I first heard of this name back in the early 90s, this apparent child genius who is of malay-pakistani parentage who is born and bred in the UK essentially. At that time her mother (who was in born Johor – no idea if she even still holds a Malaysian passport) was apparently trying to get the Malaysian government to fund Sufiah’s foray into the Oxbridge route. She must be around 12 or something, as she was accepted into Oxford at age 15. The Malaysian government apparently offered assistance to her instead of many other brillant Malaysians – hell, she (Sufiah) does no even hold a Malaysian passport! I doubt that she had spent any long amount of time in Malaysia as well…why should the Boleh Government sponsor her?

But as always, the Malaysian governemnt always ‘adopts’ random people of dubious superstar status and making them their own. Tumpang glamer, like they say in Malay = borrowed fame

With news breaking in the UK over the weekend about Sufiah’s apparent foray into prostitution, the Malaysian Government has apparently decided to come to her rescue instead (even though she had never been a Malaysian) –

The Prime Minister’s Department and the Malaysian Missionary Foundation (Yadim) will try to assist former child mathematics genius Sufiah Yusof, now aged 23 and fending for herself as a prostitute in Salford, Manchester.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Zahid Hamidi said they would help the gifted girl return to the right path through the “Save Sufiah Programme”.

“The first thing we should try to do is to contact her mother or arrange a meeting with Sufiah to find out the reason she turned to prostitution, offering her services through the Internet, using the name ‘Shilpa Lee’,” he said.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Khaled Nordin said Sufiah was also of legal age and could do as she liked with her life.”We just can’t bring her back. She is big now and can decide for herself. She has the right to do as she pleases, ” he said yesterday, adding that the Malaysian Students Department in Britain had been asked to look into Sufiah’s case.

Seriously, it is NONE of the Prime Minister’s problem if she had decided to turn to prostitution. And a Save Sufiah Program?? OMG WTF IS THAT?? If they are so concerned about prostitutions ect then maybe the first step would to look in their own backgarden and eradicate the problem, instead of saving someone who has never made Malaysia her home.And what do you mean bring her back? Malaysia was never her home, she had never been a Malaysian student abroad, so why is the Malaysian Student Association been requested to help her??

This coming from the Boleh government who never, ever answers their phone in the Embassy – thus I have been unable to register my existance or indeed my marriage until today. I am apparently still living in Malaysia and single. And now they are sending the dogs out to help someone who have dubious claims of being a rakyat, who had not even requested for help.

Should we not be saving our own souls before trying to save others?

And I loved it how the Malaysian papers lapped the news up (as I knew they would) ; but omitting the topless pictures that were splashed across the actual papers . Click here for the actual article, including NSFW pictures

However, seeing that bacon’s off to the Big City today and will only be home around 9, we’ll probably make do with traditional chinese takeaway later tonight. Hopefully he will bring me some Krispy Kreme to make up for it. …yumm.I wonder whether they have a thanksgiving edition made out of pumpkin. I believe they did, but that was in my other life.

In other news, the dream is over for England. Outrageously they have not qualified for the Euro 2008, and neither have any of the other countries that makes up Great Britian. As bacon was in one of his stiff upper lip business dinners in the Big City yesterday, I got smses every 5 minutes asking for update, thus ruining my Ugly Betty night – the one where Posh is featured and Betty gets the sack. I actually had to bear watching England basically shooting themselves in the foot by playing outrageously shit – good thing is Steve McLaren their shit manager is now sacked and I don’t need to pen Euro 2008 in my diary next year.

Yesterday was rather exciting for some working in the Leeds city centre. Around lunch time, we were actually not allowed to leave our office, and all we could see from the windows were that the roads were cordorned off empty of pedestrians and vehicles. As there is an overhead bridge right next to where I work, I initially thought that someone had jumped off the bridge; there are bouquets of dried dead flowers by the sides of the bridge presumably for previous victims. This quarantine lasted a good couple of hours.Apparently around 10.40am, an unattended package was found in the Merrion Centre, which is a shopping centre that I walk past everyday on my way to work. A robot was sent in for a ‘controlled explosion’ – and I think the result was this was a false alarm

Do you remember the time before 9-11, where unattended packages were disposed off instead of blown off? This reminds me of Manila, the hotbed of explosions and bomb scares, where armed guards check your bags when you leave or enter any shops, even a 7-11 had armed guards. And as bacon was living literally opposite Glorietta (where a bomb, incidentally, went off a few weeks ago), this was becoming quite concerning. I remmeber the second week he was there, and around 8pm (he was still at work) his friends from the UK and me in KL started ringing him asking if he was ok. A bomb had just gone off in a bus not a mile from where his hotel was. And apparently news like this are not groundbreaking enough for everyone to stop working and head home. He did not even realized it had happened, and actually went to the window and hey presto, he could actually see the remainder of the bus , smoke and all. That was how close it was.

People get used to things happening around them, and over time, fear turns into complacency. I, for one, live about 2-3 miles away from the infamous area in Leeds where most of the London bombers were born and bred, and their family and friends still lives here. I go pass it everyday on my way to work. On my first trip to Leeds, I actually requested bacon that we do NOT go past that area – this was two weeks after the London bombings. Now, not only it does no bother me, I actually find that area fascinating for its blend of middle eastern, polish & asian groceries and takeaways. People always say its shit around here and its dangerous bla bla bla, but honestly, it never bothered me after my first couple of months here.

Does routine really breeds complacency, or does it actually cancels out irrational fear ?

Walking into Subway at 8.40am. Half asleep, hoping to be waken up by the lovely smells

Requested for a Breakfast sub, to be greeted by a a really old piece of sub roll, two miserly strip of bacon and something round that looks like it couldve come from an egg in another life.

Splash of ketchup, shoved into the oven.Weird

Coffee.

Little bugger asked for £3.78. Advertised price was £2.78. Prick

Got to desk, sandwich is so throughly toasted it was blackened. Filling completely tasteless. I see bacon, but it sure taste like rubberband.

Coffee? What coffee? That little prick gave me HOT MILK.

Who the F has HOT MILK for breakfast?!?!?!?!

I knew I shouldve stuck to Sausage & Egg McMuffin for breakky. Serves me right for trying to be healthy.

Loads happening over the weekend…but no photographical proof uploaded yet – sorry. I do have a few important questions though (elving might be able to answer):

What is ‘yellow croaker’ fish in cantonese?
What is pomfret in Cantonese?
What is eel in Cantonese?
Does turbot = turbot in cantonese?

Does this give it away that I have been trying to order fish over the weekend? I realized that my fish knowledge is straddled between a few worlds…hokkien/english/cantonese/malay and I cannot really relate them to one another!

I also realized that I missed dai pai dong/ tai chau styled dishes miserably. We’ve spent weekends on dimsum, siu yuk farn & other misc. food and now I’m seeking for what I classify as ‘normal’ food for me; fish+meat+veg+rice. I still have rice & dongpo yuk (5 spice claypot pork?) ta-paued for lunch today. And ham choy kai thong (salted vegetable & chicken soup) for dinner. Yummm..my time with salads is over!

Its 8.40am and I am already yearning for lunch.