My Written Thoughts

I finally got my songs posted on Spotify ! Amid recording three songs at a studio with a band in 2012, I also embarked on a solo venture, recording six of my own songs over the span of a decade (2010–2020). Only four of them made it into my mini-album (EP), which I appropriately named Decade . The other two didn’t make the cut. One is a rap song (Dunia), which didn’t quite fit with a rock album, and the other (Ketiadaanmu) borrowed too heavily from another song, so it wasn’t exactly original. The rest, however, are 100% me. All of these songs were uploaded to YouTube many years ago, but that was about it. People discovered them, listened to them, and soon forgot about them. I thought to myself, “I have professionally recorded songs, why let them gather dust?” And that’s how the Spotify idea was born. It turns out Spotify isn’t like YouTube, where users can freely upload content. As one of today’s most prominent music platforms, Spotify only allows distributors to add music to its libr...

  My office mates and I went to Shanghai last week. It was the annual budget meeting cum staff retreat, and this time, they decided to go to China! I was thrilled because I had never set foot in China before. It was Monday, 24 November 2025. We flew with Shanghai Air, and the flight took five hours. Once we landed at Pudong Airport, a huge tour bus took us on a one-hour ride to the city center and dropped us off at the Broadway Mansions Hotel. The hotel was a really old building, but the upkeep made it look modern while retaining some of its historic charm. The doormen and bellmen wore Al Capone-style uniforms with trench coats and hats, keeping the old-time vibe alive. We checked in on the fifth floor, which had an okay view, but once we settled in, Aliff and I immediately went out to explore. While the board members and MCs proceeded with the budget meeting, it was free and easy for most of the secretariat. Aliff and I set out with the sole goal of finding a new SIM card for him....

 To Israel supporters who keep shouting "October 7th" : Palestinians have been killed, expelled, and occupied for decades before Hamas even existed. Before October 7th: Deir Yassin (1948) : over 100 villagers massacred. Sabra and Shatila (1982) : thousands of refugees slaughtered. Gaza 2008, 2014, 2021 :  entire families bombed while the world stayed silent. And here’s more: Haifa Attacks : 1937-1939 Jerusalem Incidents : 1936-1939 Haifa Market Bombing : 1938 Balad al-Shaykh Massacre : 1947 Haifa Bombings : 1939 Haifa Oil Refinery Massacre : 1947 Abbasiya (al-‘Abbasiyya) Attack : 1947 Al-Khisas Massacre : 1947 Bab al-Amud (Damascus Gate) Bombing : 1947 Jerusalem Bombings : 1947 Sheikh Bureik Attack : 1947–1948 Jaffa Attacks : 1948 Khan Yunis Massacre : 1956 Jerusalem Conflict : 1967 Sabra and Shatila Massacre : 1982 Al-Aqsa Massacre : 1990 Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre : 1994 Jenin Refugee Camp : 2002 Gaza Conflict : 2012 Gaza Conflict : 2014 Gaza Massacre (Great March of Return) ...

 My orange cat has a crooked tail. Nobody knows how it happened. Maybe she was born that way, maybe it was an old injury. But the funny thing is, she doesn’t act like anything’s wrong with her. She runs, climbs, hunts lizards. To her, the crooked tail is just part of life. One evening, I was sitting at the computer, scrolling through old vlogs I’d made. Back then, I used to record everything. Grocery runs, playground trips, even the most ordinary days. Looking at those clips, I realized something. I wasn’t filming because the world wanted to see. I was filming because I wanted to remember. The crooked tail reminded me of that. Life doesn’t always turn out straight and polished. Sometimes it bends, sometimes it breaks. But just like my cat, we keep moving, keep living, keep finding joy in everyday life. Now when I hold my camera, I don’t think about “Is this exciting enough?” I think about “Will this moment matter to me one day?” Because maybe the stories worth keeping aren’...

Malays have long carried a fear, the idea that the Chinese will one day take over the country. Traumatized by the 13th May incident and with politicians further amplifying the notion during every election season, this belief became deeply rooted. It is repeated in family conversations, passed down through generations, and used as a convenient tool to divide Malaysians. But when we examine this narrative closely, it does not hold up. It is not reality. It is strategy. Let’s debunk it. Malaysia’s Parliament has 222 seats. To amend the Constitution or make any major changes, a government would need two thirds, which is 148 seats. In the 2018 general election, Pakatan Harapan, with DAP included, won 113. In 2022, they won 82. Both numbers were far short of 148. And no Chinese-majority party has ever, in the history of Malaysia, controlled Parliament on its own. The only way to form government has always been through coalitions that include Malay-led parties. Beyond numbers, the Constitutio...

Although I no longer post weekly vlogs, I still pick up the camera every now and then. I want to share how vlogging helped me grow socially and rebuild my confidence. For most of my life, I’ve been introverted. Crowds and social situations made me anxious, and I often felt like I didn’t quite fit in. Over the years, those feelings grew heavier, to the point where my confidence took a real hit. Speaking in front of people — or even being in a busy room — could trigger panic, sweating, and an overwhelming urge to escape. Then in 2018, I stumbled into vlogging. At first, it was just an experiment — a way to push myself into discomfort. I set myself a 50-vlog challenge, and by the time I hit my 50th, I realized I loved it. I kept going for years, posting regularly until 2023, when I slowed down. What I didn’t expect was the transformation. Vlogging forced me to step outside my shell, to speak up, and to share my voice openly. Over time, my confidence came back stronger than ever. Speaking ...