Another Wdding Soon - Part 1

Hari Raya is coming soon. As if to commemorate this auspicious occassion, my son's wedding will be held on the 3rd day of Idilfitri which is the 15th of Oct. which is just a day after his dad's 57th birthday (wink, wink).

The wedding will be held at the brides place just across the town of Pasir Mas. A small reception will be held at my own place the next day and a small feast for the family, neighbours and close friends will be held as 'menerima menantu' (ushering the daugther inlaw). So you can feel the ever increasing tempo of life for both of us till the day of the wedding is done. I am not worried since my wife is very meticulous with everything she does. Immediately after the wedding date is confirmed, she started the preparations. Of utmost importance is the caterer. We have our own favourite caterer who has been doing it for us for several occassion. Their food is good and the price is affordable. Fortunately this caterer was available on that date because he has accepted the bookings for 4 weddings already. Five bookings is all he could handle on any single day. Phew...lucky thing.

Most of the other necessary things for the occassion like the invitation, the 'hantaran' and most important of all the necessary documentations before the wedding is solemnised by the 'naib kadi' on the day before the actual celebration.

Almost everybody in Kelantan choose the dates of 15th, 16th. and 17th Oct to hold a wedding reception. Do you wonder why people in Kelantan prefer to choose a date so close to Idilfitri celebration? The answer is obvious. Many family members will be returning in droves to Kelantan from all over Malaysia for the Hari Raya. So what better days to do a wedding when all close relatives are back home. This will be very convenient. You can expect weddings to be held everywhere in Kelantan. If you travel on those few days after Idilfitri you will not miss seeing a wedding in all the towns and villages. Maybe a few maybe held in a single place simulatneously. The 'Naib Kadi' who will solemnise the wedding will have a busy week come Idilfitri.

Azuan is 27 last June. His marriage will be the fourth and the last marriage among the children. He is my third child. The youngest (Azini) was married in early 2006 and now has a 53 days child Nur Aqilah Balqiss. It is normal for the girl to marry at a younger age compared to boys. Thats how Azuan even being the elder brother is yet to be married.

As an illustration here are some pictures of my youngest daughter's (Azini) wedding to Lokman.

The bride and bridegroom on the dais with the happy parents

The bride with her auntie Sharifah Shawati

Some of my classmates who came for the wedding.

The Hantaran (Gifts from The Bridegroom)

Posted by Pak Zawi at Saturday, September 29, 2007 94 comments

A Bundle of Joy

Azini and daughter Nur Aqilah Balqis one day after delivery

The coming into the world of a new baby will always bring joy to any family. It means there is someone new to shower all of our love and affection. No doubt there will be sleepless nights when the baby cries incessantly due to infection leading to nasal congestion or whatever ails the baby. From personal experience, I tell you the joy is worth all the troubles.
With all the children grown up, there is only the birth of grandchildren to look forward to for old couple like me and my wife to relive such moments. In 1997 we received two bundles of joy within the space of one month from each other. This brings to tally to 6 grandchildren altogether from 3 young parents.
Latun Syakirah came into this world 2 weeks earlier than Nur Aqilah Balqiss. Since it was at a private maternity clinic in Bangi Selangor, we were not there to greet this 5th granddaughter on 19th July 2007. The mother Latun Noralyani (my daughter in law) can already be considered an experienced mother since this is her third delivery. Her husband Azrin was there in the delivery room to accompany her through the hours of labour. Syakirah came into this world at a hefty 3.4 kg. some 2 weeks earlier than the due date.

On the other hand Azini's (my youngest daughter) delivery of Nor Aqilah Balqis (my sixth grandchild) to this world was full of drama and suspense. The mother was warded into Perdana Specialist Medical Hospital in Kota Bharu, Kelantan some 20 odd km from home. This was Azini's first delivery and she was already 3 days overdue. The doctors decided that she must be induced into labour and not wait for natural labour. The baby could be too big and delivery will be difficult.

The time for delivery was imminent and Azini was taken to the delivery room. Her husband Lokman went in with her. The practice of allowing the father to be with the wife at delivery is commendable. Being together through the process of delivery, the husband will appreciate the hardship a wife will have to undergo in the process. I didnt have such a chance when my four children were delivered. Even if I had the chance I doubt it that I will have the courage to be in the delivery room.

After the long process of labour Azini was exhausted and couldnt exert enough strength to push the baby out. Furthermore the vaginal opening was not sufficiently opened to allow the baby's ease of passage. It was then decided that an operation was necessary and preparations were made for it.

Azini was wheeled into the operating theater and she kissed my hands before being taken into the it.

There is nothing more for us to do but to pray that everything will be alright for my daughter and her baby. Caesarian operations are normal procedures nowadays only that it will leave a scar.

The operation was slightly delayed as the anaesthetist wasnt in the hospital since this operation was not scheduled and it was almost 11 pm. I had met the anaesthetist earlier in the hospital and when he came to the hospital I told him that it was my daughter that had to be operated on. He assured me that it should be OK.
Soon at 11.40 pm a baby came out from the operating theater and we asked the nurse whether that baby was from the operation. She said no it was a normal birth. When the anaesthetist came out we asked him of how was the operation. He said they didnt operate because it was a normal birth. Then only we realised that the baby being wheeled out earlier was our grandchild and we all rushed into the ward to see the baby from outside the nursery. What a relief when we realised that the baby came out the normal way and both of them were fine.

So to all the men who read this blog, love your wife more that now you know how difficult it was for them to deliver your bundle of joys.

How Intelligent Are you?

If nobody has forwarded this to you, take a look at it.
This is not really to check your IQ but just to prove to yourself that with sufficient intelligence you could read something however bad they were spelt as long as the first and last letter is correctly spelt. So next time no need to worry much about spelling errors when you post an article as long as you have the first and last letter correct.
fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too
Cna yuo raed tihs?
Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at CmabrigdeUinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghitpclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef,but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it

Posted by Pak Zawi at Wednesday, September 26, 2007 10 comments

The Death of Nurin Jazleen

Nur Alia Jazleen

I have two grand daughters from my eldest daughter Azura. The older one is 7 years old and named as Nor Alia Jazleen almost similar to Nurin Jazlin. The news of Nurin Jazlin being found murdered shocked me as if it was my own grand daughter was involved. The same thing could happen to her since she is living around KL, the city that is producing shock after shocks of missing children or even their death due to criminal acts.

In the case of Nurin Jazlin, the shock was followed by the worry on the possible involvement of alongs with the case. The police's suspicion that there is a connection of the whole drama with the despicable alongs must have some bearing to it. Ask yourself the question why should the murderer(s) place her body in a bag and place it somewhere to be found? Ain't it easier for them just to dump the body somewhere where it is more difficult to find and hope that it will never be found? Any murderer as in the case of Altantuya tried to hide the biggest piece of evidence of the murder by obliterating the body. If no body was found, the case can't even be classified as murder. It will remain classified as a missing person until the remains is found. The method of obliterating the evidence differs. Some stupid murderer(s) prefers the C4. Maybe they wanted to feel more sophisticated.

Alongs are as much a menace to society as the drug scourge. They will stop at nothing when they wanted to teach borrowers who defulted on the repayment after softer approach didn't seem to work for them. Remember the splashing of red paints on the house of borrowers who couldn't pay? Breaking of car windsceens are the other tactics used to instil fear in the defaulting borrowers. Exhorbitant interest rate will ensure the borrowers remain perpetually indebted to them even after substantial repayments had been made. It is hard times for the poorer folks when prices of most essential things went up and continue rising. When in need of instant easy cash where else can they turn to other than the friendly alongs?

To those who can produce payslips, or income tax return, they can always apply for credit cards and become a perpetual a borrower when only the minimal repayment of 5 percent is made monthly. The lucky few maybe fortunate enough to have a small fortune drop from the sky in the form of a winning from gambling. (Even Datuk Hamdan Adnan doesnt qualify for a credit card inspite of making substantial monthly income).

The habitual gamblers are the most frequent borrower from along. To satisfy their gambling habit they borrow money in the hope of being lucky at the next attempt and win enough to recoup their earlier losses and pay off the alongs as well. But that rarely happens. More often than not they will lose their all.

Without any need for real collateral, the alongs instill fear in their borrowers. The borrowers life and that of their loved ones are actually the collateral. Once in a while they will do something nasty to teach the recalcitrant borrower a lesson. At the same time the other borrowers will also take heed that not paying up is not worth it. It is very rare that anyone will go to police for help. The most they would do is to see Michael Chong of MCA to help negotiate for an extention or a reduction on the total amount due since the balance continue to double itself with time. It is really amazing that this man is able to convince the alongs to be considerate with all borrowers who approached him for help when they are in difficulties keeping up with the payments.

The government has declared that the alongs are doing illegal business and thus is flouting the law. Yet the business seems to flourish. Look on every lamposts, tree trunks and whatever have you, there will be a phone number that can lead you to an along. Since they are so visible, is it any wonder that they cant be traced and brought to book? Are our laws adequate to address this problem?

The police should pursue their suspicion on the involvement of alongs in the case of Nurin Jazlin. They should also pursue any other angles that they think are worth pursuing. Definitely one of them will lead to the killer. No ordinary criminal will keep their victim for so long before killing them. The longer they are kept alive, the more the chances of them to be caught. The alongs may want to torture their victim first to induce their borrowers to pay up. The theory of the alongs involvement maybe just a hunch of the police. It may not be the reason at all. In the absence of any other motive other than sexual abuse, this hunch must be pursued.

To the family of Nurin Jazlin condolence is all that I can offer and to Nurin herself I will recite the AlFatihah at all of my prayers. Allah will take care of you my child.

The Fight Against Crime

My attention was drawn to Zewt's posting in his blog As Zewt As It Gets about the body of the girl found in the sports bag. I didnt realise the astrocities done to the girl though I saw the news on TV about the body find.The point now is whether the police is relentlessly going after the culprit? Will they assign somebody who will put his heart and mind to solve this crime? This may not be the first of such a crime by this criminal nor it may be his last. As has happened before, this case will be forgotten the minute a newer gruesome killing is found. Unlike the Altantuya's muder case, the court case and the impending court decision will keep the public glued to it by ceaseless reporting by the mainstream medias. The political connotation of Altantya's murder has made it all the more appealing.
Personally I believe that drug is the root of most of these evils. Go to any seedy backlanes of KL or any other big cities of Malaysia now and you will be able to see these drug abusers roaming around. They are victims of the trade too. Once they were nice people like you and me but circumstances within or without their control turn them into an addict. These hardcore addicts turn criminals since they have no mind of their own. Remember the case of the murder of a member of the palace of one Malaysian state? The murderer was her very own son who was an addict. In that case 'justice' came swift and hard without having to go through endless court sittings.
The point to ask now is, are we serious in trying to enforce the many laws that is in place? The laws are adequate. We have the toughest law on earth against drug traffickers. Did you see any dent in the drug trade? We cant blame it on the abusers. We must blame the traffickers. For their trade to prosper they must expand the market ruthlessly. Coaxing a prospective abuser is the mildest form of the process. Deceiving them into trying the drug and forcing them into dependency is another way to expand their market. Some prostitutes were forced into joining the oldest profession by first making them a drug dependent by injecting the drug into their body. The crave for more drug will make these helpless victim to obey their captor's order to do anything.
The enforcement authorities must have the will to erradicate this scourge. Their first act is to clean up the authorities themselves of any officers in collusion with the traffickers. Sometimes we heard of a failed raid because of a tip off about the raid. Sometimes we hear big news about a big drug bust with million dollars worth of drugs found and equipments confiscated but none of the kingpin being arrested. Don't you ever wonder that the whole thing could be just a set up? The kingpin had made his millions and stashed his loot somewhere and later he would retire from the scene to live a seemingly honourable life as a good citizen. The enforcement authority will have a field day announcing to the world of the big drug bust with a few underlings arrested while the kingpin sat in a cosy chair smiling a cynical smile upon seeing the news.
If only we could reduce the amount of drugs being supplied into this country the we can control other crimes. Only someone who have gone over their bonker could have done this heinous crime on a girl whose body wa found in the bag. Let us pray that the same fate will not happen to the missing little girl Nurin Jazlin.

Posted by Pak Zawi at Wednesday, September 19, 2007 6 comments

Gullible Malaysians

As far back as 1965 I have seen how the common folks were duped into participating into an easy money making scheme called Strike Roulette. It was a simple scheme involving buying a form with some 25 names preprinted on ot at RM5.00. Each participant must send RM5.00 to the name on the top of a list. Another RM5 must be sent to the organiser. All payments must be made using postal order. The idea is to recruit more participants and you can see your name being put on the list and watch it climb to the top. The ultimate is to see your name topping the list and start receiving the RM5 postal orders. In total you could receive a total of RM125. A princely sum from an investment of RM15 and you could recoup the RM5 paid for the form when you sell the one form given to you after registration.

It was a pyramid system. As a pyramid system it will work only when the downlines could replicate the same act. Any failure by the downlines will mean less money will be received. More often you will be buying the forms for your own use in order to reap multiple benefits.

Two of my elder sisters were involved then. I could see the scheme grew when more people in my village were involved. They were easly convinced when shown the postal orders received by the earlier players. The quality of the forms too improved from cheap duplicating papers to colour machine printed ones. The organizer was based in Kuala Lumpur with bona fide registered office and team of staff.

Then came the heart rending reality when the government declared that the scheme was illegal. The company's officed was raided and machines confiscated. The organizers were charged for illegal deposit taking activities. Thus ended the scheme and many people lost their investment including my two sisters who were almost reaching the very top of the pyramid and soon to receive the strings of postal orders.

Everybody forget after some times. Some 20 years later a man by the name of Pak Man Telo started another investment scheme. Cash were collected with the promise that immediate high return will be paid out to the account of the investor. The return rate was ludicrously high and the investors naver questioned how it was possible to get such return. All they cared was they did get the payments or at least they saw others got theirs. Greed set in and they reinvest any monies received from the scheme.

At the same time other similar schemes cropped up. Big names were a prized catch to the operators to lend credibilty to the scheme. Such names would be floated around to entice others to join in. Beside monetary rewads, cars were also offered to participants who was required to make a downpayment and the installment will be deducted from the income to be received. My wife's uncle and brother was some of the family member who participated. Even when Pak Man Telo's operation was busted and payments to investors were stopped, newer schemes still managed to be introduced. People who made losses from Pak Man Telo's scheme joined the new ones to recoup losses from the earlier ones. Such is the stupidity of man.

The year 2006 saw the introduction to Kelantan of another investment scheme using the internet as a tool. No more papers were involved and everything was done online. All you need was a Maybank account to facilitate transactions. The modus operandi was the same. High and fast return. To lend credence that it was an overseas operation, transactions were done in dollars. Nobody could tell exactly which dollar currency since it wasn't exactly specified. It was presumed as US dollars as the conversion rate used was then about 3.5 ringgit when you cash out but when you cash in it was RM3.8. It didnt matter that the USD was being traded at lower rates but their rate were always constant.

To the ordinary simple folks the internet is the ultimate medium. They were shown on the computers how their investment goes. It was the system who did it and the agents were never involved in the computations on how the income were derived. All in the sysytem thay said. All you need to do is check your account online to see how your investment was growing.

The propagators of the scheme was always a local of the area and very much known to the investors. That was how confidence was built. Another way was to recruit the village's respected figures to invest and he will of course speak well of the scheme and how he had been getting his return without fail. In my own village they managed to get the Imam of the mosque himself to invest. Others saw the scheme as 'halal' upon the Imam's involvement. Never suspecting that the Imam was as greedy as they were when it came to making some money.

Again it was the governments intervention that halted the scheme. The government declared that only certain investment schemes were legal. Most that involved the village folks were deemed illegal. Many lost their investments and went after the local agents. Those who persistently asked for their money to be returned either get them fully and some partially.

Come another twenty years the whole fiasco will be forgotten and the whole scam will be repeated. As long as we are gullible, we will forever become victims to such scams.

It is a wonder why the government took so long to act. Signs of the scam surfacing were too obvious. If the scam was nipped in the bud, not so many people would have lost their money.

The latter scams involving the internet were obvious scams. Scams such as inherited fortunes in Africa and winning lotteries that you didnt even participate in were too obvious and yet gullible people can still fall for them.

So much is the greed of man that they cant even rationalise things when it comes to easy money.

Posted by Pak Zawi at Sunday, September 16, 2007 12 comments

Hostel life - Part 3 The Final Year

The final year in school and also meant the final year in the hostel. It was 1968 and the school received its first intake of 6th formers. Since there was already form 6 classes in Sultan Ismail College in Kota Bharu for the English medium classes, our school Sultan Ibrahim Secondary School started its form six to cater for the Malay medium students from all over Kelantan. If I were to join the 6th form classes for my Higher School Certificate, I will have to go to Sultan Ismail College.

This was the year my class of fifth formers was facing the School Certificate of Examination as well as the Malaysian Certificate of Examination. Two certificates in one examination sitting. (I am still vague about the concept but what I know is that if you fail the English subject you wont get the School Certificate).

Due to peer pressure among the hostelites, we studied hard for the examination. Most of us studied late into the night. Towards the end of the year we could discern each others sunken eyes due to lack of sleep. Particularly noticeable was Gani Senik's skin which became so loose that it could be pulled against the flesh. That is really hardwork. I took a much less strenuous approach and didn't burn the midnight oil too much until very near the examination itself. I was too busy with my co curriculum activities.

The teachers had abandoned their boycott of the extracurricular activities and we seemed to be making up for lost times. The calendar was full of activities. All school societies were moving at full speed. Every weekends were slated for at least an activity, sometimes two. So much so that we were hard up for a place to hold our activities and even the hostel canteen was made a venue.

The hostel was located within the school fenced up compound and just next to the school field. Most of the hostelites were active in sports and were represented in every almost sport. An obvious sportsman was the late Abas Akbar. He was an icon of a sportsman and excelled in almost every sport, be it athletics or team games.

Once a week we had free nights where we were free to do our own things. We could opt not to study on that particular night. One particular free night we had nothing better to do and we were hungry. Some of us decided to collect unripe 'bachang' fruits (a poor cousin of the mango with thick skin and large seed. Half of the pulp is fibrous nevertheless quite nice to eat when ripe) on a tree at the fringe of the school field. The field is a common field shared together with the primary school. It so happened that the particular 'bachang' tree was more on the primary school side and almost immediately infront of the semi-detached quarters occupied by both the primary and secondary school headmasters.

Mr. Ahmad Rahman, the primary school headmaster was the first to notice our group of raiders and he informed our headmaster of what we were doing. The late Mr Yusoff Ghouse was our headmaster (He was the father of Puan Marina Yusoff the famous lawyer cum politician). He came towards us and told us to go back to the hostel. He told us there were ghosts on the 'bachang' tree which of course we didnt believe. Out of respect we backed off carrying with us the few fruits that were plucked down by the climbers. Everything would have gone off peacefully if not for the realization that one of the three climbers was still on the tree. He was Ibrahim Hussein.

Some of us decided to go and look him up. Instead of just a few, almost all of the 60 hostelites followed and the noise made was so loud that Mr Yusoff Ghouse thought we were defying his orders to leave the fruit tree alone. Ibrahim Hussein was indeed still on the tree shaking with fright and couldnt climb down. He was coaxed to climb down from the tree. By then Mr Yusoff Ghouse was already running after us. Pandemonium broke loose and we ran helter skelter in every directions. He angrily chased us. He tried to catch one of us but we were too fast for an old man of his age. The school compound was our home and even in the darkness of the night we could run away and hide from him behind the many school buildings. At one point he was banging on the door of one of the classrooms thinking that we were hiding in one, where as we were actually hiding behind the building. He finally went back to the hostel building and surprise of all surprises he managed to catch hold of one of us by the name of Nik Hasan Nik Mat. (Nik Hassan's last post was a DSP at Shah Alam Police Contingent). Nik Hassan could have easily eascaped from the HM's hold had he wanted to but out of respect he apologized to him and followed him.

With Nik Hasan in his hold he called the hostel master Mr. G. Thanda and asked us to gather in the school teacher's common room. Prior to the gathering, Mr. Thanda asked us to meet in the hostel's canteen as he wanted to know the reason for all the fracas. He called on me to speak up. I told him that 'it was sheer panic' that we ran away when the headmaster came after us after we went to rescue Ibrahim Hussein from the tree. He gave us his fatherly smile and we know that he wasn't angry with us. After all we were a bunch of hungry young boys on a free night and we didnt mean any harm. The noticeable absence in the meeting with the hostel master was Aziz Ahmad (Major retired) who chose to escape by climbing over the school fence to avoid being caught. Aziz Ahmad was one of the hostel's prefect. There and then Mr. Thanda stripped him of the hostel's prefect-ship.

We were gathered in the teacher's common room at the school. It was almost midnight. One by one we were made to bend over and had our butt caned by Mr. Thanda. The number of strokes depended on the age and size of the boy. The smallest and youngest from the primary school received one stroke depending on the command from the headmaster. The bigger ones received 5 strokes. When it came to Abbas Akbar's turn the HM said "that boy is a big bull, give him five". We know Mr. Thanda was pulling the punches because he was using the middle of the cane instead of the tip of it and the blow was not at full strength. The HM realized it and he wanted to take over the caning. "If you dont know how to cane, let me cane them myself". Of course Mr. Thanda wouldn't let him but instead made it appear that he was hitting us harder.

If the Malaysian Guinness Book of records was in existence then, this could have easily be entered as a record as the largest number of pupils (more than 50) being caned in one session for the same offense. I dare say that this record will never ever be bettered anywhere anytime.

At the school assembly the next Sunday, the HM announced what happened but he obviously omitted telling the real cause of the pandemonium. He told the assembly that he had never been made to run that much in his life. Other than the hostel students, the rest of the assembly was very vague on what really happened on that night.

That was the most memorable event in my hostel life. I would like to put this as a record for all who were involved to cherish and maybe relive the event with their children or even the grand children. Since Mr. Ahmad Rahman who hailed from Penang chose to reside in Pasir Mas after his retirement, I will meet him to tell the whole story before the coming Hari Raya.

The exam came at the end of the year. When the result was released at the early part of 1969, 13 of us from the hostel passed the exam with a grade one in at least one both the SC and MCE. Quite an achievement for students who were very active in sports and other extra curricular activities.

The old wooden hostel was later demolished after a double storey new building was built to replace it. To many of us and the former teachers, the old hostel building was home for some years of our life. Camaraderie and brotherhood was instilled among us as a family away from home. Memories of our life then will forever be cherished.

Posted by Pak Zawi at Thursday, September 13, 2007 20 comments

Do You Know Why Moslems Don't Eat Pork?

Not many people especially among moslems themselves know why they are forbidden (haram) to consume pork. I remember learning about the reason during my class on religious knowledge in secondary school. Since it was taught to me in school I presumed everyone knows about the reason and not blindly follow the practise.

The reason I want to write about this topic is due to the lack of clarity on the reasons in what KTemoc wrote on the topic Piggy Politics in his blog KTemoc Consders recently. His earlier blog with the title Why Orthodox Jews Don't Eat Pork! did mention trichonosis as the problem (Trichonosis is also known as Trichinellosis). That is all and not much else.

Trichonosis is caused by trichinella worms which are prevalent in pigs. It may even be found in other animals but maybe much less prevalent. The Jews and Moslems must have taken the easier way to avoid Trichonis infection by forbidding its followers to avoid pork in ite entirety. Some considers this is not relevant anymore due to more hygenic management practices in rearing the animals. Trichinella worms in its cyst state is very difficult to eliminate even by boiling.

Given the scenario shown on TV how the pigs in Paya Mengkuang, Melaka and its impact on the environment from its effluents, I doubt any progress has occurred on this aspect of hygiene.

To enlighten you more on what is trichonosis I produced here what the disease is all about.


What is Trichinellosis?

Trichinellosis, also called trichinosis, is caused by eating raw or undercooked pork infected with the larvae of a species of worm called Trichinella. Infection occurs worldwide, but is most common in areas where raw or undercooked pork, such as ham or sausage, is eaten.

What are the symptoms of a trichinellosis infection?

Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue, fever, and abdominal discomfort are the first symptoms of trichinellosis. Headaches, fevers, chills, cough, eye swelling, aching joints and muscle pains, itchy skin, diarrhea, or constipation follow the first symptoms. If the infection is heavy, patients may experience difficulty coordinating movements, and have heart and breathing problems. In severe cases, death can occur.
For mild to moderate infections, most symptoms subside within a few months. Fatigue, weakness, and diarrhea may last for months.

How soon after infection will symptoms appear?

Abdominal symptoms can occur 1-2 days after infection. Further symptoms usually start 2-8 weeks after eating contaminated meat. Symptoms may range from very mild to severe and relate to the number of infectious worms consumed in meat. Often, mild cases of trichinellosis are never specifically diagnosed and are assumed to be the flu or other common illnesses.

How does infection occur in humans and animals?

When a human or animal eats meat that contains infective Trichinella cysts, the acid in the stomach dissolves the hard covering of the cyst and releases the worms. The worms pass into the small intestine and, in 1-2 days, become mature. After mating, adult females lay eggs. Eggs develop into immature worms, travel through the arteries, and are transported to muscles. Within the muscles, the worms curl into a ball and encyst (become enclosed in a capsule). Infection occurs when these encysted worms are consumed in meat.

Am I at risk for trichinellosis?

If you eat raw or undercooked meats, particularly pork,you are at risk for trichinellosis.

Can I spread trichinellosis to others?

No. Infection can only occur by eating raw or undercooked meat containing Trichinella worms.

What should I do if I think I have trichinellosis?

See your Doctor who can order tests and treat symptoms of trichinellosis infection. If you have eaten raw or undercooked meat, you should tell your health care provider.

How is trichinellosis infection diagnosed?

A blood test or muscle biopsy can show if you have trichinellosis.

How can I prevent trichinellosis?

Cook meat products thoroughly until the juices run clear or to an internal temperature of 75 o C.
Clean meat grinders thoroughly if you prepare your own ground meats.


Just like the deadly HIV and AIDS problem, even the threat of death dont stop people from practising sex without safety and sharing of needles for drug abuse.

In the case of Paya Mengkuang, KTemoc is right in blaming the state government for the haste in how they handle the situation. The Chief minister was definitely wedged between the devil and the deep blue sea over a problem they have been keeping a closed eye on illegal pig farming and the environmental pollution all these while. The expose by Karam Sigh Walia was the last straw that broke the camel's back coming at the worst of times just before the impending General Election. The CM is now doomed.

The best solution should be for the government to assist the farmers by providing modern infrastructure that can eliminate the orthodox husbandry technique where the effluent is discharged directly into the river system and finally to the sea close by. This may be costly but if the government can afford to waste money on unnecessary projects like the astronaut program and have better control of projects so as to prevent unnecessary cost overrun which is more of a con job than real cost overrun.

When the infrastructure is in place then only the government shoud act and if the population of pigs need to be culled down, it can be done to suit the size and carrying capacity of the new farm. Now the CM is facing several immdeiate failures namely failure to act on the illegal pig farming which results in polltion of the environment, failure to appease the people affected by the stench and unhealty condition and the worst part is the impending failure to secure the votes of those people involved be they the pig farmers or the community opposed to the farms being located in their area.

By the way moslems are allowed to eat pork even from the carcass of a dead pig under certain circumstances. What is the circumstance? When no other food is available and by not eating it may result in certain death, like being lost in the Malaysian jungle for one.

Since many people love to eat pork inspite of the possible infection of Trichonosis, well go ahead and enjoy yourself.

Posted by Pak Zawi at Wednesday, September 05, 2007 21 comments