A Dying Giant

It's that time of the year again when all schools are busy with the district sports calendar. This week in Kuala Langat, athletics take center stage. What caught my eye was the deplorable condition of the Jugra stadium. The stadium was built in 1984 and as in many cases, Malaysian apathy reared its ugly head again. We have some good facilities but 'poor' maintenance culture and indifferent attitudes have seen these facilities gone to waste.
Every year the stadium is brought to life by the MSSD calendar as it is probably the only major athletic event held there other than the many neighbouring school sports .
The facilities and apparatus are refurbished and upgraded to a workable standard by teachers whose schools have been appointed as the technical committee. If not for the MSSD calendar, the stadium remains a sleeping giant awaiting a cruel death.
I wonder who is really in charge of the upkeep of the stadium. Is it the Town Council (MDKL), Public Works Department(JKR) , or the district office? What is the local sports council doing? What about all the hype on Rakan Muda and all the rhetoric about improving facilities and uplifting the standard of sports. Where are the politicians who are so loud? It was the same with previous state government and things haven't changed under the present one. Lots of lip service but where is the action?
Local sports personalities like Mr Jacob Mathews, have been working tirelessly to get the relevant authorities to do something but seems like all our efforts are in vain. Now we just sit and reminiscence about past glories and hope someone or something will change the fortunes of this sleeping giant. Please don't let it die. We the children of Kuala Langat need it .

Teachers from SK Kebun Baharu, lining the track.
The Senior Assistant in charge of Co-curricular activities (GPK K0-Ko) Pn Siti Hajar Mohd Ali, personally supervising the teachers.

Line by line until they ran out of paint and the PPD ran out of resources. Mr Jacob Mathews came to their rescue. he contacted the Council secretary who then provided another 10 cans.

The best they could do

Antique equipment

Modified equipment(notice the nails in place of bolts)
Faulty equipment

This is not our idea of how to get a tan

The landing pit.















Turtle sanctuary












Take off board












Water jump

The discuss cage.
Notice the wire fence that has seen its' day.

The Javelin Runway
The High Jump Apparatus and Landing area
(Borrowed from Schools)

The neglected floodlight service gondola












The rusty goal





















The sandy and eroded track

This is where the obstacle race starts, complete with potholes.

Not really a walk in the beach for these athletes.

Blisters and peeling skin is in fashion?
The track is not only the arena to measure speed and endurance but also to test hardiness and resilience to torture.
It would be probably more suitable for drift racing.
Would you let your children run here? Be prepared to face common injuries like Achilles heel, stress fractures, cuts and bruises, knee, ankle and spine injuries. There is no saying what else may happen if they fall on this unforgiving 'tarmac'. The surface is hard and rough, and under the afternoon sun, you could probably fry eggs here.

Clogged drains.Somebody started a mosquito breeding farm here.

Broken concrete surfaces and drains .

























Collapsed fences and more clogged drains

The store

The rundown ticket booth and uncollected rubbish from an earlier function.

The shower and sink in the dressing room.

Behind the terraces
The Competitors Stewards Tent
And they still came in droves.
The competitors and their supporters
some even armed with their own tents to shade them from the scorching heat
The Task Squad of SK Kebun Baru (Technical Committee).
The Referees for Track & field events
Arunaslam and Gunaseelan
and Chief judge for jumping events
Zulkifli Moon

Mr Ravichandran Topekan
Chief Umpire
Bridge of Communication
Mr Jacob Mathews
The living encyclopedia of athletics in Kuala Langat
Retired Teacher, coach, sports administrator, social worker,
church goer,
friend.Yours truly
Learning the ropes from Mr Jacob

All the other districts in Selangor have stadiums with synthetic tracks Even though Stadium Jugra is one of the earliest built, it has somehow been left behind. As a result, residents of this small district, stuck between Klang and Sepang, have been deprived of modern sporting facilities. This of course in a way curtails the performance and development of sports in Kuala Langat. You don't need a PHD to figure that out. I am disappointed and and frustrated. Forgive my outburst but I just have to shout out. I have lost faith in the people put in charge of these things. When others are moving forward, in leaps and bounds, we are not only left behind but appear to be falling behind in every way. To add pain to insult, our leaders seem to be preoccupied with competitions off the field rather than in the arena. As citizens of this country, we deserve more. Stop fleecing us like this.

WHO'S ON THE WHEEL

The man has passed his driving test. Yes he's a man now, a young one. That's quite a big chunk of reality for me to swallow actually.
Well, these few months were spent trying to get him licensed, so to speak. It made me poorer by RM1150, yes that's what it costs nowadays (with one retest for both car and bike). Not fretting, just sharing, but it was money well spent and was my obligation too and the bright side is it made me richer by having an extra driver in the family. Now I can sleep on all those long trips and even the shorter ones. Sleeping is one of life's pleasures you should know, and if you lead a life like mine, you'd grab every chance you get to doze off.

When I called and the good news was relayed, was overcome by emotions and had to tell myself that it was just a driving test. No big deal for normal folks but for geeks like us who react weirdly to everything in life, it is some sort of achievement.
Got to think about his first few steps walking, his first time on a tricycle, then graduating to training wheels and later on to a two wheeler and advancing to the motorised version and of course his first driving lesson was on his 15th birthday in the old KE30.
It was me who drummed the first beats of music into him when he was still in his mother's belly. I was there to hear him speak his first few words one of which was "poochee" (insect in Malayalam). I tell you, mother and father were so proud that their son was speaking and saying something comprehensible until he pointed to everything around him and still said "poochee". Ah... enlightenment.. he's just imitating some sound that he heard his crazy dad saying,..... profound knowledge! That's language acquisition for you!
Watching him grow and trying to instill values that you believe in is not an easy task. You have society , religion, family, your better half and 'the times' as competition and you have to find a way to seep it into him, explaining some and just insisting on others. You succeed most of the time but also fail in some. You see, HORRORS! these children also have minds of their own! Further more they may not only take after you, but OH GOD also after your better half! These things are not easy to accept especially if you are a hard head yourself.
Well, as much as it was a teaching process , it was also a learning one too. Only thing is, you may not get too many chances to make mistakes. Some mistakes in life are too costly and irreparable.
Now, I'm just learning to accept that the time is near when he will soon widen his horizon and his playground will not be just around the corner anymore. Have to learn to live with the fact that the time is not far away from when he may not be with me for every dinner when I'm at home. I don't know if I can let go but I know I have to. I know that he is just raring to go out there and conquer the world. His choices may not be what I want them to be. I just hope that I have done a good job trying to guide him, Kipling's "IF" is so meaningful and I know he read it too. It's every father's wish.
I will always be here, mama too, Godwilling.
If you fall, I will fuss, just as I always did when you were not careful, and still help you up, but fly son, fly. Take the world, spread your wings, sing your songs, lead the world in a choir, but just remember, while you carve your name, you also carry mine. We will always be here to support you in every way, just like when we held your hands when you took your first few steps.

YELLOW WIN

Yellow House 4 x 100 quartet
Wafiy, Saharafi, Arun, Ikmal

The crowd was cheering their hearts out, Arun was the anchorman and it was the last race of the day. Winning this one would make everything else so sweet. Amidst screams of encouragement, and shouts of happiness and joy, Arun dashes past the finish line like a gladiator in shining armour, and claims victory with his fist clenched high up in the air.

It was at this moment that something caught my eye, it was Wafiy, he was running after Arun. Then it happened, a hug, Wafiy hugged him saying aloud, "kita menang, Kita menang". At that moment I felt that it was all worth it, every drop of blood, sweat and tear I shed, It was all worth it. I had succeeded. The boys won the race but I won the battle. What the politicians , leaders and preachers failed to do was simply achieved by a simple sporting event.
I came to my senses when Ikmal and Sharafi caught up with the celebrating pair, they have become heroes. Arun the star, the name that will be remembered by many hopeful minds imagining and dreaming that one day they too will win a race like Arun, and many a giggling girl now wish how proud they would be just to walk beside these champions.
A moment that transcended race, creed or religion. A moment so rare, a moment that I wish would spread like wildfire and ignite the spirit of every other Malaysian, a moment that I wish could last forever.
How I wish if only the grown ups could learn to share and remember this feeling, remember what we had, remember the true spirit of sport, remember that we are one, remember we are Malaysians.

THINKING FOOTBALL

The football crisis in our country is becoming worse. The latest FIFA ranking sees Malaysia falling two notches down to 161. The fans have been crying foul and yet there are parties who feel that the ranking is not important. Read here and here
There were also outbursts regarding the governing body's decision to sack the acting manager of the national team, Dato Soh Chin Aun and also the coach, Sathianathan. However the manager KJ escaped action though he was willing to take the blame. Read here and here.
However, the biggest surprise comes from the alleged mismanagement of FAM's referee department. The department has been accused of cronyism. Read here .

Datuk Soh Chin Aun, a local legend and former captain of the national team, who is the vice-chairman of the referee board, has denied any knowledge of these allegations. His reactions were also not well received by certain quarters.
The standard of refereeing is being questioned as never before and even blamed for the poor performance of the national team.There were wild accusations that the disharmony in the department has spread to other departments causing the ranking to fall. How much more ridiculous could one be?

Firstly lets get something straight, I think the issue here is not the standard of refereeing but the standard of our national team. Over the years no matter who the chairman was, be it from the time of Tan Sri right up till the late Nazri, Malaysia never failed to produce referees of top quality, From the tenure of Dato George Joseph, Rodzali and now Colonel, as the HOD, FAM continued to be successful in this respect.

Our referees were highly sought after to officiate not only in Asia but also in other parts of the world. Names like Cikgu Zainal, Katheravale,George Joseph, Koh Guan Kiat, Othman Omar, Ismail Yaacob, Stephen Ovinis, Subramaniam Nathan, Col. Kamaruddin, Nasarudin Shariff, Nazri Abdullah, Nik Ahmad, Selearajan, , Kamaruddin Md Diah, Jamil Zakaria, Amir Sharifudin Wong, Che Mud, Nadarajan, VKS Sinaya, Kassim, and lots more were regulars in the international stage. All of these men somehow played a part, in one way or another in developing my career as a referee. I am indebted to them all. I idolized them.
Capt Halim and Mat Lazim stamped our mark in the world cup. We are also not too far away today and our men like Krishnan , Sabri, Saadon , and the younger guys are also earning praise, and even our women referees have performed at international levels. Our challenge is being led by none other than Subkhidin.

The late Nazri Abdullah served as an instructor for referees in the last world cup and was preparing the next batch for the coming one. Cikgu Amir is serving in the Maldives developing the referees there.

You see, you can’t say the same about our national team, the same few names keep coming up, Ghani Minhat, Soh Chin Aun, Santokh , the late Mokhtar and Arumugam, these are but a few. Where are the present batch. No denying that we did have a formidable team during Towkay’s time. Maybe Shebby, who probably found better fame and fortune in broadcasting. But where are the present batch. Are they anywhere near the world cup? Our referees have been there and Insyallah will be there again and again.
You see, the referee department has been continuously successful. We are moving closer and closer to the world cup . On the contrary, the national team continues to drift further away. To say that the disharmony in the dept has spread into other departments and caused the ranking to drop is grossly unfair and malicious.

To my brother referees, remember my 'pantun':

Langkah masuk rimau di dada
Silap langkah rimau dibedil
Berani, tegas, cergas, adil, waspada
Kalimah Keramat Kami Pengadil

United we stand, divided we fall

FOR THE GOOD OF THE GAME

Brother Thinking

Received a mail from my youngest brother today, really humbled me, anyway , am sharing it with you, and you and you too, (unedited cept for some naughty details)
with a message, stop and think about what's really important and who really matters.

Kudos to you Sr. Sibling !!!

I am at work filing off the hours to complete my 8 hours stint as per my employment contract. Truth be known, as the saying goes, this tupai is waiting to fall la.. so I need to find the extra drive to get me to work.. My evaluation was Excellent and Exceed which means I am playing my cards well however there is really no place in my orgn for a person like me.. Sigh..

Anyways nuff about me.. I visited the site of our Eldest.. I am impressed.. Very eloquent and intresting.. I see he has his band of brothers along side to support him. Todays posting had a sad tone at the lost of his friend.. so nothing really much I can comment on.. However one thing I noticed.. I too have this tendencies to want to share with the world my existence. However for the fear of release too much information, I do a weekly update for the entertainment of my buddies.. I always wondered where these feelings had rooted itself from.. NOW I KNOW.. It seems tat I have taken much of my outlook to life from my eldest.. Well honestly I dono whether to be thankful or curse and spit.. One thing for sure, I know my life and who I am is model after our Celebrity.. Strange but true.. It was nice to read and recognize the emotions convey in messages on the blog.. Funny how siblings are.. Dude you should however write more about everything around you as well.. Maybe its premature as you are only beginning to stretch your feet..

Was on the home front over the weekend.. Actually I had planned to stay in KL and Ooore Suthe.. However Amma called and I spoke to Amma on Saturday and my heart almost fell to the ground. I told amma I wasn’t coming home and I felt the disappointment in her voice.. It Sucked major but then I just was too lazy to go home.. so nonchalantly I ignore the hush disappointment Amma felt in me.. I then asked how was Cherimmas’ Bday.. I ofcourse in my aimless life had forgot to call cherimma despite reminding myself many times..Anyways what Amma said next almost had me in tears.. In her gentle unassuming manner amma told me how she went and bought a Cake for cherimma.. Immediate a vision came into my head of how our two ladies were sitting together just the two of them alone despite having us Children close by, and singing Happy Bday and blowing candles.. Of course tats not exactly wat happens in our family… We hide our emotions as we never really were brought up with Hugs and Kisses.. Amma bought cake, no formalities.. just cut cake labeled it as Cherimma birthday.. I felt so useless.. what kind of Son was I.. How could I let these 2 people sit there alone and enjoy the day while I sat and enjoyed my stupid life.. Anyways I was so guilty and planned to go home the next day and make up for it…

I went home and took the ladies out.. And GOD I tell you… We are the luckiest people on earth to have parents like ours. These two ladies are amazing.. Just sitting and chatting with them makes you so proud to be part of them.. They are so kind, gentle, unselfish and blessed with godly innocence. Despite all the challenges they face from our so called relatives, they always find some humor in life. It was just amazing sitting with these gentle creatures enjoying the simplistic life the led and the whole essence of being.. I felt like I was in heaven and why not , as hindu we know God is in ourselves.. and I feel like I am with God everytime I am with them.. Later that night while we all prepared to retire, I saw Amma going to cherimma room to sleep and I asked Amma.. why you going there.. you got your own room now wat.. You wouldn’t believe wat Amma said.. Amma said.. cherimma was sick and cannot walk properly so she wanted to be close incase anything cherimma wanted… I was shocked..! Never had I heard or seen acts of selflessness in my life. This was Love.. The true Love that People always professed to have felt but in reality never came close. It was so beautiful and endearing to watch how they love each other so much. In our absence they had built a bond beyond siblings.. They were truly best friends and relied on each other for every including emotional support.. This was family, this was Nirvana.. this was hinduism at its best.. I felt humbled like never before.. We often think with our exposure and worldly travels we were wise.. but in reality most of us are the biggest morons in the world.. we have nirvana right infront of us but yet we go in pursuit of foolish things to satisfy our immediate emptiness. Here was an example of eternal and pure love.. Man I was lessoned..

So the weekend was quite the Catalyst for my rethinking again.. Life? It can be complicated or it can so simple … why not choose simple and enjoy the finest gifts God has given us.. Our Parents.. Food for thought ?

Anyways I thank god for them always and am so proud to have them.. I will try to be a better person because of them and hopefully earn the right to be their son..!

CIAO CHIN CIAO My siblings !!!

Salam Sejahtera / With Best Regards,

minied

SOMEONE I KNOW

In his own words: "In refereeing, you only get one chance, you must use it to the best"

He gave us and the world his best, there is no way anybody can replace him.
What's left is for us to carry on the challenge and realize his visions.
Many of us left feeling lost and promised to draw strength from each other. Our beacon of guidance is gone, but he has always brought us together even in his 'death'. He had paved the way, set the standards and led by example.
We promised to 'continue the struggle', that was the message whispered into ears between those emotional hugs that knew no barrier of race, religion or creed. We are all brothers who have lost our 'Abang'.
Today I remembered all these quotes by some of our 'greats', and how they relate to this very special man that had come into our lives.

Nik Ahmad: "Always remember, as a referee you are an ambassador,
you carry the nation's flag wherever you go.
Everything you do reflects upon our country."

Koh Guan Kiat: "As a referee, you must have 3 D's ,
'Discipline', 'Dedication' and 'Determination'."

Dato George Joseph: "As a referee, you may not become rich ,
but people will remember you as an honest man"

Allahyarham Nazri, did our country proud, lived a disciplined life, was totally dedicated to his family, nation, religion, and refereeing, was determined to improve the standard of refereeing not only in Malaysia but throughout the world, and of course, he did it all with a sincere heart, never expecting anything in return.

The tributes are endless and messages continue to pour in. Read here , and here also in Kosmo.
The words touched people who never even knew him, Malaysia has lost a gem, a legend.
My brother, Nazri Abdullah, shall never 'die', he will always 'live' within me, this I promise, I will carry on the struggle.
May Allah All Mighty, bless his soul and place him among the righteous.