Bike riding and eating too much at Chiang Mai

Am now at Chiang Mai University (CMU), and we are at the final day of our symposium...

CMU has a very large and pretty campus, with lots of green...

Their staff members, from the janitors to the executives, are super friendly and helpful.

Hence, it is such a joy just to be here...

Each time I come to Chiangmai, I take the opportunity to rent a motorbike to cruise the city...

The old part of the city, particularly the moat, is a wonderful place to go cruising...

Kansai International Airport

Each time we travel abroad, we almost always go through Kansai International, aka KIX...
The airport is built on Osaka Bay and sometimes I get to see it from the air when I fl to Tokyo from Takamatsu... We are quite used to it, so much so that we can cruise through the sections with ease...
It is user friendly, with easy internet access of course...
This morning, tried purchasing the travel insurance through the automated machine for the first time...
It turned out to be a breeze...
Am now sitting in the quiet of the card-members lounge, sipping away the tomato juice...
This compared to the other airport that I used quite frequently, KLIA...
User friendly too, but nothing compared to KIX...
KLIA has turned into a pasar malam (night market) with crappy stalls selling cheap stuff...

Chiangmai bound...

Am spending a night at a business hotel near Kansai International...
Shall be flying on Thai Airways tomorrow morning for Chiangmai...
Was a bit concerned with the political situation even though the emergency decree is lifted...
Shall spend a week at Chiangmai...
A fully packed schedule, with a lecture, participating in a symposium, and meeting with the Japanese long term stayers...
Am excited with the prospects...
Plus, the trip provides a good escape from the excruciating heat at Japan...
While at Chiangmai, hope to rent a motorbike as I did twice before...
It is such a joy to cruise the streets of Chiangmai, getting lost, and then finding my way back to the hotel...
Also plan to go to the Sunday night street market in the centre of the city...
It is not the shopping, but the scene... the atmosphere that pulls me...
Just love to shoot pictures of the market...

Dr Pornthip, 'pure electricity'... Dr. Dzulkefly, simply hilarious...

At one corner, renowned Thai forensic expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand...
55 years of age... pretty, classy... even funky...
Pathologist and Director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, Thailand...
Also, author, human rights activist, cancer survivor...

In Batu Member of Parliament Tian Chua's words... 'Pure electricity'... 'and everyone is watching her'...

On the other corner, Malaysia’s Attorney-General Gani Patail...
Coincidentally, 55 years of age... controversial... and 'must surely rank as among the most notorious of Malaysia's top civil servants'... (Source: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/)

Now, visualize the Attorney-General's point man, the MACC's head prosecutor Abdul Razak Musa, cross-examining Dr Pornthip...

"If you say blunt object, where is the weapon," a frustrated Razak said.
To which the quick-witted Pornthip replied, "I want to ask if you are a lawyer?"

Uwahahahaaa... imagine the roar at the court house...

And, 'On Pornthip's conclusion that there were strangulation marks on Teoh's neck, Razak pointed out that Teoh could have strangled himself as the other four doctors had found no such evidence. When Teoh's lawyer Gobind Singh Deo asked Razak to demonstrate how one could strangle himself, Razak quickly obliged, only to draw more jeers.'

Twitted Dr Dzulkefly, who sat at the proceedings...
“Can't take the stupidity of ridiculous questioning from the prosecutor [sic]... baffling... imagine this joker gonna be a judge one day," he remarked.' (Source: Harakahdaily)

Back to the proceedings... "Did my learned friend (Razak) just say he strangled himself?” quipped Gobind, drawing another big burst of laughter from court.

Dr Dzulkefly's last words for the day's event ... “I've enough comedy for a year! Thanks to this joker (Razak)". 

Hmmm... wish I was there at the courthouse today...

Support for Teoh Beng Hock and family...

Steadyaku47 chuckled, saying that the suspicious suicide note act 'is really the Attorney General at his most creative'.
Din Merican meanwhile honored the note as the 'mother of all fabrications'.

If one is trusted to do a job, why is it so difficult to do it well?
A job that one can proud of... a job done with honor...

Thai forensic expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand is due to testify tomorrow...
I hope it will be one heck of a show...

Meanwhile, Teoh Beng Hock's family laments the 'wilting' support for this cause...
I say no, the support from the common people has not waned...
I am certainly with you, and the many others who had faced cruel injustice in Malaysia...

Justice will prevail... sooner or later...

Snorkeling at the neighborhood...

Was working in the vegetable garden...
Wooh, with the temperature shooting up to 36 degrees, I was sweating like mad...
After lunch, went snorkeling at the Japan Inland Sea..
There were many holiday makers, this being the O-bon season (All Souls Day)...
There were many boats around, with lots of kids and families...
But the one menace is the water scooter, I would say...
These people are the marine version of the motor-bikers on the road, those young 'bosozokus'...
Every year, there are reports of accidents and deaths as a result of their stunts...
Found an isolated corner with lots of boulders...
Woah, nice... lots of cute little fishes swimming around...
Tried to take some pictures but ohh, tricky...
Ended up taking home three shellfish...

Mentality in Malaysia going down the pits

There are a lot of folks in Malaysia that I respect.
Especially those folks who are fighting in the field...
fighting for the betterment of Malaysia...
Tony Pua, Karpal, Gobind, Dr. Dzulkefly, Anwar, Guan Eng, Raja Petra, Zaid Ibrahim, Khalid Samad, among others...
Compare them to people like me who choose to move overseas, away from it all...
To these Malaysian heroes, I reserve my utmost respect...
When I read about the death threat (accompanied with a live M16 bullet, no less) sent to Tony Pua, I couldn't help but to shake my head in utter disbelief...
What more, many months ago, I chanced upon a page of Tony's... among the contents being a photograph of him, his wife, and his child (if my memory is intact)...
I coiled, feeling mildly shocked that a high profile politician like Tony would (willingly or inadvertently?) reveal his family photo in public space...
Without a second thought, I immediately sent an email urging him to take down the picture as there are many mad people around and we wouldn't know what crazy thing they would do to us...
I received no response... I didn't check the page again but I had hoped that he would take the picture down...
There are several write-ups on this death threat...
One is by Saw Teik Lim, penning under the name 'romerz'...
Another opinion is by Thomas Lee Seng Hock, who says 'I trust our police will act without fear or favour to bring the culprit to book, even if he happens to be a powerful politician or works for one.'
I let out a heavy sigh... the Malaysian police?
Brother, I would painfully like to trust so, very very much indeed... but in things Malaysia, events will probably go the way as envisaged by Din Merican at Attorney-General, IGP & MACC Chief: Stop The Fabrications and Lies

Asset declaration by cabinet members: time to 'Look East'

Have been refraining from commenting on things political...
But, my conscience beholds me...
Speak up for the good of your country! My conscience seems to insist...

Quoting the Malaysian Insider...  Show asset-declaration precedent, MCA tells MACC...
IPOH, Aug 1 — MCA today asked the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to give examples of countries which asked their Cabinet members to declare their assets to the public. Its president, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, said to his knowledge, no country practised such a policy. “Even in the United States, they only declare their assets to the president. They don’t go around announcing their assets here and there,” he told reporters after opening Perak MCA’s annual convention here today.

While hardly an expert on such matters, I believe the Japanese cabinet members have been required to declare their assets (voluntarily) since 2001... quite recent, considering that she is advanced nation...

For the benefit of MCA and MACC, I hope they would look up this link in the Japanese papers...
Cabinet members report relatively modest total assets; PM has lowest in history

Prime Minister Kan Naoto had his cabinet members declared their assest shortly after taking office...

Now, as Malaysian Insider asks... 'Is declaring assets publicly so difficult?'

First swim at Sasao Beach this season...

Took my first swim yesterday at the beach near my house...
Water temperature was tolerable...
Which leads me to thinking about scuba-ing there...
As in every year, the beach was quite filled up with sun bathers...
Cars are parked every where, illegally...
And without fail, after each summer season, these beach goers (from the city, I presume) almost always leave much garbage in the vicinity...
Residents (including myself) are left with the cleaning up...
Some of these people apparently stayed on deep into the night...
This is not an issue except that they play with fireworks...
The noise from the fireworks at around midnight, and sometimes, at four in the morning...
Our house is quite a distance from the beach, yet we feel disturbed...
Those houses sitting right at the beach-side, they must be feeling the maximum effect...
Temperatures have been shooting up the sky, lately...
Nights are cool, though...
Am planning to go for a second swim today...