Stone on a Datuk's head

Not much time for blogging this past couple of days, but I just want to share this interesting quote:

If you throw a stone in Japan, it will hit a man by the name of Suzuki.
In Malaysia, if you throw a stone, it would hit a Datuk.

--- Anon

But I'd like to add another line:

And only in Melaka, a stone thrown would land on a Bollywood actor's head.

Undeserving Datukship

When my father read the newspaper on Saturday, he was less than amused about the Government of Melaka conferring Shah Rukh Khan a Datukship on the occasion of the Tuan Yang Terutama Yang Dipertua Negeri Melaka's birthday.

When I heard from my father about this, I was less than amused.

And apparently, most people in the country are not amused either.

Whatever the reason the state government has for conferring the Datukship (which I feel rather shallow anyway), I believe there are many other Malaysians much more deserving.

If you want to honour an entertainer, why not give a Datukship to Melaka's very own Andre Goh, who coincidentally is only conferred a Darjah Seri Melaka (DSM) which does not carry the title Datuk? I notice most local entertainers are only honoured posthumously.

And what about Datukships to more deserving local heroes who conquered Mount Everest - M. Magendran and N. Mohandas? Are we to say that Shah Rukh Khan, who is not even a Malaysian, is more deserving than these two Malaysians?

The problem with some states is that they don't have a quota for Datukships to be awarded every year, nor do they have a strict rule on the conferment on the supposedly prestiged title. I only know Johor and Selangor as being the two states which are very strict on Datukships. Melaka has always been notorious (though not the only one, mind you) for being far too "lenient" on conferring this title. For only a small state with a small number of population, Melaka probably has the highest Datuk to population ratio, which is ridiculous.

Some people I know even joked that if you want an easy and early Datukship, get it from Melaka. In this day and age, when there are so many Datuks around, the prestige and honour that comes with this title seem to have been diluted. Throw a pebble into a crowd, and the chances that it'll hit a Datuk is high.

Nowadays, it is no big deal if someone is a Datuk. Just ask Shah Rukh Khan, I'm sure he'll just put the Datukship along with his other silverware that he has been honoured with - as paperweight.

Who is Shah Rukh Khan?

Obviously I'm not referring to the Bollywood actor on the right.

Shah Rukh Khan was the fourth son of Timur or better known as Tamerlene the conqueror. Timur died in 1405 and Shah Rukh Khan gained control of the Turko-Mongol tribes in 1407, whose empire included Iran and Turkistan which also included Samarkand. The following is an excerpt of Shah Rukh Khan's achievements based on his famous son's biography:

In 1409, Shah Rukh decided to make Herat in Khorasan (today in western Afghanistan) his new capital. Shah Rukh ruled there making it a trading and cultural centre. He founded a library there and became a patron of the arts. However Shah Rukh did not give up Samarkand, rather he decided to give it to his son Ulugh Beg who was more interested in making the city a cultural centre than he was in politics or military conquest. Although Ulugh Beg was only sixteen years old when his father put him in control of Samarkand, he became his father's deputy and he became ruler of the Mawaraunnahr region.

The above is quoted from http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Ulugh_Beg.html but unfortunately the link no longer works somehow.

Shah Rukh Khan died in 1447.

UPDATED AT 1.10 a.m. 11 May 2006: MORE ABOUT SHAH RUKH KHAN CAN BE READ AT THIS LINK.

Siti in Bollywood... sort of...

A bit of entertainment news...

I find it interesting that Siti will be performing at the Bollywood film awards slated to be held in KL as reported in The Star today. Full news here.

I'm no Bollywood fan, but this gets me thinking. I wonder if Bollywood will ever use Siti's songs in their movies. Imagine Cindai being performed Bollywood-style.

Looking at the list of actors / actresses coming to KL, I don't see Shah Rukh Khan's name there. Oh, well. He was here in Langkawi recently, and he got to hug Tun Dr Mahathir. Or was it the other way around? I'm not sure because I wasn't there.

In any case, a little trivia... Does anyone here realise that the name "Shah Rukh Khan" is actually the name of one of the rulers of the Muslim Moghul Dynasty that ruled India? He was a ruler who loves science and knowledge. Yet, today when we mention that very name, people immediately see Shah Rukh Khan the actor.

Of hailstones and golden rain

Remember the Malay adage "hujan batu di negeri sendiri, hujan emas di negeri orang"?

Realise how we often complain about how things are terrible and horrible here in our country?

Well, this is so often the case until and unless we see the state of affairs in other countries. I had the privilege to visit several countries in the past 3 years. Not counting the UK where I lived for 5 years, and not counting the countries where I stopped for transit (India, Italy), I have been to 2 North African countries (Algeria, Egypt) as well as the biggest Muslim country (Indonesia).

What I can say is that when you have been to these countries, you'll realise that we're indeed very lucky. Sure, we are not perfect. But that doesn't mean that we're in the pits. Things could be better, but it won't get better if we just complain.

I think once in a while we should take time out to count our blessings. Oft-times we only remember these blessings when we no longer have them.

Indonesia may be the biggest Muslim country. Algeria may be a country with a rich and colourful history. Egypt may be the cradle of civilisation. But believe you me, from where I'm standing, we are indeed more blessed compared to them.

Hailstones indeed...