UM seminar on religions in America' s politics

Although the United States is a scientifically as well as technologically advanced secular republic, its politics has always been controversially influenced by religious discourses. To try to comprehend the causes, pros and cons of this contradiction, Professor Dr. Joseph R. Stimpfl from the Department of Religious Studies, Webster University, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA, is delivering an academic lecture very succintly titled “Render unto Caesar... Conflicts concerning Church and State in Contemporary America" on 5 June (Thurs) from 7.30 pm to 10.00 pm at Universiti Malaya's Rumah Universiti. It is open to the public.

Watching US presidential election in Malaysia

From 'Son of Heaven' to citizen of New China

The last Chinese emperor was Aixinjueluo Puyi @ Henry Puyi (above) and his life story is very interesting and has been written in books or made movies. The dethroned 'Son of Heaven' who reigned as Emperor Xuantong of the Dynasty of Qing from 1908-1911 and also as 'Emperor Kangde' of the Japanese-sponsored quisling regime of 'Manchukuo' in northeast China from 1932-1945, died as New China's citizen in 1967. He left behind a Chinese-language autobiography The Former Half of My Life whose English translation is retitled From Emperor to Citizen, and, to be frank, I have not read Puyi's memoirs but I did watch the Hollywood movie The Last Emperor many years ago in Petaling Jaya.

Speculation on future of Nepal' s former king

Speculation on future of Nepal' s former king

Following very closely on the truly historic drama in Kathmandu, Lucia speculated just now that the former king of Nepal, Gyanendra, would go into quiet exile in London and then re-emerge ten or fifteen years later with a really big bang as a "spiritual leader of the world" in the international media preaching "mercy and compassion" to an entirely new generation of mankind in their mid-20s and early 30s who have no ideas of what happened before, and he would officially be awarded some medals and invited to give lectures on "human rights in Nepal" to universities and also parliaments in Europe and the United States. I certainly cannot dismiss Lucia's speculation out of hand because she really delves into more books on world and western history than me.

Best way to reverse Nepal' s change of polity

Best way to reverse Nepal' s change of polity

I think the ideal of World Hindu Federation would be more attractive or appealing to Nepalis if an Hindu monarchy or theocracy is first re-established in the spiritual homeland of Hinduism which is now in the Republic of India. Smaller countries such as Nepal usually look up to bigger countries like India as role models and sources of inspiration.

New Nepal or Britain more democratic now ?

New Nepal or Britain more democratic now ?

My Australian friend Lucia has just emailed to share a reflection on the establishment of a secular republic in Nepal. According to Lucia, Nepal's political system is now more democratic than that of Britain because there is now no more hereditary monarchy and established religion interposing structurally or psychologically upon the decision-making process of the people. I open Lucia's observation for debate.

UN chief hails birth of republic in New Nepal

UN chief hails birth of republic in New Nepal

According to Hindustan Times, the United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office in New York has issued a statement earlier today hailing the birth of New Nepal which terminated the world's last Hindu monarch on earth last night. Meanwhile, AFP reported that the Nepali army has declared "it will respect" a historic vote by a constitutional assembly abolishing the 239-year monarchy of the Himalayan country. The first two modern republics were declared in the United States of America in 1776 and France in 1789, and India, which is the spiritual motherland of Hinduism, has also adopted a republican constitution since it obtained its independence from Britain's colonial rule in 1947. However, India's acceptance of the republican form of constitution in 1947 was preceded by, among other core areas of global civilisations, China in 1911, Russia in 1917, Turkey in 1922 and Indonesia in 1945. Iran, another very ancient nation and center of civilisation formerly known as Persia, was also declared a republic in the 1979 Revolution.

Nepal abolishes world' s last Hindu monarchy

Nepal abolishes world' s last Hindu monarchy

Last night, Nepal abolished its 239-year Hindu monarchy and declared the nation a republic just like India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Iran, Turkey, United States, Russia, France and China. Like it or not, today marks the first day in world history when there is no more Hindu monarch reigning any land or people on earth.

5000-year Indian history & culture in nutshell

Republic of Azerbaijan' s National Day dinner

At the invitation of the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Malaysia HE Tahir Karimov and his family, I joined them in a KL hotel just now to celebrate the National Day of the Muslim-majority nation. Besides the food and drink, we also enjoyed friendship as well as the cultural performance that featured the country's history and tradition.

Farewell get-together for an American friend

Farewell get-together for an American friend

An American friend of mine for the past three years Kathryn Taylor is going to leave Malaysia for another country in Europe and we friends just held a farewell party for her and her husband Mike. James Keith was there too. We wish Kathryn and Mike good luck and good health. (Kathryn was the Press Attache of the American Embassy in Malaysia)

Southern US states mourn for twister victims

Women' s power in Sichuan earthquake relief

What touched and moved Uncle Ng in our exchanges of observations on the terrible Sichuan earthquake was the massive and impressive participation of women in the rescue and relief operations, especially as PLA soldiers as well as doctors and nurses. He recalled that in Old China, many women could not even run for their very own lives when natural disasters struck because their feet were physically bound. Of course, he also remembered that in Old China, even warlords' and/or KMT's soldiers joined the bandits in looting orgies in disaster-ravaged areas and one of the looters' most sought after 'treasures' to be taken homes was women who could not run because their feet were bound. After that, according to him, opium traders and all types of 'holy men' would move in to operate their businesses among the poor survivors, especially orphaned youths who were malleable and illiterate women who were too old to be 'looted' by bandits and/or soldiers and carried back to their homes or camps, or sold to wealthy families or brothels.

Overcoming superstition in developing China

Selangor sends relief team to quake-hit China

According to Harakah Daily, the Pakatan government in Selangor has sent a team of humanitarian relief team of medical and paramedical personnel to quake-hit Sichuan to help the people of China. At 3.00 pm on 21 May (Wed), Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim also led a delegation of the State's EXCO and Pakatan's Assemblymen to the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to sign the condolence book and express deep sympathy to the government and people of China. Let us wish the team members selamat jalan and selamat bertugas.

Humanitarianism knows no borders or skin colors

Overcoming superstition in developing China

Early this morning, I went to yam char with my friend Beng Ching and his family in downtown Kuala Lumpur and the earthquake in Sichuan naturally became a hot topic of our conversation. According to Beng Ching's 85-year old father, now that New China has progressed - as compared to the yesteryears in Old China when he was born as a poor boy in a peasant's family - in science and techonology, the post-quake people over there should be much less susceptible or psychologically vulnerable to "attacks" of superstitious ideas and rumours as well as fatalistic 'teachings' that thrive on fear, sadness, helplessness and loneliness as well as the refusal to believe or inability to explain the abrupt, surreal and devastating changes in the living environments. He also opined that besides the scientific and technological budgets, instruments and personnel, the drastic reduction of illiteracy rate and also popularisation of science-based modern education at all levels in China have also contributed to the progressive improvement of the systems of psychological defence against superstition and fatalism. Uncle Ng has not forgotten how one of his male relatives during his childhood days in Old China became an opium addict to escape from unbearable realities after a flood had destroyed his house and farm.

No looting reported so far in quake-hit China

No looting reported so far in quake-hit China

Observing China from Melbourne, Lucia has just called and asked me if I have so far come across any reports, whether from Chinese and non-Chinese sources, about thugs and goons looting in the quake-hit areas in Sichuan. My answer is simply no but I may not be right. So, those who have read such news reports, feel free to email me a set.

American recalls quake experiences in China

M' sian ban on Karen Armstrong' s book lifted

According to a report in Bernama, the Home Ministry has lifted the ban on the book A History of God: The 4000-year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam authored by a British scholar on comparative religions Dr. Karen Armstrong who was invited by Foreign Ministry's Institute of Foreign Relations (IDFR) to give public lecture in Kuala Lumpur last year while the book was still being publicly banned but has always been privately available in many bookshops in Malaysia. There are also Chinese and Indonesian editions of A History of God.

Court in M' sia to decide name for One True X

American recalls quake experiences in China

According to lucky Donna Murphy, an American tourist and panda-lover who personally experienced, eyewitnessed and survived in the earthquake in the Sichuan province in southwest China recently, there was "no looting" and "no anger" among the Chinese people she saw in the immediate aftermath. Murphy and her husband Dale as well as ten other Americans were stranded in the quake-jolted area for two days before they were rescued by the PLA.

Psychological aids for quake-traumatised kids

Psychological aids for quake-traumatised kids

China does not seem to be only good at doing 'big and tangible things' like pouring 130,000 troops into quake-hit Sichuan within three days for the rescue and relief operations but also not too bad in providing 'small and intangible things' to children traumatised by the calamity. The communist government in China has also pledged to bury all the dead, take full care of all survivors and support all orphans until they have grown up and completed education at the post-secondary level. As I said earlier, given the proven resilience of the Chinese people in confronting natural disasters of all types throughout its very eventful history, hope would soon prevail again over despair, and the human energies for reconstruction, over all the destructive forces of nature.

To share sorrow & grief with people of China

PAS MP challenges distorted history in Dewan

Newly elected PAS MP for Kuala Selangor Dr. Zulkifri Ahmad argued in the Dewan Rakyat on 20 May (Tues) that “contemporary destructive communal politics might have originated from distorted historical literature”. Earlier in August 2006, the same Dr. Zulkifri Ahmad also published a very historic as well as ground-breaking commentary in Harakah, reaffirming that " history cannot ignore the fact that the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) had also played a role in fighting for the independence of this country" and that "CPM had been active in its campaign for independence since its formation in May 1930". Dr. Zulkifri Ahmad, 52, holds a doctorate degree in Medical Science (Toxicology) from the Imperial College (St. Mary Hospital) in Britain.

Indian martyrdoms for Malaya's independence

Indonesia' s Marxist Oey Hay Djeon dies at 84

Oey Hay Djeon, the full-text translator of German thinker Karl Marx's three-volume masterpiece Das Kapital and other theoretical writings into Indonesian language, died recently in Jakarta at 84 and he was laid to rest on May 19 (Monday). One of his old friends and comrades Suriani Abdullah nee Eng Ming Ching would like to express on public record her deep sympathy and condolence and those of her husband Abdullah CD as well as their children and grandchildren to the family of the deceased. Suriani, who now lives in southern Thailand, added: "As the first full-text Indonesian/Malay translator of Karl Marx's Das Kapital and many other writings, Oey Hay Djeon's contribution to the enrichment of intellectual thinking in the Indonesian/Malay-language world is certainly very great and his departure is a loss to all of us".

Remember victims of Suharto' s White Terror

Farewell to friend, ex-CJ Anuar Zainal Abidin

My wife Po Chin and myself would like to extend our very deep condolence to the family of Tan Sri Anuar Zainal Abidin, a former Chief Justice (CJ) of Malaya, who passed away on May 18 (Sunday) at 76. I remember Tan Sri Anuar fairly clearly as a very amicable, knowledgeable and also broadminded character who participated with me and many others in the The 4th Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights held in Jakarta City on 12-13 July, 2001.

We remember Tan Sri Anuar, then a Suhakam Commisioner, staying in the same hotel, sharing meals, touring in and around Jakarta for sightseeing and also enjoying keroncong Bengawan Solo as well as a stage performance of Ramayana with us and many friends from other countries. My love for otak-otak or Indonesian/Malay-style fish paste did not escape his discerning eyes. Most important of all, I remember him as a fair-minded person with integrity. Rest in peace, Yang Arif.

Rustam Sani' s books launched with memorial

To share sorrow & grief with people of China

There will be no blogging in Clare Street from now on for three days as a mark to share the sorrow and grief of the Chinese people on the massive destruction of lives and properties in the quake-hit Sichuan.

Sharing Pak Said' s very happy moment in life

Besides Rustam Sani, Pak Said is another private teacher (as well as good neighbour) of mine since we first befriended each other in Kuala Lumpur in 1996. Professor Dato' Dr. Abdul Rahman Embong, among others, was also present to share the joyous occasion with Pak Said as well as his anak-anak, cucu-cucu and cicik-cicik but we all certainly missed Makcik Salmah who made coffee for us whenever we visited Pak Said in their USJ 11 house for serious or leisurely conversations. Before the birthday party began, we all observed a minute of silence to share our soorow and grief with the families of the victims of the powerful earthquake in China as well as massive cyclone in Myanmar.

Dr. Syed Husin Ali shares joy with Said Zahari

Dr. Syed Husin Ali shares joy with Said Zahari

University of Malaya's former professor of sociology and antropology Dr. Syed Husin Ali also joined the party today to celebrate Pak Said's 80th birthday. Dr. Syed is now the Deputy President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) which is now the single largest opposition party in the Parliament and in power in four states, namely Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor. He still habitually wears short-sleeve shirt and slippers.

Pak Said celebrate 80th birthday with friends

Pak Said celebrate 80th birthday with friends

Pak Said has always been a very sociable man with many good friends of different cultures and languages. Well-known businessman Mr. Tan Kai Hee and the legendary Dr. MK Rajakumar are among those of Pak Said's kawan-kawan lama, and three of them also share the common experience of being jailed without trials by their political opponents.

Chinese Studies professor salutes Said Zahari

On behalf of all of us, Dr. Chia Oai Peng (above) not only wished Pak Said happy birthday but also salute him as an extraordinary man with praiseworthy idealism and a steely determination to uphold political principle and personal integrity. Dr. Chia, who once lectured at the University of Malaya and Peking Unversity, is an Associate Professor of the Centre for China Studies at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Rustam Sani' s books launched with memorial

Celebrating Said Zahari' s 80th birthday in KL

I just came home from downtown Kuala Lumpur after attending the 80th birthday party of Pak Said. Besides Pak Said's anak cucu, about 150 friends from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand as well as Hong Kong gathered at the Royale Bintang Hotel to wish him Selamat Hari Jadi.

Said Zahari confident of a better M' sia for all

More miraculous survivors rescued in Sichuan

There are indeed exceptions to the general observation that human beings cannot survive for 72 hours without any food and drink under adverse external environment or circumstances like being trapped in debris and rubble in the powerful earthquake that has jolted Sichuan.

PLA' s women in rescue operations in Sichuan

PLA' s women in rescue operations in Sichuan

Many female soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) have also been involved in the real and physical works of the rescue and relief operations in the quake-hit province of Sichuan in southwest China. Ever since the inauguration of the PLA as a workers' and peasants' guerrilla force in Nanchang in 1927, it has always open to women's involvement and participation in all its functions, including combats. Many also joined the 25,000-li Long March (1934-1936) and survived.

Survivors of quake in Sichuan thank rescuers

Survivors of quake in Sichuan thank rescuers

According to China Daily, many grateful survivors of the earthquake in the Sichuan province have to thank their rescuers, whose names they do not even know, by holding banners in the steeets. In China, there are also many memorials and monuments in honour of Good Samaritans such as Dr. Norman Bethune and Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis. Meanwhile, life-saving rescue operations are being continued in the affected areas although the critical three-day period was over, as it is still believed that some extraordinary human beings with unusually strong willpower to survive could actually persevere for six to eight days without any food or drink under adverse external environment.

Ipoh tourists in quake-hit Sichuan found okay

Ipoh tourists in quake-hit Sichuan found okay

According to Sin Chew Daily, the 26 Ipoh tourists who were once "not contactable" in the quake-hit province of Sichuan in southwest China have been found safe and sound, and arrangments are being made to send them back. Half of them are said to be elderly women or Ah Por.

Saving lives with selfless, stoic dedication ...

Saving lives with selfless, stoic dedication ...

Besides the armed forces, doctors, nurses and other medical personel have been playing a very crucial role in saving and preserving lives in the quake-hit Sichuan province in southwest China. Their emergency mobilisation and deployment on a massive scale have also been swift and orderly, and their selfless as well as stoic dedication to the noble vocation have touched the hearts of millions of fellow human beings.

When the going gets tough in quake-hit China

When the going gets tough in quake-hit China

As more journalists have been able to move into the quake-hit areas of Sichuan, more photographs of PLA's rescue and relief operations in the isolated and mountainous terrains in southwest China have come into public domain. When the going gets tough, the tough get going !

Over 20,000 Chinese quake survivors rescued

Over 20,000 Chinese quake survivors rescued

As the situations and conditions in southwest China's quake-ravaged Sichuan province are worse than first estimated, the number of PLA's rescue and relief troops has been quickly doubled from the originally moblised 50,000 to the newly reported 130,000. PLA specialist units like medical and engineering have also been assigned for operations. According to the lastest Xinhua report, more than 20,000 survivors of the quake have been rescued and many roads in the vicinity cleared.

'Grandpa' Wen assuages fear, inspires courage

'Grandpa' Wen assuages fear, inspires courage

Directing the overall rescue and relief operations in the earthquake-hit Sichuan is Premier Wen Jiabao who also worked tiredlessly to lead the battle against snow-storm havoc earlier this year. Premier Wen's calm and firm character, as well as the civilian and military resources at his disposal, serve to inspire hope and courage among millions. In the aftermath of natural disasters, inspiring hope and preserving the willpower to survive is the psychological component of all rescue and relief operations in all human societies ever since time immemorial.

PLA' s quake relief deployment swift, orderly

PLA' s quake relief deployment swift, orderly

Despite the scope and magnitude of the crisis, the mobilisation and deployment of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) and other associated elements like the People's Armed Police (PAP) in response to the massive earthquake in Sichuan is admirably swift and orderly.

M' sian tourists " not contactable " in Sichuan

M' sian tourists " not contactable " in Sichuan

According to a report in Bernama, there are 26 tourists from Malaysia "who have not been contactable" since the Sichuan Province in south-western China was rampaged by a very strong earthquake on Monday. Meanwhile, Bernama has also reported how two Malaysian engineers Muhammad Yazli Mohd Rosli and Benjamin Gau escaped the calamity.

No M' sian casualty in southwest China quake

No M' sian casualty in southwest China quake

The Foreign Ministry of Malaysia or Wisma Putra, has confirmed that, "so far", the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing and Consulate in Kunming has not reported any casualties involving fellow Malaysians within the area in southwest China that was rampaged by a powerful earthquake on Monday that has taken thousands of lives and injured many more. Clare Street would like to express its condolence and sympathy to the families of the victims as well as solidarity with the government and people of China at this moment of sorrow and grief but it is also very confident that, given the proven resilience of the Chinese people in confronting natural disasters of all types throughout its very eventful history, hope would soon prevail again over despair, and the human energies for reconstruction, over all the destructive forces of nature.

50,000 PLA troops mobilised for quake relief

50,000 PLA troops mobilised for quake relief

Some 50,000 troops of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) have reportedly been mobilised and deployed for search, rescue and relief missions in southwest China which was hit by a powerful earthquake. Formed as a workers' and peasants' guerrilla force under communists' leadership in Nanchang in 1927 to combat the conventional forces of Kuomintang, warlords as well as foreign powers, the PLA is estimated to number 2.3 million troops as of 2005 and it is distributed and also structured geographically in 8 Military Area Commands, viz. Beijing, Shenyang, Jinan, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Lanzhou as well as Chengdu.

Epoch-making Long March' s 70th anniversary

Happy 80th birthday to neighbour Said Zahari

My neighbour Pak Said Zahari, born in Singapore in 1929, is going to be eighty years of age this coming Sunday (May 18) and some of us have decided to give him a treat in a Western restaurant in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Hopefully, we will be able to get him to sing the very popular song of Yao Surong in the 1970s which Said learnt from cell mates while being detained. He was the chief editor of the Utusan Melayu from 1959 to 1961.

Remembering ' English teacher ' John Denver

Monarchy & freedom of speech in legislatures

Despite my criticisms against Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh for his obvious lack of organisational discipline as well as art of diplomatic communication, it is also to my knowledge that, under our system of parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, the elected representatives of the people, whether Members of Parliament (MP) or State Assemblymen, still enjoy the rights and privileges to speak up freely in the legislatures during debates on the Royal Address as a Government's policy, provided that the King of Malaysia and Sultans of various States are personally addressed with respect, decorum and etiquette as defined under the jurisdiction of the Standing Order, or as ariticulated in established parliamentary conventions and norms. The system of monarchy in Malaysia is constitutional, not absolutist.

Standard references for parliamentary affairs

Karpal lacks art of diplomatic communication

Assuming, for the sole purpose of analysis, that DAP's chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh has the full confidence and backing of his own party as well as its allies on his constitutional viewpoints on the parameters of power of HRH Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak, how then should he, as DAP's chairman and MP, convey the opinion to His Royal Highness ? Are there no channels other than the public media ? Why not first communicate the written opinion to HRH Sultan Azlan Shah in the more respectable format of a memorandum through the Perak's Menteri Besar, instead of releasing it as a media statement ? After all, after the memorandum has been submitted, Karpal Singh still can release a press statement informing the public that his party and allies have done so " to share our opinion and perspective on the matter with HRH Sultan Azlan Shah with the rule of law as our utmost consideration, and we are confident that HRH Sultan Azlan Shah also shares our legitimate concerns as people's elected representatives".

Question that Karpal Singh should ask himself

Question that Karpal Singh should ask himself

DAP chairman Karpal Singh reportedly "queried" the silence of his own party as well as its allies over the public row over his remark on HRH Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak. The question many have for Karpal Singh is whether he had consulted his party and its allies and obtained their agreements before making the controversial statement in the public. However high his own opinion on himself on legal matters, he cannot expect others in his party as well as its allies to be blind followers or unquestioning machai on such an important issue that certainly need ideational inputs from some other fields of knowledge and expertise.

Remembering ' English teacher ' John Denver

In the mid-1970s, most of us learnt English not only through formal grammar books like Wren and Martin, but also popular English songs in the streets like John Denver's Take Me Home Country Roads and Sunshine On My Shoulder. John Denver (1943-1997), a decent singer of American folk songs, was acceptable to most parents because he was not known to lead or champion any controversial lifestyles that could negatively impact on the character formation of their children.

Violin concerto of Butterfly Lovers in 5 Parts

Violin concerto of Butterfly Lovers in 5 Parts

Butterfly Lovers is a classic Chinese literature of tragic romance like William Shakespeare's masterpiece Romeo and Juliet. It is now best known as a violin concerto which is available, among other media, in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 in YouTube in the Internet. I began to enjoy Butterfly Lovers' violin concerto since the early 1990s. When I toured Hangzhou in China last year, I also watched a modern Butterfly Lovers ballet-plus-acrobatics performance in a theme park.

Musical performance bridges China & Vatican

Musical performance bridges China & Vatican

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has been quoted by the Catholic News Service as pointing out that the musical performance staged by China Phiharmonic Orchestra and Shanghai Opera House Chorus 2 days ago helped put the audience "in touch, as it were, with the living reality of the world of China" and helped them better understand "the history of the Chinese people, their values and (also) their noble aspiration".

Honour of Olympic Flame for Dr. Sun Yat Sen

Honour of Olympic Flame for Dr. Sun Yat Sen

Yesterday, the torch carrying the Olympic Flame reached Guangzhou and it was reportedly greeted and cheered by over a million people in the streets. The relay stopped at, among other historical landmarks, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall to honour the Father of Modern China and greatest and most famous forerunner of the Chinese Revolution. Guangzhou City, the capital of Guangdong Province, is where one of the most ancient mosques in the world Huaisheng Si, which is 1,300-year old, is well preserved and protected with care as well as respect.

China' s orchestra, chorus perform in Vatican

China' s orchestra, chorus perform in Vatican

According to a China Daily online report, "Pope Benedict XVI listened to Mozart' s Requiem and Chinese folk song Jasmine, performed by the (Beijing-based) China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) along with the Shanghai Opera House Chorus, last night in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican". Yu Long coordinated the orchestral performance.

Sissel Kyrkjebø' s two truly memorable songs

Sissel Kyrkjebø' s two truly memorable songs

Besides Shenandoah, Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø's You'll Never Walk Alone is certainly another very inspiring song that I love. I still remember my Form Three Art and Craft teacher Mr. W.W. Lam really could sing the song very well at concerts and I still met him two years ago in Ipoh at the funeral of one of my aunts as Mr. Lam is related to our extended family. He was also very good in singing Chinese songs.

French song that inspired Chinese Revolution

L' Internationale inspired Chinese Revolution

In New China, no Western song is more well-known, popular and most sung than L' Internationale which came from Franch via Russia. Many of the martyrs of the Chinese Revolution sang L' Internationale as the last gesture of their defiance at the gallows and execution fields from 1920s to 1949. L' Internationale is still being sung with passions and pride as a tribute to martyrs, forerunners and friends of the Chinese Revolution from 1921 to 1949 like Dr. Bethune and Dr. Kotnis. There are also the rock-and-roll and karaoke rendetions of L' Internationale in China nowadays that appeals to the younger generations of people whose preference for art-forms may not be in sync with their elderly and middle-aged compatriots although they share the same passions.

Revolutionary martyrs in China multinational

Revolutionary martyrs in China multinational

Whenever there are signs or expressions of what appears to be surge of 'patriotism' or 'nationalism' in mainland China, some observers and scholars with only limited knowledge of modern Chinese history would unthinkingly or maliciously conjure up an image of a "chauvinistic" or "xenophobic", if not "fascist", country. However, the verifiable truth is that, revolutionary martyrs and heroes in New China include many 'foreigners' of other skin colours, such as Dr. Norman Bethune and Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis who are definitely not Han Chinese but still being publicly honoured and saluted every year on Qingming Day as well as other important occasions by a grateful country of 1.3 billion people. Of course, the most respected forerunner of the Chinese Revolution or Father of Modern China Dr. Sun Yat Sen was a baptised Christian.

Stirring ode to martyrs of Chinese Revolution

Stirring ode to martyrs of Chinese Revolution

To some observers and analysts outside mainland China who are not sufficiently knowledgeable about real details of the modern history of that country, the songs sung by Peng Liyuan sound " propagandistic ". However, for those who are, the passion in her voice is authentic and reflective of the deeply and genuinely felt gratitude of the people of New China to their revolutionary forerunners and martyrs dating back to the post-Opium War quest and struggle of the Chinese people for a modern, united, prosperous and peaceful nation that would regain its collective self-esteem and self-confidence in the contemporary world.

'Red' pianist who plays Tchaikovsky' s classics

'Red' pianist who plays Tchaikovsky' s classics

The pianist in red playing the Yellow River Cantata at the Tiananmen Square last year was Lang Lang who also performed Western classics such as Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1. Lang Lang, 25, was born in China's Shenyang and he began to learn music at the age of only five.

Chinese named World Bank's Chief Economist

Yellow River Concerto's new piano rendition

China has certainly changed tremendously at a really awesome speed since the days my mother first learnt to sing Ms. Zhou Xuan's songs in Batu Gajah in the late 1930s, and this was very powerfully illustrated by yet another new rendetion of the ever-green and passion-stirring Yellow River Cantata at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing last year at a musical concert, performed by the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, to mark the one-year countdown to Olympics 2008 to be held in August.

China remembers Marco Polo Bridge 'Incident'

Zhou Xuan as my mother' s idol in Batu Gajah

My mother, who was born in Batu Gajah in Perak in 1929 and who has never visited China, loved the movies and songs of Zhou Xuan (周璇), when she was a theatre-goer in the late 1930s. In her hometown, she had learnt to sing March of the Volunteers simply as a stirring theme song of a best-selling film also in the late 1930s, not knowing at that time that it would one day become the national anthem of a country with the fastest growing economy in the world and nuclear warheads.

My father' s favourite Engelbert Humperdinck

My father' s favourite Engelbert Humperdinck

Although my father was educated in Confucian classics at the private Mandarin school operated by a Master Ho whose son later become our family's (Western) doctor, he developed a love for English songs such as Engelbert Humperdinck's The Last Waltz, probably because of the influences of his second elder brother, who was a Senior Cambridge graduate from Ipoh's Anglo-Chinese School (ACS). Gandmother was always proud of her second son because he declined an official offer to become a colonial police officer in the 1950s and chose a clerical job in a private firm which sold Made-in-Britain cars and spare parts. The first contact I met in Australia in 1982 was a daughter of Master Ho who was a religious worker with a Methodist church in Melbourne.

Amazing Grace with Voice of Feminine Spirit

Amazing Grace with Voice of Feminine Spirit

The English Christian hymn Amazing Grace has been well-known for many years throughtout the world and the story behind its making is also truly amazing. Cecelia's rendetion with a voice of the feminine spirit gives the traditional hymn even newer and more powerful life.

Lesmis' deep, lasting impact on heart & mind

Lesmis' deep, lasting impact on heart & mind

In the mid-1990s, Les Miserables and Victor Hugo's central character Jean Valjean entralled me. The moral messages of Lesmis has left a deep - and possibly lasting- impact upon the heart and mind of mine.

Two most memorable love songs Down Under

Two most memorable love songs Down Under

The most memorable English love songs in my unforgettable sojourn in Australia are John Denver' s Annie's Song and Andy Williams' Love Story, which I still sing in the bathroom when sweet memories strike. I was there for five years from 1982 to 1986 and made many friends.

Baez & Lennon set critical thinking in motion

Baez & Lennon set critical thinking in motion

Besides Joan Baez's Donna Donna, John Lennon's Imagine also served to set me to start thinking more critically about the society and world before I went to Australia to read philosophy, politics and economics.

Peng Liyuan sings ' old ' Mandarin songs anew