Malaysia Here in my home

A good friend of mine keeps me informed regularly on the Malaysian Politics. In recent years, the political unity in this country has come underfire. Many factions within the ruling party broke apart and formed their own opposition parties. The culmination of this had brought about surprising results in last year's General Election. The ruling party is losing the support of the people. Its support is further tainted by racial unrest, unexplained unresolved corruption even crimes stories involving political figures. All of these probably costs Malaysia a great deal and had brought the state to where it is today.

I get amazed each time with a new story about outrageous things that the Malaysian politicians do or get involved in. The recent incident at the Perak State Assembly shocked me quite a bit. There was a total chaos in the assembly and when the speaker tried to call for order, he was sidelined and forced out by a handful of politicians. These politicians proceeded to elect their own Speaker whilst the former Speaker was still present in his seat. There were much scuffling and the Speaker was in a tug of war - the Opposition party wanted him to stay but the Ruling Party was pulling him to leave. Now it seemed the Perak State of Assembly is dissolved and they are deciding what is next. The Youtube video on this subject would give a gist of this fiasco. A write-up in the news provided some clues http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/bnm/20090507/tts-perak-tarnished-roundup-bm-993ba14.html

It is sad for me to watch this and the democratic process is not even honoured by the people whose been elected to uphold the very same thing. Had it always happen in the past and only now I am aware of it? Probably not. Otherwise how could the country come to this sort of state is it now? Disunity - that is the word for it.

Not all hope is lost I pray. After watching what the common Malaysians are trying to do, there is another movement calling for unity. I only hope this movement will give others hope just like it did for me. I sincerely wish the good defeats the evil in this situation. I am doing my bit to spread the word.

Watch this YouTube video of a song named "Here in my home" calling out for unity amongst all races to live together. It claims the road is long, we are on stony ground. But if we have one love undivided - the love of Malaysia as our home, that's what it is really all about.

Watch out for the rappers, special!!

My roots in Singapore

Made a detour from my home trip and came down to Singapore for 2 days. Nothing much has changed since I left 2 years ago which is the way I like it. Everything runs smoothly - public transportation, services, etc.

Yesterday I had a pampering day with my good friend. We started with lunch at Raffles City Shopping Centre (so much to choose from). There I witness something that is so inherent of Singapore life - queuing up for freebies, even though Spore life is living life on a fast pace lane, the locals still find time to queue for a good whole hour to get a freebie like a cone of Ben & Jerry ice-cream. Thankfully the profile of freebie hungry people are mainly teenagers or senior citizens.

After a sumptuous lunch of roast duck & chinese soup, Amy brought me for a haircut at Bugis. Haircuts here or in Malaysia are so cheap and they are so good churning out hairstyles that takes years away from you. Now I look like one of the Hong Kong girls, a trendsetter, hopefully my clothes isn't going to give me away, they aren't really trendy, just functional!!

Then if that's not enough pampering, we went for a full body massage at the Traditional Massage at the Javanese Hut on River Valley Road. In between all these places, we zipped in and out of public transportation of train and taxi smoothly without any glitches which is really what I love about Singapore.

I am so glad to catch up with Amy, we are both at similar stage of our lives. It helps to know I am not alone and my smart friend never takes any problems in life lying down. She is a fighter and witty. So I was absorbing all the knowledge and learnings she was willing to impart. Hopefully both of us will be on our on way to victory!!

A world of difference - Malaysia Truly Asia

I have been back in KL for 3 days and really noticing the differences between Melbourne and my hometown. Been away for so long I had almost forgot how it was like at home.

It is so so so humid now, if I can bathe every couple of hours I would. After a clean fresh shower, within hours, my skin feels sticky and my face feels oily. It's pretty much the same thing in the evenings. No wonder air conditioners are indispensable machines. Cant live without them like in Melbourne.

There is so many people around everywhere and people responsible for every kind of job, however menial - at the airport, there was one person to pull out the bags & luggages coming onto the conveyor belt then there was another person dressed in purple uniform with VIP embroidered on his uniform helping a perfectly capable young woman to wait for her luggage so he could pick it, place it on a trolley (which is free of charge compared to Melbourne) and wheel it to the taxi stand.

This is the land of flaunters - I didnt thinking for once a man wearing white leather shoes had any sense of style, this man with his other half were probably half my age had branded leather luggage and were business class passengers. When my best friend took me out for a foot massage over the weekend, I found there were special malls built for high end shopping, cafes in them serves the typical hawker food but is waitered upon, with immaculate decor of chandeliers, chairs & decor coming straight out from designer mags. The retail brands were London, European designer wear. The night markets had cheaper copies of everything - music CDs, movie DVDs, branded Louis Vuitton, Tous, Gucci handbags, shoes, clothing to satisfy anyone who wants an ego boost after wearing branded goods even if they were fake. I wasnt the exception, I had purchased 5 pairs of shoes because they were so cheap, I could wear them several times and threw them away. This isnt a developing world, this is stinking rich country.

And on the other end, I hear stories of petty crimes, international and local companies alike with employees right up to the senior level involved with fraudalent activities siphoning money out for one's own benefit, discrimination against skin colour at work and home estate residents in order to protect their loved ones & property set up voluntary night watch and taking the law into their own hands when a thief is caught in action is beaten to near death & the police walks away for a while whilst that's happening in front of him. My relative's car was parked right in front of my mother's home in a street full of cars, some double parked because of lack of space and yet, some thief is alert enough to see the car is unlocked and steals the coins left in the car and the toll register machine.

I love this country because of my memories in my family, school, work & friends but it needs a lot of help. It needs a restructuring of the appaling quality of education, the congested transport system that never seemed to go away even after efforts like the super/highways. Most of all, it requires a change in thinking that all of us are living in the same home country and unless we treat each other with respect and dignity, and not out to gain an edge over the other - it is not a place to call home.

Disorder Unorganised Chaos

Noise from cars honking or people all talking at the same time, spicey, fried food smell in the air, car cutting lanes without warning, stuffy air, oily food, thorny fruit, pungent burp, hundreds of food to choose from, pirated DVDs, security guards in the suburbs - ahhh it's the familiar chaos of Home Sweet Home.

Leaving on the jet plane

Yee Haa, we are sitting here waiting for our turn to get on the flight. It's my first flying long distance on Air Asia. It's the budget airline that makes it affordable so everyone can fly. We are prepared for a painful flight armed with beans neck pillows, blanket and sandwiches.

Home run

Can't believe in 3 days I'll be home in Kuala Lumpur. We haven't been home since my brother's wedding last January. It happens when you live so far away in the southern hemisphere.
My friends have set up a meeting for us to enjoy our normal malaysian pulled tea at the local hawkers store, typical for late night social gatherings. I am also looking forward to mom's and dad's pampering and reunion with relatives, siblings and their halves. It will be an unforgettable time for the months ahead.

All things christmas

This year it looks like I wont be worrying too much about my christmas shopping. I have been doing what I love most during my lunch hour, wandering into streets and shops in the city looking for that special gift for my special family.
Luckily I have only a small family to shop for. I am proud to say I have got the gifts in the beginning of Dec.

Here are the gifts I have bought for little family:
Keane - my 2 year old nephew, sweetest boy in the world, full of smiles/kisses/hugs for everyone. I bought a Playskool Glide 2 Ride Bike. It is supposed to be a better way of learning how to balance on a bike as opposed to training wheels. The pedals are removed at the beginning of their training. The kid learns how to push and glide the bike along using their feet until they are comfortable balancing on the bike.

Kayla - my god daughter also my 1 year old niece, cheekiest little girl, feisty and naughty. Ok, every girl loves a set of pots and pans, cups and saucers to invite friends and pets for tea. Wouldnt it be great if they have their own kitchen instead?

Obet - my brother in law, a bit intellectual, only economist in the family. Love all things old like history and biographies.

Angela - my sister, this is the hard one to shop for. Just like my mom, she isnt
into clothing, accessories, shoes. She's constantly rushing for work, at work, to pick up her children, to cook. She needs pampering. I bought her a clutch cum handbag, patent black with gold zips very classy. What I really want to get her is a ticket to watch Eliott the musical with me. But that's in March 09.

Alex - the love of my life, my husband who happens to have his birthday on the 19 Dec. I wanted to surprise him with a PS3 or Xbox but I gave up trying to find out which one is better. So I asked him and we got the PS3 together. But I am also getting him a surprise gift. Everytime he goes on a bike ride, he doesnt recover from muscle aches and lethargy for a long time so a compression pants might help.

Hmmm, I wonder what they are getting me??