Grandma's Hands

Grandma, some ninety plus years old, was sitting on the patio bench with her head down staring at her hands. Not wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she were okay.

She raised her head and looked at me and smiled.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking," she said in a clear strong voice.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, Grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were okay," I explained to her.

"Have you ever looked at your hands," she asked. "I mean really looked at your hands?"

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.


Grandma smiled and related this story:


They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.

They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse.

They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbours, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.

They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when He leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of God."

I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my Grandma's hands and led her home.

When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband, I will always think of Grandma and her hands.

Contributed by: Angela Ooi.

A world record size Piranha

The reason why people will not go for a swim in the Amazon

Contributed by : Sokewong.

The Return of Elizabeth Wong

SUARAM welcomes the decision by the Selangor State government to retain Elizabeth Wong’s as state executive councilor and Bukit Lanjan assemblyperson. .

We view the Selangor state government’s decision as one which is in line with the will of the people. This decision is a watershed in the promotion of “new politics” – a concept which adheres strongly to human rights practices, especially the respect for the rights to privacy in this particular case.


Suaram is heartened with the statement make by Selangor Menteri Besar that “the State government is equally concerned in protecting the rights to privacy and will do its utmost to protect that right.”

We also view this decision as a step in the right direction in the battle against acts of gross violation of human rights and personal attacks by irresponsible individuals for their own political agenda. This is a minor victory in our quest for new politics in Malaysia .

We strongly deplore the statement made by Selangor state assembly opposition leader Khir Toyo that they will continue exploit this issue. Instead of scoring these cheap political points he should focus on other important and pending matters, including answering the accusation that he had misused state funds when he was the Menteri Besar of Selangor.


Suaram urges our politicians to focus their energies instead on building democratic governance and a vibrant human rights culture in Malaysia.

The return of Elizabeth Wong is strongly supported by the people. Her work as state executive councilor, especially in protecting the environment and implementing the practice of good governance, is highly recognised by the people at large. As such, the people will continue walk with her and defend her from any further attacks.

Suaram looks forward to working together with Elizabeth Wong on issues related to good governance and human rights.



Secretariat of
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
16 April 2009.

Mystery – It Ain’t Heavy, It’s My Load.

The body structures of commercial vehicles that transport goods are designed for a specific purpose. By ignoring the importance of road traffic safety, then deaths, injuries and property damage will be imminent resulting from crashes. To reduce such harm, overloading should be avoided be it goods or passengers.

Pedestrians and cyclists can be difficult to see on the roads, which increases their risk of road traffic injuries, what more when their poor visibility is the cause from overloading.

The human factors such as inexperienced drivers, distractions and speeding are the major culprits. But, when it comes to situations without an alternative choice, taking chances and exposing oneself to risks become inevitable.

Bicycle is the cheapest mode of transport. Bicycle is designed to cater to a certain capacity and weight. Failing to comply to such specification, it can invite accidents as well.

Let’s ask ourselves.

Do they have a choice to deliver what they are selling when they are struggling to make ends meet?

What choice he has when his livelihood is depended on his sole mode of transport to go about his work?

The load may not seem heavy but the bulk of it that impedes visibility should not be ignored. He knows better about his own safety if only he could afford!

When a bicycle is used for different purposes, the cyclist has to take responsibility to what he is carrying or transporting. When irresponsible attitude prevails, then he is courting danger along his way.

This guy has his priority wrong! He is gambling on his Lady Luck to reach his destination safely before enjoying his binge.

Motor-cyclists make no difference too. Between safety and accident, he takes his chance against the omen of disaster.

In various parts of the world, such common sight is a daily affair. The affordable transport that could serve a direct linkage to the poor farmers is impinging upon them. The only avenue that they can get connected to the mainstream economic and how they endeavour to sustain a livelihood is to take the calculated risk.

When motorized transport replaces animal-drawn carts, people tend to shift from hardship to convenience without an iota of the imposing danger to themselves.

The results of overloading can have serious consequences in terms of passenger safety. Too much weight on a vehicle will spell danger because it is difficult to drive and to stop. In cases of serious overloading, brakes can fail completely, particularly on steep hills.

This is the life that people live and who could tell them to prioritize safety when they have to maximize what they can afford!

The candid photos are the reasons why it is a disadvantage to be a car, autobiographically speaking!

It's Incredible!

The act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality is where creativity is born.


The thinking and producing effects is the road to innovation where the production or implementation of an idea becomes real.

If you have ideas, but don't act on them, you are imaginative but not creative.

All imaginative ideas that turn into an art come from unique individuals.

Contributed by: Wong Pei Tjin.

The Plan

Robin Williams, wearing a shirt that says 'I love New York ' in Arabic.

You gotta love Robin Williams......Even if he's nuts! Leave it to Robin Williams to come up with the perfect plan. What we need now is for our UN Ambassador to stand up and repeat this message.

Robin Williams' plan...(Hard to argue with this logic!)

'I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan.'

1) 'The US will apologize to the world for our 'interference' in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those 'good 'ole' boys', we will never 'interfere' again.

2) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany , South Korea , the Middle East , and the Philippines . They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence.

3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of whom or where they are. They're illegal!!! France will welcome them.

4) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!! No one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers.

5) No foreign 'students' over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a 'D' and it's back home baby.

6) The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while

7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)

8) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not 'interfere.' They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.

9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

10) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us 'Ugly Americans' any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH..learn it...or LEAVE...Now, isn't that a winner of a plan?

'The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.' She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'you want a piece of me?'

Contributed by: Angela Ooi.

Water Art

Once the imagination is allowed to roam unbridled, the emergence of creativity will be the wonder and awe.

Water as an art? Yes, when droplets of water can be harnessed to form shapes and sizes to accentuate the objects perceived in the mind into an art.