Perak... maybe a silver lining out of this?

The things that are happening there..... in the years to come, when we have the hindsight, it'll be a different thing altogether.

The BN camp must be feeling very jubilant now. It's a coup. And already there those who say that for the Prime Minister in waiting who is more aggressive approach, this will look good when he becomes the number one this March. But that's another story. PR was a fragile coalition to start with. PAS with its theocracy state approach and looks like they are not going to compromise about it but at least they are not corruptible yet, DAP with its perceived Chinese chauvinist approach and PKR with its multiracial composition - actually most promising of the lot cos if PKR can work, then maybe a Malaysia on equal platform may actually come to fruition though it's still a long shot.

But what with the palace's stand of not dissolving the State Assembly? With the current situation, neither government will be strong. So who benefits? The people certainly are not going to benefit... with political parties fighting to be in power, they will hardly be focusing on what needs to be done to make sure the contraction in our economy will not hit too hard; that the stimulus package will benefit the people.... Nope! All this is not going to happen if politicians are too busy trying to make sure they stay in power.

So who benefits out of this??? Years ago, there was this UMNO leader who dared question the positions of the Sultans. The Sultans came out of that spat quite battered.... at that time, the coalition of parties which ruled the country was undisputed, no other party came close to challenging them. That was BN, unchallenged those days. With the political parties battering each other now.... the palaces have become places to seek legitimacy... power goes back to the palace. So the palace becomes relevant again; and that's what they probably would want. Many countries are questioning the relevance of monarchies in today's modern world.

So BN forms the government... what sort of government will it be? With 3 turncoats and another one already turned twice.... Terrible state this Silver State is in, cos this is a government imposed and not elected. Well, if you look at history... no gahmen has been able to exist forever... eventually their undoing comes out of their own doing. And right now, even though BN seems to be having the upper hand, they might just be starting to unravel....

And of all the Sultans, the present Sultan should understand this best but he too seems to have missed at least half of what his rakyat chose. Sultans are also human with desires... and the Regent of Perak said rulers must be neutral.... his father didn't think so! So, it's back to those days of old also perhaps for the palace?

But then again.... perhaps, just perhaps there is a silver lining in all this which will bear fruit and if it does bear the right fruit in time to come, all those who want so much to hang on to power through such means will find themselves being booted out for good... doing the right thing, that takes a lot of wisdom.... and courage. That is a bit lacking in all departments now...

In the mean time.... this is an apt reminder why we, the people should work together. There's always a next election.

Now that another round of hols is over...

Replacement classes starts!!! We always do this... have extended hols then replace those extra days taken with Sat class. CNY break was supposed to be on Mon and Tues. Most schools in Kedah took Sun off as Cuti Lembaga. Usually a school is allowed 2-3 days of Cuti Lembaga a year which need not be replaced. But they also took Wed and Thurs off as well which meant the whole week off. And those 2 days need to be replaced!

Now that the holiday part is done... it's pay back time. We do the same for Raya also...take this extended break. Then we replace those days with Saturday school; which is a waste also cos not much gets done. Many students skip school. Very seldom classes run as usual. Don't really blame the kids cos it's kinda tiring to go to school for 6 days... and school hours these days are kinda long; some more in this hot and humid weather of ours.

So is it good to have such extended break?? I think the MOE might as well factor in such hols into the school calendar. Then we don't have to keep replacing those days taken. Singapore is predominantly Chinese... they don't take more than the 2 days for CNY. It was back to business as usual on Wednesday for schools.

Then the excuse that it will reduce the traffic congestion and reduce the number of road accidents. But data from Ops Sikap I till the present Ops Sikap does not seem to indicate a big drop in road fatalities. You can see for yourself from here the statistics. As for traffic congestion, I think it gets worse cos everyone, regardless of race is on the road. It used to be turn taking in those old days cos the short break didn't make it worth the while to jam the roads. But these days... the roads are filled with vehicles.

But more time with family... that one is good.. supposed to encourage the masyarakat penyayang thingy.

But I am actually heaving a sigh of relief with this round of hols over cos finally, I can get down to the whole rigmarole of getting used to the 'term' schedule again... though I must say that one week of break from the nonsense at school was a welcomed break. But it was a short lived joy... after one week.... I'm back to where I was! Crap taking, sugar coated words, show and tell ...... the list remains the same!

Perak Imbroglio

The plot becomes more and more interesting.... Still no decision on the MB's request to dissolve the State Assembly. Of all the 'monarchies' in M'sia, I've always had great respect for this particular Sultan of my home state. Let's see how he'll decide.

With this current changing bedflers thingy going on... probably best to dissolve and let the people choose. Everyone seems to be clamouring to serve... suddenly they seem so noble. But these people seem to have such short memories.... or maybe they don't want to remember. Money politics is in many people's mind at this time.... who has been bought? Who has sold out? After all if the allegations are true, a couple of millions.... why not??? Darn....I'd be damned if I say I won't buckle if that much money is being thrown at my face!

Good and clean governance.... ethical and upright people. All that possible?? Politics is dirty... can clean people stay clean in politics??? Why do people want power? Is it really to serve the people or their own interests? Why did kings hold on to their throne in days of old? Was it to serve the poor peasant sods or their own ambitions? Were they that noble?

And those YBs who have been jumping around like frogs the last few days.... have they no shame??? Where are their principles? ... oh I forgot, they never had. If they don't believe in the party they won their seats with, then resign as YB. Join a new party... take part in the election under the wings of their new party. If they believe the people want them, they will be re-elected. But they know... the chances of themselves being elected... so they take the path that benefits them. And in taking them in, BN will just enforce the perception of a corrupt party .... that already is in many, many people's minds. Now it's being reinforced. Najib will do BN a greater injustice by wanting this quick coup... for all we know, he may be remembered as the one who brought BN to its knees.

Even Tun Mahathir has the sense to see the harm that this will do to BN. Can't the present BN leaders see it? The greed.... the glee... to think that they've 'stolen' the silver state back..... my mind goes back to Judas Iscariot and his 30 silver pieces. And oh! What befell him after the the sell out?

Anyway, Najib may well go down in history the one who nailed the coffin of BN or bring money politics to a new height... or well, we could continue to do what we are doing now, be the proverbial ostrich and write history from our own perspective.

Update: (5/2/09) 3.00 pm
So, the Sultan ruled in favour of BN *scratch head*... BN has former PR and own frogs for bedflers... interesting times. Probably not the best arrangements since a strong government would be good for current economic situations. But then again, maybe with such kinds of arrangements both sides will be out to come clean... though on BN's side it always looks kinda hazy. BN has always had the advantage... from money to agencies; all the way up..

Bento 15 and New Skating Rink in Alor Star

Have been packing food for Daughter and Son but since school reopened, it's been a mad rush every morning. So no time to take pics. This is today's fare.... from my camera phone.

... ham, steamed brocolli and baby carrots, fried egg and mushrooms in teriyaki sauce.. the whole set. Daughter loves mushrooms cooked this way... there're 3 different types of mushroom in this one.

On the rice... cut the ham into stars, palm tree and heart shapes with a cookie cutter set that I got from Mustafa Centre in Little India. Today's prep time??? Prep and cooking... 20 minutes... cos I had 3 stoves running. 4 if you add the rice cooker. LOL!

The Thermos container is the set that I got for a discount from a warehouse sale in S'pore. 8) I've also used it to bring food to work and it's really nice to be able to have the food still warm after a couple of hours. Maybe I'll consider getting myself a Thermos container to pack my own food. Now poor ol' ma is using a Tupperware. And the food is cold by the time I eat it.

Incidentally, there's a new attraction... for the young... in town. A new skating rink! It's located next to Skybowl in Pacific Shopping Centre. The place was really packed the day we went. The girls thought of trying it out but in the end we didn't. It's quite expensive... RM12 but no time limit. But then again, how long can one skate?

In the end, we walked around a bit; checked out some laser printers for the girls.

Comedy of Errors... politics in Perak

Comical scenes are unfolding before us... BN guy jumped over to PKR. I thought PKR should not have accepted him. But this is politics. Politics make strange bedfellows. So the BN fler becomes PKR bedfler. And PKR must be thinking... yay! our position strengthened!

The plot thickens. BN still has ammo under their sleeves. Impending corruption charges against 2 opportunist PKR flers... and now trying to salvage their hide... so they go into hiding, as pre-planned with BN I supposed. Most likely script! But maybe they just went into hiding cos they were worried that the ACA flers were coming for them. So thought they can hide from them... unlikely but... this is Bolehland.. PKR alarm goes haywire. Manhunt begins... no luck. There are still jungles in Malaysia where 2 men can disappear.

But PKR also got ammo. Apparently these 2 opportunists signed undated letters of resignation... Ammo fired! Then the 2 flers showed up. Said they didn't resign. They are still fired up to serve their constituents!!! Really meh! Or they're afraid they'll get no chances to get suitcases of $ once they are out? Aiyo! What do they take the people for??? Die, die people also want them meh?? ... Really, they take the people for fools!!! Ketuanan mentality at work here. LOL! Meanwhile a DAP fler also went missing. Wah! This one got offended when Guan Eng gave an ultimatum... in the end she also was not consistent with her reasons... but then again... this is reporting by mainstream media. You know-lah the standard of our mainstream media.

News from mainstream... usually tak boleh harap, sometimes meant to stir things up and make them murky. Then you cannot see what your bedfler is doing, then you worry your bedfler sleeping with the enemy.... then suspicion.... the storyline gets more complicated! Intrigue and betrayal ???? .... the drama will keep you rooted to your couch! But nah! In times like these, there're more things on our minds, as much as we'd like to stay and watch.

And is it any surprise that the EC says by-elections are not necessary??? If PR has the courage then they should just dissolve the State Assembly and call for a fresh mandate. Get this done and over with.

This is Bolehland cum Bodohland... supposedly made up of a Bodoh citizenry who would buy any crap the politicians churn out.... at a time I thought we should be grabbing the bull by its horns; the hard times we're in now..

But I think the people are tired of all these... drama or sandiwara or whatever you want to call it. As the past year has shown... with or without the BN or PR for that matter, it doesn't really matter. What will matter is a good and clean government... cos that's what we need now to bring us through the coming months with the economic turmoil, which may make life difficult for the average Joe. We need good and clean leadership... not corrupt ones who only think of themselves... especially those who are caught with suitcases of cash!

40 million to lose jobs...

That's the estimate of the number of people who will lose their jobs because of the current economic recession... going to be the worst recession since WWII....kinda depressing actually to know that the economy is slowing down and grinding to a halt in some places and many people will be affected. As it stands 11 million in the US have lost their jobs...and the number is set to rise. For Malaysia, the worst is yet to come.

But it is fascinating to learn that some countries are in heavy debt because of the excessive spending during expansion of boom times... Iceland is one such example and the gahmen there has collapsed under the huge debts that it amassed during the good years! And amidst this catastrophe, the media saw the news worthiness in proclaiming the new PM's sexual preference... that she's gay! Going to be the first gay premier in the world!

Whatever happened to the old fashioned ways of saving up some your income?? Keeping some for a rainy day?? Guess while the going was good, spend, spend and spend....the money has got to go into someone's pocket, right?

And it's also logic defying to see Wall Street dishing out USD18 billion as bonuses to its staff end of last year... goes to show, in this modern and sophisticated economy that we've created through the likes of Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes, the man on the street is still on the receiving end... he gets nothing while the people who controls the stock marts and financial institutions reward themselves unashamedly as the world spins into recession. Then, they, with their pockets full, outwardly lament the difficult times and appeal for help from governments... and they say to save the little people... oh crap! It's to gather as much as possible for their own hide first and then leave the crumbs for the little people!

The excesses are there. They need to be trimmed. Recession gives companies reasons to retrench, close, relocate.... you name it. Just as in the oil prices went northbound crazily and then for equally crazy reasons, went plummeting within a few months. Demand and supply theories have no place here. Greed does... speculation working overtime. All that money lost.... they can't simply evaporate into thin air, can it? Someone's got to be pocketing it.

Many tend to think that the days to come are going to get tougher... generally a gloomy outlook.

But this is one bitter pill that needs to be taken. We need to weed out the excessive practices from those fat years which make us complacent as well as inefficient. It also trims of the excesses of societies grown fat on cheap labour and easy money, questionable practices.... some soul searching is needed before things can become right again.

I used to think that globalization is good.... I'm not so sure anymore. Once upon a time, things operated within a smaller territory; these days the world becomes everyone's playground. Hence, when institutions like Lehman collapsed, even solid banks like DBS got very badly burnt! So when speculators speculate, small people like us suffer. 8( Globalization compounds that...

Roundup CNY 2009

It's back to work for me and as far as I'm concerned, this marks the end of the CNY celebrations...though there's still a week more to go before Chap Goh Mei.

Year of the Ox... it rained and rained in Sitiawan. Usually it's very hot during CNY but the last 2 years have seen more than their fair share of rain, in CTA1. No such luck in sunny Alor Star.

Anyway, we stayed longer than usual this time around. My gal had a great time with one of her cousins. They're both almost the same age, so they click well.

My highlights would be these...

Meeting up with old friends. I usually don't get to meet people cos we leave early, by the second day. Plus, being the ladies... there're all sorts of valid excuses; no time; need to cook, take care of the kids, daughter-in-law duties, daughter duties etc, etc. I realize that for us ladies, to meet up with friends at such times takes more effort cos we have more things on our hands most of the time.

The guys don't usually see to all the nitty gritty stuff. So, they're freer to hang out. You actually have to make time, which is not easy! Cos sometimes, you may draw stares from your MIL! Sometimes you just don't feel like it. But I am glad that we met up... kinda made my trip complete this time.

We used to spend so much time together.... those days during our age of innocence. Friendship made those days carry with it that special innocence too. The best part is we've not changed much on the inside... on the outside, aiyo!!! All of us are bigger now! LOL!!! No more the petite gals we once were! Anyway, before we parted ways, we told each other that we'll make efforts to stay in touch more often.

Also, had our usual gathering with Other Half's family. It's good for my kids to get acquainted with the Grand Aunties, uncles, aunties, cousins and second cousins. Roots discovery time. 8)

Trips around town.... CNY is usually the time when we have extra time to do such things. Otherwise, it's usually a quickie trip....everything short on time. I can easily get lost in my hometown now.... And I used to pride myself in knowing the big and little roads! So many new roads and turnings; housing estates, shops.... the rubber estates are shrinking! But in all these development, there are still many idyllic spots of old.

Came back and had a sausage party... we managed to order these 'homemade' sausages from an old school friend. They were quite good!!! Anyway each family brought something, kinda like a potbless thing. Good food and wine, followed by good conversations.This was with 3 other families. It's nice to be able to sit down with the young people of each family. We dared Onnie to eat the larvae of a wasp.... since he had done the sago larvae thing... No such bravado...LOL!

So, how'd I rate this round of festivities? It's very okay... to be able to spend some time with family and friends. That's the essence of New Year! So bring on the bull and we'll be trying our best to take it by its horns!