You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April, 2009.
To those who support the abolishment of ISA, you may want to listen to this debate. Or those who have no inkling on what ISA is about, it’s time you learn..
DEBAT ISA: HARAM ATAU HALAL?
Speakers : YB Saari Sungib (GMI) V Representative from PEWARIS
Venue : Auditorium, Dewan Sivik MPPJ.
Date : 9 May 2009 (Saturday)
Time : 3.00pm-5.00pm
Read more about this at Zorro.
Ever since I came back from Bukit Gantang on April 5th, I seem to be zapped of my energy.
Zapped of energy to blog, comment on blogs and participate in the gang’s chat through email.
It’s not helping when I got this pain in the tummy that won’t go away.
Talking about going away, bloggers are going away to places..
The English Cottage went to Calgary, to spend quality time with her loved ones and unsuspectingly brought the infamous Malaysian strong winds and rain with her!
Zorro almost went on that one-way trip to Ipoh, had the rat took up his kind offer.
Dear Pete went to a faraway place, some said underground, but I think not. Only rats or snakes go underground. I think Pete is up in one of those castles in the sky.
Some like Jed is shutting down her blog, to pursue law (I am not putting up the link to her blog, she has deleted it).
Me, ah it’s back to me. Zapped of energy and interest.
Is this goodbye for me? Or for Pete? Or the others?
Are we losing it? Losing what? The freedom we never had?
Look at this tree. I chopped off the branches and leaves, after losing the fight with some plant disease.
Did the tree die? No, after a few weeks, the shoots came out and the leaves grew like nobody’s business!
Yes, I am not saying goodbye.
I may be silent for awhile, not writing any posts.. I am hibernating. Just waiting for the right moment to come back.
My friend TG showed me this video today. It is a short film directed by Ferdinand Dimudra (a Fillipino) as an entry for the 56th Berlin Film Festival (that was in 2006) in the Short Film Competition category, on the theme Food, Taste & Hunger.
After 1 minute into watching, I guessed that it is probably about wasting food and I mentioned that to TG. He said that I was right, and asked if the plot is so easy to tell, then should this film deserved to be chosen the most popular short film? I told him it’s not about creativity and plot, it’s the story behind the film that won the votes.
Whether this is a true story or not, I am reminded of my 2 dogs; Scrabby and Missy. Scrabby is a Miniature Pincher, a so-called pedigree my family purchased from a vet for RM280. Missy is a mongrel stray puppy rescued from the Kampung Simee market one night.
Scrabby, a spoilt snob would sniff at food and turn away in disdain, refusing to eat. Whereas Missy, having experienced hunger before, would swallow down any food given to her. We nicknamed Missy ‘the vacuum cleaner’ because she would lick clean the crumbs on the floor, your hand, table, practically anywhere, as long as it is food!
I cannot stand any waste of food, by humans or dogs! So I would force-feed Scrabby when he refused to eat, Now he has learned to finish his food quickly, before I force open his mouth and force-feed him. Yeah, I know SPCA will label me as mistreating my dog. The moral of the story is, those who have abundance and not appreciate should be taught to appreciate, especially the young.
Now back to the short film, it is about a man collecting leftover food from fast food restaurants to feed children in his neighborhood and his own family. It also showed some young people who are wasteful when eating…
There are millions and millions of people in poverty out there without food. Nearer to our home, I was told that an Orang Asli village of about 60 was without food for 2 days due to bad weather (they could not go into the forest to look for food and they have no money to buy food). My friends made a timely visit, bringing them rice and canned food.
The next time we eat, be reminded that there are people who have not eaten for days. So do not cook in excess or order in excess, and later waste it by not being able to consume all. And if this video touch you, contribute by giving to those who need it.
After my trip to Bukit Gantang for the recent elections, I came back with a prized packet of Sarawak Laksa paste. Prized because I have never tasted Sarawak laksa, and have wanted to since my colleague told me some years ago that Alexis in Bangsar served to-die-for Sarawak laksa!
I proceeded to rummage for a Sarawak laksa recipe. It’s all very simple to cook. Boil some chicken/prawns stock. Add in the Sarawak laksa paste, daun ketumbar and boil for another 15 minutes. Lastly add in coconut milk (santan) and tada, my Sarawak laksa is ready. I prepared thick beehoon (a type of rice noodles), topped it with prawns and shredded chicken, bean sprouts to go with the laksa soup. Squeezed a couple of limes to give it the extra kick!
The taste? Absolutely delicious! I slurp the bowl empty (means not one drop of the laksa soup goes into the sink!). I’ll cook it again anytime..that is, if I know where to get hold of the paste (this packet was especially hand-carried and air-flown from Sarawak!). Thank you, you-know-who for the Sarawak laksa paste. 
slurp, slurp.. sarawak laksa
Since I already messed up the kitchen, I might as well mess it further with some baking too. In line with the country’s politics going banana, I baked a banana cake. Added some chocolate chips to enhance the flavor!
banana cake
J buzzed me with a sms this morning, asking me why I have been so quiet over the weekend! (Quiet = did not respond to emails and blog comments). Now J knows why!
Anyway, on the political front, I think we are heading downhill faster than the Challenger spacecraft crashing down! Enough said, I think I want to cool off a bit here, leave the country’s clowns in peace, to perform their clown finale. After all, concerned friends are cautioning me about blogging on politics, they are not too comfortable with a ‘black’ (= hitam) taking over the information portfolio…, not forgetting the ‘keris’-drawer in the ‘home’! So I better slog in my kitchen more and feed appreciative family and friends.
A public forum on this topic, ‘Najib, 1Malaysia & 2 Bukit Tsunami’ was held at the Ipoh Chin Woo Hall tonight.
Speakers for the forum were MP Lim Kit Siang, MB Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin, MP Ngeh Koo Ham, MP M Kula Segaran & MP Nga Koh Meng.
I did not attend this (my body is still parked in Petaling Jaya!) but a fellow blogsphere friend, J did and provided this report.
The crowd was estimated at 1500 inside the hall and 600 standing outside.
MP Kula was the first speaker and he welcomed bloggers in the audience as from Bloggers United.
MB Nizar will be sworn in as Member of Parliament on 16 June (why so long?), part of the contents of his fiery speech.. He also noted the Pakatan Rakyat government, in ten and a half months, has managed to unite the people of Perak. This, Nizar said is proof of justice, professionalism, good governance, fairness and integrity, to rapturous applause from the audience.
MP Lim Kit Siang told the audience that he wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister, calling the PM to convene emergency meeting of Parliament.. read LKS ‘8 tests’ open letter here.
Photos to wrap up this report… (photos taken by Jong).
Nizar greeting the crowd
Nizar, Perak's MB
V Sivakumar, Perak Speaker
leaders united vis-a-vis bloggers united!
This morning, my drive back from Ipoh to Petaling Jaya was delayed by more than 45 minutes. Upon reaching the Rawang exit on the North-South Expressway, vehicles were forced to a long bumper-to-bumper slowdown. It was 9am. My first instinct as to the reason for the jam; accident. Sure enough, I heard it over the radio’s traffic update that a double-decker bus had crashed.
It took me more than 45 minutes to clear the 1 km jam. When I reach the site of the accident, I saw a long section of the metal dividers on the right side damaged. Workers were removing the damaged part. As I was driving alone, I took the risk of taking a photo and only managed this… (focus on my car’s side mirror to note the extent of the damage).
To my left, the bus which crashed was put back on it’s four wheels, that is upright. I could see little damage except some parts on the right side. I thought it’s nothing serious..
But I did not know the fatality of this accident until I read Malaysiakini’s report..
| Six killed in early morning bus crash |
| Apr 13, 09 10:49am |
|
Six people were killed in an accident along the North-South Expressway near Rawang this morning. The six were five passengers and the driver of an express bus. Two other passengers were injured in the crash. The accident occurred at about 5.30am when the bus went out of control and skidded. It then hit the divider and overturned at Km443 of the highway. The double-decker carried 34 passengers from Changlun, Kedah. The accident cause a massive traffic jam along the highway in the morning According to a Bernama report, the dead were Muhamad Ismail, 27, of Kampung Lubuk Batu, Jitra; Mohamad Fauzi Awang, 57, Kampung Siam, Alor Setar; Md Jaheer Mohamad, 33, Kodiang; Mohd Yusril Zakaria, 27, Kuala Muda, Kedah, C.Magentharan, 26, Kelang, and bus driver Zulkhibri Md Saad, 35, of Kubang Ulu, Bukit Mertajam. All the dead and the injured were sent to the Sungai Buluh Hospital. |
I am sorry to hear of the deaths. Sorry that lives could be extinguished by a split-second mistake or a faulty part. This is another black Monday. After all it is Monday the 13th. Not that I am superstitious or what. But it pays to be careful on the road.
Question for the Transport Minister: What happened to banning night buses or overnight bus service? I believe this double-decker bus must have started it’s journey from Kedah at around midnight? And the driver got sleepy and tired… ? How many more lives to be lost before you people in the government do something constructive?
Today is Easter Sunday.
Easter is not about bunnies.
Neither is it about eggs; chicken-painted-eggs or chocolate eggs.
Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus on the third day, after he was crucified on the cross.
‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.’ (John 11:25).
I believe in Jesus. But I have not been living a resurrection life.
I am still cowed by fear and setback by sin.
Today is the perfect day for me to regain the resurrection life.
And not to allow success and busyness to be the stumbling block to living a resurrection life.
I must remember that I serve a risen saviour.
Hallelujah!
(peng’s note: peng has been overwhelmed by political issues and thus deserted her first love, Jesus. She realized it’s time to return, as the prodigal son returned to his father, seeking forgiveness.)
The button I wore during my 'snoop' trip to Taiping
UPDATED:
Bukit Gantang OFFICIAL RESULTS
Mohd Jamaluddin Nizar (PAS) 21,860
Ismail Saffian (BN-Umno) 19,071
Kamarul Ramizu Idris (Ind) 62
YES! YES! YES!
NIZAR TO PARLIAMENT!
I am writing this post at 7pm, anticipating a win for Nizar for the Bukit Gantang by-elections!
I want to congratulate the Perak Menteri Besar, YB Nizar for this victory.
Perakians have spoken, and they have confirmed it again by voting him to Parliament.
Nizar, you went up a hill (Bukit Gantang) and came down a mountain (mount Gantang)!
Thank you, for not giving up when the going gets tough; when they evicted you out from your home; when they stormed your office and locked you out.
Thank you for sticking to your conscience and faith.
Now you will move mountains as a Member of Parliament!
Thank you people of Bukit Gantang for this mandate!
UPDATE (6/4/09) : This is an update from J who is still in Taiping..
(This is Sunday night, 5/4/09) … we headed towards Taman KAYA to hear PKR’s ceramahs instead. Anwar spoke and some ex-umno members defected to PKR. The crowd was around 10,000…
We passed by a few BN ceramahs on our way to Taman KAYA and you won’t believe it their crowd are all so thin, only one quarter of those empty chairs were taken up and as we drove by the sight of empty plastic blue chairs look so pathetic...
I have planned to observe the on-goings of the other camp, but like I said in the first post, there’s a lack of information as to where the ceramahs were. It also did not helped when my MAXIS broadband failed to load in Taiping! That’s why I am doing a post-reporting instead of a live reporting!
Anyway, we chanced upon this..
Yes, it is the ‘Bilik Gerakan Induk’ of Umno Youth! Don’t buckle with laughter yet. Look at the next picture first!
Ho! Ho! Ho! Umno Youth is giving free maintenance service for motorcycles. I observed only youths came. They have to register, then were given a BN button, 2 stickers and a free motorcycle maintenance service! Is this how Umno Youth engage the ‘mat rempits’. What is the registration for? For a future list of some phantom thing?
We talked to an official. I asked him if Khairy, the newly-minted Umno Youth chief will be here to campaign. He said no, the no.2 man is in charge of campaigning there.
What a way to campaign!
Like I said, BN has the 3Ms; Money, Means & Machinery. And this is the best they can do. Sexy girls singing on stage, dinners and more dinners, free motorcycle maintenance service and not forgetting this… (the all-time favorite)
The MONEY: Spotted 2 vehicles at Umno Youth 'Bilik Gerakan' loaded with hampers!
The MEANS: FRU trucks, water cannon trucks etc parked in 2 Martek camp..
Police guarding the Umno branch office, one at each end of this row of shops.
The MACHINERY: Taiping is overwhelmed by signs like these put up by BN..
Will the 3Ms guarantee a win for BN?
We shall see.
But for now we know you can’t teach an old monkey new tricks.
While on another chase to a ceramah, we were lead by some PKR members to this place about 10km off the Simpang main road. We were told that Anwar Ibrahim will be speaking to a lunch crowd at Kampung Matang Gelugor. The drive all the way to Matang Gelugor is through a one-lane road, crossing under one tunnel and over three rivers.
We were greeted with these on the way..
But as usual, the polis got to be there…
Anwar spoke to a crowd of about 200 plus. After that, he went on a motorbike to do his rounds in the kampung. I spotted some Chinese in the crowd. When we asked them how they know there’s a ceramah at this remote kampung, the lady said a friend told her about this. They wanted to listen to Anwar speak.
Snippets: We went to the Perak museum and bumped into a PAS supporter. He told us that there was a tense standoff between the PAS & BN supporters in the early hours of this morning (midnight till 3am). It seems that 400 FRU were there to protect the BN supporters be on standby. I bought a ‘Vote Nizar’ button and wore it on my t-shirt during our walkabout. It does help to engage in a conversation with the locals here!
(I saved the best for the last, in my last post)
Recent Comments