests for the popularity of the republican candidate to pick up again.

On Barack Obama’s side, his calculated obsession to dissociate himself from any affinity with Muslims resulted in him adopting stances more radical than those of Bush on certain issues.

Since the beginning of his election campaign, Obama visited various worship places, except a mosque. This step also aims at pleasing the powerful Jewish community of the United States, which weighs in each presidential election.

Less than twenty-four hours after the withdrawal of Hillary Clinton in the democratic nomination, Obama attended a meeting of the Israeli-American public affairs committee, the powerful AIPAC. During one of his meetings in Detroit, some of his supporters prevented veiled Muslim women to sit in the front seats, for fear that such images will be used by the conservative media during prime time.

However, some observers do not fail to stress that the intellectual pugnacity of Obama which made him a key politician in the US should be extended to embrace the American Muslim community and symbolically visit a mosque before the elections. However, the odds are that this much awaited visit will never come before the November elections.

It is also true that the opponents of Obama continue to lump together his name "Hussein", the religion of his biological and adoptive fathers and his personal choice to become a Christian.

The endurance and smoothness with which Obama resisted all the gusts, consequences of his supposed links with extremist reverend Jeremiah Wright or father Michael Pfleiger, would be for some informed observers the clear indications of his ability to reconcile Americans after open and new breaks arising from the September 2001 attacks.

This reluctance to open up to American Muslims is also valid for McCain. A few months ago, the republican candidate dropped an American-Muslim businessman from one of his electoral committees.

This kind of toughening of the Republicans on issues related to Islam and the Arab Muslim world is also to be linked to the power of the evangelist Christian votes. The latter represent nearly a quarter of the American electorate. In 2000 and 2004, 80% of them voted for George Bush.

However, the electoral stakes in 2008 in the United States are very different from those of 2004.

The economic situation is more than appalling, the risks of a world recession are growing, the wavering certainty of Americans on their economic domination/invincibility, are making American voters think twice about the choice to be made in November.

On the future of American-Arab relations, John McCain had, in March, the nerve to state in Jordan that he supported the establishment of the Holy City of Jerusalem as eternal capital of the State of Israel.

This statement had raised an outcry of protest in Arab capitals. Such an initiative would be a serious retreat in the status quo that the various American administrations have adopted since the annexation of Arab Jerusalem in 1967.

The history of the Arab-Israeli negotiations showed that no lasting solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be achieved without a clear recognition of the multicultural, transnational and multi-confessional nature of the Holy City of Jerusalem, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat had underlined following McCain’s statement.

The Bush administration resisted all attempts to transfer the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In June 2008, Bush remained deaf to a resolution of the American Senate which called on the executive to transfer the American embassy.

The various administrations used legal expedients like six months moratoriums to maintain the status quo and to follow the international community in the non-recognition of Jerusalem as capital of the State of Israel.

Obama and McCain agree on the Jerusalem issue. In June, Obama averred in Washington that "Jerusalem should be the capital of the State of Israel and should remain indivisible."

Could this statement by Obama change drastically the possible vote of 3.5 million American Arabs in the November polls? Nothing seems to confirm it, as the disastrous state of the American economy relegated all the other fundamentals to a position of secondary importance.

The American Arab community is concentrated in States which will most bitterly be disputed between the Republicans and the Democrats, namely Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

This Arab-American community comprises 35% of Catholics, 18% of orthodox Christians and only 25% of Muslims, according to 2002 semi-official estimates.

This fixation of both candidates on the very crucial issue of Jerusalem does not forecast positive prospects for the revival of the Israel-Arab dialogue and would further nurture the frustrations of the Muslim world since the September 2001 attacks.

DMG/aft/ad/APA
2008-10-10

Lost In Translation - Letter To DBP

Photo courtesy of Google Images

I was devotedly concerned about what i have seen regarding the abuse of language as subtitles for a dvd movie from Thailand and decided to send an email to Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka.The following is the script :


Dear Sir,

Please allow me to offer my comments and opinion about the usage of Bahasa Melayu as subtitles in DVDs.I am referring to DVD as this disc format is more likely to be in use by the audio visual movie and entertainment industry of today.

Although i regarded myself as someone who is more profound in using the English language as a medium of everyday communications among friends,colleagues and business associates,i cannot accept the fact that my mother tongue is being abusively and atrociously blundered when i watch a foreign DVD movie with Bahasa Melayu subtitles. While shopping at the Alpha Angle Complex in Wangsa Maju recently, i chance upon an LCD TV demo display at a department store's electrical section playing a Thai horror movie. The movie shown was a little different from what i was expecting, and then realised that it was Thai and hence understood the presence of the Bahasa Melayu subtitles at the bottom of the screen.

What is so horrifying about the story is not its genre but more of the contents and message of the Bahasa Melayu subtitles that is being conveyed and translated. The whole mesage is deliberately senseless, incomprehensible,downright disgusting and grammatically indigestible.

I think the government, through its machinnery like the Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka ( DBP) must take the initiative to correct the situation when the language jurisdiction falls into the hands of unwarranted commercial maltreaters. No doubt that even the latest English language DVD films have bad English subtitles but more often than not,the Bahasa Melayu version is even worse of.

We should not wait for any sort of rudimentary acts or regulatory body to be implemented or introduced, but DBP must take the initiative to cooperate with the the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Pengguna(act like a counsumers'complaint bureau) in denouncing this sacrilegious language butchering.
We should also declare that it is illegal and a criminal offence to not only buy pirated dvd products but also because it contain distorted subtitles which are not according to proper standards of interpretation. This is where the DBP can be asked to contribute to provide subtitles services just like what the TV media is engaging for its programmes.
You can imagine how a hearing impaired individual would react if he does not hear the audio but just by being dependent on reading the subtitles in order to enjoy the story. This means we are not doing justice to this group of people too. Pirates do not have a sense of empathy for anybody except themselves and we must not let them overpower us through their illicit means and ends.

It will be a big shame and gross insult if these measures are not taken into effect seriously by the government. I am for sure do not support the fact that Bahasa Melayu be called Bahasa Malaysia. If Bahasa Malaysia is totally embraced by all Malaysians, why is it that only a handful of citizens take an interest into the well being and sovereignty of its stature ?

Finally i would like to propose that all foreign language (including English) DVDs that do not have DBP language approval endorsements for subtitles are not sold commercially to the public. DVD piracy is not only about illegal duplicating,laws must also be enforced to ensure normal DVDS meet the overall strict and regular package contents which also include worthy and responsible subtitles presentation, in any language for that matter.


Thank you,

Yours sincerely,

KL's Night Fever

Photo credits : OXYMANUS 2008

With the notorious traffic jam situation in KL never seems to end, what better way to travel to get home by none other than via public transport i.e. the LRT,i repeat the LRT, be it the Putra line, Mono rail or the STAR line especially after the dreaded and regimental office hours of 9 to 5.You will not believe that the traffic flow along the federal city roads are superfluous as long as time propels in a 24 hour motion of people, cars and activities. What happens when the sun goes down in KL then ? Although KL far still lacks and lags the feverish and zingy nightlife essence of Ginza or Las Vegas or Amsterdam, the sophistication of Singapore(where even entertainment is a regulated pastime),the city of Kuala Lumpur actually never sleeps, much to the credence and exaltation of somnambulists,night owls and other nocturnal beings alike.

KL is a transitory city where traffic flows in from all the cardinal points of the Klang Valley region,so it is not surprising therefore to substantiate that while the city denizens actually snuggle in their comfy beds,a different kind of alien community is actually invading the city. These are strangers of people from all walks of life who would soon be arriving at Puduraya alighting or boarding their buses and taxis towards their new found destinations in pursuit of happiness and perhaps depression.

Nearby,vagrants with other street urchins and scums loom in as they loiter the streets, either looking for crack and doping, conduct petty crimes like vandalism and thefts in the view of faulty CCTVs while some scavengers could be seen digging out overfilled thrash from dilapidated stinking bins searching for recycled items in order to eke a meager living while some other homeless souls whom are mostly addicts will simply accommodate themselves to a world of fantasy slumber in the cold blanket of the night on top of concrete pavements and benches or even staircases, hidden away from the public eye. The irony of the fact is that these people will soon disappear mysteriously when the daylight comes to change the time.

Further up at some busy stalls,in Chinatown,late diners would be seen slurping their meals while yakking and laughing at the top of their throats so much so that this place conjures an ideal venue for constant merry making and heartwarming meetings amongst friends and chums.Some foreign backpackers can also be seen enjoying the cheap cold beers in the open air as they mingle tete a tete exchanging their travel experiences with their fellow travel mates. They must be staying along the many small lodge houses or inns located ubiquitously around the Petaling Street vicinity.The Nepalese,Myanmarese and the Bangladeshis on the other hand could be seen packing and rolling things to their respective storage hideaways after a rousing infamous piracy and counterfeit business and other clandestine deals made hours earlier in the tourists crammed street.No wonder Petaling Street owes its PS Boutique tag mark quite appropriately, shoes, handbags,cd's,computer software,pornography,t-shirts,watches,perfumes,scarves,sportswear,eyewear,belts and even exotic meals of the rare kind,you just name it.

The Reggae Bar tucked at the other corner is indeed a lively spot for the European backpacker tourists that its patrons can be seen almost spilling over to its alfresco walkway reveling in quiet celebration through intimate conversations. The music of Bob Marley rules here and all kinds of graffiti can be seen written on the walls like a mural of sorts giving notice to the visitors' past presence. The snooker tables and the bar counters also portrayed a jam packed audience. The sparkling neon lights and signs as well as unique plants decorations dotting its building structure which almost camouflaged its social image makes the Irish-style pub hardly noticeable until one approaches it,quaintly snug in the colonial rows of 1940's pre-war shop houses.

The stalls near Chinatown are alive with a multitude of characters,loud music of Oriental descent performed by inexperienced local buskers,and mobbed by the touts and peddlers, beggars and impostors, the passersby, and other triads business people in a crowded locale.

Over at Kampung Baru and Chow Kit areas, the scene at the food stalls is similar ,where locals and Indonesian immigrant traders combine their presence in plying their gastronomic business to the visitors who would have come to indulge in their supper and night cap refills. The stalls with its running lights and colourful posters attract hungry strangers like it was just the beginning of the day break.
Car wash depots sprouting their lucrative business next to the food stalls makes every services complete and available at a one stop shop.The food quality served and sold in Kampung Baru however leaves a great deal of discernment as far as hygiene standards are concerned.Charging exorbitant bucks and creating fast profits for these unscrupulous entrepreneurs is the order of the day.None of the food here tasted palatable at all !

Brickfields too is an area that has its own fair share of insomnia. Here the subcontinent Indians and Bangladeshis and the Nepalese spread their influences even more actively and most appropriately as they take the looks of the local Malaysian Indians,quite amazingly unwary to many Caucasian tourists who so think they are locals too. Contrastingly, the Brickfields area attract less foreign Caucasian tourists than Chinatown and this could be due to the proximity of the bus terminal, since backpackers are known to favour the bus mode of travel as against air travel when entering the country via Thailand and Singapore.

The scenes at the Beach Club,Aloha,and the Thai Bar, Zouk disco adds even a more cultivated groups of people seeking company of one another prancing through the din and humdrum of deafening music till the wee hours of the morning where booze and designer drugs share the limelight on the dance floors.

The crowded and noisy nightlife entertainment scenes continues and extends to Bukit Bintang, Bangsar,Shah Alam, PJ,Damansara, Puchong,Rawang, Selayang, Setapak, Ampang, Jalan Ipoh, you name it, the list goes on and on and true enough KL is the city that never sleeps.Each pockets of urban settlement conspires a different criminal element of sorts, all hovering and cooking up in the disguise of conventional goings on of the night.

Beyond its normalcy of just eating and drinking,karaokeing and gambling the city police is also busy traversing the city's crime scene whose activities synchronises almost at the same time. Crimes and felony like murders, rapes, robberies, vice, drug pushing,illegal gambling,blackmailing and kidnapping are almost a KL fabric of a Malaysian mafioso's night life. The newspapers and TV station the very next day will then report how sordid and threatening the KL night scene would have been with news that will sometimes shake the country almost overnight stronger than the previous tsunami.

Interview With Pierce Brosnan - Courtesy of Loreal Paris

Bond-ing with an image


2008/10/05


Dapper Pierce Brosnan tells us how Bond, family and Hawaii have made him hardy, nurturing and tranquil, in that order.

PIERCE Brosnan falls into that group of actors who keep looking better as they age, keeping company with men like George Clooney and Sean Connery. Case in point: He is remembered more for as James Bond and Thomas Crown than for being the lead actor in Remington Steel, the 1980s TV series. His latest star turn is as the face for L’Oreal Paris men expert. An achievement, considering the beauty industry is, for the most part, obsessed with youth. At 59, Brosnan stands out as a celebrity who has aged gracefully, balancing his family life in Hawaii with his acting and love for painting. In this interview, the actor talks about his career and the causes he fights for.

Q: As an actor you have had a great career thus far, with numerous roles. But do you feel you have to distance yourself from the identity of Bond?
A: I was totally aware of the iconic studies of this character. I was aware of the image it creates on an international level. I’ve seen many men go before me and I watched their careers closely. I suppose Sean Connery and Roger Moore were the Bonds I really loved. I grew up with both of these men’s work. Sean has had the most incredible career. I saw the struggles he went through making the break from playing Bond. So I was aware of it ...you have to be aware of it. I wanted to play as many roles as possible. But it depends on how much talent you have in your back pocket and how lucky you are.

Q: Did you have to maintain a high physical fitness level for the roles you took on?
A: Yes, you have to stay fit as an actor. It is a very demanding job — physically, emotionally and psychologically. You have to have stamina. You have to have that even without being an actor, just to stay up in life these days.

Q: You’ve had a very amazing career. What challenges are you pursuing now?
A: I have the challenge of making (The) Thomas Crown (Affair 2). My partner is in Istanbul at the moment. The story takes place in Berlin, Istanbul, and Dubai, so the challenge is to make that as successful, as rich and as exciting as the first. And it’s even more daunting. The first time it was very daunting because there was the much-loved movie with one of America’s greatest cinematic iconic actors. We managed to pull that off and now the studio would like us to do that again.

Q: Why did you choose to create your own company?
A: So I could have a choice, so I could go off and do a film like Matador, I could do a film like Avalon, small pieces that interest me, that excite me, and for being able to do it my way. For something like Thomas Crown, you want to have empires of big commercials but it’s the joy of finding pieces that are more informative, more character-driven. This makes it very exciting to have your own company.

Q: You have been involved with many causes. How are they important for you?
A: I have been involved with many causes, from women’s healthcare to campaigns for whales and dolphins and old growth trees. I grew up in Ireland, surrounded by nature. I have a big appreciation and affinity for nature and the world around me. I have a selfish interest — to protect all of that for my children and for my children’s children. When you put your toe into these waters, they have a knock-on effect with the most amazing people on the planet — people who are deeply philosophical, passionate, erudite, who fight for the planet, to nurture it.

Q: With all your activities, do you still have time for your hobbies?
A: I enjoy painting, I enjoy riding horses, I enjoy learning how to surf, which is pathetic. I live out in Hawaii and it has been a wonderful part of our lives, my wife and myself, and our children. But I enjoy painting. I started as a commercial artist and so it has stayed with me. I am an enthusiastic painter. I don’t do enough of it because with managing life as an actor, managing life as a father, managing life travelling... But living where I live now in Hawaii has a huge resonance in my life. Watching them grow up; it just makes you strive harder to be part of causes that are meaningful ...for making your own community and the world at large better.

Q: Time doesn’t seem to have had left its mark on you. What’s your secret?
What is your philosophy about the passage of time?

A: Well, time does, unfortunately. Hmm... what can I say, just drink a lot of water, brush your teeth, 50 push-ups in the morning. No, don’t believe a word of what I’m saying. I’m an actor, for God’s sake ...Just good Irish gin and lots of water.

Q: Did you enjoy the loyal team — all those beautiful women and ambassadresses?
What is your feeling about this new involvement with L’Oreal?
A: It has come at a perfect time in my life. What can I say? I have watched these commercials for many years. They have all these beautiful women. It’s a company that has been ongoing for many years, some 100 years. It’s hard to believe! I’m very proud to work for them. It is coming at a perfect time — this campaign to present myself. — Interview courtesy of L’Oreal Paris.

Malaccan Rhapsody - Picture Gallery

Holiday Inn Melaka - New Brick on The Block


Boat Cruise Ride - Love It


Tattoo Shop - Making a mark for your Melaka visit


Trishaw for Tired Travellers - Going green in Melaka


Aerial View of Melaka - Simply breathtaking and always growing


Clog Shop - Too Slow To Trot


Shop House Inn - Welcomes Every Budget


Bullock Cart - Nostalgic Days


Entrance to Dutch Square - Paint the Town Red


Riverside Walk - Far From the Madding Crowd


Dataran Pahlawan Megamall - Shop Till You Drop


Taming Sari Tower - Melaka 360


Famous Chicken Rice Shop - Q is the word


Heeren Street - Houses you love to live


A Famosa - Porta De Santiago - Its doors open 365 days in a year

Malacca or Melaka is a sight to behold!On the recent Idul Fitri holidays,i took the opportunity to explore Malacca's rich historical heritage by walking through its streets and alleys. Simply captivating and the city never fails to bewilder even the seasoned traveller in showcasing its new and buzzing attractions ! Declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site together with Penang this year,Melaka was teeming with visitors from all over the globe during the holiday festival. The new tourism plans undertaken by the state government is highly impressive and laudable.

Photo credits : OXYMANUS

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Raffles made three visits to Malacca, and stayed at a house in Banda Hilir. Due to overwork and recurrent fever led to a breakdown in health, and he was ordered to take a holiday. To avoid mental stagnation he chose Malacca with its historical associations and there, with his wife, he went at the end of 1807. His convalescent leave was, however, cut short by the Penang Council which could not deal with its correspondence, and at the earnest request of the Governor, Colonel Macaliater, he went back to Penang in 23 January, 1808. His second visit was at the end of July 1808 and went back to Penang on 29 October 1808. There he wrote his famous report to the Governor-General of India advising against the proposed abandonment of the Malacca Settlement. It is because of his intervention that until today remnance of the great fort "A Famosa" is still standing. Raffles made his third visit to Malacca in December, 1810, when as Lord Minto's agent with the Malay States he selected Malacca as his headquarters.

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The following story is based on the book "Hikayat Abdullah" which tells about Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles visit to Malacca.



Sometime later a rumour was heard in Malacca that the English were going to attack Java. Two or three months after we first heard this news Mr. Raffles and his wife suddently came to Malacca, with an English copying clerk named Mr. Merlin and a Malay clerk named Ibrahim, a half Indian from Penang. Mr Raffles took a house in Bandar Hilir on an estate owned by the Chinese Kapitan's son whose name was Baba Cheng Lan. He brought with him many rare objects of European workmanship, things displayed in cabinets, pistols, costly satin materials and gold embroidered muslin, and a great many things I had never seen before; many broadeloths of great fineness, ornate clocks, and paper for writing letters to Malay rulers and princes with gold and silver headings, and many other objects intended as presents for Malay royalty.

One day Ibrahim the Malay writer came to my house and sat talking about how Mr. Raffles was looking for copyists whose handwriting was good, and how he wanted to buy old Malay letters and texts. He said that those who had any should take them to Mr. Raffles's house at Bandar Hilir. One of my uncles named Ismail Lebai had very good hand-writing, and he and his younger brother Mohammed were both taken on as copyists. The next day Ibrahim came again and asked for a specimen of my handwriting. Mter I had written one he took it to Mr. Raffles, and the same afternoon one of his attendants came to summon me. So I went along, and Mr. Raffles said to inc:

"Copy these letters into a book." Now working there was a Malacca born friend of mine named Tambi Ahmad bin Nina Merikan. There was all manner of work being done; some copied stories, some wrote letters, others wrote about the idioms of the Malay language, its poetry and so on. Each of us had his own task.

Now as to Mr. Raffles's physical features I noticed that he was of medium build, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin. He was broad of brow, a sign of his care and thoroughness; round-headed with a projecting forehead, showing his intelligence. He had light brown hair, indicative of bravery; large ears, the mark of a ready listener. He had thick eyebrows, his left eye watered slightly from a cast; his nose was straight and his cheeks slightly hollow. His lips were thin, denoting his skill in speech, his tongue gentle and his mouth wide; his neck tapering; his complexion not very clear; his chest was full and his waist slender. He walked with a slight stoop.

As to his character, I noticed that he always looked thoughtful. He was very good at paying due respect to people in a friendly manner. He treated everyone with proper deference, giving to each his proper title when he spoke. Moreover, he was extremely tactful in ending a difficult conversation. He was solicitous of the feelings of others, and open-handed with the poor. He spoke in smiles. He took the most active interest in historical research. Whatever he found to do he adopted no half-measures, but saw it through to the finish. When he had no work to do other than reading and writing he liked to retire to a quiet place. When he was occupied in studies or conversation he was unwilling to meet anyone who came to the house until he had finished. I saw that he kept rigidly to his time-table of work, not mixing one thing with another. I noticed also a habit of his in the evening after he had taken tea with his friends. There was an inkstand and a place for pen and paper on his large writing-table, and two lighted candles. After he had walked to and fro for long enough he would lie on the table on his back staring upwards and close his

eyes as though asleep. Two or three times I thought he was actually asleep, but a moment later he would jump up quickly and start writing. Then he would again lie down. This was his behaviour every night up to eleven or twelve o'clock when he went to bed. Every day it was the same, except occasionally when his friends came in. When morning came he would rise and fetch what he had been writing the night before, and walk up and down reading it. Out of ten pages he would take perhaps three or four and give them to a writer to copy out. The rest he would tear up and throw away.

He employed four men to search for specimens of natural history. One he told to go into the jungle and look for various kinds of leaves, flowers, fungi, mosses, and so on. Another he told to find worms, grasshoppers, various kinds of butterflies, beetles, and other different insects, cicadas, centipedes, scorpions, and the like, and he gave him some needles and told him to set the specimens. Another man he despatched with a basket to get coral, various sorts of shells, molluscs, oysters and the like, and also fish. The fourth man went out catching wild animals like birds, jungle fowl, deer, and small quadrupeds. Mr. Raffles kept a large book having very thick pages in which he used to press leaves and flowers and the like. Anything which could not be inserted between the pages he gave to a certain Chinese from Macao who was every expert at drawing life-like pictures of fruits and flowers, telling him to copy them. He also had a large barrel full of some sort of spirit, possibly toddy or brandy, in which he put live animals such as snakes, centipedes, scorpions and the like. Two days later he would take them out and place them in bottles, where they looked just as if they were alive. People in Malacca were surprised to see such a thing, and many were able to earn good money searching for the creatures of the sky, the land and the sea; of the uplands, the lowlands and the forest; things which fly or crawl; things which grow and germinate in the soil; all these could be turned into ready cash. There were also people who brought Malay manuscripts and bookÿs, I do not remember how many hundreds of these texts there were. Almost, it seemed, the whole of Malay literature of the ages, the property of our forefathers, was sold and taken away from all over the country. Because these things had money value they were sold and it did not occur to people at the time that this might be unwise, leaving them not a single book to read in their own language. This would not have mattered if the books had been printed, but these were all written in longhand and now copies of them are no longer available. There were some three hundred and sixty books in all, apart from Shaer and Pantun and other kinds of verses. Yet other books Mr. Raffles borrowed and had copied, keeping four or five copyists employed on this task alone.

Every day people brought different kinds of animals, such as worms the like of which I had never seen before. The Ruler of Sambas sent Mr. Raffles a present of two apes of the kind which the English call orang-utang; and other presents also came, a young tiger, a bear and other kinds of animals from every country. The orang-utang which came from Sambas was very tame and wore trousers, a coat, and a hat given him by Mr. Raffles. He looked like a small child as left to himself he walked about the place. I noticed that his behaviour was almost like that of a humanÿÿ being, save only he lacked the power of speech. Whenever he wished to relieve himself he ran off to the right place. He used to come and stay quietly near the table where I was writing, not capable of mischief like other monkeys. He would pick up a pen slowly and look at it; then when I said, "Put it down at once," he would put it down in a flash. His belly was large and at times when he was sitting he would moan like a sick man. When I said "What is the matter?" he would hug his stomach just as if he understood our language, though that of course is impossible. There were actually a pair of orang-utangs, a male and a female, but after four or five months sojourn in Malacca the female died one night. From that time onwards, I noticed, the male behaved like a man stricken with grief. The food given to him he left where it was, not touching a morsel of it. After six or seven days thus he also died. My heart was touched to see such a thing. If animals can love one another as man and wife, how much more should we human beings do likewise, following their example. There were many other animals and birds in Mr. Raffles's house, each having its own cage or pen.

It was Mr. Raffles's nature to study with great enjoyment the history of countries and their ancient customs, and to make enquiries and and ask questions about unusual things. He studied the Malay language with keen attention, learning the proper style as used by Malays. From time to time he was fond of asking "How is this word used by Malays?" and when we had told him he would say "The English usage is different, it is so-and-so." Every day he ordered letters to be written for despatch to the Malay States, the contents merely searching for a way to establish friendly relations between their rulers and the English and trying to gain their support. Every letter sent out was accompanied by presents and expressions of kind feelings. Therefore they gained the sympathy of all the rulers, who replied with letters and presents, sending their compliments and thanks. And many Malay manuscripts came from different places.

It was Mr. Raffles's way to care little for money. If there was anything he wished to buy or any work he wanted undertaken, whatever the cost or fee might be he paid it as long as he obtained the thing he wanted or the work was done. His wishes therefore were quickly gratified for there were always people waiting at his house, ready to find or to buy anything he wanted or to do his bidding for the money it would bring them. I know not how much money was paid out daily from his safe to buy things or to pay those who worked for him. He often said in my hearing "I hate the behaviour of the Dutch who live in Malacca. They despise the Malays and will not treat them on equal terms." Mr. Raffles on the other hand liked to be on good terms with all Malays; even the poorest of the poor could speak with him. All the important people of Malacca, both white men and Malays, came to see him from day to day. Yet in spite of this nobody knew why he had come to Malacca, what he intended to do or what was his appointed task. But what I particularly noticed was that everything about him, his work, words, intelligence, deportment, and kindness unmistakeably denoted that here was a man of ability and great discretion.

One day while Mr. Raffles was in the middle of discussing with his Malay clerk the reply which he wished to be sent to the ruler of Sambas one of the Malays suddenly came in bearing six durians. Thinking that Mr. Raffles liked to buy durians he brought them into the house and stood waiting near the door. But as soon as Mr. Raffles caught the smell of the durian he held his nose and ran upstairs.

Every one was surprised to see him run like this for they did not realize that he could not stand the smell of a durian. A moment later he called the Sepoy guard and said, "Who brought those durian here?" When they pointed to the Malay he told him to leave quickly and ordered the guard "Never allow anyone to bring durians to the door again." From that day onwards no one dared to bring any more durians. It was then that I discovered the truth that Mr. Raffles did not know how to eat durian. So far from eating them he could not even bear to smell them. After a little while he came down again saying "The smell of those durians has given me a headache. That food is nauseating." Hearing he words we all smiled to think that his attitude should be so different from that of other people. Something that they liked he hated. After that if any one came carrying durians he was driven away by the guard.

One afternoon just as I was going home Mr. Raffles called me and said "Let us go for a ride together for I would like to see a Malay school." So together we mounted his palanquin and went off to Tranquerah. When we reached the house of Lebai Abdul Razak we went in together and saw three children undergoing punishment. One was chained round his waist, the chain being nailed to the end of a beam which he was forced to carry on his shoulder. Another was merely chained and was being ordered to recite the Koran. The third was tied to a post. Mr. Raffles said to me "Enche', why are the children chained up in this way? It is a wicked practice. Please ask the teacher." I enquired of the teacher who replied "This one, sir, ran away and now, after eight days, has just been brought back from a place called Kendur, a day's journey from here, by a man to whom his parents had to give one dollar. That is why I am punishing him in this manner. And this one ran away for two days and climbed trees in the jungle, so he is being punished. And this one has forgotten all his previous reading work and so I am making him do it now." Mr. Raffles said "If that is so, all right," and added "Why do you not teach the Malay language?" The teacher replied "The parents of these children require that they shall first learn the Koran. Once they have mastered it they can proceed with the Malay language. That has always been our practice, and it is not a custom in this country for people to have places where the Malay language can be learnt." Mr. Raffles said, "Very well, teacher, I only wanted to know. Do not be angry. Goodbye." And we both left. As he went out Mr. Raffles said to me "Is that really the Malay custom, Enche'?" I said "Yes, it is, sir." He smiled and said "Very well, Enche', if I live long enough I would like to found a place of learning the Malay language. I am very fond of it for it has a pleasant sound and is very useful." Then he climbed into his carriage and went home.

I marked the enthusiasm which Mr. Raffles showed in studying the affairs of the Malay States, their laws, their constitutions and their systems of government. He wanted to find out what were the amusements of the Malays, their customs, the names of the hills and places round Malacca, the local industries, the goods which were exported and whether the people of Malacca preferred the rule of the English to that of the Dutch. About all these matters he made thorough enquiries.

I noticed that the character of Mr. Raffles's wife was unlike that of ordinary women. She shared her husband's charm, the modesty and prudence in everything that she did. She spoke in a friendly and courteous manner alike to the rich and the poor. She enjoyed making a thorough study of Malay, and used to ask how the Malays say this and that. All the points that she noted she wrote down on paper. And I observed too that whenever Mr. Raffles wanted to do something, for instance to make a purchase, he always asked his wife first and if she agreed he acted. It was her nature, I noticed, to do all her work with the greatest alacrity, never wasting a moment in idleness, but forever working away at one thing or another.7

In their attitude towards work there was, I found, a very great difference between Malay women and white women. For it is the custom of Malay women, when they have become the wives of important people, to grow more conceited and lazy, becoming haughtier and haughtier in manner and magnifying their own importance in every word they utter. They consider manual labour or any prolonged effort causing fatigue to be beneath their dignity. They just lie down and doze, then dress and arrange their coiffure, or sit and order their slaves about. They know that rice is served to them right into their laps. They rise at ten or eleven o'clock in the morning and take ~ little refreshment, then sit about for a while before retiring again until the afternoon, when they toy with a little betel nut. That is the lot of the fortunate woman who is married to a man of high standing. But I noticed that Mrs. Raffles was as active as the cockroach which has no tail, doing one thing after another; after tidying the house she would sew and after sewing she would write letters. May I be blinded if my eyes ever saw her retire or compose herself for rest in the middle of the day. She was up and about all the time. Allah alone knows. Unless I have misunderstood what I saw, this is a sign that she was wise and capable of doing important things. As I saw it, it was her character and industry that fitted her to do her husband's work and to be his helper. For Allah had joined together the pair of them making them of one mind, like a ruler and his minister, like a ring and the jewel set in it, like sugar in milk. Let this be an example to follow for generations that are to come. To illustrate such harmony of character and temperament I have composed this pantun:

With goldfish let them be compared

Swimming in a bowl perchance;

In every thought and deed are shared

Such grace and seemly elegance.

The goldfish in the bowl swims by,

Heeds not the Laksamana's tread.

Their daily lives personify

Serenity to wisdom wed.

On the other hand I have noticed the behaviour of many other married people. If the husband wants to go this way, the wife wants to go the other: if the husband says one thing the wife says the opposite. So they have daily quarrels, smacking and kicking each other like cats and dogs. Moreover there are women who because they are beautiful tread their husbands down under foot. May Allah discountenance the behaviour of such women. So far from making good wives they are not even fitting companions. They cause mischief, break men's hearts and increase discord, and in the end they may bring disaster upon their own souls. Here is a pantun which I have composed about it:

Of what avail a coloured dress

If the pattern's ill designed?

What use a woman's fond caress,

If she be not good and kind.

If the pattern's ill designed

Vain are the costliest silks she wears

If she be not good and kind,

Save and preserve me from her cares.

After Mr. Raffles had been living for three or four months in Malacca he had sent out letters with presents to the rulers of all the Malay States to the west and to the east. A month or two later the Ruler of Siak, whose title was Tengku Penglima Besar and whose name was Sayid Zin, came to see him. The circumstances of his coming to Malacca I do not know, whether invited by Mr. Raffles or of his own accord to meet Mr. Raffles. But come to Malaeca he did, accompanied by his two sons. On his arrival he was received by Mr. Raffles with great deference and given a house and garden at Bandar Hilir to live in. He was provided with a caretaker and given a handsome allowance for expenses. Every day he travelled in a horse-drawn carriage. I never saw him going about on foot. Day and night he used the carriage. Every day or two he held conversations with Mr. Raffles and then returned home.

Many English ships went to and fro patrolling the coast of Java and any boat, ketch or ship flying the Dutch flag was captured and brought to Malacca. For the first time the Malacca folk realized that the English were enemies of the Dutch and so intended to make war on them. One or two English ships arrived in Malacca carrying munitions of war, hundreds of tents, wagons, pieces of artillery, guns, ammunition and the like. ………………