Chekantastic

Competitive Uniqueness of Malaysians

2018-10-14T13:47:00.001+01:00

I came across this video about the speech from former International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, and I have some thoughts to share.

Malaysia roots in multiculturalism and it is formed by three major races, Malay, Chinese and Indians, plus some ethnic minorities. We have learned to how to respect and live in multiculturalism for decades since our independence from the British Empire in 1957 and formally formed Malaysia with Sabah and Sarawak in 1963. Although the majority of Malaysian are Muslim, still all races are living harmoniously for decades. Malaysia has its all to become the most liberal and democratic Islamic country in the world.

We have an interesting education system. Whenever I share how the education during my time with my friends here in the UK, they are always amazed how this works. Look, when I was in primary school, I learned everything in Chinese apart from the Malay and English language studies because I went to a Chinese public school. Then when I was in the secondary school, I learned everything in Malay. And later when I was in University, I learned everything in dual language, English and Malay. My education experiences literally shock my friends here as they wonder how this could work. Simple, this is our culture. We have the same syllabus but different delivery. Ha! And because of this, I am proficient in three languages, Chinese, Malay, and English. I have no problem picking up a new language, given the sufficient time to learn as I am used to this environment. I have been trained since my early years to be flexible and adaptable to different languages. After living abroad for years, I would say this is the most competitive uniqueness of Malaysians. I can still recalled the time when I was doing my PhD in a UK University where some of my friends are from the middle east, and I felt welcomed in their community because as a Malaysian, I understand the Islamic norms. Same with my Chinese speaking friends from mainland China and Taiwan, just because I speak the language and understand some Chinese literature to a certain extent.

All and all, I feel that for a new Malaysia to progress (after the historic election on 09 May 2018 where we changed the government for the very first time) to be a great nation in the world, we somehow have to be a Malaysian. By that saying, the Malaysian values are being respectful to each other, being selfless and not keep playing the race card (unfortunately some of the political parties still do in Malaysia), and really appreciate the uniqueness being a Malaysian.

West End Musical - The King and I 2018

2018-07-28T14:59:00.002+01:00

Ken Watanabe is the main reason I watch the West End musical, The King and I. I first got to know him from The Last Samurai movie. It's quite interesting to see that he is now playing the King in such epic musical.

I love the humorous lines in the musical, such as et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, everything has to be scientific, and Anna is a puzzlement for the King. Also, the costumes are beautiful. The set is amazing. The singing and dancing are excellent. I love the way Kelli O'Hara played Anna. She is American, but her portrayal as an English lady is brilliant. This West End production is a replica of The King and I musical film in 1956.

I have enjoyed the first half of the musical compared to the second half. The dancing where Tuptim was coordinating a theatre for the palace party is nice. However, I found that the whole section is a bit too long. I wish that section is shortened so that they could fit in more interactions between the King and Anna, e.g., longer dancing time, or put on a scene where a grand ballroom dancing. Also, I wish that the actors and actresses who play the Thai characters can speak more in Thai accent (as long as it is understandable by the English speaking audience) rather than westerners accent. Thai language is a beautiful language and has its unique tone. It would be more beautiful if this element is embedded in the play.

Regarding the London Palladium theatre, the stall center seats are the best seats to see the stage. It is a musical worth seeing and one of the better ones I have seen in London.

PS: I can't help visualising Chow Yun-Fatt who played the King in Anna and The King film (1999). Ken Watanabe is great, and it could be quite nice to see Chow Yun-Fatt trying out this role on stage ;)

Guide for Chinese L-Visa (Tourist Visa) Application from the UK

2018-06-09T14:44:00.000+01:00

I will soon to travel to China for over a week holiday. I have sorted out my Chinese Visa (the tourist visa - L visa) from the visa center in London. I thought it would be helpful to share you my experience. The process should be straightforward if you have everything ready. Hopefully, the following Q&A is useful for you ;)

1. What should I do prior the visa application?

Book all the flights (international and domestic flights) and accommodation. If you plan to stay with your friends and family in China, it is best to get them to write you an invitation letter

2. When to apply?

I would suggest a month before the date of departing to China. Depending what type of visa that you are applying for, for example, the visitor L visa, it is only valid for 3 months from the date you received the visa.

3. What are the required documents?

I prepared the following documents for the Lvisa application. You may want to check for the latest required documents on the website. Please find the step by step guidance here.

Passport
UK Visa - the Biometric Residence Permit (if you are not a British passport holder)
Passport photo
Itinerary
Flight and hotel reservation printouts (if you are not flying straight from UK to China, you will have to provide the flight itinerary for the flight you take to fly out from UK and fly in back to UK. For example, I will first fly to Malaysia from UK , then fly to China from Malaysia, hence I was asked to provide the itinerary for the return flight from UK to Malaysia)
Application form (make sure you fill the form electronically, print it out and sign it. No handwritten form is accepted)
Terms and condition form

Please also prepare photocopies of the above documents or you will be asked to make a photocopy. The photocopy service is available in the visa center. It costs 50p per page for printing or photocopy. It is advised to have some changes or coins with you, just in case you are required to provide more documents. The photocopier in the visa center only takes coins.

4. Where is the visa center in London?

12 Old Jewry, London, EC2R 8DU. Click here for more information.

Nearest Tube station: Bank station (once you arrive at Bank station, take the exit 8 or 9 to Poultry, cross the road once you come out and you shall wee Old Jewry street on the right)

The other visa centers in the UK are located in Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast.

5. How much does the visa cost?

Here is the fees for various visas depending on your nationality. If you plan to pay by card, make sure you have the Debit Card with you. If I am not mistaken, they only take Debit Card

6. How long do I have to wait?

I opted in for normal service, which took 4 working days.

7. What is the visa application process like in the visa center?

For application

Prior to going to the visa center, it is mandatory for you to book an appointment beforehand. You can book the appointment here.
Arrive at the visa center 15 minutes earlier, have your documents and the appointment confirmation email ready, then proceed to the receptionist desk
The receptionist will then do the pre-check of your documents to ensure you have everything ready, then he/she will issue you a ticket number
Wait until your ticket number is called
Proceed to the desk number assigned and an officer will then process all your documents. The officer may ask you a few questions pertaining to the visa application. If everything goes smoothly, he/she will take all your documents (including passport) and issue you another ticket number for the payment. If you are holding a UK visa, only a photocopy of the visa is required. They will return your UK visa. Go downstairs for the payment
Go down stair and wait until your ticket number is called. A receipt will be issued after you have paid. The payment officer will advise when the visa will be ready for collection.

For collection

You can normally come in at anytime on the collection day. No appointment is required.
Go to the receptionist once you arrive. Take the ticket number and go to down stairs.
Wait until your ticket number is called and collect the visa. I went in a weekday afternoon, it took less than 5 minutes for collection.
The visa is normally stick in your passport. Check the passport and make sure it is your passport, and check if all details in the visa is correct.

8. What are the other facilities available in the visa center?

Photocopier, printer, water dispenser, and toilet. Not sure about Wifi.

Should you have additional questions, please feel free to drop them in the comment box below.

Good luck and have fun :)

2nd Graduation - 又毕业？

2017-07-26T21:01:00.000+01:00

It was just last year I put on my graduation gown, and again today I put on the gown for different reason. I am an academic now.

With Yu-Chun, my colleague and friend in the University

Rehearsal time, 误打误撞sitting at the podium

Academics get together, colourful gown, I just love it!

Now I am in the shoes of my 恩师. I think my teachers a lot. I wish all my students best of luck in everything they do and I hope my teachers are doing well too :)

Supervised the final year project for the ITMB UG student. The most hardworking student of mine. One of my favorite line from him, I know I am not clever but please show me how I could do better.

UG ITMB, a dad and a mature student. Love their stories and the motivation doing a degree.

PG IS student, a student who can clearly write a lot

When you don't feel creative

2017-05-29T14:32:00.000+01:00

When you don't feel creative
You wasted time by doing nothing
By watching a lot of inspirational crap
And actually it is the fear of rejection, failure out of competition

Why not live a life in your own world
There is nothing wrong with that
Free from competition free for everything

Picking up things you like is important in life
You only live once
Don't live under anybody shadow

bang bang
Time to get up and do some work

Bang Bang
Time to step up and start living

Dang Dang
Time to mess up and start again

Dang Dang
Time to keep up and live your dream

#firstattempt #songwriting

Arcade Girl – London Independent Film Festival

2017-04-21T23:55:00.000+01:00

First of all, many congratulations to Director Tze Hao Wong (Kel Wong) that his short film being shortlisted for the London Independent Film Festival. I couldn’t be more proud for his hard work and his perseverance for pursuing the dreams in film directing.

As an audience and somebody who knows Kel for such a long time, the short film has demonstrated Kel's very unique style in directing - spooky, comedy and unexpected / surprising outcome. I especially like the story telling through actions and I thought he has brought out the message of the film through different objects. I guess this is the semiotics in film making :) I wish Kel all the very best for winning the awards. And my best wishes also go to the film makers who have submitted their work to the festival.

Trailer of Arcade Girl

Arcade Girl trailer from MingLiu on Vimeo.

Follow the news of Arcade Girl on Facebook

More information about Arcade Girl

Kel will get big one day :)

Great "Sun"day Out !!

2017-04-09T22:00:00.000+01:00

As part of exploring Wiltshire, we went online and found a place called "Hungerford". It is about 30 minutes drive from Swindon town center. There is a lovely canal for walking. I guess the canal walk leads to Malborough.

Hungerford - Lower Denford

Kennet and Avon Canal

Chekantastic Signature Jump!

After "Jalan" then have to "Makan" ("eat").

Decided to dine at AskItalian at Swindon

Sea bass for main

Gondola looking Gelato

Eton Mess dessert. The highlight ofthe day

We are happy with the service and quality food. More important, it is in great value, especially the 2 for 1 offer on Tastecard.

After "Makan" then have to just "Relax".

This is a not a film for me as am not a big fan of Japanese Manga or Sci-fi. We found a man was still in his beauty sleep when the movie finished. Well, that tells something ;) Again, with TasteCard+, we get 40% off for the movie tickets which is pretty nice.

All and all, a great Sunday and hope many returns :)

Appreciation

2017-04-08T20:00:00.000+01:00

Last day of part time Saturday teaching for this semester. Received a little surprise from students :)

First, a student baked some cupcakes for us, followed by the surprising appreciation tokens.

Back to writing

2017-04-08T06:43:00.000+01:00

2016 has been a fruitful and yet busy year. Like Chinese saying, I am very busy (忙），but I am not blind (盲）。However, during the whole process, I realised that I have given up a lot of things that I like to do, e.g. writing or more precisely, blogging.

The world has changed these days with various political uncertainties. PS: Blogging is a type of writing that I don't need to follow proper academic style lol. I do feel that life is really short and I ought to precious the time I have. I do realise like most successful people would say "no pain no gain". However, does that mean I will have to sacrifice everything I like to do whilst in the process of gaining?

Hence, I have decided to pick up my hobby again. And I would like to make it slightly different. My current job has taught me a lot especially how to maintain a high emotional intelligence at all times. In addition, I feel the world could be much better if there are less of the negative energies e.g. hate, selfishness, etc. Wouldn't it be better if the world is full with laughter and happiness?

Here you go, my first post after not writing for a while. A slow jog in the sunny weather. It is not the first time I saw the ponies, still I just feel they are very cute :)

美美哒

2016-08-21T13:30:00.000+01:00

还是那么爱美

Easter 2016

2016-03-27T14:47:00.000+01:00

很不一样的Easter.

今年的Easter 我是一只Cheeky Bunny.

我多了几个Easter eggs, 我也是孩子们的Auntie Chek 了

感恩！

年初九，交Thesis

2016-02-16T22:13:00.000+00:00

年初九，终于把论文交到Exam Officer, that means 我现在真的是可以等毕业了。

四年的心血，这四年走得不易，

偶尔会有self doubt,觉得自己很笨，

但拿到results的时候，paper被人认同的时候，

那份满足感是之前在工作上没有感受过的。

没有走过此路的人，永远不会明白这条路的甜酸苦辣。

我也希望在业界的专业人士，可以尊重我们这些在学术界的，

不要老是觉得我们是活在另一个星球的人。

没有学术上不断的研究新技术，哪有业界用的best practices and methods.

做研究是份终身事业。

猴年快乐

2016-02-06T17:41:00.000+00:00

又是新的一年
又是没有得到回家的一年
在国外久了，真的会感觉到什么叫做
每逢佳节倍思亲
所以呢，为了平复自己想家的情绪
我今天就用红包封弄了一些纸灯笼
然后采用类似于把装饰品掉在圣诞树上的方法
掉在这棵装饰品上
然后再用几张贺年卡和红包封
把客厅装饰下
也挺好的

Obsessed with my Home Office

2015-09-02T22:26:00.000+01:00

I have dreamed for a proper study room for a long time and I am glad that I finally have one (even though it is a renting one).

Listened to The Holiday soundtrack which composed mostly by Hans Zimmer. I love the movie itself. The movie means something to me, the love I have longed for I guess. Anyway, the feeling is just great. Listening to the wonderful music while writing :)

Submitted

2015-07-02T14:04:00.001+01:00

Was emotional yesterday when I submitted my PhD thesis to the examination office, but feeling extremely happy today because I have officially submitted my PhD thesis, a thesis I have been working on for the past 45 months :)

Park Funk - Pre PhD Thesis Submission

2015-06-29T20:39:00.000+01:00

I can feel the stress piling up in head prior to the thesis...... Honestly, free style dancing is a way to go :)

Window seat

2015-06-28T00:44:00.001+01:00

reminiscing the past, contemplating the future

Like to be a student

2015-06-03T17:58:00.002+01:00

I like being a student

As mush as I don't want to grow up

So I can have endless discounts and I don't need to take any responsibilities

More important

I can have all the fun I want being a student

First in Four Years

2015-04-27T18:22:00.000+01:00

First interview after four years... Hmm.. I was feeling excited and nervous at the same time. I spent a few days preparing for it, just to get back to the track (I suppose) after not doing it for a while. I have had my great first interview experience after four years. I did enjoyed the discussion as I don't usually like to take job interviews too formally. I guess job interview is a two ways thingy. The employers want to know more about you, and you may want to know more about the employers as well. After a critical reflection, I learned:
1. Always get there much more early if you are not familiar with the place and you are getting there with public transport (as sometimes GoogleMap may suggest you to a completely different location, so make sure the postcode is right)
2. Listen to the instruction, don't rush or presume what the interviewers will ask you to do.
3. Make sure you don't contradict yourself when asking question.
Till then.. Wish me luck...:)

Another PhD Day

2015-04-22T20:20:00.000+01:00

Writing with a glass of wine. It helps to calm down the agitated and over complicated thinking process though.

妈咪与我

2015-03-14T19:14:00.002+00:00

有妈的孩子，好幸福！ :)

Love after 30

2014-09-21T21:39:00.002+01:00

Personal Best and PhD

2014-07-20T23:42:00.001+01:00

Best thing comes when you least expecting it!

And using my personal best achievement to motivate myself for the PhD!

Full stop .句号

2014-07-19T00:40:00.000+01:00

花开, 花谢; 缘起, 缘灭

还是沉默是金吧!

作詞：許冠傑
作曲：張國榮
編曲：鮑比達
演唱：張國榮/許冠傑

(許)夜風凜凜獨回望舊事前塵
是以往的我充滿怒憤
誣告與指責積壓著滿肚氣不憤
對謠言反應甚為著緊
(張)受了教訓得了書經的指引
現已看得透不再自困
但覺有分數不再像以往那般笨
抹淚痕輕快笑著行
(合)冥冥中都早注定你富或貧
是錯永不對真永是真
任你怎說安守我本份
始終相信沉默是金
(許)是非有公理慎言莫冒犯別人
(張)遇上冷風雨休太認真
更多更詳盡歌詞在 ※ Mojim.com　魔鏡歌詞網
(許)自信滿心裡休理會諷刺與質問
(合)笑罵由人灑脫地做人
(張)受了教訓得了書經的指引
現已看得透不再自困
(許)但覺有分數不再像以往那般笨
抹淚痕輕快笑著行
(合)冥冥中都早注定你富或貧
是錯永不對真永是真
任你怎說安守我本份
始終相信沉默是金
(張)是非有公理慎言莫冒犯別人
(許)遇上冷風雨休太認真
(張)自信滿心裡休理會諷刺與質問
(合)笑罵由人灑脫地做人
少年行灑脫地做人
繼續行灑脫地做人

Hang on and Keep Going

2014-06-02T22:34:00.004+01:00

Life could be tough sometimes, both academically and emotionally, but this is not going to be like this forever. This is just one of those moments when anxiety, fear, regret and all other negative emotions you could possibly think of kick in. Pressure from finishing the PhD, meeting the right person and settling down etc. There are doubts here and there, questioning if you are making a right decision on things, questioning how things would be giving more patience.

Staying focus, focus what I can and leave the negative emotions aside is the key. Let go the bad experiences in the past. Start to believe good things will happen. It is okay to be rude rude or mean sometimes, it is not wrong to focus on yourself and not getting hurt again.

Listen to your heart more, love yourself more! Hang On and Keep Going!