Happy 50th Merdeka

' His engine is burning hot. He can feel his adrenalin pumping fast. He is set to accelerate with full throttle...there he goes, speeding with momentum, steadily, charging towards his destination; displaying his skills no one has ever seen before...all of a sudden....

He couldn't move, his body hurts, everyone sorrounded him. "Hey, are you ok? Don't scare us man...are you ok?" He was stretchered to the sidelines. He couldn't believe what has just happened. Is it just mere bad luck? Or some stupid fellas trying to sabo him? He's still in the state of shock! '

Chris Rooney has just been tackled from behind by the opponents' best centre half, Chong Fa-Bi, voted last season's best young player of the year. He thought he twisted his ankle...but worse is about to come. He went for a scan, found out that his ankle ligaments were torn. It's not life threatening, but it's a big blow to his football career. He'll be out for at least 6 months. Knowing that he'll have to go under the knife soon, and considering the fact that age is catching up, he has decided to hang up his boots, forever.... It's a very difficult decision to make. Luckily he has a 2nd job to sustain his posh lifestyle. He works part time as a computer scientist at Mxxxxnxxxxa, Subang Jaya.

He went for an ankle operation last week. We SMS'ed the day after, and I recalled something that he wrote. He said that "...it's very difficult to move around, it's a pity to those crippled ones..."

Well, this reminds me of a Petronas commercial on TV, about a 50 over year old man, crippled, but quite successfull. He mentioned to two young kids in Bahasa Melayu, "you have to work hard if you want to achieve something...'tapi, ingat, jalan mesti ke depan, bukan ke belakang...' "

I also recalled what I saw during my visit to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I saw many mine-victims.

Some of them were crippled from their younger days. Nevertheless, they are still alive and indeed very self reliant and hardworking, earning every little penny for their daily expenses. Many are beggers, but some sell books and souvenirs to earn more money, hoping to send their younger brothers and sisters to school. They never give up, despite all the thorny roads they have to go thru. Therefore, to all who are reading this right now, please, never ever give up. Even if you are depressed, unhappy, treated unfairly, felt rejected and dejected, please..... never give up.

Our 1st Prime Minister, Allahyarham Tunku Abdul Rahman, tried very hard to get independence for our beloved country, and was rejected over and over again, but never give up. With his endurance and preserverance, our country was finally independant. Come 31st August 2007, Malaysia will be 50 years independant. Congratulations Malaysia and all Malaysians.

To all Rakyat Malaysia, Happy 50th Merdeka.

To my dear friend, *Chris, get well soon......

*no more beer for you...at least for 2 months