The Promised Land viewed from Mount Nebo

On 26 May 2014, we left KL for a 6-day pilgrimage tour of Israel. Our plane landed at Queen Alia International Airport, Amman in Jordan in the early morning of 27 May 2014.

After breakfast, we headed straight to the 19th Century Greek Orthodox Church of St. George in Madaba in Jordan. From Madaba, we moved to our next destination, Mount Nebo.

On 27 May 2014, my wife and I together with the other Malaysian tour group members set foot on Mount Nebo, a mountain situated at the east of southern end of Jordan River and a mere 13Km from the northern tip of the Dead Sea. During Moses' time, this place was in the territory of Moab but is now within the territory of modern day Jordan.

More than three thousand years ago, Moses climbed this same mountain to view the Promised Land - the land that stretches from Jordan river to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. On top of this mountain, God said to Moses, "This is the land I promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I will give this land to your descendants. I have let you see the land, but you cannot go there". Sadly, Moses never made it to the Promised Land and he died in Moab at the age of 120 and was buried there. To this day, no one knows where his grave is.

Unlike Moses who had to literally climb the mountain, we now have the luxury of being driven to the car park near the top of the mountain by air-conditioned bus on well paved road. What a difference!

Aerial view of Mount Nebo.

A map from the web site illustrates well
the vast tract of land to the west of Mt. Nebo
which is present day Israel.

At the time of Moses, it was hard to imagine that over the vast desert and barren land, there could be found land of milk and honey as promised by God. This is still equally true today when we cast our eyes over this vast barren plain with hardly any sign of green and water.

The ladies of the Group posed for a group photo on top of Mount Nebo.

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This land of milk and honey slowly emerged in a new country, Israel since its founding on 14 May 1948. With a land area of only 20,770 Sq. Km which is barely 1/3 the size of Sabah and more than half of the land is desert, Israel has managed to become a world leader in agricultural technologies. 

Compared to Sabah which has an average annual rainfall of 3,000mm, Israel experiences the opposite extreme. In the extreme south, rainfall averages near 30mm (1.18 inches) annually. In the north, average annual rainfall is around 900mm (35.4 inches).

Even as our tour bus traversed along the highway in Israel, the sights of agricultural activities speak volume of the emphasis and development in this sector.

Credit must be given to the Kibbutz which is the pioneer and the driving force behind the success story of Israeli agriculture. Kibbutz is a collective community formed originally for agriculture. Today, some Kibbutzim has diversified and ventured into other sectors such as high-tech and military industries.

We had lunch in at least two Kibbutz. In one of them, in-house service is minimal and patrons are required  to queue up for their meals and to pick up their own soiled utensils and deposit them into the large collection bin for washing by the staff.

Israel is also a world leader in the development of solar energy, water conservation and geothermal energy. 

Indeed, God delivers what He promised Abraham and Moses!

Note: This blog is last edited on 7 December 2022.

Moments with Grandchildren

After coming back from a recent trip to Perth, KK is liked a torture chamber because of the exceptional hot weather. Literally 36 degrees C everyday.

Spending time with our fast growing up grandchildren is always a welcome break. Knowing the special bond the grandparents have with them, they know how to take full "advantage" of the presence of their grandparents. The most frequent request of Nathan to the gung-gung or po-po was: Asked to be carried. Of course, he would not be disappointed at most occasions. Though technology has enabled grandparents to communicate with the grandchildren via Skype, it is still a very different experience to be able to feel and hug each other.

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Grace is growing at a phenomenal speed. By the time I left Perth, Grace was able to stand unaided for at least 3-4 seconds.

Nathan is maturing fast into a young boy. One of the things I am most impressed is his ability to verbally express his feeling - sad, happy or felt loved. This is truly a quality rare among most people.

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"This is persimmon!"

Nathan is maturing fast into a young boy. One of the things I am most impressed is his ability to verbally express his feeling - sad, happy or felt loved. This is truly a quality rare among most people.

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It was a feeling of endless happiness when Grace responded and crawled towards gung-gung and po-po whenever she sensed the signal for her to come. Indeed, grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old.

In Memoriam of Kapal Singh 1940 - 2014

17 April 2014, a very sad day for Malaysia when veteran politician, Kapal Singh died in a car crash on the way to a court hearing in Penang.

 

A true champion of human right, justice and equality. His passing would be felt by all fair-minded Malaysians for a very very long time to come.

 

"As long as I am alive, I will continue to struggle to see a non-Malay become prime minister" - Kapal said this in 2012 that the Federal Constitution did not provide that only Malays could be prime minister. Unfortunately, he did not live to see this becoming a reality.

 

"They want to make it as difficult as they can for us here so we'll go away. But we will not go - that would be giving them what they want, and that would be wrong. We have to stay and fight". Kapal said this in an interview with an online news portal in 2014, discussing his guilty verdict on the charge of sedition

Parenting

Following the successful Marriage Enrichment Course held in October last year (Read here), the Church launched a Parenting Course in April 2014.

Parenting courses have emerged in response to growing concerns over child development, rising family stress, and the challenges brought about by changing social dynamics. The Church recognizes that as societies become more complex and traditional support systems - such as extended families - continue to weaken, many parents are left without adequate guidance to navigate the demands of modern parenting.

Research in psychology and education consistently highlights the vital role parenting plays in shaping a child’s emotional, social, and cognitive development. Increasing rates of behavioral problems, academic difficulties, and mental health issues among children further underscore the need to support parents. In response, professionals in child development, education, and social work have developed structured, evidence-based parenting programs designed to equip parents with the knowledge and skills to raise confident, resilient, and well-adjusted children.

In addition to parents, the Church also encouraged members involved in the children’s Sunday School ministry to participate in the course. 

Interestingly, the majority of attendees were still women - especially mothers - reflecting the ongoing need to involve more fathers and men in parenting and child development efforts.

"The graduates".

Gift package for each "graduate".

New Kota Kinabalu Coastal Pedestrian Walkway and Cycleway

Phase 1 of the Kota Kinabalu Coastal Pedestrian Walkway and Cycleway is finally completed and opened for public use. This is indeed a great facility that allows city dwellers to walk and cycle along this trail to enjoy the scenic coastline.

The many picnic spots are ideal for families who wish to spend a weekend together. For cycling enthusiasts, a cycling trip along the trail as a family would sure yield lasting memories.

Recently, we drove along this coastal highway and stopped to take a few shots of this newly completed trail. Phase 1 trail which is just 5.2 Km starts from the Sabah Port and ends at Likas Bay. According to City Hall, the final trail will be 25.6 Km long stretching from Tanjong Aru Town, passing KK Central Business District and ending at University Malaysia Sabah.

 

From Likas Bay in the evening, one can have this stunning view of part of KK city.

Working Visit to Singapore

Our recent trip to Singapore was more a "working visit" rather than a sight seeing tour. As the boys hardly have the chance to eat home-cooked food, it was the idea of their mom to "bring" herself - the home chef to Singapore to do the job on the spot.

Of course in Singapore, no one would visit the place without tasting some of the many many food that the place can offer. We had a chance to eat the bean sprouts chicken rice which we last ate in Ipoh (read here). I must say that it was authentic and similar to what I had in Ipoh.

At Ya Kun Kaya Toast, I reminisced the old days when I followed my grandfather to the coffee shop. Normally, one cup was ordered. I had to drink from the saucer while my grandfather would drink from the cup!

It Was as if We have Met Before.........

Sam was keen for us to meet up with the Chong's - Rachel's parents. So, when we decided to have a short visit to Singapore in late March, Sam was quick to arrange a meet up in a casual and pleasant environment - Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant of Carlton Hotel.

 

We chatted almost non-stop the moment we met. It was as if we have known each other for years. One thing for sure, we did learn something from their significant travelling experience.

 

We look forward to our next meeting up again!

 

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Quite to my surprise, CHIJMES is just next to the Carlton. The unexpected visit gave us a good feel of the majesty and ambiance of this historical building - a popular place for couples to have their wedding ceremony.

 

 

The long aisle is ideal for bridal march. Hopefully, if Nathan is given the honour to be the Page Boy, he will dutifully complete the long march!

 

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We finally adjourned to "Food for Thought @ 8 Queens Street" which is also at walking distance from Chijmes - the cafe where Sam put his barista skill to practice. Coffee and the unique pancakes were great! Thanks Sam for a great weekend.

Disappearance of MAS Flight MH370 - An Isolated Case?

 

The deficient quality of the top leadership of Malaysia civil service has been glaringly exposed to the whole world through the unfortunate incident of the disappearance of MAS flight MH370. After 50 years of a blotched education policy, we now have a generation who can hardly speak and convey message to the world audience. Sadly, we have come to a phase of the blind leading the blind.

 

In the latest missing flight saga, we have read of one Malaysian senior official who said something like ".......we have carried out an expensive exercise" in one of the news briefings followed quickly by a correction of "..............we have carried out an extensive exercise".

Now, the government mouth piece is using the often-quoted words of "The missing MH370 flight is an isolated incident" to defend the handling of the case by their master.

 

The phrase "This is an isolated incident" is one of the many favoured statements used by either the government politicians or their mouth piece to defend their master. The sad thing is that even after two foreigners managed to enter the plane using stolen passports without being detected, they still insisted that their personnel had followed the standard operating procedures (SOP)!

When a group of Filipino armed rebels from Tawi-Tawi in southern Philippines entered Felda Sahabat 17, Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu in February 2013, certain official of the Malaysian security department used the "This is an isolated incident" to defend the handling of the case by Malaysian government.

When armed men made their way to a resort in Pulau Pom Pom in Semporna and shot dead a Taiwanese tourist before kidnapping his wife in November 2013, the phrase "This is an isolated incident" was again heard.

This is undeniably a phrase that was used more than it should be used. But then, we are famous for using ambiguous terms to defend what otherwise is an obvious case of deficient and inefficient governance Read Here.

One wonders whether we need ten more MAS planes to disappear before the authorities deemed serious enough to take pre-emptive actions?

Closure of the Tragedy of Flight MH370 ?

 

The mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH 370 from KL to Beijing on 8 March 2014 has propelled Malaysia to an unprecedented world attention. The purported twists and turns of the plane after the shut down of the transponder at 01:19am were puzzling and have generated all sorts of conspiracy theories. Whether by divine intervention or mere imagination, I had a most unusual dream last night. Here is the dream........

 

 

The pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah was known to be an avid flyer and had set up a flight simulator to hone his flying skill. It was said that if he was not flying Boeing 777, he would be flying toy plane or playing with other remote control aircraft. With some of the information gleaned in the flight simulation, he was keen to try out the capability of Boeing 777 beyond its permitted limit, i.e to check its performance at an altitude of 45,000 ft.

 

Not long after the plane took off at 00:41am, he broached the idea of testing the plane's capability to his co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid. The co-pilot initially objected but was convinced by his senior to give it a trial. After all,  the co-pilot was no match to his senior who had 18,365 flight hours experience compared to his of only 2,700 flight hours. They reckoned that the best time to do the maneuver was at the transition when air traffic control was shifted from Malaysia to Vietnam.

 

It started with switching off the ACARS system at 01:07am, Just before setting the trial in motion, the co-pilot said "All right, good night" at 01:19am to assure all those manning the air traffic control everything was in order. At 01:21, the transponder was switched off so that the "unusual movement" could not be monitored. After some re-programming, the plane changed course and climbed to 45,000 ft from 35,000 ft. Suddenly at this height, something unexpected happened, the depressurization at the passenger section caused practically instant death to everyone there due to asphyxiation. It was so sudden that none of the passengers had the time to make any call via their hand phones. Realizing the problem in hand, the pilot made an instant rapid descend hoping that the disaster could be averted. Unfortunately, it was too late.

 

By then the plane was at 23,000 ft, the pilot and co-pilot were in a state of shock. After some discussion, they decided to return to KLIA. But then immediately, they aborted this plan because they just could not bear to see the consequences of landing a plane carrying two hundred plus of dead bodies. That would be catastrophic to both the Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysia government.They knew that their own lives would be finished.

 

Confused and without a way out, they decided to fly the plane to the deep Indian Ocean. When the fuel was all used up, the pilot then guided the plane slowly down onto the ocean with minimum damage. The pilot then opened the cockpit door, water came in and filled up the compartment and the plane sank slowly to the bottom of the ocean. It was their way of concealing the truth so that this accidental mass murder would never be known...........

This afternoon, the breaking news was that credible debris at the Indian Ocean approx. 1,400 miles west of Perth have been sighted by the satellites.

It is my hope that my dream was not the actual case related to the disappearance of the plane. This theory in my dream hopefully may be a good Hollywood material and one day become a box office success!