The Malay Mail - Lam Seng Fatt (9th Sept, 1983)

ALFRED HO GOES FULL-TIME
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Alfred Ho is leading the way for the blind. Accompanying himself on the guitar, Alfred sings popular Cantonese numbers, theme songs from Hongkong, television serials and evergreen English hits.

Alfred left his job as a telephone operator with the Penang City Council to venture full-time into music. "I hope to pave the way for other blind people. I feel the blind should not be confined to jobs like basket-weaving, telephone operating or stenographing. I'm sure they can do other things. They should try other fields and exploit their talents. I may not succeed but I'm willing to try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained," he says.

Alfred took up music because life was boring. "After being trained at the Gurney Training Centre, I had to wait years for a job. In the meantime, I took up music, learning the guitar from a friend. I wrote songs and learnt country and western tunes," he says.

"I had been contemplating singing full-time for quite a while. I figured that if I wanted to do something, I must go all the way wholeheartedly. I was working in the day and singing at night. It was exhausting and I had little time to spare. Music is in my blood. It is a form of release. It is challenging and I get to meet lots of people. Since I have a talent, I might as well use it," he says.

Alfred learns his songs note by note from listening to tapes. He doesn't read music, although he knows Braille, which he learnt at the St Nicholas School for The Blind in Penang. "Music is more rewarding income-wise too. It is risky but any business venture is a risk. Like any artiste, I hope to make it big".

Alfred has a wide repertoire of songs. He sings in Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Malay. He is familiar with Rock and Roll, Disco, Sam Hui's and The Wynners canto-rock songs and Elvis Presley hits. He plays the guitar with very aggressive rhythmic strumming and plays lead in a very country manner. His singing is mellow and most times, he imitates the style and 'slang' of the original singers.

Badruddin refuses to retract remark

So, Badruddin, one of the 3 clowns is at it again. From my observations, having heard a few parliamentary debates myself, I sense that the parliamentary speakers are rather biased towards the opposition. This is certainly a sad state of affairs. whenever insults are thrown at the opposition, the barisan MPs are only given a slap on the wrist, while the speakers of parliament would order the aggrieved party to sit down and at the same time, have their microphones switched off. May I therefore suggest to the members of the opposition to carry megaphones into parliament so that when the speaker switches-off the microphones of the opposition members of the house, then they should shout into their megaphones in order to be heard.

Speaking as a member of the disabled community, I wish to condemn in the strongest terms the uncultured behaviour of some of the very arrogant barisan MPs. It is no wonder that the government has decided not to telecast or broadcast parliamentary proceedings or more recently even the UMNO general assembly for they know fully well that it will incur the wrath of the public. Throwing insults at opposition MPs by Barisan MPs seems to be a great past time for these uncultured beings for they jolly well know that they are untouchable and that no action can and will be taken against them. If this trend is allowed to continue, then I fear that violence might just erupt one of these days for even restraint has its limits. Fortunately members of the opposition are able to control their emotions to a certain extent. Sometimes when I listen to parliamentary debates, I get the feeling that I am at a circus, what with all the shouting going on.

Finally, may I remind all right thinking citizens of Malaysia to vote out the Barisan Nasional government for it has overstayed its welcome. Let us give our undivided support to the opposition with the hope that apartheid and corruption will be things of the past. Please remember to come out in full force on November 10th at Dataran Merdeka, the time being 3pm, at a rally that is being organized by the elections watchdog to try and bring about a clean and fair election.

To find out how I have been discriminated against and victimised by the Barisan government, please visit my blog at :

http://alfredhosinger.blogspot.com

The Star - Teh Ewe Beng

ALFRED - HOPING FOR A COMEBACK
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Remember Alfred Ho, the local crooner who burst into the pop scene with his own composition "TRAIN TO TENNESSEE" in the early 70's? For those unfamiliar with Alfred, he shares a common fate with renowned singers like Jose Feliciano, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles. He's blind.

Now, Alfred has turned solo as a guitarist cum singer. Numbers like Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" and Elvis Presley's "Blue Suede Shoes" are his favourites. He lures the audience to sing along with him by talking to them. Yes, he talks and encourages them till they join him in the singing.

Alfred was blinded at three after he suffered an attack of measles. Living in a remote village in Perak, his parents were ignorant about the disease and did not take prompt action which resulted in his blindness. At six, he was admitted to the St. Nicholas School for the Blind in Penang, where the stayed until he passed his LCE in 1966. After that he was trained as a telephone operator and because of his handicap, it took him years to get a job.

It was during his jobless years that he took up singing in an attempt to break the boredom. "It was a frustrating period in my life and I just had to do something to occupy myself and pass the time," recalled Alfred. "My love for music grew and I wrote in to Rediffusion for an audition. It was successful and I took part in a few variety shows organised by them," he said.

Then came his Bakat TV appearance where he qualified for the semi-finals. Alfred also participated in a few TV musicals such as, "Bintang Baru" and once appeared on "Andre Goh's Show". The fact that he tries his best to please the audience in his special way makes him very popular. "

Being blind is not the end of the world. "In fact, we should try harder to discover our inner qualities," he said. When asked whether he has any difficulty in travelling, Alfred said that the problem arises only in unfamiliar surroundings.

Face To Face - Marina Mahathir

I sent an email to Marina urging her to impress upon her father to right the many wrongs to his fellow citizens but alas, she chose to reject my email. The almighty may have given Mahathir a new lease of life so that he can have the opportunity of repenting his crimes towards society, make reparations to Malaysians wherever possible and probably even shed light on the now infamous Lingamgate saga. If Marina is really for justice, then why does she not use some of her family fortune to help the many people that her father has persecuted during his 22 years in power. I get the impression that both Mahathir and Badawi have now mended fences and may have even decided to share the spoils together. It is really ironical that whilst Mahathir was against homosexuality, Marina headed the pink triangle organization. How was that possible, I wonder.

Finally, Mahathir, if you are reading this blog, may I strongly urge you to take full advantage of the new lease of life that the almighty has granted you, by repenting of your past misdeeds and at the same time exposing all your corrupt ministers and their wrong-doings. Please also shed light on the Lingamgate saga if you are involved in this conspiracy for it has already gone on long enough and furthermore, the lives of some brave and innocent people might be ruined. As the saying goes, God has a purpose for everything, and I believe that your recovery is part of his plan.

Lingam Tape Panel

The demands made by the ACA to Anwar and the PKR is most disgraceful and deplorable. I strongly urge Anwar and his party to stand their ground and not give in to demands of the ACA to surrender the now infamous Lingam video tape. Instead of investigating the culprits, the ACA has decided to intimidate the whistle blowers and this is really uncalled for.

How much longer is the government going to take us Malaysians for fools? To show the ruling administration that enough is enough, let us all right thinking citizens of Malaysia come out in full force on the 10th of November to stand for our rights by supporting the elections watchdog to fight for a clean and fair election. I wish to conclude by asking the ruling administration as to how Malaysians will benefit after having spent about 100 million dollars on a space tourist when that amount of money could have been better spent to improve the lives of its citizens.

Malik Hussein And Independence of Judiciary

Mahathir the mastermind, Rahim Noor the boxing clown, Borhan the arresting officer together with his band of torturers should be made to cough out the hefty sum awarded by the high court to Malik. Did I hear some of you answer, correct, correct, correct? Personally, I strongly feel that public funds should not be used to pay out the compensation as quite a sizable amount of money is involved.

By the way, I wrote an email to Marina Mahathir, urging her to impress upon her father, when he has fully recovered, to right the many wrongs towards his fellow citizens, but to my disappointment, she chose not to entertain my email. It is my prediction that Malik will not live to see a cent of his compensation awarded by the high court, as I strongly believe that the ruling administration will certainly appeal the judgement. Furthermore, I think that this is just another election ploy by the Barisan Nasional government to garner more votes. However, if my prediction is incorrect and Malik gets his well deserved reward, then it would be nice if he could use part of the money to help the down-trodden and all those people who have been oppressed by this very despotic government.

His Hollowness The Imam Of Islam Hadhari

Thanks for exposing Badawi for what he is. as I myself have had a bad experience with him, I get the impression that he has no compassion for others, but only cares for his cronies and his family members. Does he think that Malaysians will fall into his scheme of things by giving him more time? Not on your life; we should boot all these plunderers out of office during the forthcoming general elections and show these crooks that we Malaysians are their masters and not the other way round. Hasn't Badawi heard of the saying, time and tide waits for no man?

PPP - We're promised 4 parliament, 12 state seats

Kayveas and all PPP members, may I remind you that times have changed. Please get real and do the inevitable i.e. to join the ranks of the opposition. You have all been shown the door, so what are you waiting for? I think that your days in Barisan Nasional are numbered, so if you don't make your exit from the ruling party now, you will certainly live to regret it. With unscrupulous UMNO politicians such as Ali Rustam and Nazri, I have no doubt whatsoever, that your party will not be allocated a single parliamentary or state seat, and to think otherwise is just an illusion. So heed my advice before it's too late.

ACA orders Anwar to hand over original video clip

I strongly urge Anwar and his party to stand their ground and not be intimidated by the ACA and the ruling administration. However, I read somewhere that the government is enlisting Hong Kong's ICAC to assist in the investigation of the Lingam tape saga. If this is true, then there might yet be a light at the end of the tunnel. I am quite sure that it is every right thinking Malaysian's wish to have this case brought to a just conclusion, and to have the culprits face the full force of the law.

An Incident With TV9

Dear Readers,

I wish to share an incident with you with regards to the TV9 management and you decide as to who is telling the truth.

Recently, TV9 invited me to participate in a reality TV show to highlight the talents of the disabled community where some recordings have already been made for the programme through my participation. However, when the TV authorities visited my blog and found out that I am critical of the government, I was unceremoniously dropped from the show. When I brought this matter to the attention of Malaysiakini, their investigative reporter was told by the TV 9 authorities that the programme was only meant to highlight the talents of Muslim handicapped people. It is quite obvious that I was dropped from the programme because of my political views, and not for the lame excuse which they gave to Malaysiakini. Unfortunately, Malaysiakini took their explanation for the gospel truth, and as such, has decided not to follow up with the matter. As we all know, all the TV stations in Malaysia are controlled and owned by the government and their cronies. I have come to the conclusion that the TV 9 management has dropped me from the show because of my dissenting views towards the government. This is certainly laughable, don't you think?

It's King's Prerogative

Nazri the Nazi is trying to be an apple polisher and power broker. As a lawyer, he has brought shame upon himself with the number of blunders that he has made recently. Is he trying to intimidate the Agong, in order to please Badawi so that he can get another promotion? I think that in future, Nazri should check his facts first before giving his interpretations of the law. He is certainly a liability to the cabinet and to the public at large. Come to think of it, he should be charged for challenging the powers of the Agong and for being disrespectful.

People Of Ipoh Timur, You're Being Karned - 2nd comment

As usual, the elections commission is up to its dirty tricks again by doing the bidding of the Barisan nasional government. The ruling party knows that they are getting very unpopular with the people, and as such they are working hand in glove with the elections commission to rig the forthcoming general elections. My dear Malaysians, may I strongly urge you all to vote in the opposition, for if we do not act now, we will have to suffer the consequences later on, as the barisan government officials are slowly but surely plundering the resources of the country. Please vote wisely my dear friends, for once a mistake is made, there is no turning back.

People Of Ipoh Timur, You're Being Karned - 1st Comment

Chan Kong Choy as Minister of Transport should be relieved of his post with immediate effect to take responsibility for at least 2 major disasters that have taken place in the last few months, not forgetting a huge scandal which surfaced recently. Some months ago, a horrific bus crash took place near Taiping where at least 20 passengers lost their lives and many more were critically injured. What's more, the bus driver was high on drugs, and to top it all, his driving license had already expired. At the same time, several warrants of arrest were served on the bus driver concerned, but yet he was allowed to drive the ill fated bus. Unfortunately, the bus driver also succumbed to his injuries during the horrific accident. It was also reported that the bus company had even accumulated many summonses from the JPJ, but yet it was business as usual for the bus company thus causing the unnecessary loss of lives. Then more recently, a ferry that was not seaworthy and whose license had expired caught fire during its journey resulting in at least half a dozen fatalities and several more being injured. It was also discovered that the license of the ferry concerned had expired since December 2006. Reports were also abound that during the hari raya period, a Palestinian managed to hide in the wheel compartment of a Singapore bound plane parked at the KLIA but who was arrested when the plane landed in Singapore.

Finally, the ministry was also embroiled in a huge scandal known as the PKFZ fiasco where a company had to be bailed out by the government to the tune of almost 5 billion dollars. To avoid answering questions from the press as he was implicated in the matter, Chan Kong Choy took the easy way out by feigning illness and subsequently took leave to go to Australia supposedly for a medical checkup. It is quite normal for Barisan government ministers such as Chan Kong Choy to shirk their responsibilities and put the blame on their subordinates instead. As such, like all right thinking Malaysians, I strongly feel that this very irresponsible transport minister should be taken to task and that even legal action be taken against him for the many disasters and scandals that have taken place all this while.

However, we all know that this will just be wishful thinking, and before too long, everything will be forgotten. As such, my dear friends, let us wake up to reality and cast our precious votes for the opposition, for we need to vote in a government which will treat all its citizens equally, and where discrimination and corrupt practices will be things of the past.

The House That Zak Built

No wonder Zam has told the press that Badawi is not interested in hearing the truth, except from government officials. The charitable institutions should not have sent their inmates to attend Zakariah's dinner. No amount of good that he is trying to do now can save him from the punishment that he deserves in the hereafter. As stated in the article, Zakariah's palacial mansion sticks out like a sore thumb in a squatter area. Why has this crook not been punished for building such a huge mansion, the money which he would have got through dubious means, whilst other people who have committed lesser crimes have had harsh punishments meted out to them. Time and time again, the ruling administration has been testing our patience, and I think that the time has now come for us to say that enough is enough, so the only way to go is to vote in the opposition to show the Barisan government that we will no longer stand for their corrupt and evil ways.

By the way, who gave Ng Yen Yen the authority not to allow little dragon ladies from China to work as maids in Malaysia. Did she seek the views of all Malaysians before making her petition to the government with regards to this matter? Anyway, this is just a very small concession made by the government just to please the MCA. However, I wish to challenge the MCA or any other component party within the Barisan government to influence their political masters to
treat all Malaysian citizens equally and to consider all Malaysians as bumiputras regardless of race or creed. If the component parties within the ruling administration can achieve this, then my dear friends, by all means vote in the Barisan government in the forthcoming general elections again. However, I am absolutely sure that the MCA will not be able to change the status quo. So once again, my dear Malaysians, may I remind you to use your votes wisely by voting in the opposition for it's time that we voted in a clean, efficient and trustworthy government.

Lifted From Sagaladoola's Website - 15th Oct 2007

Alfred Ho, the Famous Blind Singer Joined DAP !
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Alfred Ho, the Visually-Impaired but Famous Singer had oficially joined Democratic Action Party (DAP) at a Press Conference in DAP Seputeh office on 15th October 2007, 11.00 a.m

Blog: http://alfredhosinger.blogspot.com/

The event was coordinated by MP-in-residence Seputeh Teresa Kok . MP Bukit Bintang Fong Kui Lun and MP Cheras Tan Kok Wai were present to welcome Mr. Alfred Ho into DAP.
Ms. Teresa Kok started the ball rolling by thanking those who came, announced Mr. Alfred's joining and passed the microphone to him to state his causes.

Alfred Ho's words
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A visually-impaired person does not necessarily mean one is less concerned about the politics and society of his homeland, Malaysia. Mr. Alfred Ho (thereupon referred to as Alfred) is an avid and seasoned reader of political affairs particularly through the internet, traversing through multiple blogs and famous news sites such as The Star, Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini ( http://www.malaysiakini.com/ ).

It seems that Ms. Teresa came to know him because he lives in her constituency. Having some problems with his daily life due to some purported discrimination because of his disability, he seek for her help by sending e-mails with related content.

Previously, Alfred stated that he had tried to approach various governmental organisations and parties for assistance but was not able to get the help that he wanted. Only Ms. Teresa took the initiative to meet with him and approach in a positive manner. This is what prompted Alfred to commit himself to DAP to further his causes.

Besides that, Alfred had also allegedthat he is also being discriminated for his political standing, as can be seen from the published letters in his blog.

On matters of national interest, he mentioned his opinion that the Angkasawan project is a waste of public funds that could be better used to serve the poor citizens. Alfred is deeply concerned with the current state of corruption in the nation.

It seems that Malaysians are not concerned enough because "they still have money to spend" but judging by the current state of corruption, he calls for all to react before "it is too late". He strives for equality for all, regardless of race and religion. He reiterated that there should be no discrimination even to those disabled.

Earlier, before he started his announcement he stated the sentence " If a blind man can be so concerned until he had to join politics, then something must be very wrong with the country !"

How does a Visually-Impaired person use the computer ?
Alfred uses a Speech Recognition software. It is an incredible tool that allows them to navigate softwares effectively. Words displayed on websites can be translated and transmitted as audio. As for using the keyboard, Alfred was trained in typing. Being quite a fast typist, writing e-mails or commenting in forums is not a problem for him.

MPs' Words
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After Mr. Fong Kui Lun welcomed Alfred into the party, Tan Kok Wai urged the nation to use voting as a way to improve the situation in Malaysia. As someone used to say "These days corruption is no longer under the table, it is on the table".

The MP mentioned about Singapore Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew's statement on the potential that Singapore may rejoin Malaysia if equality is practised. He seconded it and re-emphasised the concept with education.

The three MPs then took out a newspaper article published in Chinese. It was displayed the promises of the current Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should the citizens vote for him. In 2004, Abdullah received landslide victory. A number of his promises are unfulfilled it seems.

This year is the 50th year of Malaysian Independence. MP Tan Kok Wai said the citizens in general has no confidence in the current governance. DAP stands against the abuse of power and corruption.

The press conference ended with a Q & A session and Alfred passing his participation form to the DAP MPs. Alfred sang several songs from his music albums to entertain the crowd of press, friends and fans.

Flap Over MM's Remarks On Non-Malays

Lee Kuan Yew is more than qualified to put forth his views with regards to Malaysia. Granted, that his government is a little authoritarian, but at least, all Singaporeans are treated equally, and the needs of his citizens are all well taken care of. It is no exaggeration when I say that none of the Barisan politicians can match the intelligence of Lee Kuan Yew. May I suggest to the man with 2 Mohammads in his name to retire and stop making uncalled-for statements. He should just enjoy all his ill-gotten gains before his maker decides to call him to account for his many crimes towards mankind. Gerakan is as usual playing to the gallery again, with Chia Kwang Chye criticizing Lee Kuan Yew. Politicians like him should be kicked out of office.

By the way, Tee Keat, you have spoken well this time, although I wonder how your superiors would react to your outspoken views. Tell me, sir, does team A and team B still exist? Finally, Tee Keat, the doors to the opposition are still wide open to you, so when are you coming to join us for we certainly need intelligent and sincere people such as your good self. Please give this matter some consideration before it's too late.

Is It 200,000 or 20,000 - 2nd Comment

As usual, the MCA mouthpiece i.e. The Star, still insists that 200 thousand people attended Badawi's hari raya gathering. What an insult to our intelligence. I wish here to remind all Malaysians, that more Malaysian tourists will be blasted-off into space in the next few years as has been reported in the media. To avoid more hundred millions of dollars from being squandered by the Barisan government, let us all use our precious votes wisely by denying our votes for this very corrupt government, for as I have said many a time, voting in the opposition is the only way to go if we want to save our nation from these immoral officials and plunderers.

Space Blast-Off Deepens Our Social Rift

Mahathir started off this whole fiasco. There is no doubt that a Malay would be chosen to be the lucky space tourist. Furthermore, he is the offspring of well connected parents. Apart from protesting, what can we say or do, as the purse- strings are being pulled by this very unpopular Barisan government. To prevent another space tourist from being sent into space next year again, make sure that you deny your precious vote to the Barisan government so that public funds can be used wisely. At the end of the day, it is your decision whether you wish to have a good government or not. So remember to vote wisely my friends, for once a mistake is made, there is no turning back. Voting in the opposition is the only way to save the nation from more disasters and scandals.

Is It 200,000 or 20,000 - 1st Comment

Same old song, the spin doctors are at it again. Everything in that report sounds too far-fetched. Believe it or not, I have attended Badawi's first hari raya gathering with the purpose of handing him a letter requesting his intervention in a dispute that I was having with RTM. Unfortunately, nothing came out of it as he decided to ignore my letter altogether till this very day. Anyway, coming back to the food. There was nothing to shout about, for if I remember correctly, the beef rendang was so tough that it was no fun eating it.. the cakes that was served was not fresh, and in short, if I had to pay for the food, I would have regretted it. I am in total agreement with you that having 200 thousand people to attend Badawi's function is certainly an exaggeration, and for the reasons which you have given in your article, it is just cheap publicity and wishful-thinking on the part of the organizers of the function. When are these crooks going to stop taking Malaysians for fools?.

Face To Face (1st Comment)

As usual a very splendid article. You certainly did not pull any punches with your frank views and most of all, you were rather witty in that interview. RPK, your reasoning that the opposition should boycott the elections does make a lot of sense, but however, I strongly feel that we need an opposition to speak out about the injustices that is happening all too frequently these days. For your information, I am proud to announce that I will be joining the ranks of the opposition by becoming a member of the democratic action party this coming Sunday, the 14th of this month at Teresa Kok's service centre. At least, I now have another platform to air my grievances against this very dictatorial government, and even get the opportunity to inform Malaysian voters of their rights to vote in a new government. Although you rightly said, for the opposition to win the forthcoming elections is quite impossible with the odds stacked against them, but however, we should not give up hope as we must not give up without a fight. Recently, i wrote to Marina Mahathir to ask her to impress upon her father to repent of all his misdeeds, and to shed light on the Lingamgate scandal.Of course, I do not expect to get a reply from her. in my humble opinion, Mahathir will not repent, for I remember reading in the news that he congratulated the Malaysian space tourist who was blasted into space on Wednesday. I believe that sending a Malaysian to space was the brainchild of mahathir, and what's more, about 100 million dollars of the taxpayer's money has been wasted in this stupid project, when these funds could have been better spent to help Malaysians subsidise food prices, gas and petroleum hikes and to provide much better health care, etc. I may sound unpatriotic, but 100 million dollars could certainly be put to better use to give Malaysians a better quality of life. Finally, RPK, like many Malaysia-Today readers, I sincerely hope that you will set up a political party to right the wrongs of this very despotic government for their many crimes seem to go unchecked. It leads me to believe that the motto of the Barisan government is, "Might Is Right". I'm glad that both Sivarasa and Sim of the PKR have decided to stand their ground with regards to the Lingam tape issue, rather than to be bullied into submission by the government and the ACA.

Do keep up with the struggle my friend, for we need to fight the good fight in order to achieve our goals. Once again, a very selamat hari raya to you and your loved ones, not forgetting your team who have been working diligently for the cause.