2008 RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARDEES

Today is the formal awarding ceremonies of Asia’s Magsaysay Award.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award has been around for the past 50 years. This is the Asian equivalent of Europe’s Nobel Prize in prestige, honour and absolute recognition.

It recognizes and honors individuals and organizations in Asia regardless of race, creed, sex, or nationality, who have achieved distinction in their respective fields and have helped others generously without anticipating public recognition. (source).

This year’s recipients are:


Grace Padaca of the Philippines for Government Service

She is being recognized for "empowering voters in the Philippines' Isabela province to reclaim their democratic right to elect leaders of their own choosing, and to contribute as full partners in their own development."


Dr. Therdchai Jivacate of Thailand for Public Service

He is being honored for "his dedicated efforts in Thailand to provide inexpensive, practical, and comfortable artificial limbs even to the poorest amputees."


Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI) of the Philippines for Public Service

They are being honored for their "successful adaptation of microfinance in the Philippines, providing self-sustaining and comprehensive services for half a million poor women and their families."


Prakash Amte and Mandakini Amte of India for Community Leadership

They are being recognized for "enhancing the capacity of the Madia Gonds to adapt positively in today's India, through healing and teaching and other compassionate interventions."


Ahmad Syafii Maarif of Indonesia for Peace and International Understanding

He is being honored for "guiding Muslims to embrace tolerance and pluralism as the basis for justice and harmony in Indonesia and in the world at large."



Akio Ishii of Japan for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts.

He is being recognized for "his principled career as a publisher, placing discrimination, human rights, and other difficult subjects squarely in Japan's public discourse."


Ananda Galappatti of Sri Lanka for Emergent Leadership

He is being recognized for "his spirited personal commitment to bring appropriate and effective psychosocial services to survivors of war and natural disasters in Sri Lanka."



You are all a wonderful inspiration to us youths of Asia.

****

** Thanks to RMAF Website.

PERFECT SPECIMEN: Marian Rivera

 One of the region's Most Beautiful Faces.

You might be wondering where you’ve seen her – she used to be all over the telly ads in Malaysia, Indonesia and once in Thailand. She’s also that “too-glamorous-to-be-living-in-a-hut” young lady in a Malaysian afternoon soap opera.

Marian was born Marian Gracia Rivera on 12 August 1984 in Madrid, Spain to a Filipino mother and a Spanish father. Her parents separated when she was 2 then moved to the Philippines with her mother.

Marian is the hottest property of the Philippine TV industry at the moment and her fame spans the whole country, America and parts of Southeast Asia. She is also the current No.1 of FHM Philippines’ 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2008.

More photos of Marian here...






Eurasians are the hottest people on Earth.

****

LESSONS WE LEARNED FROM THE OLYMPICS:And some sensible suggestions, mind ya!

It never fails to amaze me that a country ruled by trigger-happy-good-for-nothing-junta COULD NOT even send somebody to Target Shooting in the Olympics? Ha! That’s what they do best, right? Shoot innocent monks and civilians AND they have been practicing for decades anyway; so, why not get a medal for it? Dumb nitwits!

Brunei should drown the officials (who failed to register their athletes on time) in crude oil. Were they busy polishing their 18k-gold door knobs? Huh! Prepare the registrations 6-months prior, buy a new jet 3-months prior and fly your asses over there 3-days prior next time.

The Philippines should concentrate on sending (and supporting) locally-honed athletes instead of the foreign-trained ones. The former would do it for the country’s pride while the latter do it mainly for sponsorships. We all know that so, don’t argue.

Singapore should give a pre-departure crash course on “How to Respect the National Flag” to ignorant ‘imported’ locals. I wanted to rip the guts out of the flag bearer as I watch her drag it about the stadium. What’s her name? Ah! – Li Jia Wei, I hate you.

Cambodia should raise their national athletes’ monthly training allowance from US$30 (no typo-error there, it’s really thirty!) to US$300. The Poipet Border alone can earn at least US$11,000 a day in under-the-table fees – why not share some of it to the athletes? Greedy Immigration Officials. Pfft!

Laos & Cambodia should send more athletes out. Saturate regional games (which are mostly held in neighbouring Thailand or nearby Malaysia and Singapore) so I don’t see any excuse in spending a little more. Send the athletes by trains or buses if you have to. We promise not to laugh.

Indonesia, obviously, is on the right track -- Bringing in medals since 1992. But with 235 million people? – You guys can do better. Give the Gunawan brothers their OWN island to train more badminton athletes.

Malaysia has some very talented boxers in Perlis, Perak and Kedah. Find and train swimmers among the Badjaos or Tau-Laut in Sabah and Sarawak. With your unlimited funds? – Invest it in more athletes.

Timor Leste should concentrate on other sports when it’s Olympics time. Send the runners to the SEA Games or the Asian Games instead where most athletes have equally shorter legs. I got 2 words put together for you – weightlifting.

Hey, Vietnam! Since you guys are the closest to China – why not train some of your athletes there? Or send some sports scientists over to China and learn more (then tell us their secrets, ok?). Lovely.

Oh, Thailand, my Thailand. Have we really been sold by our own officials? Since we should have won more than 3 Golds in Boxing alone…I wanna believe the rumours. Just don’t let me catch ‘em.

IN OUR REGION…countries with lots of athletes don’t have money. And countries with lots of money, don’t have athletes. Let’s help each other, shall we?

****

--Pisanu in Chiang Mai

28 Aug 2008

Southeast Asia's NEW SET OF OLYMPIC HEROES

They are the magnificent symbols of our determination. They are the striking illustration of what our peoples can do. They are the reincarnation of our fearless ancestors. A burning pride of our race.

People of Southeast Asia…may I present to you…
OUR new Olympic heroes.


Somjit Jongjohor สมจิตร จงจอหอ of Thailand, Boxing
Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon ประภาวดี เจริญรัตนธารากูล of Thailand, Weightlifting
Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia, Badminton



Manus Boonjumnong มนัส บุญจำนงค์ of Thailand, Boxing
Feng Tian Wei, Li Jia Wei and Wang Yue Gu of Singapore, Table Tennis
Hoàng Anh Tuấn of Vietnam, Weightlifting
Liliyana and Nova Widianto of Indonesia, Badminton
Lee Chong Wei 李宗伟 of Malaysia, Badminton
Buttree Puedpong บุตรี เผือดผ่อง of Thailand, TaeKwonDo



Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia, Badminton
Eko Yuli Irawan of Indonesia, Weightlifting
Triyanto of Indonesia, Weightlifting



LONG LIVE OUR CHAMPIONS!

****

ขอบคุณมากนะครับ...สมจิตร, ประภาวดี, มนัส, บุตรี

...and our heroes came home to make us proud.






*Photos courtesy of Dailyxpress.net

GOLD FOR PARTYING?

It was one of the best days of my life since…uhm… I don’t know when. AH! Since that search-for-the-legendary-creature-turned-catastrophe in Patagonia, and that row-with-the-rebels in Mindanao Island and…Oh-oh! And that 120-hour-party-marathon in Alia Napa in 2000…and many others. LOL.

I and 27 other BISEANers attending the biggest party on Earth (the Olympics) is one hell of a logistical nightmare. We have to be everywhere and anywhere Southeast Asian athletes are competing – for the first 3 days, at least, anyway.

We had to party with the other camps too, I’m afraid – since most BISEANers are half-this and half-that. Bonding with Belgians, allo-allo with the Frenchies, guten-guten with the Germans, genki-genki with the Japs and many others…we ended up partying for the rest of the Olympics in hotels, pubs, discotheques and just about anywhere with willing strangers! And totally forgot the Olympics is actually a sporting event. *sigh*

I was thinking... if there was an Olympic discipline for PARTYING – I would have bagged Gold for Thailand (or Belgium, whatever). Ha! And mind ya, Sofia would also bag a Gold for SHOPPING and SPA MARAUDING! Haha! And Morgan?...Bronze. He’s just for Bronzes. It’s a no brainer.

Now that the 2-week-long World Party is over (but still suffering galactic hang-over) maybe I guess we can get on our “regular” parties in the region –

Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pasir Mas, KL, Singapore, Surabaya, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Vigan, Dalat, Hanoi and Sihanoukville –

HERE WE COME.

JUST A LITTLE 你好 FROM 北京!

Hello everybody, สบายดีไหม. BISEAN hasn’t been posting for like days and days and I just thought I should say hi. This blog is already a free-standing blog which means it can go on getting substantial hits a day though not updated for a week. And thank you cool dudes and hot babes who keep coming back here. เยี่ยมยอด เลยจ๊ะ I’m all smiles.

Just so you know, when special events (like the Olympics) occur, we post on our private blog นี่ครับ. I’m sorry not everybody can see it because we post sensitive issues, personal details and our NAKED photos once in a while. Haha! We limit our readers there to our closest relatives and perverted friends. Nyaha!

Sofia, Morgan and I are having a blast here in Beijing. More than 25 of our friends from all over the planet came too mostly because it’s free! Ha! I paid for their airfares in return for this small favour. [All reviews will be posted in the future]

Something’s telling me that the Internet in China is being screened. พ่อขาช่วยฉันด้วย I don’t know for sure but I have a feeling *eyeballs rolled 3 times* I cannot access my other blogs (classified as highly political) from here! So we are sending blogposts by email to either Singapore or Manila (2 of our cities without history of Internet censorship) and route it to Grant to post it by himself. เฮ้อ

I got lots of stories for you. So much things are going on and we don't know what to post first. I kept writing all these time so, don’t worry. We’ll post it when we can. ไชโย Cheers!

****

--Pisanu in Beijing
14 Aug 2008

HER MAJESTY QUEEN SIRIKIT's 76th Birthdayวันเฉลิมพระชนมพรรษา สมเด็จพระนางเจ้าฯ พระบรมราชินีนาถ

Today is one of the most important day in the Kingdom of Thailand for it is the Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the mother of all Thai people. Today is also our official Mother's Day, the day we express our utmost gratitude to our mothers, grandmothers and the women who means a lot to our lives. See how we do it here.

Her Majesty was born on 12 August 1932. She attended Catholic school Saint Francis Xavier in Bangkok until till she was 13 and eventually left for London to join her family for her father was the Thai Ambassador to the United Kingdom at the time. She met His Majesty King Bhumibol while studying in Switzerland and later married shortly after the King ascended the throne at the age of 18.

Our Most Beloved Mother bore four royal children: HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn,HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, HRH Princess Chulabhorn Walailak and Princess Ubol Ratana.

My Beloved Queen -- You are the reincarnation of Parvati. Thank you for your undying devotion to our King. Thank you for your untiring love to our people. Thank you for beaconing to protect and preserve our culture and traditions. Thank you for your endless love to the Thai people. You are our mother, our inspiration, our Queen.


Happy Birthday to the most beautiful Queen the world has ever seen.


****

[repost]

OUR 2008 OLYMPIC CONTINGENTS: How Many Did We Send?

WHOA! It’s the eve of the Olympics of all Olympics! The highly anticipated AND “overly” publicised event of the century – Discovery Channel just won’t stop bombarding us with features and specials in the past 5 years.

The Opening is in a few hours so I won’t be ranting [just yet]. See my previous rant about our Olympic standings here if you want some entertainment.

So, THIS IS IT! How many did we send to the 2008 Beijing Olympics?

Since the venue is practically OUR neighbour, I was hoping that we’d send a lot. As we all know, the more athletes we send – the more chances of getting medals, isn’t it? Yeah, yeah… here’s official tally:

Brunei Darussalam
2 Athletes in 2 Sports


Burma
1 Athlete in 1 Sport


Cambodia
3 Athletes in 2 Sports


Indonesia
23 Athletes in 6 Sports


Laos
4 Athletes in 2 Sports


Malaysia
33 Athletes in 9 Sports


Philippines
15 Athletes in 8 Sports


Singapore
26 Athletes in 5 Sports


THAILAND
51 Athletes in many, many sports (13)


Timor Leste
2 Athletes in 1 Sport


Vietnam
13 Athletes in 8 Sports

And here’s THE complete list of our hopeful athletes
– exclusively sent to BISEAN Blog:

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

Koh, Maria Grace, Swimming
Yusof, Mohd Yazid Yatimi, Track and Field

BURMA

Nay, Myo Aung, Archery

CAMBODIA

Hem, Bunting, Track and Field
Hemthon, Vitiny, Swimming
Sou, Titlinda, Track and Field

INDONESIA

Chandra, Alvent Yulianto, Badminton
Erawati, Dedeh, Track and Field
Hadiyanto, Luluk, Badminton
Hidayat, Taufik, Badminton
Irawan, Eko Yuli, Weightlifting
Kido, Markis, Badminton
Kuncoro, Sony Dwi, Badminton
Kurniawan, Edi, Weightlifting
Limpele, Flandy, Badminton
Marissa, Vita, Badminton
Marita, Fibriani Ratna, Swimming
Nasution, Sandow Weldemar, Weightlifting
Prasasti, Yosheefin S, Shooting
Puspitasari, Rina Dewi, Archery
Rochmawati, Ika Yuliana, Archery
Rumbewas, Raema Lisa, Weightlifting
Setiawan, Hendra, Badminton
Sulaksana, I Gusti Made Oka, Sailing
Utomo, Donny Budiarto, Swimming
Wibowo, Suryo Agung, Track and Field
Widianto, Nova, Badminton
Yulianti, Maria Kristin, Badminton

LAOS

Chindavong, Thepphithak, Swimming
Sackpaseuth, Philaylack, Track and Field
Tonsacktheva, Souksavanh, Track and Field
Vongphachanh, Vilayphone, Swimming

MALAYSIA

Amir Hasan, Hasli Izwan, Shooting
Awang, Mohd Azizulhasni, Cycling
Bego, Daniel, Swimming
Che, Chew Chan, Taekwondo
Cheng, Chu Sian, Archery
Chin, Eei Hui, Badminton
Choong, Tan Fook, Badminton
Elaine, Teo, Taekwondo
Heong, Tan Boon, Badminton
Ibrahim, Amirul Hamizan, Weightlifting
Jimie, Elizabeth, Diving
Keat, Koo Kien, Badminton
Khalmizam, Wan, Archery
Khoo, Cai Lin, Swimming
Lee, Chong Wei, Badminton
Lee, Hup Wei, Track and Field
Lee, Wan Wah, Badminton
Leong, Mun Yee, Diving
Leung, Chii Lin, Swimming
Lew, Yih Wey, Swimming
Lim, Leong Keat Kevin, Sailing
Lomas, Bryan Nickson, Diving
Marbawi, Muhammad, Archery
Md Yunos, Muhammad Edrus, Cycling
Ng, Josiah, Cycling
Pamg, Pandelela Rinong, Diving
Samsu, Roslinda, Track and Field
Siow, Yi Ting, Swimming
Tisin, Mohd Rizal, Cycling
Wong, Choong Hann, Badminton
Wong, Mew Choo, Badminton
Wong, Pei Tty, Badminton
Yuan, Yu Fang, Track and Field

PHILIPPINES

Ang, Eric, Shooting
Arabejo, Ryan Paolo, Swimming
Coakley, Daniel, Swimming
Dagmil, Henry, Track and Field
Diaz, Hidilyn, Weightlifting
Fabriga, Rexel Ryan, Diving
Go, Tshomlee, Taekwondo
Javier, Mark, Archery
Molina, Miguel, Swimming
Perez, Sheila Mae, Diving
Rivero, Mary Antoinette, Taekwondo
Simms, Christel, Swimming
Tannamor, Harry, Boxing
Torres, Marestella, Track and Field
Walsh, Jb, Swimming

SINGAPORE

Cai, Xiao Li, Table Tennis
Feng, Tianwei, Table Tennis
Gao, Ning, Table Tennis
Jiang, Yanmei, Badminton
Kang, Calvin, Track and Field
Koh, Seng Leong, Sailing
Koh, Terence, Sailing
Lee, Wung Yew, Shooting
Li, Jia Wei, Table Tennis
Li, Yujia, Badminton
Lim, Lynette, Swimming
Lo, Man Yi, Sailing
Ong, Deborah Huimin, Sailing
Quah, Ting Wen, Swimming
Saputra, Hendri Kurniawan, Badminton
Sun, Bei Bei, Table Tennis
Susilo, Ronald, Badminton
Tao, Li, Swimming
Tay, Bryan, Swimming
Teo, Nicolette, Swimming
Toh, Liying, Sailing
Wang, Yue Gu, Table Tennis
Xing, Aiying, Badminton
Xu, Yuan Zhen, Sailing
Yang, Zi, Table Tennis
Zhang, Guirong, Track and Field

THAILAND

Adi, Sailom, Boxing
Boonjumnong, Manus, Boxing
Boonjumnong, Non, Boxing
Boonsawad, Ek, Sailing
Bunphithak, Pramsiri, Weightlifting
Chaipech, Noeng-Ruthai, Track and Field
Chomphuphuang, Angkhan, Boxing
Chotphibunsin, Thanyalak, Shooting
Darasuriyong, Siriroj, Track and Field
Hansawong, Phaisan, Weightlifting
Hongprasert, Sasithorn, Shooting
Jaksunin, Sangwan, Track and Field
Jandang, Pacharin, Track and Field
Jaroenrattanatarakoon, Prapawadee, Weightlifting
Jiewchaloemmit, Sutiya, Shooting
Jongjohor, Somjit, Boxing
Junkrajang, Natthanan, Swimming
Kameaim, Wandee, Weightlifting
Khawlaor, Chutchawal, Taekwondo
Klomdee, Orranut, Track and Field
Komwong, Nanthana, Table Tennis
Kothny, Wiradech, Fencing
Laosirikul, Pensiri, Weightlifting
Maneetong, Pongsak, Weightlifting
Nontasin, Chanpeng, Cycling
Pamang, Buoban, Track and Field
Panchan, Nontapat, Fencing
Panichpatikum, Jakkrit, Shooting
Petchkoom, Worapoj, Boxing
Ponsana, Boonsak, Badminton
Ponsana, Salakjit, Badminton
Pooltong, Taweesak, Track and Field
Prapakamol, Sudket, Badminton
Premwaew, Chonnapas, Taekwondo
Prucksakorn, Tanyaporn, Shooting
Puedpong, Buttree, Taekwondo
Ruenroeng, Amnat, Boxing
Sanrat, Nongnuch, Track and Field
Sayota, Pichai, Boxing
Seangdee, Jintara, Track and Field
Sondee, Wachara, Track and Field
Sukaphai, Apinan, Track and Field
Suphalak, Sitthisak, Weightlifting
Suwannarangsri, Sompote, Track and Field
Suwonprateep, Sittichai, Track and Field
Tanasugarn, Tamarine, Tennis
Tansai, Napalai, Sailing
Tawoncharoen, Jutamass, Track and Field
Thaveesupsoonthorn, Nimitta, Swimming
Thoungthongkam, Saralee, Badminton
Winatho, Wassana, Track and Field

TIMOR LESTE

Dias Ximenes, Mariana, Track and Field
Ramos Soares, Augusto, Track and Field

VIETNAM

Do, Thi Ngan Thuong, Gymnastics
Doan, Kien Quoc, Table Tennis
Hoang, Anh Tuan, Weightlifting
Le, Ngoc Nguyen Nhung, Badminton
Nguyen, Dinh Cuong, Track and Field
Nguyen, Huu Viet, Swimming
Nguyen, Manh Tuong, Shooting
Nguyen, Thi Hoai Thu, Taekwondo
Nguyen, Thi Thiet, Weightlifting
Nguyen, Tien Minh, Badminton
Nguyen, van Hung, Taekwondo
Tran, Thi Ngoc Truc, Taekwondo
Vu, Thi Huong, Track and Field

All the best to our athletes!

GO FOR GOLD!

****