Tommy Peters' Bicycles

309 years ago a religionist in India said, " Over my dead body" in response to the ongoing Islamisation of the continent. He represented a 15 th century doctrine which stands to this day. His battle cry galvanized a movement that acted as a bulwark that stemmed the ‘Mughal' steamroller at the time. It is said that the current multicultural and multi-religious fabric of India remains secular, largely due to the advent of his movement. 18 years ago, in a more civilized setting, a politician in Malaysia said " Over my dead body" in response to a notion that Islamisation of Malaysia was imminent. It is not a coincidence the politician echoed the battle cry of the religionist. The politician is asking that we draw lessons from history that teach us that Islam in the public domain is incompatible with a multicultural and multi-religious fabric. The overtures of PAS towards UMNO revived the unifying sentiment of the ‘ummah’ within two opposing fa...

2008 May :- In Islamic tradition, it is said “God calls for mercy in everything, so be merciful when you kill and when you slaughter, sharpen your blade to relieve its pain” Last year, a sandwich chain opened two ‘Halal-Only’ outlets in Manchester and before that its other outlets in England were operating in line with this Islamic dietary tradition. The Islamic Foundation ensures animals are slaughtered in accordance with Islamic rites, which entails cutting their throats after performing prescribed prayers. While ‘Halal’ meat is gaining acceptance in Europe, discourse on this ancient religious tradition is gaining traction, albeit negatively, because it is argued that animals are slaughtered ‘alive’ and bled to death. In Malaysia, most eateries are ‘Halal-Only’ but there is an apparent lack of discourse on how ‘humanely’ are the animals dispatched. In this respect the abattoir at Shah Alam is a point of reference. Basically, pigs...

Datuk Dr. Haron Din of PAS recently said “PAS will implement hudud once the party takes control of the central government” and Datuk Nik Aziz remarked that Pakatan Rakyat will eventually accept the Islamic ideology. To its credit, PAS has been consistent, if not correct, in its position that Islam will have no traction or relevance without the Sharia, its legal code, and that the code is incomplete without the ‘Hudud’. Although the MCA appears to be the only party to openly castigate PAS, when juxtaposed with the Prime Minister’s call to “ make mosques a place for everyone irrespective of ideology or political belief and that we should not be harsh and always talk about the punishment for committing a sin” , it is becoming increasing clear where the real bone of contention lies, in particular for those who voted the Pakatan Rakyat to their unprecedented win. While PKR and DAP are busy deliberating the prospect of forming the Federal government, it is rhetorical to ask if t...

A review of Martha Stout’s ' The Sociopath Next Door'  We think of sociopaths as violent, although most are quite ordinary with disorders undetected. I realised her lack of conscience is deflected and masked quite well with a mastery of the blame game. Masters of this game tend to be quite calm and composed when they contend with equally equipped opponents, but ironically, they are flustered and irritated when they contend with non-masters or those who do not understand how the game is played. She strutted into a meeting without the ingredients and was battered, admonished, and embarrassed in front of her peers. Her brashness was stripped, and her ego was dented. A phone call subsequently indicated the game was imminent, and twenty-four hours later, it is in full swing, but with a non-master. Thirty-four hours into the event, she is all flustered and irritated. My question is, does she hone her skills when playing the game with a master or non-mas...

In March 2008 Saudi King Abdullah proposed an inter-faith dialogue between Muslims, Christians and Jews. It is interesting to note that his proposal did not include Hindus, Buddhists and other faiths but that is an issue of another post. The monarch made the call during the melee of Geert Wilders’ Fitna. He made the call from a position of weakness, at a point where Islam was, and still is, in considerable ‘focus’ but while he clamoured for moral equivalency with Christians and Jews by referring to them as 'our brothers', he had the temerity to demonise ‘atheism’ in the process. Quote (King Abdullah – The Sun March 26 th 2008) :- “We have lost sincerity, morals, fidelity and attachment to our religions and to humanity, deploring the disintegration of the family and rise of atheism in the world, a frightening phenomenon that all religions must confront and vanquish” (emphasis mine) Quote (Raymond Ibrahim - VDH Papers April 2nd 2008) .... t he Arabian kingdom, however...

The MX3 Haro in stock standard In the late 90s, Englishman Paul Hudson won a European Downhill championship on a homoglated MX3. Above is the standard and I believe only two units were brought into Malaysia. Two 'medium' MX2 models are also in the country. Mountain Bike International featured Hudson's blue MX3 prominently in its September 1999 issue which I have misplaced. I would appreciate a link to that feature if anyone has access to it. Nevertheless, please weigh in if you have any information on this machine.

The SV4000 resting on a trail leading to Sungai Buloh Cannondales are pretty rare in Malaysia and I believe this baby of mine is the only one in the region. Anyone out there with one, please prove me wrong.  I married her in 1996 and it has been a wonderful 12 years . It is parked in my home with my other babies and as a tribute to Joe Montgomery, I have got little spotlights trained on them to admire the glossy fire-engine red in the hue. In the mid-nineties, it set the standard for downhilling and 'active' suspension. Victories by Rockwell, Giove, Roman and Nabeshima helped hone the final output. I must say the single 48t Coda is not helpful uphill but clipped into the big DXs and some bible, I manage. I am told Shimano developed its first generation XTR reverse shift RD for the production model. The RD is bomb proof after all this while with the Moto forks and Alps shock still germane a...