datin seri dato zainab kader Archives - Mindanaoan - Multi awarded CDO and New York Lifestyle Blog

Jun12012 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to visit the Philippines this June 2012

Announcements, BIMP-EAGA, Features, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, News, Personalities, Politics

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad will visit the Philippines this June 2012. Admired by many around the world, it was under the leadership of H.E. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad leadership that Malaysia developed into one of the most prosperous economies in Southeast Asia. Dr. Mahathir Mohamad will be in Manila, Philippines come June 10 to 11, 2012. He will be accompanied by his spouse H.E. Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali. According to incumbent Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines Dato Seri Dr. Ibrahim Saad, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad will have a fairly packed schedule while in the Philippines. Apart from giving a keynote lecture at the University of Santo Tomas (which will be themed loosely on modernization, good governance as well as national development), he will a...

Aug22011 by Mindanaoan Irene10 Comments

Leave Dato Zainab alone

Mindanaoan Update

I was still at the airport yesterday when I received a phone call. Apparently, a Philippine Star columnist, Jarius Bondoc, claimed that the wife of the Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dato Zainab, "sullied the Philippine national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal." Jarius Bondoc claimed that Dato Zainab tweeted and called Rizal an "infidel Malay." My very first thought was...naw, it couldn't be. It must be just some random, silly joke. Dato Zainab would never say such a thing. Plus, I thought, Jarius Bondoc and the Philippine Star know how to abide by basic and proper etiquette. It is only proper for a columnist to verify facts, lest he appears stupid and naive. It is only proper for a columnist to have proof. Also, doesn't Philippine Star's masthead say "Truth Shall Prevail"? Unfortunat...

Jul92011 by Mindanaoan Irene13 Comments

Meeting Malaysian astronaut Dato Sheikh Muszaphar

Mindanaoan Update

How do you talk to an astronaut? More specifically, how do you talk to the very first Angkasawan (Malaysian astronaut) sent to space who’s tall, super smart, very passionate in his beliefs and very, very handsome without sounding like an awestruck schoolgirl? This was my very thought as soon as I found out that I was set to fetch, meet and spend time with the supposedly dashing 38 year old Dato Sheikh Muszaphar, who’s not only an Angkasawan but an orthopedic surgeon and part-time model as well. (Yes, he’s that amazing.) The last thing I wanted was to talk to someone who knew a lot about Physics, Medicine and Aerospace Engineering. Heck, I could barely remember the technicalities surrounding g-forces, gravity, micro-neurons and surface tension! How in the world could I even carry a logic...

Feb62011 by Mindanaoan Irene4 Comments

At the wedding reception of the Malaysian ambassador’s daughter

BIMP-EAGA, Blogging, Features, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Personal, Politics, Society

Ever since I had the utmost privilege to meet the Ambassador of Malaysia to the Philippines Dato Seri Dr. Ibrahim Saad and his beautiful wife Datin Seri Dato Zainab Kader, I've become so fascinated with Malaysia, its people, its culture and traditions and even their food! I've also become quite fascinated with certain similarities between the Philippines and Malaysia and the glaring fact that at the end of the day, we really all are connected. So when I received this special invitation to attend the wedding reception of the Malaysian ambassador's daughter Zaireen Ayu Ibrahim and her groom Shazlan Sufian, I knew I just had to go. Not only was it a fabulous chance for me to witness an akad nikah (traditional Malay wedding) but it was also a chance for me to meet and mingle with new Malays...