SGM’s Final Rehearsal for 55th Merdeka Presentation

My youngest 17-year old son Wai Kei is involved in Soka Gakka Malaysia (马来西亚创价学会, SGM)’s 800-performer presentation (comprising dance and gymnastic performance) in the ‘Himpunan Janji Ditepati’ (or ‘Promises Fulfilled Gathering’, '一诺千金'国庆日集会) at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on the night of this year’s 55^th Merdeka Day on Friday, August 31, 2012.  He has been training very hard during Saturdays and Sundays for the last 2 months and also for a few days this week.

My wife and I decided to go to Bukit Jalil to witness their final rehearsal there on Wednesday, August 29, 2012, without expecting to see Wai Kei in person in view of the humongous groups of participants. We didn’t know the exact commencement time of the rehearsal but we left home early (I purposely took a half day‘s leave from office) at 4.50pm and reached Bukit Jalil at about 5.30pm.

As we entered the stadium, the arena was already packed with participants from all groups/bodies but SGM members were quite distinctive from the colorful track suit uniform they were wearing.  But the audience seats were very empty.  We sat at a certain zone for a while and feeling bad about the glaring heat from the sun, we decided to move over to another zone.  Then we saw some SGM p-i-c’s (persons-in-charge wearing black shirts and pants) and proceeded to sit in the same zone with them.

SGM participants geting ready for the final rehearsal

At about 6.00pm, we left for our dinner at the nearby cafeteria outside the stadium. We took noodle and tea. At 6.30pm, we returned to the stadium and I was alerted by my wife that SGM General Director Mr Koh Sia Feai (许锡辉理事长)was sitting there.

.

I promptly approached him to shake hand and offered my congratulation for his recent promotion to his present position in SGM in April this year (he was previously the SGM Vice General Director / General Secretary and editor of Chinese publications at SGM).  He told me that he came here to boost the morale of SGM participants consisting 800 performers and 200 p-i-c’s for the event.

After that, I walked down a few rows with my wife and started taking photos of the SGM participants practicing at the arena.  I was told that Wai Kei was positioned on the opposite side of the arena facing us.

A short while later, Mr Koh came and had a brief chat with me and shared his observations, including the organizer’s last minute change of arrangement that disturbed the performers (no wonder I noticed the line-up formation of the performers was not quite orderly) and that initially there were flags of various component parties of Barisan Nasional being displayed and subsequently taken down properly due to criticism).  I told him that I felt the first song I heard as I entered the stadium entitled “I’m for you” had political connotations.

SGM p-i-c's dancing along with their fellow members in the arena



A spectacular sight of SGM flags flying in the arena



Participants washing hands after eating KFC fried chicken

SGM General Director Koh Sia Feai delivering speech of encouragement to his members

Mr Koh later went down to the arena to deliver a motivational speech to the SGM participants and conveyed the message and regards from SGI President Daisaku Ikeda (国际创价学会会长池田大作) including giving a commemorative gift (i.e. a plastic folder and a bookmark) to every participant.

Plastic folder from SGI



I was so lonely in the audience seat during the rehearsal.



SGM Chief Photographer Mr Lum Heng (林兴) also came and chatted with me for a short while. He also told me the same story of numerous changes of performance arrangement by the organizer.

The actual rehearsal started at about 8.30pm.  Among other things, there were concerts by leading artistes, singing of patriotic songs, a flash mob dance performance by youth groups and Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia concept food stalls and also a Twitter gathering themed "Tweet #Merdeka55 with the Prime Minister".

The program of ‘Perhimpunan Janji Ditepati’ is reported to be as follows:

8.30 mlm : Ketibaan YAB PM dan isteri

YAB PM dan isteri di sertai YAB TPM dan isteri/YB Menteri KPKK dan isteri/Menteri-Menteri Kabinet / KSN / KPPA, Komponen Parti Politik Barisan Nasional, BBK pelbagai kaum dan Generasi Y mengelilingi stadium dalam ‘Jalan Kaki Perpaduan’ (Unity Walk) diiringi lagu Nadi Rakyat dan Janji Ditepati. (PM dan isteri, TPM dan isteri, Menteri KPKK dan isteri, Menteri-menteri Kabinet dan KSN ke pentas arena. Yang lain ke tempat duduk ).

8.45 mlm : Lagu Negaraku (diketuai oleh Zhariff b Afandi ikon Belia OKU)

8.50mlm : Ucapan YB Dato’ Seri Utama Dr. Rais Yatim ( Pengerusi Sambutan Hari Kemerdekaan ke-55)

9.00 mlm : Persembahan Gen-Y (Gemuruh Suara)

9.05 mlm : Ucapan YAB Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Hj. Abd. Razak, Perdana Menteri Malaysia

9.35 mlm : Tweet Up Merdeka bersama YAB Perdana Menteri

9.40 mlm : Penganugerahan sijil Pencapaian Cemerlang kepada 10 orang ikon generasi muda

9.50 mlm : PERSEMBAHAN KHAS HIMPUNAN JANJI DITEPATI (30 minit) :-

a. Persembahan Tarian Berirama IM4U &1Malaysia (flash mob) (5 min)

b. Persembahan Soka Gakkai Malaysia (5 min)

c. Persembahan Go Malaysia Go (4 min)

d. Persembahan Dikir 1Malaysia (5 min)

e. Persembahan lagu-lagu patriotik

• Nadi Rakyat (4 min)

• Janji Ditepati (4 min)

10.20mlm : Persembahan Penutup – Jalur Gemilang

                   : Persembahan bunga api

10.30 mlm : YAB PM meninggalkan majlis untuk beramah mesra dengan Gen Y diluar stadium.

10.35 mlm : Persembahan Khalayak / Cabutan Bertuah

12.30 mlm : Bersurai
(Note: I was later told that the time allocated for SGM was extended to spill over the time originally given to another group whose performance was not up to the satisfaction of the organizer and hence scrapped.) 

Of course I was most interested to watch the presentation by SGM youth members. I found the wavering of the blue-yellow-red SGM flags during the performance most astounding and attractive as no other groups or bodies did that.  The SGM flag was the only flag flown in the arena beside the national flag 'jalur gemilang' and I believe this would steal the show of the night to a certain extent.  I’m also sure the audiences would definitely be impressed and curious about the background of this tricolour flag.

It is understood that the vertical tricolour (blue/yellow/red) is called the 'Victory Flag' by Soka Gakkai and blue stands for peace, yellow for honour and red for victory.





A night scene of Bkt Jalil National Stadium

As the adage goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” The photos posted herein should speak for the preview of this final rehearsal ahead of the coming Merdeka gathering.

We stayed until about 9.45pm and left for home before the rehearsal ended.

Wai Kei (front, with hands on waist) during practice at the other night (photo taken by others)

A short video on the ending part of the SGM members' presentation taken by me using my cheap Panasonic Lumix digital camera

The actual SGM's presentation on August 31, 2012 (recorded by others)

Glasgow Coma Scale - Addendum to "Managing An Unconscious Patient" by Dr JB LIm

The blogger received a request by the Great Sifu Dr JB Lim to include the following addendum to his article earlier posted into this blog (refer to: http://taionn.blogspot.com/2012/08/managing-unconscious-patient-by-dr-jb.html ) and the blogger is more than pleased to oblige:

Management of a patient with low LOC:

In the event a patient becomes unconscious, an emergency physician, a paramedic or a first responder can make a quick assessment of his Level of Consciousness (LOC) using a number of methods.

AVPU:

The simplest assessment to use is known as the AVPU (Alertness when questioned, responsiveness to Verbal stimulus by asking or shouting if he is okay, responsiveness to Pain by pinching to elicit moaning or withdrawal from pain, or if he is Unresponsive to all). The patient can also be assessed for Alertness, Confusion, Drowsiness, and Unresponsiveness.

GCS:

A more trained emergency physician normally uses the Glasgow Coma Scale or GCS to determine the neurological status. This provides a more objective, and reliable method of assessing the LOC by giving scores from a minimum of 3 for deep coma to 15 for fully alert.

The GCS was first used by emergency doctors, paramedics and first respondents to assess the level of consciousness after head injury, but can now be used for all acute medical and trauma cases, or in patients in the intensive care of hospitals.

This scale looks at eye, verbal and motor responses. The three values are scored separately as well as their sum. The lowest possible GCS score is 3 to mean deep coma or even death, while the highest is 15 to grade a fully awake person.

However, it must be noted that primary brain injuries sustained at the time of trauma cannot be reversed. In order to minimize secondary brain damage, the initial management of any patient with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or intracranial injury is to prevent low oxygen perfusion to the brain (hypoxia), to maintain an adequate BP so as to establish Cerebral Perfusion Pressure (CPP) in order to recognize and treat surgically correctable intracranial lesions. Additionally, other concomitant injuries should also be identified and stabilized.

Prehospital Phase

The prehospital phase during the first hour (The Golden Hour) is perhaps the most important interval in establishing the ultimate outcome after the TBI event. The initial goals of an emergency care giver are to maintain a patent airway, begin fluid resuscitation, immobilize the cervical and thoracolumbar spine, and assess the level of consciousness, followed by a rapid transport to a trauma center with neurologic services, and not to any ‘nearest hospital’

It is estimated that about half of TBI patients are reported to be hypoxic at the site of the accident. It was found this correlates with an increased in mortality. A case control study indicated that immediate prehospital intubation by a trained emergency provider significantly reduced the incidence of mortality in patients with TBI.

It is suggested the importance of early orotracheal intubation in patients with a GCS score of less than 8. Intubation can usually be accomplished without any sedation or medication and should be well within the clinical skills of a paramedic.

The Monro-Kellie Theory

My feeling as a prehospital care provider as for all ambulance crew with advanced training in trauma, is to understand the pressure-volume relationship between ICP (Intracranial Pressure), volume of CSF (cerebrospinal fluid), blood supply and brain tissue, as well as the cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), in what is known as the Monro-Kellie doctrine or the Monro-Kellie hypothesis.

The Monro-Kellie hypothesis states that the cranial compartment is incompressible, and the volume inside the cranium has a fixed volume. The cranium and its constituents (blood, CSF, and brain tissue) create a state of volume equilibrium, such that any increase in volume of one of the cranial constituents must be compensated by a decrease in volume of another. Essentially, this is what Monro-Kellie hypothesis is all about.

In short, perfusion to the brain is compromised due to a decrease in blood flow if there is an increased in the ICP within the fixed compartmental volume of the skull.

Thus it is crucial for all advanced emergency care providers to be able to manage a head injury as fast as possible.

Regards,

Jb lim

Retired Regional Staff Officer and Trainer

St John Ambulance Malaysia

薄熙來是這樣惹禍的？(幽默)

相傳，歷史上的周瑜與諸葛亮有一段精彩的經典對話。

周瑜嫉妒諸葛亮的才智，總想找藉口殺他，在一次宴會上，周瑜故意對諸葛亮說：「孔明先生，我吟一首詩你來對，對的出有賞，對不出以殺頭問罪如何？」

諸葛亮從容笑道：「軍中無戲言，都督請說。」

周瑜大喜，開口便道：

有水便是溪，無水也是奚，去掉溪邊水，加鳥便是雞。

得志貓兒勝過虎，落坡鳳凰不如雞。

諸葛亮聽罷，隨口便道：

有木便是棋，無木也是其，去掉棋邊木，加欠便是欺。

龍遊淺水遭蝦戲，虎落平陽被犬欺。

周瑜聽了大怒，但礙於有言在先，不便發作，便又出一句：

有手便是扭，無手便是丑，去掉扭邊手，加女便是妞。

隆中有女長得醜，百里難逃一個醜。

諸葛亮聽了知道這話是在嘲笑自己的夫人黃阿醜長得醜，便立即應道：

有木也是橋，無木也是喬，去掉橋邊木，加女便是嬌。

江中吳女大小喬，曹操銅雀鎖二嬌。

周瑜知道這話是在奚落自己的夫人，怒髮沖冠，幾次都想發作。

劍拔弩張之時，魯肅在一邊和了句：

有木便是槽，無木也是曹，去掉槽邊木，加米便是糟。

當今之計在破曹，龍虎相鬥豈不糟！

詩罷眾人一齊喝彩。周瑜見有人從中和解，無奈只好收場。

千年彈指已過，故人化為黃土，而魯肅化干戈為玉帛的做法卻成為千古流傳的美談。

略有文才的薄熙來也熟知這段經典對話，去年他趁上北京面見胡主席之便，公然吟詞挑戰胡主席：

有水便是湖，無水也是胡，去掉湖邊水，加米便成糊。

無才無德無威望，糊里糊塗胡錦濤。

胡錦濤無言以對：下令逮人!

(Courtesy of forwarded mail from CK Cheong)

A One-Day-Trip to Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan

On August 24, 2012 (Friday), I drove to Kuala Pilah with my wife Soh Ai, friends Anthony Kon, Yong Yew Khoon and his wife Kan Pian in my Toyota Avanza. The purpose of this trip was just to while away the time of holiday to a place where my wife and I have never been to, and to savour the famous fresh-water or soft-shelled turtle soup (水鱼汤) as suggested by Anthony, after our recent trip to Titi and Broga 4 days ago.

Kuala Pilah is a town and district in Negeri Sembilan and it is an old valley town with many of the pre-war Chinese shop houses still fronting the main streets surrounded by traditional style Malay village houses built on stilts nestled amongst extensive rice fields.

We left Bandar Sg Long at 8.30am and used the SILK highway not far from our residential area. The first stop was Seri Menanti which is the royal capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan. We passed by and saw the current residence of the Yamtuan Besar (the local equivalent of the Sultan) or the Istana Besar.

Entrance to Royal Museum of Seri Menanti, Kuala Pilah

A pose with Yong YK

Mr & Mrs Yong YK

At 9.40am, we stopped by the Royal Museum only to make use of the toilets and take some photos. There were just two other passenger cars of visitors parked there besides us at that time. As we hadn’t taken our breakfast yet, we didn’t spend too much visiting this museum.

At 10.10am, we reached the town and parked the car at the Bus Station and Taxi Stand area, before walking to a Hainanese coffee shop for breakfast. This shop house is a really deep from the front and has 2 staircases. It must have heritage value.

The Hainanese coffee shop we patronized

Hainanese coffee shop's delicacies

Pic (left): Yong YK, Kan Pian and Soh Ai

Hainanese mee

We took Hainanese kopi-o, steamed bread and a plate of Hainanese mee, knowing that after this we were going for the fresh water turtle soup. Anthony played the host.

Anthony leaving his high school classmate's shop

As we walked towards the hexagonal shaped market place, Anthony managed to pay a visit to his former high school classmate who runs a hardware shop nearby. He commented that his classmate looked so old now that he initially mistook him as the father of his classmate.

duck feet wrap

Fresh-water turtle soup

There are a number of food outlets and the most famous is of course the fresh-water turtle soup which is a delicacy there. We ordered one bowl of soup each (RM 7) and also tasted 'Ngap Kiok Pau” (or duck feet wrap - 鸭脚包, RM 1.20 each). The herbal fresh-water turtle soup was okay but the  duck feet wrap was plain.  Anthony paid for the soup and I the duck feet wrap.

Gula ori

We also bought ‘gula ori’ (brown sugar) for 5 pieces at RM 10 from a young Malay hawker as we left the market place at about 11.25am.

I found out the Kuala Pilah people are really friendly. A Chinese passer-by guided us where we wanted to go (to a public toilet inside the market) and another told us about there being nothing much to see in this town except the famous fresh-water turtle soup.

We left Kuala Pilah at about 11.45am and drove to the nearby town Bahau. But we didn’t stop there at all as we didn’t know where to go. We just passed by the town and returned towards Kuala Pilah, after we decided to have lunch in Semenyih instead of Bahau.

Lunch at Restoran 52, Semenyih

We reached Semenyih at about 2.00pm and had our lunch at Restoran 52 near Semenyih town. We took 4 dishes comprising lightly deep fried tilapia, Hakka braised fried pork, homemade tofu, and vege (RM 62 paid by Yong YK).

We returned home at 3.30pm. I felt that this trip was not as enjoyable as the one we had to Titi and Broga, but it was good enough to get to know some places in the country.