‘We can no longer think about what Umno wants’

 

Monday, August 26, 2013 - The Malay Mail 

by Tony Mariadass

DATUK SERI Azalina Othman Said’s recent announcement to contest the Wanita Umno chief post in the coming party polls came as a shock and ruffled many feathers. Just when many thought her political career had hit a wall, the Pengerang MP is being seen by some as an option to the incumbent women’s wing leader Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. She puts her candidacy in perspective in 10 questions posed by The Malay Mail.

THE MALAY MAIL (TMM): In a recent interview, Shahrizat accused you of hurting the ‘mother-daughter’ relationship in Wanita Umno. She said you created disunity among the Wanita and Puteri wings and former Puteri members. Did you?
DATUK SERI AZALINA OTHMAN (DSAO): If it is mother-daughter relationship she is talking about, then she should encourage the daughters to move forward and lead. A mother always wants her daughters to eventually take over the leading role.
Besides, in Umno, we practise democracy. We advocate transformation. And at the end of the day, it is up to the delegates to decide if they want change.
Why should we stop the delegates from making their own judgment? It is all about what the grassroots want. It is not about creating disunity, but empowering them to make a decision.

I am just offering my services. It is up to the delegates to make a choice. Competition is a good thing for the party because there are options.
Contests in Umno are not unique or new. In any case, I may not be the only one standing for the post. There can be other candidates. Will all of them be deemed to be creating disunity?

TMM: Shahrizat has insinuated that you are a proxy candidate, and perhaps there are others like you who will get into the battleground. Are you a proxy candidate?
DSAO: Yes, I am a proxy for all Wanita in the party. There is a call for change and I am representing them.

TMM: Why did Shahrizat say you were not bringing a ‘youth transformation’ agenda to Wanita Umno, but rather segregating them by creating disunity among Wanita, Puteri and former Puteri members?
DSAO: I have served my time in Umno and rose through the ranks. I was the protem head of Puteri Umno (2001-2002) appointed by then-Umno president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, elected head of Puteri Umno, vice-president of Umno (2002–2004) and was a member of the Umno Supreme Council. I am still relevant, but it is not about me. I believe I can assist in the 14th General Election by having the youth back Umno. I believe I can bring unity to the party with my experience over the years through those who have worked with me and brought changes in the past. Again, this is a democratic process, not a process of divide and rule. Anyway, there has been a contest before and Shahrizat herself challenged Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz. Was she splitting the party then? Win or lose, it is offering the delegates a choice. It is their decision.

TMM: What sort of differences are you having with Shahrizat?
DSAO: Personally, I respect every individual for their work. Likewise, Shahrizat has done her share. I do not practise cronyism or nepotism. I accept challenges, empower women, create awareness and promote more women leadership. Are these seen as differences with her? I do not know.

TMM: Why are you taking her on? Is it because you think Shahrizat has outlived her usefulness in Wanita Umno?
DSAO: I am not taking her on. I am offering my services to Wanita. Like I said earlier, I may not be the only candidate vying for the post, so I cannot be seen as taking her on.
It is a democratic process where everyone is eligible to contest if they want to. Whether she has outlived her usefulness is not for me to say. That is why we have an election for the delegates to make their call.
I am also contesting the post because, besides feeling I can make a change, I want women to be more relevant, and I feel I can make that happen.
The government’s commitment to ensure women occupy 30 per cent of decision-making has still not been met, and this is one area I intend to improve.
The women at branch and division levels should have a stronger voice and be given more recognition.
It is my hope to make Wanita and Puteri Umno more relevant. We are talking about the younger generation who will be making a difference for the future.
It is already happening and unless we address the situation immediately, we could be courting trouble. I am not just talking about Umno but Barisan Nasional (BN) as a whole for the next general election.

TMM: What do you think has been Shahrizat’s biggest achievement in Wanita Umno?
DSAO: Her appointment as adviser to the prime minister with cabinet portfolio. She has obviously been given this status because of her past contributions and the prime minister still sees her as relevant. This is the second time she has been appointed adviser (former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appointed her special adviser to the prime minister for women and social development affairs). This must be her biggest achievement.

TMM: How would you interpret her appointment as special adviser, with ministerial status, to the prime minister?
DSAO: It is in recognition of her services. In any case, it is the prerogative of the prime minister.

TMM: Do you think there’s a necessity for the position? Are critics right in saying it will undermine the status of the women’s ministry, which already has a large machinery to lead on policy and implementation of women’s issues?
DSAO: Whether it is necessary or not, I suppose Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim, the minister of women, family and community development, made her stance when she said: ‘She’s not an adviser to my ministry.’ Shahrizat’s role is still unclear, thus it would be unfair to make any comments at this stage.

TMM: Do you view her appointment as political patronage?
DSAO: I suppose only the prime minister can answer that. This is a democratic process, and I’m sure the prime minister has his reasons.

TMM: Have you found the correct strategy to do battle with her and is your support among Wanita members encouraging?
DSAO: Whether or not I have found the correct strategy, I am letting the people decide what they want for the future. I am offering my services because I believe I can bring about change.
Through Wanita Umno, I hope to see that the women representation is given priority and achieve the 30 per cent quota for decision-making positions.
There needs to be transformation at Wanita level to make us relevant, heard and rejuvenated. I plan to bring change and new approaches to the Wanita wing as I don’t want to see a tsunami of young people against Umno in the 14th General Election.
Contest in the Umno elections should be viewed as healthy competition to ensure that the party remains relevant to the Malays and BN. The party cannot be complacent.
What can the Opposition do that we cannot do better? We need to have new leaders to guide the younger generation to embrace Umno’s struggle.
We can no longer think about what Umno wants. We have to think about what the rakyat wants. It is their perception that counts in the end. We are here to serve them. What the public thinks is what matters.
In Wanita Umno, it should not be about who is married or who wears the tudung or the baju kurung. It should be about who can bring about change and make Umno relevant to present times. Wanita Umno should not just accessorise Umno, but be a relevant wing to meet the challenges of the party.
Wanita Ummo should also be seen as making a stronger representation of women and be heard. We cannot just leave it to the NGOs to be the voice of women. The recent uproar over Malay girls being barred from the Miss Malaysia pageant saw no reaction from Wanita Umno.
At the end of the day, it is all about KPIs.
These are the issues I intend to work on and the people on the ground are aware of it. It is now left to the delegates to decide what they want for the future.
If Wanita Umno doesn’t accept me and the change I’m bringing, so be it. But at least I offered myself. I’m not going to be a sore loser. I will accept whatever decision that is made.

 

First-class facilities, third-class management

Friday, August 23, 2013 - 16:24

IT is typical for Malaysians to create a furore whenever an issue arises and then to forget about it until there is another controversy about the same issue.
The issue could be related to anything from safety and security to public amenities and the transport system. When it is a hot topic, a great deal is said and written about it, but whether a solution is found is a mystery.
Over the last two weeks, the woeful condition of fields in stadiums around the country raised public outcry. This came after Barcelona FC refused to play at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil because of the poor ground. The match was moved to Shah Alam Stadium at the eleventh hour.
In this country, badly maintained football fields are nothing new. No one is bothered.
Every year, the FA of Malaysia visits the various stadiums before the M-League begins to inspect and approve the venues for the competition.
More often than not, most of the venues are given the nod, but then we will have coaches, managers and players complaining of poor playing conditions when the league starts.
In the last two seasons, only the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Bandar Tun Razak was not approved because of its deplorable state.
It is worth noting here that the Johor FA, under the leadership of Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Idris, refurbished the Larkin Stadium, which is now said to be comparable to the stadiums in Europe.
The question is, has the FA of Malaysia been compromising on the standard of pitches so that the League could progress? It is not just the stadiums that are falling apart. Most of the sports complexes and public playing fields around the country are in shambles too.
But when the matter on playing fields is brought up, everyone passes the buck. The sports associations will say the stadiums do not belong to them and so the responsibility of maintaining them is not theirs. Normally, this is the job of the respective municipalities or the stadium boards, but these people will say they do not have enough funds for maintenance.
Then, we have local councils that withdraw allocations for maintenance or renovation because the stadiums are managed by the sports associations.
Maintenance should start from the very day approval is given to build new stadiums, but this is not the case. It is left to the stadium managers, which more often than not run into problems because their budgets do not permit it.
Then we have states building stadiums and complexes for international or local games like the Malaysia Games.
There is a big budget for such events and every sports association clamours for a venue.
We have a swimming pool complex in the middle of a padi field in Gunung Keriang, Kedah, and a football stadium in the middle of a plantation in Batu Kawan, Penang.
As soon as the related games were over, the swimming pool and the stadium became white elephants and began to deteriorate because they were hardly used.
These are just two examples and I am sure many other such sports facilities are in the same boat.

POOR CONDITIONS: The grounds used for development is also deplorable

Then, there are stadiums and complexes where the artificial turf is worn out or torn and not resurfaced, not to mention public and school fields that are in a sorry state.
Football development programmes face the same fate.
For example, the 1Malaysia Cardiff City junior league, which is held on the Rubber Research Institute premises in Sungai Buloh, is played on poor grounds.
Some of the fields the matches are played on look barren and dangerous. How then can we expect to develop the skills of these young players? Maybe the stadium managers should take their cue from Australia and their multipurpose stadium built for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, which I covered.
The stadium was originally built to temporarily hold 110,000 spectators, making it the largest Olympic stadium ever built then as well as the largest in Australia. But in 2003, reconfiguration work was completed to shorten the north and south wings and install movable seating. These changes reduced the capacity to 83,500 for a rectangular field and 82,500 for an oval field.
The stadium is sustained through sponsorship. It lacked a naming rights sponsor in its formative years, but in 2002, telecommunications company Telstra acquired the naming rights, resulting in the stadium being named Telstra Stadium.
And on Dec 12, 2007, the Stadium Australia Group announced that the stadium's name was to be changed to ANZ Stadium after concluding a deal with ANZ Bank worth around A$31.5 million (about RM94.35 million) over seven years. This change took effect on Jan 1, 2008.
This stadium is also a tourist attraction with official tours and it has souvenir shops, all of which generate revenue.
Maybe it is time the stadiums in Malaysia were built to meet our needs, corporate sponsorship was sought and innovative ideas were used for these sports facilities to not only be self-sustaining, but also generate revenue.
TONY MARIADASS is consulting sports
editor at The Malay Mail. A former sports
editor of the paper, he has 27 years of
sports writing experience. He can be
reached at tonym@mmail.com.my

Teong Kim named project director

 

Sports Minister announces the appointment to chart the development of Malaysian football

Thursday, August 22, 2013 - 15:28

by Tony Mariadass

 

GERMANY-based former international midfielder Lim Teong Kim has been appointed the project director of the National Football Development Programme (NFDP).
Lim, who turned 50 in April, said he will assume the post in November after discussing his appointment with his wife Michaela Mock in Germany.
Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced the appointment yesterday evening at Putrajaya.
The former Bayern Munich youth coach, first met Khairy Jamaluddin before the Hari Raya holidays to discuss the possibility of hism assisting in the NFDP, had another meeting with the minister on Tuesday to finalise his appointment.
Khairy is the chairman of the national football development committee, which involves the Youth and Sports Ministry, the NSC, the FA of Malaysia (FAM) and the Ministry of Education. The eight-year NFDP was initiated last year with the target of seeing Malaysia qualify for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2019.
Teong Kim has been offered a three years plus the option of a two-year extension contract. He will sign the contract when he returns from Germany.
Lim returns to Munich on Saturday and will return after he has settled a few matters pertaining to his move to Malaysia.
He will be taking over from his older brother Lim Kim Choon, who held the technical director's post until June and did not renew his contract. Kim Choon has join the Fifa development programme as its technical director at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) building in Bukit Jalil.
Khairy said that Teong Kim's designation as project director means that he will have bigger responsibilities.
“Yes, everything has been firmed up and all that needs to be sorted out is my discussion with my wife. Her mother passed away recently and I need to be there for her and to ensure that everything is settled before I return to Malaysia,” said Lim, who played for the Bundesliga side Herta Berlin in 1987 besides Malacca, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan and Kedah in the M-League.
“My family will still be based in Germany and only I will come to take up the appointment.
I have discussed this with the Sports Minister and he understands my predicament.
He has given me his blessing to return to Germany to be with my family from time to time.”
Lim has a son aged 20 and two daughters aged 18 and 17.
The Malacca boy said he is excited about his new post and charting Malaysia’s football future. However, he warned against any expectation of instant results.
“Football development is a long process and results cannot be achieved overnight.
I intend to put in place the European and latest methods of football development and ensure that they work,” said Lim, who coached the Bayern Munich junior team from 2001 to 2012 and worked with coaches like Owen Hargreaves, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller and David Alaba.
He holds both a Malaysia Football Association (FAM) Advanced Coaching Certificate and a German Football Association (DFB) Master Coaching Licence.
“It is going to be a challenging job, but I thrive on challenges. It is going to be a tough process, but once everything is in place, Malaysia should see a steady stream of young and well-trained footballers coming through,” said Lim, who was capped 75 times.
He added that as his brother Kim Choon has already laid the foundationsfor the NFDP, but his work will be in-depth and involve some restructuring. He will first ensure there is better infrastructure, especially playing fields, are in place.
“We are talking about the 14 centres in the country besides the Malaysian Football Academy in Gambang, Kuantan, where I intend to ensure better playing fields, training facilities and sports science-related equipment for training, recovery and rehabilitation are available.
“However, I will have to do all this gradually as it will involve a great deal of work. Then I would need qualified and professional manpower for the entire programme.”
Asked how much the programme will cost, Lim said a price cannot be put on development, as it is an ongoing process.
“I understand that the government has made available RM10 million per year for development. We will have to start with this, but it is not going to be enough as we will have to pay for manpower and the facilities.”
Asked if he can make a bigger impact than when he was the director of coaching for soccer academies for 18 months with the FA of Malaysia in the 1990s, his reply was simple: “I am older, have 12 years of European and top club-level coaching experience and am definitely wiser.

Sport and music bring out the passion in us

 

Friday, August 16, 2013 - 11:40

by Tony Mariadass

 

SPORT and music make the world go round and touch your soul, at least where I am concerned.
Sport and music also do not have boundaries. People of all races, colours and creeds will congregate in the name of these two activities.
Sport, which has been my life all these years, has brought me joy, sorrow, respect and fear, but above all, it has introduced me to all kinds of people.
My love for sport started in school, where I was active in football. I played it at club level and was a coach and managed a team later in life. I travelled the world as a sports journalist and some three decades of sports journalism later, I cannot, and will not, detach myself from sport.
I love music too, though I cannot play any instrument.
My late father played the harmonica and harmonium, so there must be some music genes in my blood, or so I would like to believe.
In a nutshell, sport and music have been a huge part of my existence, but in the past two weeks, they have moved me like never before.
Two sportsmen and a musician died in this period. First, hockey star Chua Boon Huat was killed in a road accident.
Then during the Hari Raya holidays, one of Malaysia’s finest athletes, Ishtiaq Mubarak, died after a fall in the bathroom, and just a day later, a colleague and buddy, entertainment writer and musician Errol De Cruz, left us in almost similar circumstances.
What was amazing was the number of people who turned up for the funerals of all three of them to pay their last respects.
This drove home an important point – Chua, Ishtiaq and Errol had touched many lives through sport and music. The lesson here for the sporting fraternity is that you should not treat your involvement in sport lightly or take it for granted.
Sport, just like music, must be accorded the highest respect and sports people should strive for the best results, always.

GLOWING EXAMPLES: (from left) Isthiaq, Chua and Errol

 

 

Billions of ringgit are spent on sport in Malaysia and it is the livelihood of many. Indeed, millions will jump to their feet to applaud or shed tears in moments of glory or even defeat in this universe.
Thus it was disheartening to hear badminton ace Koo Kien Keat blame Malaysian fans for his poor form. He claims that fans expect too much of him and that he feels suffocated in his own country.
His audacity proves that he does not appreciate his status as a national badminton player and the support he is getting.
Strive for excellence and deliver and everything will fall into place. Don’t expect sympathy for mediocre performances. Give your best as there is no shame in losing to a better player or team. Just tell yourself that you will be back.
When you start blaming everyone else for your shortcomings, it only underlines your lack of character.
Koo seems to have forgotten that badminton brought him whatever accolades he has received. Now, he is ridiculing the very sport that put him on a pedestal.
Maybe he should take a leaf from the late Ishtiaq and Chua, who garnered so much respect, love and admiration.
Errol, despite not having been as high profile, showed you can touch people’s lives if you go about your job with passion and professionalism.
Chua, Ishtiaq and Errol have walked the path and showed the way. May they rest in peace.
As for our sportsmen and sportswomen, shed blood, sweat and tears in your quest for excellence and you will be remembered forever like the legends before you.

Teong Kim poser

 

Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - 15:19

by Tony Mariadass

Location: 

PETALING JAYA

GERMANY-based former international midfielder Lim Teong Kim (pic) is in town checking out the possibility of helping the grassroots football development in the country.
The 49-year-old former Bayern Munich youth coach met Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin last Monday and yesterday afternoon travelled to the Malaysian Football Academy in Gambang, Kuantan, with National Sports Council (NSC) officials.
Khairy is chairman of the national football development committee which involves the Youth and Sports Ministry, NSC, FA of Malaysia (FAM) and the Ministry of Education. An eight-year National Football Development Programme (NFDP) was initiated last year with the target to see Malaysia qualify for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2019.
Teong Kim could well become the technical director of the NFDP as his older brother Lim Kim Choon who was holding the post did not renew his contract in June and went on to join the FIFA development programme office as their Technical Director at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) building in Bukit Jalil.
Teong Kim confirmed yesterday with Mailsport his meeting with Khairy and his trip to Gambang.
“It is still all in the initial stages of discussion. Yes, I am interested to return to Malaysia and assist in the development of football in the country, but I have to be convinced that everything is in place and we can work well,” said Teong Kim who played with Bundesliga side Herta Berlin in 1987 besides Malacca, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan and Kedah in the M-League.

Teong Kim the man!

“It was a fruitful discussion with the Sports Minister who is serious about soccer development in the country. I need to see the system in place, the facilities and long-term plan, before making any decisions,” added Teong Kim who coached the Bayern Munich junior team from 2001 to 2012 and worked with coaches like Owen Hargreaves, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomar Muller and David Alaba.
“I am no longer with the Bayern Munich coaching set-up as the new management have new plans and restructured their coaching system.
“Since leaving Bayern Munich last year, I have been spending time doing things like cycling, travelling and other hobbies which was I unable to do when I was coaching.
“I would like to give something back to Malaysian soccer and will consider working here if everything is worked out well,” said Teong Kim who had a brief stint with the FA of Malaysia in the late 90s with the soccer academies.
But Teong Kim is a no-nonesense man and says that is the way it is. It might not go down well with many, but he speaks the truth and is serious about his job.
Teong Kim would definitely be the right man for the development of football in the country, provided it is done the way he wants and above all, professionally.
With the NFDP already in place and good groundwork put in by Kim Choon, Teong Kim could well see things move his way.
But the ball is at Teong Kim’s feet and only he can decide whether he will be the man.

Pampering breeds mediocrity

 

Monday, August 12, 2013 - 16:12

EVER wonder why the majority of our young athletes lack ambition and settle for mediocre performances?
The answer is staring at us, but we choose to ignore it.
For instance, the Federal Territories (FT) Sports Council rewarded its athletes and officials with RM456,400 for winning medals at the recent 16th Malaysia Games.
Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor had announced that gold medal winners will be given RM5,000 for individual events and RM4,000 for team events.
Silver medallists were given RM1,500 for individual events and RM1,000 for team events was for bronze, the amounts were RM1,000 and RM800 respectively.
Ironically the contingent was praised for improving its performance from fifth place overall at the Pahang Games last year to third placing at the Kuala Lumpur Games this year.
Mind you, the contingent did not even emerge champions.
To make matters worse, this year’s Games was a second tier event — for the major sports that did not compete in the main Games held biennially.
The FT contingent, consisting of 196 athletes, eight team managers and 13 coaches, bagged 15 gold, 20 silver and 27 bronze medals in the 20 events they competed.
Similarly, other states offered monetary rewards, ranging from RM2,000 to RM5,000, for individual gold medals.
I am not against rewarding excellence, but definitely not performance at the lowest level of competition.
What kind of culture are we inculcating in our young athletes? That we dangle money in front of their noses for them to perform?
These young people should be taught to aim for the highest achievements and that there is no shortcut to success. It can only be done through hard work, discipline, dedication and determination.
But we spoil our athletes with monetary rewards from such a young age that they become financially mercenary.
They also become complacent because they know even mediocre performance will get rewarded.
Why can’t the FT Sports Council offer its successful athletes scholarships, computers, sports equipment or training stints instead?

TENGKU ADNAN: Gold medal winners would be given RM5,000 for individual events and RM4,000 for team events

Wouldn’t that benefit their development more? Truth be told, half a million ringgit would be better spent on a new training centre that would serve athletes now and in the future.
Even better, the money could get us more football fields in the city. They are disappearing fast and nothing is being done about it.
Apart from the FT Sports Council, I also feel Sports Minister Khairy Jamaludin made a wrong call in announcing that physically challenged athletes will get the same monetary rewards as the able-bodied.
For one, there are too many categories of disability for a single event and more often than not, no heats are held for the events.
Yes, rewarding physically challenged athletes at Asian and world levels, as in the case of Mohammad Azlan Mat Lazin, who clinched a bronze at the Sainsbury Anniversary Games in London, is commendable, but we cannot be rewarding them for lower level competitions.
Maybe a different reward system could be formulated for these athletes.
But able-bodied or physically-challenged, athletes have to earn their rewards with outstanding performance at high levels of competition.
Handouts will only breed mediocrity.
Sometimes, a popular decision is not necessarily the right one.
Let every athlete worth his salt strive for excellence at the highest level and be duly rewarded.

It's hard to be Errol

Heaven has new country singer, says brother

Monday, August 12, 2013 - 10:47

by Frankie D'Cruz

Location: 

PETALING JAYA

 

JOURNALIST Gerard Errol de Cruz was prtty much the Picasso of warmth in the newsroom. He was pretty much the template of delightful companionship.
To his family, friends and colleagues he was a ball of energy — sparkly; one of those who engulfs you in their orbit.
Humble Errol was the classic inspirational newsman who approached his discipline with an engineer’s precision.
Journo, music man, family man, fellow pub crawler and buddy Errol is no longer. He breathed his last on Saturday, aged 59.
Prolific is the word that springs to mind when one thinks about the opus and personality of Errol, who whilst with us embraced many with his down to earth writings, music and delightful wit.
We say the human spirit is resolute and Errol was an example of newspapering resolve that inspired us.
He snapped into challenges with forceful ferocity and was in a class of his own in human interest and entertainment stories.
‘Cowboy’ Errol, who was the singer and guitarist of the band, Two Hats Gang, had the knack of identifying and nurturing young, talented musicians through his writings that touched on dreams and self-discovery.
As a musician, his brother William, a former The Malay Mail journalist, describes him: “Heaven has a new country singer with a songbook that has no last page.
“I know you rest in peace dear brother. Here on the lonely planet, harmony will never be the same.”
Saturday night ‘cheers’ at one of his favourite pubs, Rennie’s House of Oxtail on Jalan Gasing, was endless. We raised our glasses with the fervent hope that the Errol feel good factor lasts. That the gaiety of his colourful life should never fade.
Sunday in The Malay Mail newsroom was sober and restrained.
Everyone was missing the trademark Cheshire smiles of Errol and another dear colleague Tan Pek Wan who is in the Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital fighting organ complications.
While we pray for Pek Wan, the ‘oracle’ of the editorial department’s IT unit, Errol’s role as copy editor of the People section has left a void in the paper.
Says crime reporter Thasha Jayamanogaran: “We've all lost a wonderful colleague. He was a unique and talented person who made a lot of people happy. He enriched our lives in so many ways.”
Having known him since he joined The Star in the 1980s and in the years that followed in groundbreaking Noize Records and back in The Malay Mail three years ago, Errol is one person I had wanted to be alongside during trying times because he was dependable, reliable and fearless.
His wife Alice Andrew and children Christopher, 26, Brendan, 24, Kathleen, 22, and Kimberley, 17, must know it will be hard to erase those footprints he left on us. It would be great if the next generation would just walk on them.
He is gone from our midst but someone up there would have welcomed him with open arms. Arms that always open for men with big hearts.
Thank you, Mr de Cruz for blessing us all.
Note: Errol's wake will be held
at 28, PJS 7/7B, Bandar Sunway,
Petaling Jaya. The funeral
mass is at 11am tomorrow at
the Assumption Church in Jalan
Templer, Petaling Jaya.