good looking model is our man to go into space

(picture taken from cosmonaut biography)

whoaa! isn’t he one good-looking dude? well, that is our first astronaut… er… bolehnaut… oh well, angkasawan (local malay word for ‘astronaut)  dr. sheikh muszaphar shukor, a 35 years old orthopedic doctor. he was said to be a part-time model so ain’t no surprise that he’s good looking… but i was a bit surprise that a doctor moonlight as a model. oh well, forget about him as a doctor or a model for now. let’s talk about him as an angkasawan instead.

yes, so malaysia had finally chosen him as the first man in history in our country to blast off in space. hey, there’s a wikepdia on him too, of which you can see more details of him, if you want to get to know this cute guy  a little closer. he’s single, btw. 🙂

what’s this with aisehman and lulu mocking our dear handsome angkasawan? hey, he’s new lah. he’s the first angkasawan, remember, so where he got records/profiles like all the other astronauts, cosmonauts and what-nots,, his fellow crew members, who will board the russian soyuz TMA-11, which will blast off from baikanur in kazakhstan on Oct 10.

apparently aisehman had discovered from the NASA webiste that our angkasawan is only a ‘spaceflight participant’ while the others all have the astronauts and cosmonauts tags. oh well, perhaps our doctor cum model here wants the tag ‘angkasawan‘ and those ang moh there don’t know how to pronounce it/use it? he should have used ‘bolehnaut’! maybe that’s easier for the ang moh.

yes, seems that our angkasawan going to be boleh in so many things. now being the puasa month, he will be touted as the first muslim to fast in space. then remember what one minister proudly suggested? that our angkasawan will ‘do what no one in space has done before‘ – play the traditional children’s game ‘five stones’, spin malay traditional tops, make teh tarik.  whoa!! malaysia boleh, see!

i am not making fun of our good looking doctor cum model now cum angkasawan, please… but i’m making fun of our government’s suggestion for him to play children games, make tea and go fly a kite in space.

i am proud (really) that we now have someone in our country who is going to space and i congratulate sheikh muszaphar for being chosen as the first candidate. yes i know although this journey into space will be using  russian expertise and technology, i’m keeping my fingers crossed that in the near future malaysia will progress/develop in the space science.

Malaysia’s astronaut programme was part of a package deal arising from Malaysia’s purchase of RM34 billion 18 SukhoiSU-30MKN fighter jets from Russia. Russian Government had offered in return a place for a Malaysian to join Russian cosmonauts on the expedition to the International Space Station in October next year.

see the angkasawan website.  ok ok i realised some, if not many of you would grumble malaysia is wasting the tax payers’ money – RM34 billion you know… but hey come on lah, kasi chance sikit, boleh kah? i support the government’s move in this instance. there! i’m not anti government, see. well it is better to spend that kind of amount to purchase something useful for the ordinary malaysian to use and to made a name for the country than to spend on say, luxurious yacht or mansion for only certain individuals. and after all, we do want our country to progress, right?

oh btw, when i was at the angkasawan website, i discovered another cute picture of sheikh muszaphar, which i must put up in my blog. he looks pan asian here, huh? his name is also not common, so i think he must have some mixed blood in him. (seen here with our PM and the other 2nd choice angkasawan, 27-year-old armed forces dental surgeon kapt dr faiz khaleed – guess i don’t have to tell you which one is him – he’s the cure one!)