Hijau

I was feeding my car at a petrol station yesterday afternoon when the attendants were calling someone next to me. That someone was......Zainal Abidin.

Luckily I have a WWF newsletter sitting in my car and I got his autograph!

Hijau

Bumi yang tiada rimba
Seumpama hamba
Dia dicemar manusia
Yang jahil ketawa
Bumi yang tiada udara
Bagai tiada nyawa
Pasti hilang suatu hari
Tanpa disedari
Bumi… tanpa lautan
Akan kehausan
Pasti lambat laun hilang
Duniaku yang malang
Dewasa ini kita saling merayakan
Kejayaan yang akhirnya membinasakan
Apalah gunanya kematangan fikiran
Bila dijiwa kita masih lagi mudah dan mentah
Ku lihat hijau

Lyrics from Zainal Abidin said it all....

Looking at our world nowadays, my grief grows deeper for our future generations.
They will not be as fortunate as we are now in enjoying the beautiful world we live in.

They will wonder how sunrise, sunsets, rain, fields, rainforests, streams, rivers, seas, corals were like during earlier years.

What we have now will be a thing of the past for our poor future generations...

For them, burning acid rain…polluted choking air…polluted rivers and seas without life...

Daily, weekly, monthly, we come across endless reports on nature or climate which are never on the positive side.
Species upon species of flora and fauna vanishing for good.
Climate changing for the worse.
Europe, North America experiencing colder winters, devastating blizzards…
China experiencing terrible drought…
Australia having extreme heat waves in summers…destructing firestorms down south, floods up north…
In our own country, floods are worse than before…
Tropical countries hit by denggi epidemic…
Hurricanes and tropical storms will be worse year after year…
Surely this is not the end. More catastrophes are on their way…diseases we have never encountered before will rise…
Even economies created by ourselves are crumbling. If we can’t even take care of our own man made economies, what more to say nature.
We need to change! After what PKR and Obama have voiced out and hopefully will continue doing the promised changes, if any, it is our turn to change.

Change our mindset…for nature...for our world...for our children...

There is no second world. Where we stand on is the only one. Hence, it is our home.

This world is our home...

Ironman 70.3 in Putrajaya!

...from ironman.com...

Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya and Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines announced

Published Tuesday, February 10, 2009

World Triathlon Corporation continues its expansion of the Ironman 70.3 Series. The two additions to the 2009 Ironman 70.3 Event Calendar are Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya and Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines. Further establishing its presence in Asia, the event series now includes 33 global races. Both events will serve as official qualifiers for the 2009 Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 taking place on November 14 in Clearwater, FL.

Regarded as the “Intelligent Garden City,” Putrajaya will play host to the inaugural event on July 26, 2009.

Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya will lead athletes on a scenic course in and around the new capital city, one that sits among lush landscaping. With a one-loop lake swim, a flat bike course and a picturesque run, participants will experience many of the area’s historical attractions.
The inaugural Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines on August 23, 2009 will offer athletes a unique racing opportunity. The swim course will utilize two separate lakes, the bike course will provide a backdrop of rice paddies and foliage while athletes will encounter rolling hills and more local scenery during the run. Event headquarters will be family-friendly and located at the Camarines Sur Water Park Complex (CWC). With international wakeboarding facilities and a skate park, participants can enjoy the park facilities in addition to others within Naga and its nearby islands.
“After years of steady growth, the sport of triathlon is finally taking significant shape in Asia. While the region has hosted Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events in the past, these events further solidify Ironman’s presence and allow new triathletes more accessibility to the Ironman Experience. We look forward to further development in 2010 and beyond,” said Event Director for Asia, Murphy Reinschreiber.
Both events will consist of a 1.2 mile/1.9 km swim, a 56 mile/90 km bike and a 13.1 mile/21.1 km run. At each race, there will be 25 Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 slots in addition to a professional prize purse of $25,000.

STOP COCK

Thousand apologies I went MIA for a while...





Anybody can tell me what this pix means? ...err...it wasn't because of this that I went MIA....hahaha!

Where I saw this was hilarious. I was taking a pee in a toilet and while 'letting go' I looked up the ceiling and it was what I saw.

Can you imagine???

While pee-ing, you saw this....so what should you do??? How to stop???

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009 Set To Take Off In June With The Aim Of Being Sustainable

RM 350,000 biggest ever cash prize for a marathon in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, 20 January 2009 – The inaugural Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009 is set to place Malaysia on the global map of marathons by being a sustainable event. Following in the footsteps of eight successful Standard Chartered Marathons spanning four continents, the Race offers the biggest prize money ever for a marathon in Malaysia (RM 350,000) with a guaranteed prize pool for Malaysian runners.

Octagon, a division of CMGRP (M) Sdn. Bhd and Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad officially launched Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009, today. The launch was officiated by the Minister of Youth and Sports, YB Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob. Endorsed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009 is also sanctioned by the Malaysia Amateur Athletic Union (MAAU), International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), and the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS).

YB Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri said in his speech,

“Our vision at the Ministry of Youth and Sports is to develop an active, healthy and energetic community. Specifically, we aspire to realise this by making running an accessible sport for all to enjoy.

A world-class, international race such as the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009 lends support to this goal by fostering the spirit of excellence not just among professional athletes but among all Malaysians, from the youngest to the oldest of them.”

Octagon who are specialists in sporting events worldwide, aims to attract 12,500 participants for what is expected to be the marathon of the year. Ivan Brixi, Managing Director for Octagon in Asia, elaborated,

“We aspire for this race to become a race for everyone – professional athletes, amateurs, families with children, corporate and NGO bodies and anyone who wants to be a part of something fun and inspirational.

We have every intention to make this Marathon a sustainable one – both by “greening” it and through the charity element. This means we will do our best to use recyclable materials where possible for the runners’ giveaways and encourage KL to become a car-free zone for the day. Indeed we will do everything in our power to reduce the carbon footprint of this event.

The Race will start from Merdeka Square on 28 June 2009. The route for the marathon will showcase some of the capital’s most famous landmarks, making it an ideal attraction for tourists and out-of-towners.”

Julian Wynter, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad said,

“We are very excited to add KL to the Standard Chartered series of marathons. In all eight countries where we sponsor Marathons, each has created a real buzz amongst the marathon-running community globally and we know that Standard Chartered KL Marathon will be no exception.”

“Standard Chartered Marathons characterise the values and attitudes we believe in and live by every day – having a can-do attitude, the courage to try, and the stamina and determination to go the extra mile, no matter what. They also embody our Right Partner promise to our governments, our communities, and our people – to help our communities grow and prosper.”

Octagon’s goal is to establish the Standard Chartered KL Marathon as the best in the region and to ultimately achieve the Silver and Gold recognition from IAAF within the next 5 years.

Octagon proudly welcomes Standard Chartered Malaysia as the Title Sponsor and MSIG Insurance (Malaysia) Bhd as a Gold Sponsor in the Insurance category. More sponsors will be announced in the coming months.

The final runs of 2008...

Compilation of December 2008 running pix

Malakoff 12Km...which is actually 11 something km from runners' GPS
Thanks to CCube for the pix. Downhill was a breeze but uphil.....%$&*!!!

My very BONDING number....007...which gave me a PB! James Bond : Martini, shaken not stirred
Runners : Malakoff, running not jogging!


Kuching had a Maal Hijrah run just after Christmas. Being a religious Islamic run, we had no choice but run with our 'aurat' hidden from sight.


KhooYK with my triathlete uncle Frank. He's making a comeback....hopefully...after years of retirement.
Youngsters with veterans

Ending 2008 with a 1 mile dash