May 30, 2010

mastering the mastery

fail owned pwned pictures

I hope we won't make the Profs cry.

For last few days, all the new trainees and chief trainers, mostly high-profiled profs for master in the art of Obgy were gathered in the small Resort City known as Bukit Gambang Waterpark for orientation.

'Orientation' in the medical world can bring back contrasting feeling to what the word 'Waterpark' might have brought us.

Although deprieving of all the rituals of the borderline frightening undergrads' orientation shebangs, the better knowledge of what we are realistically stepping into, sort of tired our minds out. However, our own in-house, closed door discussions, strategizing and interpretations of the course taking into accounts of personal-family dynamics, between unitmates did drain away most of our unnecessary fear and panic away.

The daily 630am morning exercise, evening telematch, teambuilding and outdoor activities did managed to take out mind off things, but at the same time, tired us out physically.

This was the first year, Entrance Exam and the compulsory RM 500 commitment fees were imposed to deter the casual admission into the master program, resulted in the shrinking numbers of candidates of around 25 as compared with the 50 of previous year.

Compromising efforts from each Unis in order to make this course as conjoint as possible should be applauded. No doubt.

Somehow, we couldn't help it but felt that our batch is sort of a guinea pigs cohort in this new system of examination and assessment, which according to profs, is still within the domain of discussions to gear up to a fully conjoint course.

Main reasons for this revolution (as explained by the Prof) can be summarized into high drop outs due to lack of commitment and excruciatingly painstaking comments by the senior members of the fraternity regarding the dropping quality of postgrads of Master. Hopefully, this revolution will spill over to undergrads training to curb dangerous and apathetic junior doctors from gaining their ground into the current escalating morbidity and mortality count.

At this point, we are all definitely being thrown into a fiercer fire, the council of this Conjoint Board probably should realize that the momentum of their efforts and agreement (or disagreement) should seek the proper direction and balance.

For, although the fiercest fire make the best sword,
it can also cause a total meltdown.

As for the breaking ice and bring all the trainees closer, this exercise of orientation did gain vast groundwork.

And I was glad, I was blessed with great unitmates - Chua, Mau and Tan, whose I think in future will be great study companions, gearing up to take our new unchartered course as a smooth-sailing affair.

May 28, 2010

take 2 | Potong saga

after first episode of Take 2. Here's the second.

Potong saga 1: Potong harga.

Proton car prices in Saudi Arabia – raw deal for Malaysians

By an angry Malaysian

FROM ANGRY RAKYAT …..! TO OWNERS OF PROTON VEHICLES….VERY SAD !!!!
SO NOW YOU KNOW THE ACTUAL VALUE PRICE OF PROTON !!!! CHEAP METAL !!!

1 MALAYSIA SENTIASA DITIPU…
Kenapa Proton tak jual harga macam kat Arab Saudi ?
Apa istimewanya orang Arab?

Kata “Rakyat didahulukan”..
Kenapa orang Arab lebih diutamakan?

Haaaa..Jawapannya ialah..

Pemilik Proton di Malaysia semuanya dah kena tipu…Hahaha

Harga Persona kat Saudi = SR36,100
Harga Gen2 kat Saudi = SR33,600
Harga Waja kat Saudi = SR37,950

1 Saudi Riyal = RM0.94

Maknanya harga Persona kat Saudi = RM33,934 aje
Maknanya harga Proton Gen2 kat Saudi = RM32,256 aje
Maknanya harga Waja kat Saudi = RM35,673 aje

1 Malaysia bayar RM 66,799.97 untuk 1 Waja di Msia! RM31,126.97 lebih MAHAL!

Shouldn’t our Government protects us. Instead we are cheated.. Our hard earnings..!!

We pay for others to enjoy …

THIS IS 1MALAYSIA …UMNO/BN Govt.

Potong saga 2: Potong kereta


Kabul -- international news correspondents in Kabul found out that terrorist has been using Proton Saga as technical,Penama correspondent told, when contacted, said the car was found at 8am during a patrol by the IFOR units at a scrapyard at the outskirts of Kabul.

Asked on the condition of the car, he said, it was modified where half of the car roof was taken out to make way for .50 calibre gun and a recoiless gun manned by three person. It is lightly armoured but IFOR had a tough time chasing it down...

"few were taken out by our gunship but they still manage to escape us..." IFOR spokesman told Pernama.

Proton had been asked regarding the findings and media were later told that all the old and unreliable Proton cars were not scrapped but instead were shipped to a third country mainly to West Africa and Middle East.

"We never thought that our car would be converted into a technical because we shipped all our cars to non conflict countries like Iran...however it is possible since we instructed our dealers to sell all the cars al the lowest price possible making it attractive to customers,"managing director Datuk Razak Mohaidongkol told media...

IFOR had reported that at least 100-300 Proton cars of various model were converted by insurgents...

-Pernama-

May 26, 2010

contraception in German

got this from 'Top 10 German words'.

2. Schwangerschaftverhütungsmittel

translation: schwangerschaft (pregnancy) verhütung (averting/prevention) mittel (remedy for/means).
Listen to Schwangerschaftverhütungsmittel pronunciation by Forvo Schwangerschaftverhütungsmittel

condoms

In other words, a contraceptive. This is such a long word that by the time you ask someone to use one, it might be too late!

May 25, 2010

Mother-in-law for op

She was previously well until few months ago.

At that point, instant relief with Ranitidine made gastritis the most probable answer to her condition.


Yet, retrospectively, I wished I had referred her early to the Surgical Team in JB for an upper scope and Clo-tested her. Probably I should also screened her through a simple erect abdominal X-ray or referred for hepatobiliary scan to rule out cholelithiasis, although she wasn’t exactly the fat, fair, fertile female of forty (the risk factors for that disease as I remembered it from my medical school days)


The pain over the epigastric recurred but now referred to right hypochondrium and she had mild jaundice. She was admitted after a scan from the district hospital showed a probable stone with a possibility of external compression. The line of thoughts towards malignancy probably pushed them for a quick decision for a CT scan, which at my centre may take longer period of interval to materialize.


She was stable, afebrile and do not have raised total whites, although initial house officer’s information to me was inaccurate (inaccurately shocking) and did caused a bit of turbulence in my troubled minds over the withheld decision of commencing antibiotics.


The CT’s result was a consolation as from the board of blacks and whites, possibility of carcinoma could probably be thrown out of the window. She told me about her CT scan findings and going for op tomorrow, but unsure about the approach, but she had already signed the consent. Yep, typical Malaysian patients. But I wished to confirm for her.




I called several times to the hospy, only managed to speak to the junior doctors (HOs), and I really did not want to bother the Medical Officer until tonight because the junior doctors were surprisingly incompetent in conveying basic information about my mother-in-law even with the patient’s record in front of them. Sad, really.


Me: Hi, I’m Dr L, son-in-law of patient Madam T, may I know what is her current condition?

HO A: OK. Wait

(Went for the records)

HO A: Hi, I’m Dr. A. Your mother-in-law is well, tolerating orally, afebrile, haemodynamically stable.

Me: May I know the plan for her?

HO A: continue observation. Keep nil by mouth 12 midnight. That’s all.

Me: Any reason to keep her nil by mouth?

HO A: Wait ha.

(Turned and softly can be heard HO A consulting some people, presumedly more senior HO or Nurses)

HO A: Oh, she is for open cholecystectomy tomorrow.

Me: What is her CT scan findings?

HO A: Wait ha.

(Turned and softly can be heard HO A consulting some people, presumedly more senior HO or Nurses)

HO A: Err.. Cholelithiasis and left ovarian cyst.

Me: Is there a reason why she planned for open instead of lap chole?

HO A: (silent)

Me: (thinking. okay, my fault. This should be asked to someone with more experience) Never mind, may I know who is the MO on call?

HO A: Yes, he is Dr. X. You can speeddialled him at 6xxx.


Before I called up Dr. X, I googled up Open vs Lap Chole and landed in the Cochrane Review with the conclusion of superiority of Lap Chole against Open approach. To double confirm, I consulted my colleague from Surgery, Dr N. He told me even with difficulties, even with chronic cholecystitis is resectable laparoscopically, and possible indication is gallbladder empyema and probably suspected stones in the common bile duct (choledocolithiasis).


I called up Dr. H through their hospy’s operator.

Dr. H: Hi, Ya!

Me: Hi, I’m Dr L, son-in-law of patient Madam T, a patient in Ward E2

Dr. H: I’m not in-charge of that ward. I don’t know about her.

Me: Actually, she was planned for open cholecystectomy tomorrow. I would like to enquire why the more common laparoscopic approach was being differed.

Dr. H: That is my surgeon’s decision. I don’t know anything about it, and I can’t decide for her.

Dr. H: Why you insist on laparoscopic? You from where?

Me: I’m from Hosp xx.

Dr. H: I mean you’re from WHAT specialty?

Me: I’m from O&G.

Dr. H: Let me tell you OPEN CHOLECYSTECTOMY is very common. Even if we do Lap Chole, we can always convert to OPEN, you know. Why do you insist of wanting it?

Me: Err… Less hospital stay. Better recovery post op. I checked the Cochrane Review.

Dr. H: Err… What’s your mother-in-law’s name?

Me: Mdm Txx.

Dr. H: Wait. I go take her records.

Me: OK.

(flip flip flip)

Dr. H: She actually have Choledocolithiasis. We plan to do cholangiogram for possible stone in the bile duct stones.

Me: Thank you, just to clarify, I’m not insisting on laparoscopic approach, I just wish to know the indication for open.

Dr. H: OK (Shut off the phone).


Punch Face

This is the most patronizing conversation ever with a colleague in medical field. I was thinking that probably I should just tell Dr. H, I am just a first posting house officer and hear how much more demeaning can he be.

Probably the junior doctor should be given some brownie points for being polite enough to introduce before the conversation.


I hope my mother-in-law will have a smooth uncomplicated uneventful operation tomorrow and a speedy recovery from then onwards.

May 22, 2010

this probably might work

Came across this interesting sign in the net.

Wondering will this work in our local setting, in the hospy.

Seriously, I really couldn't stand visitors who brought their kids, letting them run around the wards unattended, like some playground or fun fair.

Some kids were seriously above-average intelligent and got their hands on those syringes and worst, needles. Rare occasions, but did happened.

The worst scenario: messing with their grandmother's wound or grandfather's drainage tube as if they were some Play-Doh or Fisher-Price's plastics from the Toys R' Us.

In Melayu, it should read "AMARAN: Kanak-kanak yang tidak dijaga akan dijual sebagai hamba"

May 16, 2010

locum | street-fighting med student

Last weekend, I was doing locum in A&E and my first patient to clock in was someone familiar to me. Not very familiar, but recognizable.

He smiled. "Hi, Dr." He lifted one of his bloody hand. No, bloody here not being the discriminative adjective more of a descriptive one. Bandage around his ring finger.

He was one of the bright student that I had taught previously. Bright up till the moment he sat beside me in the consultation room.

"What happened?"
"I think I got an open fracture" And he went on smiling, bordering on laughing.
Seriously, to me, this is one of the rare positive response of having an open fracture.

"What happened?"
"Sir, I was playing streetfighter with my colleague, initially we were punching boxes, then we decided to punch each other..."
"Oh... Nothing else to do?"
"Exam next week..."

As I typed in briefly the history, I opened the X-ray readily available in the system.

Now, that's the X-ray of finger of a street-fighter, which they don't show that vividly in the animated game.

He may also lose a 'surgeon's hand' if complications arise.

Seriously as a medical student, I did a lot of crazy stuff, some more illegal than others. I almost got barred from staying in the hostel. Nevertheless, I never came close to injuring myself, that's for sure.

P.S. First, do no harm - to ourself!!

May 15, 2010

Law of Garbage Truck


Looking at some aweful and dangerous driving in the roads of our Bolehland, one can help it but thought of burning those vehicles to the ground.


But then again, come to think of it... there's so many garbage trucks around Malaysia... Soooo many...



taken from here.
One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.

We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,

So ... Love the people who treat you right.

Pray for the ones who don't.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

JDSTDT 1 | stages of labor

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WF3V6MjSt3A/S-XnZHQaBkI/AAAAAAAAALE/pCpa3iqtl78/s1600/labor.jpg
Stages of labor (pimp from here)

My specialist evaluated a junior doctor after 3 months in obgy posting.
One of her questions: How many stages of labor? Define.
Answer:
1. Preterm labor: xxx
2. Early labor: xxx
3. Establish labor: xxx
4. ...

My consultant re-evaluated that fella, and the junior doctor got extended 2 months.
Perhaps he should have been screened pre-doctoring.

*JDSTDT = junior doctor says the darnest thing...

May 14, 2010

wicked anatomical tattoos


Female reproductive system tattoo. (Link)

Baby fetus tattoo. (Link)

X-ray fetus tattoo. (Link)
see more here.

pretty wacky stuff people are doing nowadays, but to have a tattoo when pregnant just puts the mother up to a whole loads of infections, unless it is being done in a certified tattoo parlor. Otherwise the superficial dye shouldn't have much of harm to the baby.

But then again, to risk having a Pfannenstiel going over that beautiful tattoo when the pregnancy ended with an operative abdominal delivery is just a fine art put to waste, making the skin on the abdomen looks complicated and disastrous.

May 13, 2010

is it time we recolor May 13?

personally, i belong the so-called 'lucky' generation, where i don't really need to toil hard for food, shelter and love.

i wasn't even born during may 13 and to have noted it briefly in my history lessons when I was in secondary school, it wasn't that clear either. the only thing that was clear was that this is a taboo date, painted in gloomy black, not to be mentioned, not to be discussed and surely not to be celebrated about. It is a 'bad' thing.

To the general population of students of studying history, or pretending to study history, or forcing ourselves to memorize those history, to have such a thing in the syllabus is a 'good' thing. Why? We surely can crossed out this topic because it ain't gonna come out in the exam.

I am sure a lot would have stood beside me that history is simply a subject one would loooove to hate.

But as I grew up (more of grew old and fat now), I guessed we missed the beauty and value of learning history. I guess the simple reason why we hated history was the lessons fed to us wasn't really the real history afterall. It is some lessons, trimmed and decorated nicely to lead us to believe that we are living in an ideal world where we needs to be grateful because of such and such figures and to shun such and such figures because they are 'bad'.

i guessed not all good things are good, and not all bad things are bad either. Some bad things are simply better than all those good things as they ignite a change, realization and it is something that we just can't ignore.

It is like a facing a phobia, confronting a fear and solving a dilemma.

We have been running away for more than 40 years, how long must be continue to run?

Perhaps this year, we can all stop running.

It is simply wonderful to have fellow malaysian zubedy coming up with this novel idea of love,
"Dear Brother and Sister Malaysians,

I would like to re-color May 13, to breathe new spirit into the date, to dilute and eventually erase the negative thoughts and replace them with positive meanings and values. We are placing a full page advertisement in The Star this May 13 , with a call to re-color the day.

When reflecting on May 13, 1969, we can blame others for what happened, blame the situation, or we can choose to transform things for the better, to be change agents and constructively fill our hearts and minds with what needs to be done so May 13 does not ever happen again, and that no one uses the day to bring about fear and negativity.

What thoughts can we cultivate to make a difference to how May 13th is viewed? What actions can we take to shine a light on this day so it will forever be a day we learn from mistakes, a day we strengthen unity in our diversity and recommit to respecting one another and working together?

At zubedy we believe in re-coloring May 13 with all our brilliant hues, the many diverse peoples that we are, under this one great nation called Malaysia. We believe it is a day to reaffirm our shared values and traditions and rejoice in what unites us. A day for young and old to constructively talk about what makes us one people and how we can remain strong together."

May 9, 2010

exodus | explained

- Sighed -
Why we left and why we will continue to leave...
Posted by: MS Mohamad

I read an interesting article today about a few prominent figures addressing their concern over the increasing UKM and UM medical graduates who have left the country to continue their medical practice overseas.

After reading the news for 3 times, I called a very close friend, an MD (UKM) graduate to ask his opinion on how the news might have affected him. He has been working in Singapore for more than a decade as a Consultant Surgeon with a certain sub-specialty

"Why be a slave in your own country, when you are a king in another?" He replied.

Indeed, if anybody would want to find a reason why all of us left, either after housemanship, after being a specialist, or even after sub specializing, and now, even prior to doing housemanship, they need not look at our payslip, or the wealth that we have gained overseas, but only to the Medical System that has been rotting in the ignorance and politic-based stupidity that Malaysia has been well-known for (in the medical field).

I have served the system for nearly 2 decades of my career, waiting for it to improve for so long, and only finding myself in despair, quitting with a 24-hour notice and serving abroad. The system is, in my opinion, keeping doctors, since the beginning of their career as House Officers to the end of it, in the lowermost priority. When I was working there, doctors are so ill-treated, while the nurses and the medical assistants are overpowering us.

I still remember the days when I was doing seeing patients and rounds as an MO, while the staff nurses would mind their own business, having breakfast in the pantry, or having gossip chats at their own leisure. My House Officers would then have to do merely all the labour-work, up to the extent of setting intravenous drips, and serving medications. If I am to expect the nurses, my patients would have been dead, or the work would have been too slowly or incompletely done.

When I was a House Officer, I had to run down 4-5 floors just to review a blood investigation of a dying dengue patient. The ward staff would either be nowhere around, or will say that he is busy (busier than the doctor?) or the answer I got at that time:

"Doktor nak cepat, doktor turun sendirilah, gaji doktor lagi banyak dari saya"

Even when I was a Specialist, the staff nurses had to be called again and again just to make sure the management plan for the patient would be done. I was already used to answers from them:

“I’m busy with something else"

“My shift is already over"

...it was routine for me.

The Medical Assistants were worse. They would hide behind their so-called boss, the Head of Medical Assistant. They feel hiding behind him would make them not under our jurisdiction, that we have no power to instruct them in managing the patient, that they have power to manage own their own. I've seen them giving medications not as we prescribed, performing procedures without our knowledge, as if they are the actual "Doctors". They are in their own world, and we have to do their job, taking blood, labelling samples, and even cleaning gadgets from the procedures that we have done.

Oh, but the ministry loves this group. They even let them run a clinic now, instead of upgrading the clinics already run by doctors. The government feels that the MAs are very important and should never be ill-treated by those big bad doctors. One time when I was a District Hospital Medical Officer, I was conducting a delivery of a baby. An MA insisted that I remove my car which was block-parking his car. I answered through the phone that I was busy.

He came to the labor room and yelled "Semua orang pun sibuk jugak, macamlah doktor seorang yang sibuk!”

It is insulting that an MA or a staff nurse claims that they are BUSY, as busy as a doctor? As a Malaysian Doctor, I have even worked for 72 hours straight. I have experienced working until my 6 month old daughter did not recognize me at the end of the week.

Is that how busy they are? I am very sure that they are so busy, that they can only spend 2 hours at the nearby Mamak stall, or can only leave at 5:10 PM instead of 5, or can only have 1 hour of lunch.

The management staffs are worse. I have to beg and plead so that I can get my on-call claims, of RM25 per 48 hours of work. While sitting in an air-conditioned office, they will at their own leisure, process my call claims so that I will receive them by the next decade.

The state health or Hospital Director would just give another inspirational talk (of bollocks) on team effort and beauty of teamwork.

That is how Malaysian doctors are treated in the government sector: without respect, without dignity and without significance. Why?

It is because we are bound by ethics to try our best to save lives, despite how ill-treated we are. We hardly have time to complaint because we are too busy or tired, and we would rather spend the precious time resting or seeing our loved ones. The burden of trying to save lives is on our shoulders alone. No MAs or Staff nurses would shoulder it with us. They have their own bosses: the Sisters, Matrons, or Head of MAs, which job description is to ensure that the big bad doctors will not ask their underlings to do extra work.

This is how the Malaysian Ministry of Health have treated their doctors. I am very sure that in each and every doctor, there is a slowly-burning patience in serving the Malaysian people, which will eventually fade and cause them to surrender to serving a place that treats them better.

A few colleagues who graduated from UK choose to serve there:

"The pay is more, and we get the respect we deserve"

Another works in Brunei:

“Here the staff nurses respect Malaysian doctors, and they are very co-operative" (He ended up marrying one)

A few are consultants in Singapore (working with me):

"Here we are treated well, we spearhead the management, and every else do their work to the best of their capabilities".

A few even enjoys working in Indonesia:

“The work-load is horrible since there are a lot of patients, but we are well respected by every hospital personnel" (They have migrated there for nearly a decade)

I am sure that people will see doctors as power-hungry individuals who want to be the boss in the hospital. Trust me, after having graduated 6-7 years of medical school, earning a DEGREE, and subsequently MASTERS, and SUBSPECIALITY, you would expect a degree of respect and being considered important. We are trying our best to improve patient's quality of life, or making sure he lives another day. Is it too much to ask from the system that we are important?

I find that Malaysia is the only country that is making doctors' lives miserable and treated like rubbish. It was never about the pay in the first place. It is about the treatment we are getting and the false political-based promises. Do you know that the so-called circular about doctors can have the day off after working 24 hours straight released JULY 2009 is not yet implemented? Do you know that the raise of UD 41 to 44 does not involve every doctor in the government service?

We are waiting for improvement. We have waited a long time when we were working in the system. Somewhere along the line we decided to leave and wait outside the system. Until the system changes, we will continue to work overseas, in countries which are appreciative of us. Trust me, Malaysian-graduate doctors are considered highly skilful and competent in neighbouring countries, and the 15 % brain drain is more significant than you think.

We will return when the system prioritize us and gives us the quality of life we deserve.

If it stays the same, Malaysian Hospitals would end up having Staff nurses and Medical Assistants as "Doctors", and we would have to send patients to Indonesia for an appendicectomy.

Hear our voice. We hardly speak, but will usually fade away from conflict (and fly to another place).

May 8, 2010

horrorific !!

Another excellent idea from Germany.

Another good reason to be excused from reading.

Perhaps it suits some Halloween preps or can be used for a warning or dismissal letter, bringing the horror to another level...









May 7, 2010

take 2 | inflation in by-election

Hulu Selangor's by-election: Card reads "Tiga Juta Sahaja".

Sibu's by-election: Card reads "We dream to have a university in Sibu"

There's a saying. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going...

May 6, 2010

Bummer II: spacing FAIL

I am truly amazed (read about this bummer part 1).

As Darren's junior doctor giving advice about H1N1 flu vaccination based on "heard from your friends", or religious belief that "fate will decide everything", i guess nothing trumps my junior doctor who give advice based on illusion (more of disillusioned). Surprisingly, coming from a junior doctor who keep up his knowledge through reading newspaper in the serenity of hospital library, leaving his colleagues struggling to learning medicine through the patients in ward by reviewing and discussing about them.

Circular Walking Bookshelf

During a normal postnatal round, I asked this junior doctor to give contraception advices.

"Puan, lepas ini kena rancang, cuba mengandung lepas 2 bulan..."
(Madam, after this, you need to plan, do not try to conceive after 2 months...)

His first few legendary words made all the nurses who chose to follow the round to burst (or should I say exploded) into laughters.



I put on a smug look, a mixture of disbelief and pathetically sympathize him for all his ignorance and lack of initiative to improve himself.

"Dr H, is 2 months a proper spacing period?"
"Err... (Yes, his famous 'Err') No, it's 6 months"

Round 2: nurses bursting into hysterical laughter.

"I guess you got this latest from the newspaper that you read from the library that day, right?"
"Err... "

Speechless. And I continued to give the corrected advice to that just-delivered mother. She must have been amused, and probably thinking I was teaching some 2nd-year medical students.



Perhaps something in our Bolehland's medical world just can't help but spin out of control and out of common sense.

May 1, 2010

malaysians shanghaied in World Expo

Today is Day 1 of World Expo in Shanghai.


I had eyed this expo since last year, but as circumstances of life changes beyond my expectation. way beyond, I was unable to proceed as wish. I'm afterall not without commitments in life.

But something tickled me as I follow our Malaysian Pavillion there cyberly.




This is Rumah Gadang architecture of Minangkabau, originated from West Sumatra, Indonesia.



Someone commented in one of the BERNAMA site:
At the Shanghai expo news web site (#247), a Malaysian senator has also mentioned that “…..the project was somehow ‘hijacked’ to a foreign company in China which has absolutely no knowledge of our local Minangkabau culture and history, resulting in a ‘rojak’ design of a pavilion which had incorporated graphic nuances that are more Indonesian rather than Malaysian. Such a project of national pride, in the first place, should have been a 100% Malaysian effort. To the more knowledgeable people, this will appear to be a gross misrepresentation of our local Minangkabau culture and Malaysia will yet again become a laughing stock of the world!”
And if you really got the time, maybe you can read about the mastermind(s) behind this project.

I guess we'd been shanghaied once again of our tax money. Dang.

Wait. It's our culture after all.

to serve and protect... who?

Now, beside worrying about kena saman, there's another good reason to get away as far as possible as fast as possible when you have the sight of the Mata (no pun intended).

Enjoy Your Breakfast

Gun

Pilo: Yes, I'm kinda hungry, right now. Hungry for some decent answers.