Vote For A Better Tomorrow

To get to sleep was obviously impossible with the loud speakers blaring loudly, carrying the energetic voices of the DAP candidates into my room. With the General Election sneaking closer and closer, political parties are dispensing their candidates out on the campaign trails.

I have never attended any political speeches before, so I did not want to let this opportunity fly by. The DAP has erected their canopies at my backyard with chairs and has built a raised platform so we could have a better view of their candidates. But no food and drinks.

The field was, of course, already crowded when I reached it. The two lamp posts at the basketball court and several white florescence lamps have kept the place well lit. It was raining. The enthusiastic crowd defied the cold, wet weather by sheltering under umbrellas.

There I was standing in the shadows, absorbing the speeches. From time to time the supportive audience cheered unisonly in agreement and approval.

The Barisan National held their campaign speech in another section of USJ. It is a distance away. Anyway, it is boring to listen to their chattering. They made so many pledges, promised too many dreams that I hope they can remember later what came out of their mouths. The opposition parties are just as good with their visions to exercise changes to the current system.

We are hungry for security, peace and prosperity. The nation is already fed up with the endless price hikes, increased crimes, dishonest politicians, corrupted public servants and extravagant government officials. In fact, this is the best time to ask for changes from the ruling party.

But politicians are professionals with their words. After the election, their answer to your requests will be “He promised you that? But he is already out and I am here in office, I did not promise you anything”. There you go, the occupant of that particular office may have promised you the moon but the new one replacing him has his own checklist to fulfill.

When the pendulum struck 12 midnight, the party ended. And off we went our separate ways, home for a good night sleep.

The DAP can share their views with us, but when we wake up tomorrow, the Barisan National will still win in Subang Jaya. No way the DAP can rocket into Subang Jaya and setup their launching pad here. If they do, we will be cruising on gravel roads.

We still prefer to allow our MPSJ brothers to swallow our assessments and parking fees. Oops, I will retract my words. We are just sharing our hard-earned income with the needy.

You Can Vote

Every year when the Sports Day drew near, we were very excited. Of course not everyone is eligible to take part in the competitions. You have to prove yourself first. If you crawl like a tortoise how can you compete with the hare in the relay. If you are a chicken how can you compete with the duck in the swimming categories. Only when you are qualified then you can register. Or else you stay by the side and be the cheerleader.

Our general election is fast approaching. We are very excited. The spirit to win is in every candidate’s heart. If you win you get to serve the community. That is every public servant’s dream. And that is every public servant’s responsibility. You swear in the name of God, if elected you will promise to do this and to do that. But make sure after delivering your baby you will look after him. Or else it serves no purpose to swear for white hair.

This is the time when the candidates are usually not at home. Where do you think they might be. They are pretty busy at this time of the season. If you have anything to complain and need to ask for their help, this is the correct time to do so. If you are lucky you might get a house call. The first candidate to reach your house wins your vote.

But you have to check with the election commission for eligibility. Log on to their website at http://daftarj.spr.gov.my. Type in your IC number to find out.

For example: type in IC 981231081137

World Vison Famine

I just couldn’t believe when my brother and Rachel announced they had signed up for the 30 hour World Vision Famine last year. For registration, students and senior citizens contributed RM100.00. Others RM150.00.

Funds collected were channeled to five charitable organizations.
· World Vision Vietnam Ba Thuoc Area, Development Project
· World Vision HOPE Fund
· World Vision Malaysia Children Development Fund
· Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled
· Persatuan Kristian Shuangfu

Fasting started at 12noon on Saturday (15 Sept) until 6pm on Sunday (16 Sept). Equipped with a bedroll each, they joined their friends at Bukit Jalil. Mum and I were worried. Did he bring along his overcoat? Did he eat before checking in? Would he faint? He had never gone without food before. And God bless, both of them succeeded.

Lots of programs were organized to keep the participants from boredom and the awareness of hunger. The 5,000 odds participants were grouped up with a team leader overseeing their supply of mineral water and games activities. You need not worry if you do not understand English, the programmes were translated in Mandarin too. Local artistes were roped in to entertain them for the night.

They had a fun time there. They just drank lots and lots of water to sustain their hunger. At the end of the famine they were given a bottle of mineral water and a piece of bread.

Both of them look forward to joining World Vision this year. Good for the world and good for a charitable soul.

Edison Chen

Just when the sex video scandal from our former Health Minister has subsided, Edison Chen has to entertain us with his taste for pornography.

Who would have thought that behind this lovable face lies a sinister mind. The film industry loves him or he would not have a string of movies behind him. Many has criticized his singing ability and yet he had cut a list of albums in a short time of 7 years.

What has gone wrong to turn him into a misguided individual with a threatening personality? Only Edison knows it himself. He could have gained so much if he has chosen to lead a normal life. But he has to spoil it all to indulge in a hobby that brought humiliation, shame, distress, betrayal and pain to the ladies around him. The only redemption is to ask God for forgiveness for no one can grant him that.

It is no point for the ladies to cry, to try terminating their own lives or to sue Edison for what he has done. He too regretted it. When they decided to cross his threshold they were aware what he was going to do to them. When he directed his camera at them, they knew the game would be disastrous.

The ladies knew Edison delighted in bed-hopping but they threw cautions to the wind to be with him. The only frustration they can get out of this situation is to unite and give Edison a good wallop. A wallop that reduced him to preserved persimmon.

For Edison, to fall is so easy. To get up the pain is too excruciating to bear. He has to be strong to weather the storm. I really feel so sorry for him.

The Missing Iron Grille

To contact or meet Edwin is extremely impossible. He is quite busy meeting clients, I was told. When Mike phoned up to fix an appointment, I was of course delighted.

The moment I approached the house I noticed the iron grille covering the manhole outside the house has gone missing. Obviously, some one has stolen it. A metal collector carting it away? A neighbour, perhaps, ‘borrowing’ to replace their missing grille? Whoever they are, they did not have the forethought that their selfish act might cause severe or fatal injuries to anyone who unsuspectingly might fall into the drain below.

It was passed midnight when Mike returned from Kota Kinabalu. It was pitch dark. As he got down from his taxi he had pushed his trolley bag ahead of him. It fell into the manhole. Had he walked the short distance towards the gate, pulling his bag behind him, he would have fallen into the drain instead. The drain has a depth of approximately 6 ft.

It gave me goose flesh to think what injuries he would have sustained if he had fallen into the manhole. Will I be responsible for the accident? Will I be liable for the medical fees?

My welder could only find time to replace a new grille the following week as he had a heavy schedule to cover. He wanted me to take measurements before he could weld a replacement. All the manholes in the neighbourhood are sized the same. So I borrowed the opposite neigbour’s to save him from making two trips.

I was worried for the delivery guys, mail man, the water & electricity meter readers. What if they come visiting? A temporary cover is required to prevent another fall. Sawing planks, nailing them together is no easy task for me.

Including a set of extra padlock ears for the front door grille, Mr Yap charged me RM450.00. I tipped him another RM20.00 for the rear grille which is a last minute request. For that I had to repeatly shower him praises for his nice handywork and his willingness to come all the way from Kepong. He was happy, Mike was safe and my purse was thinner. I could use it to watch Sam Hui’s concert at Genting Highlands!

If I ever find the thief I want to weld him to my front gate. Wishful thinking. The neighbours couldn’t careless to reveal him.

Scrap Metal Collectors

Months back a kid fell into an uncovered manhole at a resort. The authorities blamed the resort and held them responsible for the accident. Shouldn’t the person who has deliberately removed the iron grille and left the dangerous hole uncovered be accountable for the accident?

With scrap metal in great demand, no wonder many have carved up a new career as metal collectors. These metal collectors wandered around housing estates in their lorries with an assistant. Not everyone is qualified to be a metal collector. They are a special breed of people scavenging a living from victimizing unlucky house owners. They possess extraordinary skills. Sharp eyes and nose that can spot ‘anything metal’ from far and with the instinct to sense whether house owners or neighbours are around. To be their assistant, you have to be brave. If a sleeping dog wakes up suddently, you have to outrun it! If it takes a sample of your fresh for tasting, make sure you are inoculated against rabies. If you want to cart away their sports rims, you must practice hurdling before venturing into their house compounds. Jumping over gates is no problem then. Now a new breed of them has emerged. These are small timers working alone, bicycling around. Who are they? Mostly Bangladeshis.

These metal collectors work independently, selling their hot collectibles to licensed agents who then export them overseas. Now that metal thefts are spiralingly out of control, our government has decided to appoint a “government subsidiary company who will be the only agent authorised to buy scrap metal from the sellers”.

Whatever job you take on there is always a stop to refilling your rice bowl. We in Malaysia like to play monopoly.

Katie

Katie was a beauty, with tawny and black stripes on her body, her belly a snow white, her fur soft to the touch. She licked herself everyday to keep her fur clean of dirt. Her bright green eyes piercing steadily at us, radiating an aura of adherence, territorial and aggressiveness. She was gentle in her ways and steadfast in her principles

Katie was adopted into our family when the mice wanted to rule our household creating an uncontrollable chaos. Cat food was not available to us back then, so her meal consisted of dried fish and plain rice.

She might not be of pedigree breed like those Persians but her grace surpassed them all. Possessing a profound initiative to learn, she’d sit patiently on my desk observing my typing. Once I stopped, it was her turn at the typewriter. You could say Katie was only being playful but she never was. Maybe she was alone and had no playmates to share her funs and games with. She never run around chasing after falling leaves or amusing herself at the shrubs. She carried herself regally, observing life maturely and living it free of dominance.

Katie and I did not share that kind of bond she had with my brother. I do not remember hugging her nor did she like snuggling up to me. Whenever I tried ruffling her fur she snarled back. Let us admit, our birthdates do not match.

During the night, she’d creep up and settled comfortably at my brother’s feet. At 7am without fail, her meowing echoed throughout the house. It was time for her feed. If you ignored her calls, she’d climb on your bed, place her face closed to yours and screamed her throat dry until you satisfied her request. After her feed, she resumed her sleep and you’d be fully awake.

When it was time for her to meet her boyfriends, Katie’d disappear for days. When they came a calling, she never invite them for the night. If you thought you wanted to video tape their liaison, forget about it. She was prim and proper, and never for once let out that her estrogen had overflowed.

Even during her presence the rats still clowned around. You could hear them conferencing and scrambling across the ceiling. She never gave them a chase and they never dare to descend from the ceiling top. Just a meow from Katie and the rats would whisper with each other and tiptoed on their little feet. This was how Katie organized the rat community, like an army general. If a rat was unfortunate to get caught, she’d pawed it, let it made its escape, pawed it back, tossed it like a ball until it was exhausted and slowly breathed its last breath. Then she walked away and left us to bury the dead, without a bite.

Rats were not a delicacy for her, she did not share our penchant for rat meat, even the newly born rats which we believe possessed a medicinal purpose for treating internal injuries. She sniffed, wagged her tail, meowed and then turned away. A very stuffy cat.

When she noticed her claws are long and bothered her movements, Katie manicured them by scrabbling on the doorposts. Her scratches were so deep, they defaced the grains of the wood. Just do not raise your voice at her, she would growl back at you.

She could be very revengeful at times. No other cats, dogs or fowls ever dared to come near our house when she was around except for our neighbor’s pet dog, Rocky. Rocky was a well behaved and well mannered half Alsatian. He guarded both his owners and our house. He tried to win Katie over by hovering near her. She refused to extend her friendship by displaying her sharp teeth, her paws raised to claw him. Rocky tolerated her unfriendliness by withdrawing and keeping silent each time. Whenever I left some food for Rocky she would meow her disapproval. On one occasion when Rocky was gobbling down the food I offered him, I stretched out my leg to block her flight. Rocky managed to make a hasty escape. She boomeranged, clawed and took a nasty bite on my ankle. She hated both of us.

I was away when Katie met her death. It was a cruel and terrible death. Being aggressive she had fought with my aunt’s “mad” dog over territorial rights. He came over to our compound and Katie was not pleased about it. She gave chase and he being wild, refused to listen to my aunt’s pleads to leave. He advanced on her. Small in comparison, Katie was no match for him. He bit her neck and swung her from left to right. Her throat was wrenched and dangled from her neck. She died in great pain, in a pool of blood.

Katie left behind a daughter, Milly. Katie was dainty whilst Milly was a complete opposite, playful, impartial to her surroundings and very dependent for help. Katie was a good mother. She taught Milly how to live a cat’s life which Milly was totally helpless and ignorant. When her mother passed away, Milly disappeared for days and came back completely changed. She was mellow, quiet, desolate and so lost. She’d rest her paws and chin on the threshold of our front door, stared with sightless eyes outside, meowed occasionally, waiting for her mother to come home. Her mother never came back and she had a difficult time adjusting to a new life.

That was the end of Katie and memories of her live till today