The world didn't end but we're still the same

Charlie Chaplin's words some seven decades ago from the 1940 movie The Great Dictator is probably the greatest speech ever.
We've progressed, but only with more fancy machinery. Humans still are the same, if not worse.
From the regular corporate back-stabber to the warring factions of governments and rebels, there's less decency in the world. People twist their words and are more brutal in their actions, all fueled by greed not just to gain for themselves but to bask in the demise of others.
WE didn't need the world to end according to the Mayan calendar on 21-12-12. The way we're existing, when you look at Syria, Gaza, Liberia, the child-killers of the US... there's so much hate that for some of us the world existing is worse than if it all did end.

Philippe Gilbert - World Champion 2012

I'd like to congratulate Philippe Gilbert of Belgium and the BMC Racing Team for a truly remarkable victory achieved in the UCI Road World Championships road race in Limburg, Holland on Sunday.
No other rider in that front pack would have had the balls to attempt what he did - a solo attack in the final 2 kilometres from a lead pack of about 30 riders that surged towards the finish at breakneck speed.
Truly one of the best victories and one of the best performances in winning the right to wear the rainbow jersey over the next season.

Goodbye and good riddance

Not many are worthy of such a statement from myself as Karim Ibrahim, the controversial but long-serving personality in Malaysian athletics that from today finally becomes FORMER Malaysian Athletics Union (MAU) deputy president.
It has been 19 years of destruction, in my humble opinion, that athletics has gone through especially with him having a hand in every possible controversy within the sport at least since I began as a sports writer 12 years ago.
My last brush with this character was a harsh one in the defence of the work of my former assistant sports editor S. Selvam, whom Karim had maliciously tried to discredit amongst fellow sports journalists as we sat at the Wisma OCM coffee house after a function in 2006.
It was not the first time I had found Karim to be up to such tricks. There he was, while answering questions about a controversy over a dubious plan to send athletes for a foreign training stint.
"Satu saja saya mintak tolong, you all jangan refer pada artikel Selvam. You tengok apa dia tulis, ini memang jahat punya orang," Karim blurted out of his mouth without noticing me sat at the next table with my back towards him.
"Macam ni punya reporter memang ada agenda jahat. Dia mau serang kita saja."
I listened as this carried on until I just had enough. Without even offering him my respect of standing up before addressing him, I just turned towards him and said:"Ya, kita memang jahat. Orang macam you kita mau kasi buang."
Karim, to his credit has had his supporters from within the sport and the press for long periods of time. Finally, there is some sense which never surfaced as Karim continuously somehow maintained a stranglehold on the sport. There is some justice which took a long time in coming.
Let's leave it at that. Alhamdulillah.

What a style

It started of with this fat Korean rapper doing this:



That sparked a parody craze which Malaysians have gone mad about

We now have KL Style:


Penang Style:


Georgetown Style:


The 1Malaysia Johor Style:


Segamat, Johor Style:


Batu Pahat, Johor Style:


The Historical City of Melaka Style:


Orang Sabah Style:


Gangnam Style -Sabah (Lahad Datu version):


They even made one for Hari Raya:


Malaysians have gone mad... So mad that Red FM had to come up with some aid:


Must say, this Psy without the "Cho" to complete his name must have done his parents proud.

Just like 9-11 I remember exactly where I was

I would turn 15 just six days later and in those days as any football/sports fan in this part of the world would attest, we craved every bit of live coverage.
It didn't matter which team we supported, a live football match or any match on TV would be an event not to be missed.
There I was in front of the TV at home (no viewing at mamak stalls in those days) with my little three-year old brother, who'd tragically would grow up to be a Liverpool fan, struggling to keep his eyes open, but excited about what I was staying up late for.
It was Liverpool vs former greats Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough ground for an FA Cup final on April 29, 1989. It must have lasted about 10 minutes before we were left shocked, as these scenes unfolded.

At the time, the beginning of it seemed like just loads of people crashing over the steel fences and overflowing onto the pitch. Then scenes of Kenny Dalglish crying further explained the inexplicable. Something really bad had happened.
It was the following day's news reporting 96 people were killed in the stampede that really brought a new, shocking perspective into my understanding of football and sport in general at that point in my life.
No account of mine though, can ever be as chilling as THIS, a first person account from survivor Damian Kavanagh.

May those unfortunate souls rest in peace.

What are the chances of this happening?

Julien Simon ascended the top of the podium in the Tour du Finistere decked in his Saur-Sojasun kit on Saturday, April 14. That signaled the Frenchman's arrival on the big stage having turned professional with the former Credit Agricole team in 2008.
Saturday's victory in the Tour du Finistere was the 26-year old Julien Simon's first victory in his home country.
But wait a minute! Julian Simon is the 2009 125cc world champion in motorcycling isn't he?
Well, this is Julien Simon the French cyclist.


And here's Julian Simon the Spaniard who now competes in the Moto2 class of the World Motorcycle Championship.



How about that huh?

The Great Lotus Joke

Well, by now you'd be sure to have known about the DRB-Hicom takeover of Proton, the resignation of chairman Datuk Seri Nadzmi Salleh, then Datuk Seri Syed Zainal the MD...
That put Proton's position as a cash cow for the Dany Bahar-led and Proton-owned Group Lotus up for debate. The first bomb was dropped when it was announced that Lotus were to pull the plug on the much debated title-sponsorship deal with the Genii Capital-owned Lotus F1 Team.
And now we have this flourishing series of quite hilarious insights into Bahar in his currently quite compromising position....

There's a season opener:



A continuation:



Waiting for the next episode...?

Shame garbage trucks can't climb hills

I'd complained weeks earlier about garbage being dumped along Bukit Hantu in Hulu Langat, and that the country's most popular cycling routes continue to be ruined by irresponsible litterbugs.
This picture was taken 200 metres from the summit of the second king of the mountains point at Genting Perez, on Stage Five of the 17th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi on February 28.
That says it all. It was simply embarrassing.
If they'd not considered the climb was part of the Tour's route and cleaned it up before the race, then I guess local cyclists are set to continue suffering from the stench along that climb and the hills close by for years to come.
All I can hope for is that more cyclists make their voices hear if they want to stop their routes from being destroyed.

One of the greatest headlines

"Colnago is known for its iconic ace of clubs logo but the C59 Ottanta has a special head badge: the original ‘Eagle and Arrow’ logo that was created in 1954 inspired by a headline in the local newspaper that described Colnago as fast as an arrow when he won a race." - taken from Colnago.com article describing the C59 Ottanta, a limited edition bike created by the master Ernesto Colnago. Read it HERE.

Again the close-knit relations between newspapers and the cycling world is highlighted, this time immortalised in a recreation of the logo that launched Colnago. The relationship between newspapers and cycling was a celebrated one - most of the biggest races created by newspapers.
It sure isn't a relationship as revered as it was back in the early 20th century. Not anymore.

Breath of fresh garbage

Well I struggled up what is known as Bukit Hantu in Hulu Langat this morning en route to my favourite nasi lemak bungkus breakfast joint in the whole world at Sg Tekala.
This picture was taken on my bike as my heart rate monitor read I was at 85% and needing to pump all the air I could get through my lungs.
This was a good 400-metre stretch along one of the more popular hill climb routes cyclists in this part of the world regularly use.
A couple of weeks ago, as I finished my ride with off-and-on riding buddy Bazly Azmi in Batu 18, Hulu Langat, a man claiming to be the village head stopped by to check out the rubbish dump that place had turned into and gave us a lecture about the Barisan Nasional trying to sabotage the PKR government of Selangor by planting garbage all over the place.
Now, I'm not into politics, neither am I into garbage.
So whoever you are that's supposed to take responsibility should just cut the crap and get the garbage out of our cycling routes. It's not politics, just that these secluded and serene settings have become a convenient rubbish dump for idiots.

Legends were never cast in carbon

When a buddy asked me to check out the Colnago Master a couple of days ago and tell him where he could get his hands on it in Malaysia, I told him try looking up some popular sites for second hand classics.
He told me no, he wanted the brand new 2012 Colnago Master. I thought it was discontinued in 2008 after a Proton Wira-like production lifespan and serving up countless smiles from avid cyclists worldwide for it's supreme all-around.. what shall I say... Perfection. Yes, that's the word.



Been thinking a lot about getting back to metal after my first full carbon purchase of a BMC SL01 slightly more than a year ago. First I thought about giving the likes of Lynskey or Van Nicholas a buzz in my itch to try out titanium which I never had the chance or resources to try before.
But this beauty now makes me wanna just wind back the clock and go for the smoothest, kindest, most elegant ride of all. Steel.

Train or garbage truck?

Well, is the ERL telling us they allow garbage on board their trains but not folding bikes?
RTM sportscaster Faisal Jamal recently sold off his under-utilised mountain bike, after deciding his preferred mode of cycling would be a combination between exercise and commuting.
A recent hike in attention on folding bikes and Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, the holding company for the LRT, KL Monorail and Rapid KL public transport systems, announcing that folding bikes were welcomed on board their trains, helped Faisal make his decision on his next purchase.
Duly, he soon took ownership of a folding bike.
Faisal yesterday (Jan 31, 2012) was put to shame by the ERL Bandar Tasik Selatan Station. This was the ordeal he went through.

This is Faisal's bike when folded.



This was how it needed to look if he wanted to board the train with his bike.



According to Faisal, he was told by the station manager that he needed to put his bike, which is the size of any regular suitcase, in a bag is he wanted to bring it on the train.
Now we've heard of this silly regulation before, but the LRT system seems to have done away with it. Maybe a logical decision if you look at what Faisal had to do next.
He was told to go look for garbage bags and wrap his prescious bike with them if he was to be allowed to bring it on the train. Stuck in an uncompromising situation and needing to get to Putrajaya for an assignment, Faisal obeyed this silly instruction and was allowed to bring that bag of garbage on board the ERL train.

SO, is the ERL Bandar Tasik Selatan station telling us that we can bring bags of garbage on board their trains but not folding bikes, which play a massive role in commuters doing their part to save the environment? What harm can a folded bike be on the train? It is about as dangerous as a suitcase!
Do furnish us with the logic behind this because I personally find it obscenely silly, probably a regulation made up just to make it seem like some people are doing their jobs.
In the meantime, we've also heard of enthusiasts enjoying weekend folding bike adventures thanks to KTM Komuter, who allow their bikes on board, resulting in more and more weekend folding bike riding groups heading to Ipoh, Seremban and other KTM Komuter stops around the country for their leisurely strolls. That's going green for you.

First of the year.. Hahaha

Thought I'd just share this nice piece that totally reminds me of the countless conversations I've had with so many cycling buddies.
The video serves a good cause... And a purpose.
Tells you to: "Screw the bike porn, let's just do the ride!"

A 1.6 litre Ferrari?

The impending, most drastic change in Formula 1 engine regulations looms in 2013.
The current 2.4-litre normally aspirated V8 engines will be replaced by turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder ones, which are more environmentally polite.
Fuel consumption, it is estimated, will be reduced by a minimum of 35%, more so with a focus on energy recovery that produce power without burning fuel, as in the KERS (kinetic energy recovery system), which already make a return this year, that will be key features on the cars, although initially they are to have mere 5 to 10 percent effect on the power generated purely via these systems.
It is back to the previous turbo era dominated by Honda, where F1 cars were decked with 1.5-litre pieces.
But one man sure can justify his unhappiness. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo. Of course. The smallest engine currently in production on any Ferrari is in fact their 2,498cc pieces that are on the F10, their Formula One cars. In their road car production, the smallest is the 4,244cc V8 that's in four Maserati models - the Coupe, Spider, Quattroporte and GranTurismo.
No engine below 2,000cc has come out of Maranello since 1986, apart from the F1 turbos that ran until 1988, even those 1.5-litre V6 ones. Ferrari has never produced a four cylinder engine since the Ferrari-Lampredi straight fours designed by Aurelio Lampredi, the last of which came out in 1956!
I personally find it real hard to associate a four-cylinder 1.6-litre heart, with a Ferrari.
So, di Montezemolo calls it 'pathetic' as reported HERE.
But at the other end, Malaysian entrepreneur Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes is all smiles. Having stated his final piece on the Lotus naming controversy HERE, the Team Lotus principal and AirAsia chief says the switch to the smaller engines make F1 more relevant.
He's even calling for tyres to be of the same size as road cars, so as to make them also relevant to tyre development for the road market HERE.


What's certain, the mere orchestra on the starting grid with 24 angry turbos just waiting to pop off the line is a real sexy prospect for the audiophiles.
The bottom line is, F1 evolves on a daily basis and what they're guaranteeing is that it is changing for the better.

My country is Malaysia, not Malingsia

I've been trying to maintain a stance that Malaysia's triumph in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, albeit much awaited, is nothing to shout about.
All we've done is emerge champions of the South East Asian region, which doesn't have a single representative in the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar next week that features the top 16 teams in Asia.
I can't blame most Malaysians for over-emphasising the significance of the AFF Suzuki Cup, but there's a long way to go yet. Let's get over it quickly and move on, don't get carried away.
But I also can't help but be drawn to the vicious online campaign that's being staged by some quarters of the Indonesian football fanbase, which is quite clearly being supported by an equally immature press.
Read this RIAU POST article and the comments from the Indonesian readers, you get a clear picture of hatred aimed towards Malaysia.
I can't help but notice in a number of forums, Malaysia is referred to as "Malingsia". The description of the word is available HERE. It is a combination of the Javanese word 'maling' which means thief and Malaysia.
I do not understand what exactly the Indonesians believe we stole from them. Some of them believe it is cultural practices such as certain dances, traditional food recipes, art and traditional costumes. Apparently it is not okay with some quarters that these cultures are shared between the two countries.
I certainly do hope China, India, Portugal, Britain, the Philippines and Thailand are alright with Malaysians practicing some cultures that orginated from those countries because if tensions over these things do boil over the same way they are in Indonesia, we will be heading for World War III definitely.
What I do find intriguing is the contradiction between their claims that Malaysian players Mahalli Jasuli, Safiq Rahim and Amri Yahyah are Indonesian (Mahalli's parents are from Indonesia. Safiq and Amri deny that they are Indonesian); while the Indonesian national team parades so proudly Christian Gonzales, a naturalised Indonesian of Uruguayan origin.
What they are saying is that it's alright for others to migrate to Indonesia, while it isn't right for people with Indonesian heritage to be of other nationalities? This is a ridiculous mentality. They are faulting history for their troubles, whatever that may be.
What is clear is that Indonesia's defeat in the AFF Suzuki Cup has not been readily accepted as simply that - a defeat.
So much so that Malaysia has had to absorb scathing attacks on its persona by irresponsible people who claim themselves to be pure Indonesian. What is a pure Indonesian? I don't want to reprint a thesis on that, but I can say almost all Malaysians trace their origins to too many places that it just doesn't matter anymore. What matters is what we are now - Malaysian.
Well, as I said, it was just a small regional tournament. Nothing to shout about. There's a lot more to look forward to. We'd be better off just cherishing the good friendships we have with the more significant, good portion of Indonesia, rather than be overly disturbed by this aimless propaganda.
There's more to football than the AFF Suzuki Cup, more to life than worrying about pinpointing exactly where which people originated from. Darwin did that centuries ago and discovered we're all apes.

Top of my list 2010

SPORTS PERSON OF THE YEAR



SEBASTIAN VETTEL (Ger) Red Bull Racing (Formula 1) - He's the youngest EVERYTHING in Formula One. Youngest grand prix driver at 19, youngest pole sitter at 21, the same year he became the youngest race winner and to cap it all at just 23 this year, he's the sport's youngest ever world champion.
He topped my list for having survived and won what was an extreme, high-pressure season amidst a field that included four previous world champions in the likes of Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. He came out on top amidst claims of infighting within Red Bull Racing itself as he tussled for superiority with far more experienced teammate Mark Webber. More to come from this baby-faced assassin.

TEAM OF THE YEAR

BORUSSIA DORTMUND (football) - I know many will say Spain, Inter Milan or Barcelona. But this young team takes my cake because of their injection of new found belief, in this day and age, that money isn't everything in football.

Coach Jurgen Klopp, a relative unknown outside of Germany, has moulded a squad based on youth with some exciting young talents that have surprised the likes of German moneybags Bayern Munich, VFB Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg.
A squad boasting some of the most promising youngsters anywhere in the likes of Turkish playmaker Nuri Sahin, German centre-back Matts Hummels, both just 22, 18-year old sensation Mario Gotze and 21-year old Japanese top scorer Shinji Kagawa, Dortmund have shocked the Bundesliga by closing 2010 on top of the league with 14 wins out of 17 matches played and are 10 points clear of equally surprising second-placed Mainz.
Balance that with the value of FC Bayern's squad of 23 and you'd be left wondering what Klopp has been feeding his youngsters. Imagine that Dortmund never even featured among the league's top five in the previous five seasons and you can't figure out how they've come to so effectively dominate this season.
Definitely this squad is already promising more than the Andreas Moller-led team that emerged champions of Europe in 1997.

SURPRISE OF THE YEAR

FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE (ITA) winning the French Open (tennis) - If you'd asked anyone in January to name any of the winners of tennis' Grand Slams, the names that popped up would have been anything between the Williams sisters, comeback queen Kim Clijsters, Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic or any of the current wave of top Eastern Europeans.

Nobody in their right minds would have even mentioned Francesca Schiavone. The 30-year old had been there or thereabouts throughout her career, but even in Italy she'd often lived in the shadow of the more illustrious and popular Flavia Penetta.
But there she was having benefited from crowd favourite Elena Dementieva retiring with an injury in the semi-finals, to set up the surprise final of the decade against Australia's Samantha Stosur. She was seeded 17th prior to the meet and had never ever came within sniffing distance of a Grand Slam title in her career. But she ends 2010 with something even she never thought would have happened this year - a Grand Slam title.


FLOP OF THE YEAR

LANCE ARMSTRONG (USA) cycling - Returning to the sport last year targeting a gigantic eighth Tour de France title, the hype surrounding the legend's return totally gripped the cycling world, so much so that people thought he could easily outdo teammate Alberto Contador in the Astana team last year. that triggered friction between the two that resulted in Armstrong and eternal team boss Johan Bruyneel shipping out and coming up with their own Radioshack team for this year.

Armed with the lieutenants of his choice and at 39, named as among the favourites to dethrone nemesis Contador, Armstrong simply fell flat of expectations and will aptly, and for the second time, call time on his career this year.

Top of my list 2010 - Controversy of the Year

Well, sad year for me as a Manchester United & Selangor fan. All both won were the minor honours - United the English League Cup and Selangor, just the MSL title.
Let's just have a a look back on what 2010 offered, beginning with this first installment.

CONTROVERSY OF THE YEAR

Enjoyed a great start to the year here in Malaysia when the Lotus Racing team made their debut in Formula One. In the final three months of the year, that became a sticky issue with Malaysians at the centrestage of one of the most incomprehensible controversies in the history of F1.

It started off just fine, Lotus Racing operated by 1Malaysia Racing Team Sdn Berhad the holding company, with AirAsia entrepreneur Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes at the helm, emerging as the first Malaysian Formula One team.


National carmakers Proton, who own the British sportscar company Group Lotus Plc., were in agreement and allowed the team to run as Lotus Racing under licence. Proton even came up with a limited edition Proton Satria Neo Lotus Racing.


Then, somewhere in September, during the Singapore Grand Prix, this controversy unfolded, where Fernandes and gang bought over Team Lotus Ventures, the company that owns the Team Lotus brand, which operated as a separate entity from the car business, running the F1 and motorsport side of the business.
Proton were against this and all hell broke loose.
Group Lotus then announced they were going into GP2 with the French ART Grand Prix, with an entity to be known as Lotus-ART, while Fernandes announced the entry of Team AirAsia into the same series.
Group Lotus then announced an elaborate motorsport programme that included an engine supply deal for the Indycar series from 2012 and then stunningly confirmed their acquisition of a 25% stake in the RenaultF1 Team, for whom they will act as title sponsors from 2011. The team was renamed Lotus-Renault GP.



And to spark more fury in the evolving battle, Group Lotus presented a rendition of their 2011 car, which was clad in black and gold, a colour scheme that the Lotus Racing team had announced a month earlier they would be adopting from 2011 onwards.

So, there will be two teams running with the Lotus name in the coming F1 season - Fernandes' Team Lotus which will be using Renault engines and the Group Lotus-sponsored Lotus-Renault GP team, which obviously will be using similar engines as well.

While Proton and Group Lotus dispute the other's right to use the name Lotus in Formula One, this is now up for battle in the London High Court. There is also talk in the fraternity of Fernandes' Team Lotus considering a name change even before the court decides.

To make matters worse, many in Malaysia were confused further by inaccurate claims by many parties that the country should be proud in having THREE Formula One teams. There are no THREE Malaysian teams in F1. There's just ONE.
Let's correct this once and for all. There will, in 2011, be four teams with significant Malaysian involvement:
1) MercedesGP-Petronas: Which is the evolution of the BrawnGP team that ran in 2009, that came out of the BAR-Honda and Honda F1 teams. It is effectively a German team, which has the Malaysian oil company Petronas as a main sponsor.
2) Lotus-Renault GP: Which is the French RenaultF1 Team of previous years, now with the Malaysian-owned British company Group Lotus as a title sponsor. It is still a French team.
3) Marussia Virgin Racing: A British team owned by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, which has Russian sportscar manufacturer Marussia as title sponsor from 2011, while Malaysian company Qnet, a subsidiary of tycoon Datuk Vijay Eswaran's Qi Group, will be prominently displayed on the sidepods of their cars.
4) Team Lotus: The team run by 1Malaysia Racing Team Sdn Berhad, which could yet have a name change to something else prior to the start of the 2011 season. In all earnest, this is the only team that is registered as Malaysian and will have the Negaraku playing in honour of the constructors, should they win a race.

Malaysians nevertheless, did gain one thing in Formula One in 2010. Notoriety.

Sad, sad Indonesian mentality

From the burning of the Jalur Gemilang, to constant taunting online and in the press, some Indonesians just failed to accept that they were well and truly defeated in the AFF Suzuki Cup final, though there are voices in that country issuing calls that are more mature in nature, urging them to look forward and take the positives from this tournament.
Some Indonesian newspapers alleged everything from the use of 'bomohs' (witch doctors) by the Malaysians to lasers beamed by Malaysian fans on their players as reasons for the defeat. Their fans went a step further by hacking the FA of Malaysia website.


Courtesy of Absports Sukan facebook photos.

Ok, look at the match highlights below. Do note that Indonesia chose none other than captain Firman Utina to take and miss a penalty in the first half; their naturalised striker Christian Gonzales missed a point-blank header with an open goal at his mercy and the best shots on goal came from the Malaysians, who didn't have to be pressured to do so as they were 3-0 up from the first leg. Indonesia merely scrambled home two goals late in the second half to lose 2-4 on aggregate.



But what wasn't surprising, although Malaysia's coach K. Rajagobal chose to refute it, was Indonesia's Austrian coach Alfred Riedl's claims that 'the better team lost' as quoted by JAKARTA GLOBE HERE.
You just need to rewind the clock to January 2007, when Riedl was in charge of Vietnam, who lost the first leg of the 2006 semi-final 2-0 to Thailand. The Austrian said the same thing HERE - apparently the better team lost on that occasion too.

Well, we wouldn't call Indonesia rivals for nothing.
What we should look at maintaining is the fire that came from the stands. At long last, the fans were back in full force behind the football team that brought so much pain and anguish in the past 20 years. Just look at them. This is Malaysia. Like it or not, Indonesia.

*Pic courtesy of Wan Botak

Well, at least one job done..

There needed to be some results and in the space of 12 months, the national under-23 and senior football team provided two.
The under-23s won the Sea Games gold for the first time since 1989 in Laos last December and with the nucleus of that team forming the senior squad, last night they won the AFF Suzuki Cup for the first time ever.
It is a great moment for fans in the country, who've longed for their dose of success for so long. But let's not get carried away.
AFF Suzuki Cup means best among 11 South East Asian nations that form the Asean Football Federation. The highest ranked nation from this region in the FIFA world rankings prior to the AFF Suzuki Cup were Thailand at 121st. Indonesia were 127th, Vietnam 137th, Singapore 140th and Malaysia 144th.
Malaysia may move up a few rungs after this, but the reality is, none of the 11 countries that make up the AFF even qualified among the 16 teams that will compete for the Asian Cup in Qatar next year. That where the level of the AFF Suzuki Cup is.
So, let's not get carried away. There's a long way to go, nothing to really be proud of yet apart from having outdone perennial rivals Indonesia and Singapore.
Done with football for now. It was good to at least see a winning Malaysian team. Long time since I've had the pleasure of that.
Congrats K. Rajagobal, who I'm sure is in line for a Datukship at least, and his band of fighters. I like what I saw, but as I said, much more to be done, a lot more we haven't achieved.
Syabas!!

In this little, insignificant corner of the planet, world no. 127 vs no. 144, is a matter of life and death

JULIA Perez, summarised, is Indonesia's answer to everything from Mary Carey to Larissa Riquelme, or at least she tries her very best to pick up where those headline-makers left off.


She's this controversial bombshell famed for having an affair with an Argentine footballer playing in the Liga Indonesia, while still married to a Frenchman. She's dumped her French husband from whom she gained her current surname, for footballer Gaston Castano, whom she is due to marry.
As a singer she will be remembered for providing free condoms with every purchase of her widely banned controversial album Jupe.
Taking after American pornstar Marey Carey, who once contested the governership of California, Julia, 30, is herself currently a political candidate at her home regency of Pacitan in East Java (Jatim), and many areas of sexual awareness are things high on her campaign strategy.
Not to be outdone by Paraguayan hottie Larissa Riquelme, one of my personal favourites who pledged to pose nude if Paraguay won the World Cup earlier this year, Julia has made headlines ahead of the AFF Suzuki Cup final second leg in which she has pledged a counter-attack on the Malaysian squad by wearing a bra which flashes out laser rays, which she hopes will distract the Malaysian players who enter the second leg at the Gelora Bung Karno 3-0 up after the first leg in Bukit Jalil on Sunday. READ IT HERE (BAHASA INDONESIA).

Down 3-0 and to much furore over laser beams flashed at the now outspoken and much criticised Indonesian goalkeeper Markus Harison Rihihina, the Indonesians seem to be coming up with all sorts of plans, including one that is yet to be confirmed, which is the purported use of anti-laser eye wear in the second leg at Gelora Bung Karno tonight.


But Malaysia's Berita Harian and Harian Metro yesterday came up with proof that the laser beams started at the Bung Karno in Jakarta when Malaysia were on the receiving end of a 5-1 thrashing from Indonesia in their preliminary round group match on Dec 1.

Second choice keeper Sharbinee Allawee Ramli, who let in the five goals on Dec 1, was pictured with a spot of green of the right side of his face. Reports suggested that he did not blame the lasers as the reason he let in those five goals.

Well, we might as well bring that up since Indonesian tabloid Nonstop came up with THIS piece of propaganda, claiming Malaysia had used witch doctors to cast a spell on their players resulting in the 3-0 first leg win.


The Indonesian propaganda doesn't end there. This doctored image of Malaysian coach K. Rajagobal, apparently with some bombshell who the culprits allege is his new mistress, has been circulating on mobile phones.


What was seemingly mere regional rivalry, insignificant to the rest of the world, has now also been taken to the next level with Prime Ministers on either side of this brotherhood of nations taking a keen interest in it. And playing it's little part to add fuel to the fire is non other than the BBC!

What's certain is that this 11-nation tournament has this year made some others take notice.

This is the World Cup for the 11 little nations nestled in this pretty corner of the universe. Beyond the likes of Julia, this is the match that's on everybody's lips in every corner of the Nusantara.
It is in all earnest a match between Indonesia, who are currently at 127th in the FIFA world rankings against Malaysia, who are 144th. If you're focused on Julia, those figures wouldn't even matter, because it sure doesn't to Julia.
Between the two, just one World Cup qualification has happened, to Indonesia who entered the 1938 World Cup, then as the Dutch East Indies. Neither of the two has even come close since.
Neither Indonesia nor Malaysia are even among the 16 teams that will compete in the Asian Cup in Qatar next year, and Julia doesn't give a damn about that either. She just wants to flash lasers from her bra!

Thus we come to the most significant achievement that can be gained from all the fanfare surrounding tonight's events - that neither have ever even won this cup to emerge the best among these 11 nations that make up ASEAN. And tonight, one will put an end to at least that statistic.

It doesn't make sense when you try to figure out how a region that's made of predominantly fans that are so engrossed in their attachment to EPL clubs, can suddenly be so switched on by a tournament of a level that seems light years away from what they're used to watching on TV.

It is patriotism. And the one significant gesture the fans have made during the course of this AFF Suzuki Cup, is the fact that all the commercialised flavour and additives showered upon them via so many outlets by those who are selling the EPL globally, has not totally taken away their desire to see heroes of their own flourish.

There still is that fire, the desire to see their countries move forward. But where do we go from here? That's the question.