A MATTER OF THE HEART

While a kampong boy, I used to ronda around Alok Setak town with my buddies.

Several of our schoolmates were Christians and of course, the non-Christians in us were targeted by them to come to church.

Occasionally, we did.

The hymns were a joy to listen to although I catch no ball on what they meant...

And what more; the girls were irresistibly cute...

See, I was but a green seventeen then...

The one time that I truly enjoyed going to church was when there were parties...

Makan parties, I mean, usually held at year-end...

Lots of good food and charming company...

These days, whenever I return to Malaysia, some old pals of mine would give me bibles with extremely minute fonts, plus CDs and DVDs on Christianity...

I am almost always lost as to how to respond to their noble offers...

Most of the time, I 'accepted' their offer politely but left them at another good friend's house for his perusal...

* If you are reading this, my sincerest apologies, guys... *

But come Christmas time, I take delight in listening to Christmas songs...

And my favorites are Kenny G's and Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas albums...

I don't seem to get tired of them, no matter how many repetitions I hear...

As for my dear friends' efforts, I once mustered up my courage to make a stand...

But like a wimp, no doubt, I beat around the bush...

Whispering... almost to myself...

'I think religion is very much a matter of the individual heart...'

Duh! So much making my stand...

Meanwhile, yours truly is heading to Tokyo tomorrow to attend a symposium at Waseda University...

The main aim is to listen to the presentations on cross-border higher education policies...

Incidentally, Waseda University is conferring an Honorary Doctorate on Dr. Mahathir for all he did or did not do for Malaysia...

Your man here shall probably be sitting incognito in the auditorium to witness the ceremony...