My Review of the Malaysia Cup Final

Before the match, I joked to Mimi - Kedai tomyam malam ni semua tutup la. Apparently she didn't get it haha :P

My initial reaction after the match was to write about how primitive the unruly behaviour of the Kelantanese supporters.

But let's get to the match first.

I have not watched Malaysian football for the longest years, but I had fond memories of the 1998 FA Cup final between Johor and Sabah. It was a nail-biting match, end-to-end stuff and both goalkeepers, Khairul Azman (Sabah) and Omar Salim (Johor) on perhaps one of their finest nights. It was 1-0 to Johor, and that was the only time Johor ever lifted the FA Cup. Nowadays, its sibling, Johor FC, is seen as a stronger force, perhaps much like how City is looked as second best against United all this while (before the cash injection).

I thought the Kelantan line-up was quite impressive. They have playmaker Indra Putra Mahyuddin and Nor Farhan as a probable potent strike-force, and in Halim Napi they have a goalkeeper with a wealth of experience, albeit being on the right side of 40. And they can even afford to have Khalid Jamlus on the bench! But Negeri Sembilan has a formidable team too, the twins Zaquan Adha (striker) and Aidil Zafuan (defense) in the current national team, Rezal Zambery Yahya and Idris Karim anchoring the midfield (both played for Johor once) and Shukor Adan, a former international leading the defense. I thought only Farizal Haron (goalkeeper), at 26, would probably be a weaker link. So, based on my limited and non-updated knowledge of Malaysian football, I thought Negeri Sembilan was the stronger team. Plus, they beat Kelantan in both home and away matches in the league. But the hunger in Kelantan was raving, as they have never been Malaysia Cup champions before.

Kelantan started quite brightly I thought, but the nervousness was visible as daylight between both teams. "Oh, give it 10-15 minutes and they'll probably link them passes together later on." That didn't quite materialise haha.. both teams kept spraying long passes in hopes of catching someone up the field. During the first corner given to Negeri, I saw objects e.g. water bottles and even firecrackers being thrown to the Negeri player from the Kelantanese hooligans. I was furious! Come on.. where is the decency in that? I decided to be on Negeri's side - I was already on anyway since the coach, Wan Jamak Wan Hassan was a former instrumental midfielder, true-blue Johorean. :P

And then the first mistake by Kelantan happened. No 27 Zamri Ramli inadvertently back-flicked the ball after a long pass from Negeri and Shahurain was first to capitalise with a thumping shot. I was ecstatic! Surely we will be seeing a more open match! However, it was Negeri who re-asserted themselves and keeping control of the game, starving their opposition from possession.

At the end of the first half, 1-0 to Negeri.

The second goal for Negeri came in seconds after the second half restart. Zaquan made a lob into the six-yard box and Hairudin Omar perfectly timed his run to be on side and weighted in a looping header. Wowsers!

And the 3rd was from a penalty, deservedly taken by Zaquan, a tireless worker, after being hacked by Kelantan's number 27. By then, there was still around 30 minutes left and Kelantan could have still mounted a fightback. But their ardent supporters weren't being so ardent and they left in herds.

With the penalty scored, Zaquan was tied with Indra Putra on most goals scored in the Cup competition (10 goals each). But with the title seemingly too far from their grasp, Indra curled in a notorious free kick to beat Zaquan for the award (if there's one - is there? I know for the League, yes..but not sure for the Cup). Nothing more than a scant consolation.

Summing up, Kelantan didn't turn up for the match, period. Their passes were everywhere, and I thought the team relied too much on Indra Putra. He himself is not getting a lot of support, and that explains the solitary goal from a deadball. Negeri's defense was rarely breached and Negeri's goalie has had busier nights I suppose. But the tackling was horrendous, I must say! It was all Scholes-like. I was bemused to see only a few yellows being brandished by the ref. Kalau Idris Karim tu main kat BPL, dah lama dah kena buang dalam separuh masa pertama. Now that's another funny thought - a Malaysian playing in the BPL! Titus James Palani anyone?

And now let's get back to the supporters - the unruly ones, that is.

Originally I thought they were downright silly. Throwing firecrackers, water bottles and whatnot to the opposing players? Goodness.. I was surprised that they managed to smuggle in them firecrackers! Oh wait, what am I talking about. Smuggling experts are of an abundance in our shores. But it doesn't stop there. An innocent cameraman was hit by an object and bled. Now that's just fucked up. Really uncalled for. To further add to the menace, there were several fires started by the supporters. Not only they are hurting other people, but they are also causing harm to public property. At that time, I really think the under-utilised Sungai Buloh prison would have some cause to be filled in. Primitive, animalistic, and hooligan-ish.

Rooney: Shite, what was that hurled onto the field? Smoke-bombs? My vision is unclear..

Terry: Too bad mate. I'm running off. These bunch are scarier than British footie fans!

But after reading this piece in the Star, it made some sense.

Kelantan isn't really the best place to be stuck in right now, what with all the flood caused by the monsoon. The final Cup match, and the would-have-been-historic Cup win would be some sort of relief. The state government even gave a state holiday on Sunday for the supporters to ferry back to the motherland after the match. Much like how Iraq won the Asian Cup last time, Kelantan supporters needed the win more - they have been upsetted in the recent FA Cup final by Selangor and they could not afford to be heartbroken once again.

So, I now have a better understanding of why the supporters act like how they did. But I still condone their acts.

Congratulations to Negeri Sembilan, deservedly Malaysia Cup champions for 2009. Now you've equalled Johor's tally of 2 cups! :P

My Post-Exam Rambling Entry

I thought Business Change was uber tougher than Business Reporting, and some of my colleagues thought otherwise. For now, I'll savour the 6 weeks of life being back to normal. But honest to God, these are the two toughest papers I've ever sat in my life. Where else can you get tax, audit, financial reporting and ethical issues thrown in in one paper? Granted, CFA would still be the toughest professional exam but I would say the ones I'm taking isn't too far off.

* * *


I had my first accident after close to two years of driving in KL. Before I go on any further, it's a much-much-much minor accident compared to this, this and this. It's just my first.


I was on my way back to my neighbour's place in Subang (neighbour? in Subang? waitaminnit..you don't live in Subang?) from class in Sunway. The day was packed full of stuff we did in class and it was relatively a heavier load compared to other days.


As I was driving on the two-lane road, I approached a crossroad and I needed to turn right.I wanted to straightaway get to the left lane when I turn, so in my mind I figured I should just stay on the left and give signal to turn right. It all seemed perfectly an OK enough option for me, but I'll reveal later on where my brain went wrong (perhaps due to the heavy day).


As I turned to the right, flicking my signal knob, I felt a thud on the side of the right rear passenger side. A small lorry had just ran into me. I was like.."Huh? What happened? Wasn't the lorry supposed to turn right too? And didn't he see me signalling to turn?" Putting those questions aside, I went to the side of the road - oh, apparently my car can still move. OK la tu. And so I saw this when I got out:-












And I said to the lorry driver, "Takpe la bang, takde ape-ape nih. Boleh jalan lagi." and we drove off to our respective destinations.


I only found out like 20 metres later that my car can't go faster than 40km/h and it couldn't go over bumps without the tyres scraping the upper-side of the body! Ouch.


But one whole day in the workshop and everything was new again. See, each of the lane in the 2-lane road had arrows painted on it:-


1) The left lane had a "turn-left" and "go-straight" arrow.



2) The right lane had a "turn-right" and "go-straight" arrow.



My mistake was assuming the users of the right lane will only turn right. So lesson learned - never drive when you're too tired! Or else you'll make mistakes in judgment and it could well be costly.


(pening eh. takde diagram haha)


* * *


Speaking of firsts, my beloved Savvy experienced a first-time non-ability to start! It was again, during my self-study time in Sunway. Reading the Savoc forum already made me aware of the magnetic sensor problem. In fact, the car already showed signs of the sensor being close to its demise. But, being a guy, I do what guys do - if it ain't broken, don't fix it. Haha.


After half an hour of trying to start the engine, I went around the place searching for a mechanic. Thank goodness I found one and he brought his tools to see what's wrong - initially he thought it was the battery. But I knew all along it wasn't the case. I thanked him anyway and I figured I should call the Proton breakdown assistant helpline. I got through, and managed to get someone to come over to look what's wrong. And true enough, it's the sensor. The guy adjusted it and told me to get it changed asap.


And so I spent the next 2 hours at Glenmarie having that bit of my car changed. The manager in charge for the day told me to request for the sensor to be washed each time I go for my periodical servicing. I wonder if the place I go for service know what I'm talking about.. Haha what I'm blabbering about? Of course they should know..they deal with Proton cars.


* * *


Status updates in Facebook is quite fun to read. At times, it could be bothersome but sometimes, it serves as topics for conversation. You know, when some of your friends are getting married, or married and pregnant already, that sorta stuff. (by far, the biggest news I had from status updates is knowing a mate in Canada made his roommate preggie and they're having the kid!)


I'm trying to make sense of some status updates from my doctor colleagues though. Time and again I see status updates which are full of regret.


"I'd rather be somewhere else than here."


"3rd weekend working in a row, ffs!"


"It's nearly 12 midnight, and I'm stuck here in the hospital. Please pray for no more patients."

I could probably understand that they're trying to adapt with the new environment of having to go for on-call and rounds and whatnots. But come on, I'm sure most of the ones who are doctors plan to become one. Mana-mana yang jadi sebab mak bapak suruh tu, tak di-kira. And when you do plan to become one, you of all people should know the consequences and deal with it. What was it that you wrote in your UCAS statement previously about pursuing a degree in medicine? I'd probably cut some slack for the first few moans because of the acclimatising factor. But to moan and moan and moan... that's not going to solve anything. Buck up. You're a doctor, for fuck's sake. Work around your schedule and enjoy the small things.

* * *

Congratulations to Farah Haida a.k.a Baby and Hazmi on your wedding! :)

This Is It

If I could please borrow MJ's movie title for my post.

I've been on hiatus due to lack of enthusiasm in writing and having classes in between.

On Monday, 2nd November 2009, and the following day and date, there will be a two legged cup final.

Our aim is to achieve 51. Get that score, and the opposition is beaten.

We are aware that the gap between 49 and 50, much more 51, is a long way to go. That is the difference between winning and losing. (Much like Owen's goal during the Manchester derby?)

Within the past 2 months, we have assessed our opponents' strength and weakness. We have sharpened our skills to get past their strengths and to capitalise on their weakness.

We know we are not perfect, but we have come up with a gameplan to ensure our hit rates are high. Get a swift understanding of the opponent's tactics, and put pen to paper on the spot. Time could be our main culprit and as such, we must continue to play until the whistle is blown (again a derby reference) and be aware of spending too much time doing back-passes or nonchalantly winning the midfield battleground without really penetrating the defence and scoring.

Each of us will be man-marking the same yet different opponent. Unlike zonal marking which Liverpool does best (or worst, however way you see it), each of us will attempt to destroy the opposition, or do just about enough to push them out of the way.

For it may be a long, long wait for a replay of the final, much like how United are made to wait for being back-to-back champions of the UEFA Champions League last year.

My Professional Mistake

Specially dedicated to my professional group of friends. Haha.

A Professional Mistake

"Your alarm rings, signalling another brand new day. You get up, looking forward for another new day of challenge, another new day to learn. After washing up, you put on your office outfit, giving you that professional look, one that you believe many out there envy. Breakfast follows (perhaps), and you head off to your office. You’re one of the earliest to arrive, ahead of all your superior and when they come in later, they greet you and you feel all charged up for another productive day. Plenty to do and learn and hence, you are prepared to stay back late to do all that is necessary.

If you’re currently doing a degree in finance, accounting or law, the above is probably what you’ve been waiting for all these years. You work your ass off (well… most of you) in university because it’s your dream to join one of those big glamorous firms out there in the market. Lawyers and accountants are the usual suspects for this curse. Once graduated, all of them will run like headless chicken towards those big firms. If you’re an accounting student… you want to be an auditor in one of the Big-4 right?

Well, if you do make it, it’s like a dream come true. In such firms, you get a personal computer, maybe a notebook (wow!). All your stationeries are free, and it’s also the first time you step into a ‘pantry’, where you can make your own coffee, just like those nice offices in TVB series. Next, you get an exclusive e-mail, the domain after your name is not the ordinary @gmail.com or @hotmail.com or @yahoo.com… No, it’s not, it’s your-name@a-big-and-glamorous-firm.com. You can’t wait to tell that to your friend.

Then comes the feeling of giving a business card with your name on it, and it’s not any other business card, it’s one with your name on it, it’s one that signifies you’re an employee with a-big-and-glamorous-firm. And… the word below your name is not a lowly “accounts executive”… the word below your name is exclusive… the word below your name is… “Associate”. And when your friend gives you the “Wow, you’re an associate with this firm?”… you get into instant orgasm.

3 or 6 months into your job, you will then be experiencing the euphoria of saying… I-am-very-busy… I-have-a-lot-work… I-worked-till-very-late-last-night… I-can't-make-it-for-the-gathering-cos-I-have-to-work-this-weekend. Yeah, it’s an euphoria because to you, it’s a privilege to be busy, it’s very cool to work late, you’re very proud to work in during weekends. When you utter such words, a sense of arrogance and pride radiates from you. You feel great because working so hard means you learnt a lot of things, those not in the professional industry somehow looks lowly to you. You feel big, you feel you’re a level smarter than them .Reality will tend to sink in within 2 years or so, though the duration seems to be getting shorter and shorter now with the younger generation.

First, you will probably ask yourself, how come a graduate like you must do all sorts of donkey jobs such as photocopying, checking invoices, going through pile and pile of documents and filing. You will also be wondering how come your superior whom you once looked up to have to suck up to clients. Oh yeah… most all clients are unreasonable.

If you’re an accountant, you will probably realise that there is no such thing called a ‘balance’ sheet. It’s balanced because you did the balancing act so that your big boss can sign on it and certify it as ‘true and fair’. Yeah… signing on accounts, the job that you once dreamed of… isn’t exactly all a bed of roses. You then realise that you will probably never reach that “just-need-to-sign-only stage” but hey… it’s ok, you probably hate that job by now. When you tell your client something, chances are you are just as blur and confuse as them. But you have to act as though you’re an expert because you’re the con-sul-tant. This is just a glimpse of it.

Now, all the late nights and irregular meals will probably caused you to age 8 years in 2 years. Those I-am-very-busy… I-have-a-lot-work… I-worked-till-very-late-last-night… I-can't-make-it-for-the-gathering-cos-I-have-to-work-this-weekend will take its toll on your body and it will show. You will probably look very skinny… or very far… you will certainly look old and worn out. Working late and spending weekends in the office is no longer a cool thing but absolute stupidity. But hey… you will still have to do it, because there’s still much work to be done.

By now, all your friends who ended up as salesmen or doing other thing except being a professional, those whom you felt superior to are driving anything but a Proton. But for you, it’s time to think whether you should buy a Proton cause your Perodua is beginning to give you problem. Of course, if your father is well-connected fella, things can be different. But if you’re not, tough luck. You’ll be wondering how come you’re generally under-paid. Those exposure and learning curve that you once craved are no longer relevant. You want to make more money. But unless you’re a partner of the glamorous firm, money can be a lil tough to come by.

At this point of time, probably after 3, 4 or 5 years, you finally realised that piece of paper you signed when you first joined the glamorous firm was nothing but lies, or worse, like a hook being stuck on your nose. Then, you decide to ply your trade in the commercial world, you leave those glamorous firm. You think joining a commercial firm will bring about a good change, not knowing that such move means you switched from being a ‘profit centre’ to a ‘cost centre’. One of the main effect of the switch is that you will be working doubly hard compared to the profit centre, which probably includes a lot of late nights too… but your salary and bonus is much lower compared to profit centre. What does this mean… a story for another time.

One thing for sure… your morning will now be something like…

Your alarm rings, signalling another day… another weekday. You get up, after snoozing the alarm a million and one times. You hope today is Friday, but it’s not, and you feel like shit. You think of a million and one reasons to take MC, but you realised you have to go to office because you failed to finish the report due today though you stayed till 10pm last night. You tell yourself you need to change job, just like how you have been telling yourself in the last 1 year. Once in office, you’re in a dilemma cause you want time to go slower so that you can finish your work but yet, you want time to go faster so that you can leave the office and go for lunch.

During lunch, you will bitch with your colleagues about work and probably the bosses. You will all talk about so many people who seem to be doing so well except for you. You realised you should have done something else while in university. You realised you may have made a mistake in life… a mistake in being a professional… you have made… a professional mistake."

MY Miss Universe Fail?

Well it's not MY actually. It's SG. Got this from the infamous Kenny Sia. See the video for yourself.

Oh and btw, this is not for minors so maybe you'd like to view it after 7.18pm-ish? Haha.

Fail.

My ICAEW Buka Puasa Event

The event was held in conjunction of the launch of the Direct Access ICAEW World Mastercard and Visa. Awesome stuff. Initially when the guy was trying to pitch the card to me, I shot down all his point-of-sale..all I asked was what separates this card and the rest?

"Free for life" - mine too.

"Petrol rebates of 5% on every 1st of the month and 2% thereafter on ANY petrol station" - Rebate? Capped at a maximum RM50 with total spending of RM5,000...who the h*ll (ish tak baik mencarut2 kan bulan puasa ni kekeke) uses RM5,000 for fuel? Plus I have an inkling to Petronas because I can use my yellow Maybankard there. Straightaway debit off my bank account.

"2% rebate on 500 stores nationwide" - I go to...hmm lemme see. Jusco, Carrefour, Isetan. Gile tak berbaloi kalau tak pergi lagi 497 kedai. Eh chup, 3 kedai tu pun masuk ke?

"Bonus points!" - Seriously, I don't see the point in bonus points. It takes FOREVER to get a pen as a gift.

"Can get Platinum card!" - Eh, wouldn't you need a certain level of salary to be able to own a Platinum card? I'm only earning peanuts. I'm not eligible for your scheme!

And even after all that, in the end I changed my mind in a flash. I applied for the card.

Why?

I suppose it's because it's an invitation to ICAEW MCG (Malaysia City Group) members only. Plus the card has that ICAEW logo on it...now that's prestigious. Not any card can have that. Heck, not anyone can have that. God willing if I can get through last few rounds of exams and do my time...

Shoot me in the face? *lariiiiiiii*

* * * * *

It's not so much of the event that I wanna talk about. We had the privelege of Tan Sri Hanafiah bin Hussain, the first Malaysian who acquired the prestigious Chartered Accountant title from ICAEW and Lifetime Award achiever for ICAEW MCG to be our imam for the Maghrib prayers. He even gave a little tazkirah before the prayer. "This is your communion with Allah, so give your utmost focus!" Little did we know he had 5 years of education in sekolah pondok. He is 82 years old but he looks 30 years younger. Impressive.

And, get this: before starting prayers, he also said, "I'm Tan Sri Hanafiah. The Tan Sri Hanafiah". I'm assuming he's doing this for the benefit of people who were in the makeshift musolla not knowing who he is. And even though he had the emphasis in his sentence, it didn't come out as boastful or arrogant. It was more like, humbling. Down to earth. It wasn't like a father saying something to his son, it was more like a friend. I know, it's weird to have that kind of effect when you're stressing something, but he did it and I'm super awed. That is a blogworthy character right there.

Lepas solat, dia pesan suruh pergi masjid sambung terawih. Sampai sekarang terpacak depan komputer. Huhu. Ok2 terawih sendiri ahh.

This is someone I should aspire to be.

My Desires

1. Tag Heuer Grand Carrera

2. Chopard Gran Turismo XL

3. Louis Vuitton Chronometer

4. Omega De Ville Co-Axial

5. Omega De Ville Co-Axial Hour Vision

6. Patek Phillipe Grand Complication Moonphase

7. Patek Phillipe Geneve Day Date Moonphase

8. Patek Phillipe

9. Tag Heuer Grand Carrera Calibre 36 Automatic

Now... if I just fork out a hundred bucks every month then maybe I could afford one of these hand accessories every 5 years?