Merdeka 2013

It’s Medeka Day tomorrow 31st August 2013. Somehow the atmosphere is not there; at least I don’t feel it as much as when I was in service. Probably because I am not invited to any of the functions that generals get invited to. No, I am not being sour grapes. I really miss all that pomp and pageantry of parades, dressing up for dinners and such.
And certainly it was not the way I felt on the actual day 56 years ago at the Merdeka Stadium. I was there lining up the inside of the stadium as "point man."   Being senior boys of the FMC we were given this honour. As I witnessed the whole proceedings unfold before me, I felt such great pride to be part of history. I was at a position quite close to the dais where Tunku Abdul Rahman, our first Prime Minister, shouted "Merdeka, Merdeka..." seven times with the crowd shouting likewise in thunderous response. I actually felt the rush of Adrenalin and my bulu roma standing on ends. We all stood at attention watching the Jalur Gemilang, our brand new national flag being hoisted. A new nation was born; and we fought for it through military and diplomatic means. And today when it became known that some fringe lunatics led by our Poet Laureate, Dato A. Samad Said, wanted to change that flag to "Sang Saka Malaya" I felt like doing the unthinkable to this traitor.  I hope the Home Minister will take due action on this unkempt, mad 78 year old man. He and his cohort (Hishamuddin Rais and Adam Adli) that's shown in the picture above deserve to be thrown into the slammer.

Right now there’s too much going on around the world and back home that’s not to my liking.  I am disappointed with the Arabs for being so stupid to be manipulated – one after another – into the Arab Spring. I was in Cairo in May 2011 and saw the devastation to their economy. They had a free and

fair election but the losers didn't like the winners. So they demonstrated again and toppled the democratically-elected government. They are now worse off. I was in Tunisia in Dec 2012 but the Tunisians appear to a bit more sane. Libya and Yemen removed their dictators but they are not any better off. And now Syria who stubbornly resisted the onslaught, is having a civil war since March 2011 (more than 24 months already.)  And with any war, winning counts and by any means. It’s no surprise therefore that the regime would use chemical weapons; but who pushed them into it?  Who sold them the ingredients to make the nerve gas?
I had friends who went to Syria to study and lived there several years. They were full of praise of the living conditions and standards they experienced; and how friendly the people were. How come there is so much animosity now? Is it really a Sunni-Shia issue or some hidden hands at work. Remember, Al Qaeda is also fighting the Assad regime in Syria. So, is the US on the side of Al Qaeda now? I am glad the Brits have learnt their lesson with the Iraqi adventure and voted not to support the US hawks. I wonder if Obama is up to it – to resist all the hawkish noises or join the likes of George W Bush.
On the home front Anwar is making overtures to Najib. His Merdeka message was very conciliatory, excerpts thus:
“Titik pertemuan BN dan PR perlu segera dicari bagi menyelamatkan negara di samping menyeru melupakan kesalahan masing-masing sempena hari kemerdekaan negara esok,” katanya ketika menyampaikan perutusan itu di Ibu Pejabat PKR di Petaling Jaya hari ini.
Cheeky bugger.  I hope Najib won’t be so stupid to fall for this desperado tricks. Meanwhile  PAS is struggling with Shia infiltration in their ranks. And the DAP is compromising their CAT principles. Recently the government of Penang issued an “advisory” to cinemas in the state to not show the film “Tanda Putra” centred on Tun Razak and Tun Ismail’s handling of the aftermath of the May 13, 1969 tragedy which didn’t show DAP in a very good light. To top it all, the Appeal Court acquitted Azilah and Sirul from the charges of murdering Altantuya seven years ago, on a technicality. Just like Anwar got away from two sodomy cases on a technicality.
Our economy is also not doing well with the Ringgit depreciating sharply against the major currencies. With the UMNO General Assembly scheduled for late this year, Najib is not on a very strong footing. I wonder if the acronym RAHMAN is becoming a truism.

Saedah is not well

Ham and I went back to Ipoh for Raya yesterday Tuesday 13 Aug. We stopped by Saedah’s house at Changkat Larang first. But she was not home. She had been admitted to Hospital Tuanku Bainon for her breast cancer chemo treatment. So we went to the hospital to see her.

As usual she was cheerful although she said the cancer has spread and she was in pain and discomfort most of the time. This time around most probably they’ll do mastectomy as well; thus she would be losing both breasts. She is 59. After that we went to Kg Kolam, Tanjung Rambutan, to see Saedah’s mother who is 80. She is Ham’s elder sister.

She looks well, her only problem is the inability to walk, hence spends most of her time in bed.  She is also well looked after by her youngest recently divorced son; and grandson and his wife.  Then a stop at Ham’s other sister’s house in Tambun before heading for KL around 5:30 pm. There was some heavy traffic around Slim River otherwise it was smooth travel.  We arrived home just after 8:30 pm. A 3-hour drive – that’s not bad.

Raya 2013

It looks like we won’t have our annual joint family breakfast together at Taman Perwira house this time round. Mek is still wheel-chair bound, Zaki and Sabrina are at her mother’s, Fahd still in New Zealand, Nani in Dubai and Ida in London.

That leaves Faizal and Faritz, two late-nighters who are unlikely to even want to get up early in the morning. So, it’s just me and Ham then for Raya breakfast tomorrow morning. Never mind, it’s Raya – Maaf Zahir Batin. Open House                  This is just a few of Mek's nephews, nieces, and grandkids As usual Mek would have her open house on the first day of Raya. And this time it's no different. Even before the appointed time of 12 noon, we had our first visitors. The stream of relatives and friends continued right through to just before 4 pm when the caterers prepared to pack up.  The weather was lovely thanks to a bit of rain the night before.  Everyone enjoyed themselves and one Rotary wife even quipped "Please don't change the menu.  We love your lamb, mee curry, kuey teow, rendang, lemang, ketupat, spaghetti, ice kacang, cakes...and what else ah..." Mek is also a good storyteller.  So when her niece Raja Maizura and her family came on Saturday 17 August night for Raya, her son and daughter -- the curious duo --  had Wan Mek tell them bits about their grandfather Raja Arif, their ancestry and also an interesting story of how Kelantan was won by their mutual ancestor Long Yunus by winning a cock-fight with the Sultan of Trengganu. And how she sorted out Raja Zainal's Shell station business in Jalan Raja Chulan.  To top it all was the story about her mother's elephant ride back to Kelantan. I think one day I'll write a book on all her stories.

A Quiet 74

I turned 74 three days ago, on Monday 22 July to be exact. It was a quiet affair; no parties, dining out, nothing. Some of the children remembered, others didn’t. But my Rotary colleagues at RC Pudu remembered, sent a birthday card, fined me four times since 1 July and sang the birthday song.
I think I am feeling my age now. I am beginning to feel pain in my left knee area, especially during the duduk antara dua sujud for the tahyat awal. However, I am not yet into using a  chair to do my solat like some of my younger friends. My masseur said it’s muscular and not bone problem. I can walk but not as brisk as before. Running? yes a bit, but I quickly get out of breath.
Nevertheless, I am looking forward to my next 4x4 adventure trip to the Australian Outback in October 2013. It’s just a 24 day trip: Darwin-Alice Springs-Uluru-Simpson Desert-Brisbane. And Raja Azma is funding my air travel as a belated birthday present. Thank you, my dear.

GE 13

Notice my inked finger. A bit 3rd world, but that’s what Dumbiga wanted. We could have gone biometric, we have the technology and even introduced chip-based passports to the world. So ladies, bear with it for another 5 days or so.

Ham and I went to vote today at SK Taman Ahmad Razali Ampang Jaya.  Mek and Zaki voted at KDE, Sabrina at 1Utama. Whom did I vote for?  Of course BN.  Voting for PR is simply a no-no.   Why, because these clowns simply cannot govern.  They have been given five years (2008-12) to prove themselves as a possible alternative, so that we’d have a two party system.  Regrettably, they screwed up, big time.  In the five years, instead of governing they continued to behave like the Opposition. They went on and on with their criticizing spree and “politics of hate.”  PAS hated UMNO, DAP hated the MCA/BN and PKR hated Dr Mahathir. Added to that we had some fringe lunatics like Harris Ibrahim with his ABU (Anything but UMNO) mantra

and Hishamuddin Rais with his “let’s demo” as his pastime vocation. Dumbiga and unkempt Samad Said and their motley bunch of troublemakers with their “Bersih” thingy was fuelling the rioters with unclean money from foreign NGOs. PAS is naturally hopeless, having had Kelantan for 22 years and nothing to show for it. They can’t even provide clean water. And their leaders when caught on a sex video got away being hudud-ed with the blessings of their self-appointed Murshidul ‘Am and the party president. And they call themselves an Islamic party. Shiissh.  Kedah PAS govt was in a perpetual quarrel with a faction trying to oust the MB.  They also antagonized the non-Muslims with stupid rulings, besides destroying the eco-system by rampant logging at the Pedu lake catchment area. Meantime, their own University College, KUIN, suffered a financial crisis which is yet to be solved.

DAP had Penang.  Being an offshoot of LKY’s PAP when Singapore was kicked out of the Malaysian Federation in 1965, they of course carried on with LKY’s slogan of “Malaysian Malaysia” espousing meritocracy or “winner-take-all” policy as opposed to BN’s power-sharing or “prosper thy neighbour”  policy, that has proven to work well for the last 55 years. Also the fact that their leadership perpetuates dynastic rule of the Lim’s and the Karpal’s – is quietly camouflaged when they chant their war cry of Ubah (Change) for GE 13; quite oblivious of the fact that UMNO have changed their President six times; likewise MCA and MIC.  What hypocrites.  Worst still, the CM of Penang, a parachutist from Melaka, is trying to do a Singapore in Penang by building expensive high rise condos on acquired land that’s beyond the previous owners’ (read Malay) ability to buy. As a result, they had to move out to the mainland thus facilitating a subtle ethnic cleansing exercise. And for this GE, encouraged by the perceived high Chinese support for DAP’s Ubah war cry, LKS decided to jump over to Gelang Patah in Johor. And he did win although BN fielded Dato Ghani Othman, a well-liked good-report-card Johor MB for the last 18 years. Johor Chinese are sending a dangerous message indeed.

What about PKR.  Well, this is a party belonging to the Anwar family, nepotism of the highest order – mother as President, daughter as Vice-President and father as self-appointed Ketua Umum.  By the way, isn’t it strange to see that all the three parties of the illegal PR, having their leaders – Anwar, LKS and Nik Aziz – being self-appointed instead of voted in by their party members? What a mockery they make of democracy.  Unlike PAS and DAP, PKR was cobbled up in the wake of Anwar being kicked out of UMNO in 1999 and sent to jail for corruption (abuse of power) and Sodomy (which he got away with on account of a technicality.) It’s only 14 years since but most of his stalwart supporters have left him after realizing that they were taken for a ride by his acting ability, chameleon character and low moral standing; aided and abetted by his naïve wife. It’s amazing how he could get away with things – even Sodomy II (again on a technicality) after getting his case postponed more than 60 times in the course of four years; thanks to his lawyer, the wily but highly unprincipled Karpal Singh.  PKR have no credible policies to speak off; they even said that a manifesto is not a promise and therefore no obligation to honour. Their only aim is for Anwar to be PM. Period. And if Anwar is PM, then this disparate lot could occupy Putrajaya. God forbid.

Afternote: The voters did their thing. BN won with 133 seats with PR 89. Kedah was wrested back and Perak retained. End result: DAP kept Penang, PKR kept Selangor and PAS kept Kelantan. But in terms of the popular votes, PR had 50.87% and BN 47.38% – it was a Chinese tsunami with MCA, Gerakan and SUPP trounced.  Consequently, MCA decided not to accept any govt posts, not at State, or town and even village level.  A stupid merajuk attitude. Anwar, however, who was cocksure that PR would win and he become PM chose not to accept the results saying than BN and EC cheated; citing 40,000 Bangla phantoms, blackout during vote counting, washable indelible ink and other “scripted” accusations. So he went on a nationwide “Blackout 505” demo spree, with initial heavy turnout by the Chinese. PAS and the Azmin faction of PKR stayed away.  Finally when it came for the opening of Parliament on 24 May, Anwar and gang meekly attended and took the oath as MPs. However, to save face he has instituted a court case to have the results of the GE13 declared null and void and a fresh General Election be convened.

Faritz and his bicycles

My youngest son, Faritz, is a graduate of Swinburne University (Melbourne, Australia) in Industrial Design.  He graduated in January 2011; came home, looked for jobs that fit his qualification; but no joy.  His friends with similar education are also no better.  Apparently, our Malaysian industries don’t have a need for designers. They just manufacture OEM products. Those that do design work, have enough designers, supposedly.
So last January, he decided to do something related to his hobby.  He loved cycling and the fad is catching on in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia in general. The Le Tour de Langkawi annual races helped to popularise this sport.

The Swift modified to carry bikes	His room is like a workshop

One day, while loitering in Sri Hartamas, he saw a cycle shop looking understaffed. He went in and asked the manager for a job. He got it. And now, he is the manager.
It’s a high end bicycle shop selling bikes for racing, mountain rides, dirt track extreme sports and the likes. He has raced too and won an iPad. Now he is really hooked into it and would go to Putrajaya where the happenings are, to cycle to their hearts content in the middle of the night.

Ah passed away

My sister-in-law, Zulaikha -- or Ah as she was popularly known -- younger sister to Ham, passed away at the KLH early morning on Tuesday 21 May 2013.  She never recovered from the operation to her skull as a result of a fall somewhere along Jln Tuanku Abd Rahman on Saturday 18 May.  She was buried after zohor prayers at the Taman Bukit Teratai Muslim Cemetery in Cheras (see map.)

Ah’s death was a tragedy. She was under some kind of black magic spell for some eight years. She was transformed from an entrepreneurial lady to one that went round begging to borrow money to meet the demands of her tormentors. None of her relatives including me were spared her pleadings. She even went to friends and neighbours and remote acquaintances. It was embarrassing.  Even on the day she died, she was on an errand to obtain money to deposit RM 9K into an account. Her brother Jid, got this information from her hand phone that survived the fall.

A police report has been made and hopefully the perpetrators would be found, lest more victims end up like Ah.