Dr Mahathir Mohamad: The Racist Card

Dr Mahathir Mohamad: The Racist Card

Shamsiah Fakeh.

30.5.2008.

I've known the existence of, and heard some stories about, Shamsiah Fakeh the Communist even as a secondary school student in Kuala Pilah - she was from there.

During the 1999 General Elections her name came out, in a small way, in Kuala Pilah when her great neice stood for the Kuala Pilah State seat and won and later became an Exco member. Last week there was an article in one of the English Language dailies about her that perked my interest. On 28th. May while at a bookstore in Subang Jaya my eyes caught sight of her memoir published by SIRD. Apparently the original was published by UKM in 2004, but the newspaper article mentioned something about censorship and that this second publication had been somewhat revised. The slim book of about 132 pages makes an interesting reading because of the extraordinary circumstance of the Shamsiah Fakeh saga.

In the interest of the recent history of Malaysia I feel this little memoir should make a useful addition to one's library. The book covers the period from her childhood in 1930's to her return to Malaysia in 1994. She now lives in Gombak, an octagenarian and apparently ailing. 

In a way this is a rather sad story. Here was a young Malay woman caught in the early nationalistic fervour of seeking self rule for Malaya from the British after the end of WW2. But unlike the likes of Ghafar Baba, Baharudin Helmi, Samad Idris, Aishah Ghani, Ahmad Boestamam and others that she mentioned in her book, she chose to continue her political struggle in the jungles instead of at the meeting table. It is sad because of the futility of the method that went with the exuberance of the spirit. It is sad for a young Malay woman with adequate Islamic education to have become a member of the Comintern known to be atheist, and to choose an armed struggle in a most ill-advised and lopsided confrontation. 

There is a tragic episode in the book relating to how her infant child was cruelly murdered by her own comrades in the Pahang jungles. The early welcome she got from the Communist Party in China also did not last. Following the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution incited by Mao Tze Tung, Shamsiah and her husband suffered political disgrace and financial hardship. Although later the couple were reinstated as Communist Party guests, news of developments in Malaysia helped increase their longing to return.

In a way, to the end of the memoir Shamsiah seemed to remain recalcitrant about the nobility of her cause. She even compared it to the readiness of the youth wing of UMNO, in a secret plan, to take to arms and move into the jungles if their demands for Independence were not met by peaceful means. She maintains that it was the fighting, albeit small and sporadic in numbers, carried out by the 8,000 "Communist terrorists" in the jungles of Perak, Pahang and Negri Sembilan that helped tilt the Independence talks between the Alliance Parties and the British Government.

The value of this memoir is probably as an addition to the records of the struggle for self government that took place in this British Colony incited by WW11 and the defeat of the British rulers in Malaya and the Dutch in Indonesia at the hands of an Asian power, the Japanese. What the book failed to mention was the murders of ordinary citizens and the damage to private property committed by the Communist terrorists. Shamsiah's hands may not have blood on them, but she chose to be one of them. That she had the conviction of her own belief, misguided though it may seem, is all the more incredible, given the love of her family that she enjoyed and the sedateness of the life she led before making the tumultuous jump into violent struggle.

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Lim Boon Hoe, Lee Ban Hong and Pang Ah Man.

27.5.2008.

I must quickly comment on this morning's episode at the Club (Tuesday 27th.May). Our 4-ball of Tiong Meng, Ah Man, Pa' Itam and myself finished our 9 holes, and had already finished our refreshments at the terrace when Boon Hoe (spelled like the cangkul - h-o-e) came to our table, and offered to buy us a fresh round of drinks. This was too much to refuse, totally unexpected and a complete surprise ! I mean, coming from Boon Hoe. This was like striking the lottery.

So, in return for his out of the blue, extraordinary generosity, all of us endured his hour of court. Still, at the end of it he said he won't play with me. 

Ban Hong joined our table while we were politely listening to Boon Hoe's tale of his travels. Ban Hong will start playing with me tomorrow, now that he's retired. I've played with him once or twice before, and remember him to be long. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. 

Ah Man the Hailam played with me for the second day in a row today, and will play again tomorrow. For a 12 he's quite good - this morning he played gross 39, which is 3 under his handicap. I lost 2 frames to him, when yesterday I won 2 balls from him. Today he played like the Hainanese hantu - " koi di boti koi ". 

Tiong Meng will not play with us tomorrow, so it's either Maulud or Jane Chee. Maulud would be the preferred one because he's off 13, so it'll be a good contest. Jane would be difficult because the ladies' tee boxes on the second 9 are too far forward. The ones on 11, 14, 16,17 and 18 are up to 30 meters in front. With her, it's usually her wristy putting that sometimes even up matters. 

The others left our table at about 12, but Pa' Itam, Boon Hoe and I stayed until about 1.15. So I squeezed in a joke about Dolah  I got from the internet. Mahathir dreamed he got a call fro Tunku to visit his grave in Kedah. So he went, and there he heard Tunku's voice. "Mahadet ! Aku dengaq hang suka naik kuda. Aku pun suka kuda. Hang mai esok bawak sekoq". So the next day Mahathir prepared himself to bring the horse. But Dolah  also had a dream about Tunku, and wanted to visit his grave. Since he didn't know Tunku too well, he asked Mahathir if he could follow him, to which Mahathir agreed. So they went. At the grave Mahathir heard Tunku's voice, sounding upset. "Awat hang, Mahadet ! Aku habak hang bawak kuda ! Ni hang bawak keldai !"

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The Wife's birthday & other commentaries.

26.5.2008.

Last Sunday, 25th. May, the missus and I drove to PJ Hilton for an evening with the kids & their children, to celebrate her birthday. I had wanted to have everybody back in Seremban for the weekend, but No.2 Son suggested the hotel, and since he also offered to foot the bill, all agreed to it. 

The wife and I left early, at about 5.30 p.m., to avoid the Sunday evening KL-bound traffic snarl on the Plus highway. Sure enough, as I passed over the overhead to the Seremban toll plaza, I saw the vehicles already bumper-to-bumper down below. So instead of turning into the highway, I drove straight to the LBJ-Sepang road through KLIA to Shah Alam. Even this was having heavier than normal traffic, especially at around the LBJ section into the Sepang F 1 circuit.

We arrived in good time at the hotal, about 6.45 pm. Since the buffet opened at 7, and since I had only a light lunch that day, my wife and I started eating ahead of the children. No.1 Son, and Adib, his wife with Iman, my two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter, came at about 8, No.3 Son, and his friend Ezi a bit later, and No. 2 Son and his wife Ija, with Acad, my two-and-a-half-year-old grandson, at about a quarter past. They had left Acad's one-year-old brother, Ameng, at home with their maid. 

After everyone had their fill, at about quarter to 10, No.2 Son had the restaurant bring a large slice of cake with 3 small candles, and we all, helped by the staff, sang "Happy Birthday"to my wife. The buffet closed at 10, but we only left at almost 11. Later No. 2 Son called me to say the dinner cost him more than 700. "So ?" I said. "So I'm sending you the bill". "OK, then I'll send you my bill for your studies in Australia", I said. "My education is your resposibility". "Only the basic costs". Anyway, it's not my mother. It's his mother.

I brought No. 3 Son's Examination Admission Docket for his ACCA paper on 4th. June. As with his other papers over the last 3 years, He showed a distinct lack of excitement about the whole thing. He still has 3 papers to complete his studies and has promised to complete everything by this December. We can only pray. When I asked about his driving licence which expires this month, he feigned surprise, although I have reminded him dozens of time.Instead he pretended to show more interest in my latest postings in my blog, and said he's a Mahathir man. 

No. 3 Son, of all our children,  is relatively the most gifted, academically. Compared to the others, he has also given the least effort for all of his scholastic achievements so far. He hasn't done too badly, from primary school to the fifth form. He did well enough to be selected for MRSM in Jasin. He was subsequently selected to go for an engineering degree in Japan. But at the University of Malaya, during the matriculation prior to leaving for Japan, unknown to me, he cut classes for one whole year. The UM lecturers, however, took pity and had him transferred to UiTM for the Diploma in Accounts course, which he eventually completed. Now he's doing his ACCA.

Considering we have only four children, my wife and I have found that we have our work cut out, in bringing them up as well as we could. I myself have 9 siblings, and my wife 11, and wonder how our parents coped. Our four had four different needs, and although I was more or less able to provide for their physical comfort, I'm not sure if I had fulfilled all of their psychological needs. The objective of giving each one at least a tertiary education, thank the Lord, I have been able to achieve. Whether I've provided for everyone the all- round character development remains untested.

Notwithstanding everything, my wife can feel proud that, in her own way, she had been able to bring up her children well enough. In spite of No. 3 Son's tantrums ( during primary school my wife would fetch him from school, but when she sometimes came late he would roll on the ground to show his unhappiness), I thought the children all grew up nicely. They don't rebel too much against their mother's pestering, they are polite to the older relatives, and most gratifying, they don't seem to care too much in talking about their cousins or their friends, some of whom my wife has distinct dislike for.

Now that all are grown up, they don't all congregate around us all the time, the way that some of their cousins are forever hanging around their parents all the time. The grandchildren are also coming around seemingly quite well. They are all still too young to take from their parents for rides and stuff. Acad is especially attached to his mother, who works from home. Iman is quite different, because she is left at day care when Adib goes to work. This makes her more outgoing, more approachable to strangers. Ameng is still too young to show any preferences. We would probably offer to send Iman to kindergarten near our place in Seremban when the time comes.

No. 1 Son returns from work at dusk, and Adib sometimes travels outstation. No. 2 Son's sons are too attached to Ija. My wife is not really too keen on the idea of a fresh round of sending kids to school again, but No.1 Son and Adib, I'm sure, will have their schedule shot, with their distant places of work and the impossible KL-PJ traffic.

When, and if the time comes, I'll reorganize my golfing schedule. In the meantime, I'll be at the Club at 7 tomorrow morning. My wife can linger late in bed, enjoying her birthday morning-after.

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MUBARAK NS AGM.

23.5.2008.

This morning, Friday ,23rd. May, MUBARAK N.S. had its 6th. AGM. Yesterday I told Zainal Pak Itam Mat Hassan probably would send Ismail Lassim to represent him, and I said the same thing to Sainy this morning. Surprisingly, Mat Hassan came. I counted 27 members attended - 26 males and one very old female. When she spoke, she insisted on standing up, although Ponniah said no need-lah, Dato'. There wasn't much in what she had to say, only the usual things , like, I've been in UMNO a long time and Dolah  calls her kakak, and I support the MUBARAK Acting President 100% - "jasamu tetap di kenang", because Zahar always show deference to her.

Today's performance was a bit unusual. Normally 5 minutes into a meeting she would nod off to sleep, just like Dolah . But this is getting ahead of my story. 

Last year Ismail Lassim came instead of Mat Hassan. Although there is no note in the minutes, I remember the attendance was larger. This time, though, there were more newcomers, the result of the GE12, I suppose. In fact when Goh Swee Huat and Peter Lai came, I greeted them " I've waited long for you". Two former MCA Deputy Ministers and Mokhtar Hashim were the other notables among the new members.

I was coopted into reciting the traditional opening prayers, without prior warning, I might add. Then Zahar delivered his President's address, in his usual exasperating style. An orator he is not, whatever his own impression of himself is. I've always said to Ismail Yassin, Zahar will, without fail, squander the opportunity to make an impression whenever he is given the chance to make a speech in front of an important audience like the PM or DPM. This morning he was again true to form. He's never short winded. I could see Mat Hassan looking sideways at him repeatedly, squirming. He politely referred later to Zahar's speech that was "long and wide" (panjang lebar). Zahar appeared to have some notes in front of him, but mostly he was talking without them. The result, as usual, was a rambling, "rojak" Malay-English, where all sentences were never completed, going into tangents at every pause, and the points to be made became lost in the process, if there were any points to be made. If he has a well-written text and he sticks to it, adding ad libs here and there, he could possibly make a coherent speech.

But I have known him since 1956, and I don't think he has it. Luck and opportunity he had plenty. Mat Hasan spoke confidently, as someone in position of power would. Since Zahar chose to concentrate on the events following BN massive losses in the last elections, Mat Hassan also dwelt much on this. Unlike Zahar, Mat Hassan finished all his sentences. I thought he made some strong points.

Firstly, he said the GE12 had all the ingredients for failure. The timing was bad, the Hindraf issue was still hot, and food and petrol prices were increasing. He anticipated a loss of 1 Parliamentry seat and 7 State seats. As it turned out, 3 Parliamentry seats and 15 State seats were lost, some to candidates without any track records. The loss to the state was in fact twice worse than projected, a very humilating outcome indeed. But he is still proud of the fact that he stopped the "tsunami" from going past Negeri borders. In fact he said the losses were not because the opposition was strong, but because BN's "strategy" was bad. 

Secondly, he said he has the political "recovery plan". He needs to focus and tackle both of what he called "internal" and "external" causes for the GE12 failure. The internal problem is whatever is afflicting UMNO at the moment. For BN to succeed, UMNO must succeed, he said. The external problem is the delivery system. For this he said the administration of community services must be strengthened at the District level. More Penghulus and community service personnel would be deployed. The level of poverty should be recognized, and the drop in purchasing power be addressed quickly. The signals were there before the elections, but the Government obviously either misread them, or missed them.

Mat Hassan likened the Government to a ship at sea. This is the time to reset its direction. This is not the time to talk about dumping the captain. Those on board who disagree should be given a lifeboat and let go. They shouldn't dig a hole in the bottom of the ship. On the personal attacks on him, Mat Hassan repeated the lines he has often used before - he has a better life outside politics. He will pass the baton when the time comes - there is no need to push him out.

On the Bukit Gala issue, he said he had sorted out the clash between the new owners and MBI. On favouritism to his brothers and the award of contracts, he said he gave each brother a Mercedes and a bungalow before he became the MB. He felt insulted at being accused of taking those kinds of money.

On getting revenue for State agencies, Mat Hassan said, unlike his predecessor, the State will go into "smart" partnerships with developers, and go into oil palm planting in the lands in Bahau and Gemencheh. For RMK9 the State will concentrate on Seremban, PD and Kuala Pilah. 

My comments on Mat Hassan's points are as follows: The BN debacle cannot be attributed to current issues alone, although they certainly were pertinent. Prices and Hindraf cannot topple the Government. Price increases were selective, and the brand choices are plentiful. Rice alone has dozens of grades. When I was small we used to eat cheap "beras hancur". On Hindraf, there is not a single constituency with an Indian majority. On petrol, the transport operators and motorcar owners were the ones hit most, and then again Malaysian petrol prices are still lower than its immediate neighbours Thailand and Singapore. The "tsunami" had to stop somewhere, and Negeri Sembilan just happened to be rural enough and far enough from the Klang Valley to have resisted the waning tide coming down from industrialised Selangor. 

The reasons for the BN's loss cannot be simplified to be only because of the items of discontent that were stirred up in the months leading to the truely premature call to the polls. The simmering discontent that was stoked by events within the party right from the early years of Dolah's stewardship, together with the bigger overall complex feeling of unhappiness of the population with the ruling Government have to be taken into account. To simplify a complex condition into a facile little problem pile would only result in a concocting a futile remedy. The delivery system's failure is probably more to the point. Mostly the population has contact with the local authorities. This is the big problem. The way the local authorities conduct their business, one would think they answer to no one, least of all to the people they are supposed to give service to. There is indeed good argument for having local authority elections. 

As I have said elswhere, when it comes to setting up infrastructure, Malaysia does not lag behind, but when it comes to maintenance, it lags very far behind. So, strengthening the hardware, as it were, is insufficient. The software must be truly operational. The question of poverty, and of poverty level, is the one that I have no disagreement with. If one followed the campaigns during the last elections, the one topic that was missing was talk on this subject. All previous election campaigns put poverty right in the middle of the discussion. This had always been the key word in all previous election campaigns, especially in the rural areas. 

The analogy of the sailing ship is just that, an analogy. If UMNO is a ship, it's not the old wooden sailboat anymore. It's a huge aircraft carrier. If the Captain makes a mistake, he will bring down thousands of life, and billions worth of hardware. Perhaps the ship analogy may not be totally misplaced. We have the term "mutiny" that can be aptly applied here. Then again, reducing the UMNO torment to a sailboat that can be sunk by poking a hole in its bottom is too easy. This is one of the longest serving political party in modern history, with 3.5 million members, that we are talking about. The issues are more complex than that. Not giving recognition to that is what has made the problem get out of control now. It's certainly not a case of casting adrift someone the party considers useless, ordinary. The whole perception of a disintegrating UMNO has been because of the tactless treatment of someone far from ordinary.

On the personal attacks, Mat Hassan, by his own admission, took a deliberate step to go into public office, which is open to public scrutiny and criticism. He cannot have his cake and eat it at the same time. In the democratic system that he has let himself in, his performance is judged by the people, not necessarily by the bottom line, and certainly never by how he perceives himself. If he doesn't have the thick skin of a politician, then he is in the wrong business.

All these reminders about Mercedeses and bungalows reek of arrogance most unbecoming of a popularly elected leader. Even his religion rebukes this show of vanity. The really rich hardly ever talk about money. Someone who is confident of his position doesn't have to remind people about it all the time. We all know. We are not all stupid. We are not all awed by power and money. But we are all warmed by the glow of grace, and inspired by the show of humility.

On the smart partnership, good. This should have done by his predecessor long ago. But then Isa was better at politics than economics. 

After the short break for refreshments, the AGM proper took place. The main task was the election of office bearers, but since the number present was small, everything went without a hitch. Almost the whole old bunch got re-elected, with a few new faces, including Mokhtar Hashim who sat next to me. Before the AGM I noticed his hand bag on the table, and asked "got pistol-ah ?" He quickly replied " once is enough".

On 25th. of July all delegates elected will go to Trengganu for the National Convention. The new MB will entertain us and take us on a tour of the town. We can expect first class treatment, what with the Wang Ehsan, and the forthcoming UMNO elections. Everyone can bring their wives, but Zahar clarified only one each. So Shahalan will have to make a choice, since he has two. I will also have to remind Mokhtar Hashim not to bring any gun.

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Mahathir's resignation blues.

22.5.2008.

Just as I've predicted, the name callings have started in the aftermath of the surprise resignation. The main media have been singularly one- sided in their presentation. Fortunately the internet offers alternative means of expressing opinions, thank God. Mahathir must take heart from the friendlier mail he's getting there. Anyway, he has never been one to shy away from controversy and criticism. 

The personalities jumping into the fray are getting to be interesting. The two Mahathir boys understandably chose to support their father, though in slightly different ways. Why shouldn't they ? Aziz Tapa and Aishah Ghani, the veterans, made interesting suggestions to "repair the damage". Aziz reckons the Agong should get involved, a rather quixotic notion. Aishah made a more pragmatic suggestion for reconciliation. Her remedy requires a swallowing of pride on the part of Dolah , though, and that might be bitter medicine. Musa Hitam, whom I've called the axe-grinder in earlier postings, and Sharir Samad, predictably, has come out with vitriol. They have accused Mahathir of being a thorn in the flesh. 

Mahathir has heaped deserved sarcasm on these two in his blog, in response. Even Jane Chee, a retired, divorced primary school teacher who plays golf with me sometimes has gotten into the act. She said this morning Satan must be laughing with all these public quarrels. She added, friends can become enemies now. I quickly interjected, perhaps wickedly, husbands and wives also can become enemies !

Syed Sulung this evening said at the surau, "pelik". I answered, pelik if you don't know the full story, not pelik if you know. Mahathir's call for mass resignation from UMNO is more rhetoric than anything. The effect this act was devised to cause is already happening. I don't agree to the opinion that Mahathir was spontaneously provoked into making this declaration in the gathering in Alor Star. I think he's too clever for that. Now everybody is getting involved, even dragging the name of the innocent Agong. 

The quietening of the anti-Dolah movement is now rekindled. Don't overestimate the strength of the pro-Dolah group. Don't underestimate, similiarly, the ernestness of the anti-Dolah  group. Mahathir alone cannot bring about the removal of Dolah , which is the main objective of the group of which his is the leading voice. He must get the numbers. Nevertheless, the fact is his voice alone had been one of the strongest causes for the havoc that had fallen upon UMNO in particular, and the BN in general, in the recently concluded GE.

I believe Dolah  cannot resign now. He needs time to secure his and his family's financial position, with all the complex business arrangements that they have entered into. If he leaves before locking up all the monetary deals, he could lose everything. Even if he does tie up everything he could still lose them all eventually. But at least he will have a fighting chance to defend his gains, ill-gotten or otherwise. I believe Najib or whomsoever could approach Dolah from this angle, and give him a way out of his predicament. Dolah  needs all his true friends now, more than ever. But you know what they say, "a friend in need ..." If a strong, wily and long-serving PM like Mahathir could be treated like old furniture once he lost his power, how would a not-so-strong, not-so-wily and not-so-long serving PM like Dolah fare ? The ministers and Menteris Besar ( and there are less of them this time ) would be the first to abandon him. Just as some say that Mahathir has come full circle, Dolah by this time would have also come full circle. Only quicker.

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Clan meeting at Bukit Temensu.

21.5.2008.

I shall refer to it as the "clan" meeting. Pa' Cu Kamil wrote to me about this meeting organized by him for Sunday, 1st. June at Bukit Temensu. Just now I've written a reply which I'll post tomorrow, in which I apologise because on that day and at the same time there would be 2 weddings that I can't avoid attending. However I said I'll be more than glad to attend the next such gathering that he arranges.

Last year I attended a similiar gathering arranged by Zainab Abdul Rahman and her "commitee". About 150 people came, made up of descendents of Haji Muhammad Nor Abdullah, from Pagar Ruyung. That was where I also met my neighbour in Seremban, Cik Gu Satar, who to my surprise is my waris from the Rembau line, where I'm from the Pilah line, on my maternal grandfather's side. Small world.

This reunion is a good idea, and has been done many times, as we have read in the papers. But someone committed has to initiate it. The problem with the Malays is that we don't carry our family name, which would make it much, much easier to trace our relatives.

In the case of Zainab and her "committee", I know their tireless efforts over many,many months eventually succeeded in making that reunion happen in KL. Now Pa' Cu Kamil is attempting the same thing, this time involving the Haji Majid line, which for me is on my maternal grandmother's side. Good for him ! My late grandmother, Hajjah Tiamin Abdul Majid, my mother's mother, was the younger sister of "Wan Aji", Pa' Cu Kamil's late mother. That makes him my mother's first cousin. 

Through the years the descendents have married out of Kuala Pilah, and eventually we have all got our own immediate families and lost contact with our distant kin. The only time we would meet would be when there were family members' weddings, happy times, or when there was a death in the family, a not so happy one. 

Even these got to be more and more selective, not because of deliberate distancing, but rather because of loss of contact, or plain oversight because of infrequency of meeting. Even if Pa' Cu Kamil manages to get hold of just two generations , the number would be large. You see, on my mother's side alone there are four surviving siblings with a total of 36 children. From my mother there are already 17 grandchildren. I can't even guess the numbers from the rest of the clan. It would be interesting to see the wide spectrum of professions represented in the clan.

 Many members of the clan, and later their children, have gone on to universities both local and abroad. Of-hand I know there is already a High Court Judge, several lawyers, doctors, engineers, architects, University lecturers,Civil Service Officers, Police and Army Officers, and the odd politician. And the spouses.

The clan has its fair share of exotic marriages - to other races, to royalty, to widows and widowers. I have come across second cousins, and lost them again as time went by. I know of Siti when I used to play with Mat Teleng when in primary school, but only spoke to her when we met and introduced each other at university. After graduation we lost contact until now. Shafie, her elder brother, I also knew only at university, and similiarly lost contact afterwards. Sharif I first met at work in Jalan Maktab. Then we lost contact because I moved, and he went to study in the US. But after that and until this day we have kept in touch. It would be interesting if Pa' Cu Kamil could produce a directory of the clan. In these days of the internet, it would be much easier to keep in touch with each other, introduce new members of the family, and keep track of everyone. In fact we ought to.

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Mahathir resigns.

19.5.2008.

Robert Yap smsed me about it at approximately 1.15 pm today, Wesak Day, Monday, May, 19th. After that there were others - Budak Boy Saedi, Padir etc. So this is my immediate response to the news of Mahathir's resignation from UMNO. This must be a day of mixed feelings. Sad for those who truly love UMNO. Glad for those in power in UMNO. For those who have been in the party from the beginning, they would be lying if they say this resignation means nothing more than the fact that one member has willingly left the party - this has happened before, and will happen again. They would be lying if they say that UMNO will remain strong, because it is bigger than one individual. The truth is that this must be a sad day, to see a long serving President of both the old and New UMNO quitting the oldest party in the history of an Independent Malaysia in such a fashion, under such circumstances. Not for him the sanguine retirement of an elder statesman, whose views are respectfully sought, nor for him the quiet relaxation of a popularly elected leader savouring a backward glance of a job well done. It has instead been an accelerating downward spiral of betrayal and ultimately rejection by the very people handpicked by him. If it ever crossed his mind that his successors would show eternal gratitude for his patronage, that was quickly and rudely wiped out within weeks of leaving Seri Perdana. 

The detractors will have a field day. Words like traitor, coward, decrepit, good riddance, betrayer and adjectives in that vein will come fast and furious. They will be glad that this old man has finally got out of their hair. In a way, Mahathir has done his political enemies a service - he has left on his own accord. Getting rid of him would have been messy. In fact there was never any certainty they could. 

People like Nazri and Sharir and Khairy had tried giving voice to this desire that Dolah  himself didn't have the guts to utter, but they all got back more than they could chew, the UMNO members in the Divisions made sure of that. Now, they all can take pot shots at him, for he is no more one of us in the party. Now, even the silent majority in UMNO who have been quietly pulling for him may find themselves in a dilemma in viewing him, either as an old patriot who has abondoned them, or a lost soul who has betrayed their cause. Now we have to wait and see if Mahathir's is the lone voice fighting for the revamping of a critically ill party. 

3.5 million members have seen with their own eyes what Dolah  has brought upon the party in the last 4 years. Except for Ku Li and Mukhriz, no other party leaders, past or present, of any stature, have stood up to be counted. If the millions remain docile to the status quo, then UMNO will get what it deserves.

Always a man of action as well as words, Mahathir cannot lead from behind. And always aware of the drama, he borrows a line from Hollywood - "you can't sack me, I quit !"

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Another Malay wedding.

17.5.2008.

Last night I attended another Malay wedding, this time a Malaysian- Brunei Malay wedding. Unlike the Javanese-Malay wedding story I posted several weeks ago, this one represented everything that I like. The venue was nice, the hall was comfortable, the dinner was set, the atmosphere was civil, the hosts saw and thanked everyone, the coversations were lively, the events not too lengthy, and everything fitted nicely into about two hours, more or less.

Perhaps what I liked best was that Hamid's obligatory host's speech was short and sweet. This was the second wedding hosted by Hamid that I've been invited to. The first one was several years ago, held at Tabung Haji, Kelana Jaya, for another of his children. But that was much more modest, and buffet-style. I suppose last night's occasion called for an upgrade, seeing how his "besan" is scion of a Pehin from Tutong, Brunei. The video showed a sumptious wedding at a hotel there. Hamid must reciprocate, of course. 

I've known Hamid from my university days more than 40 years ago. When we entered university, the orientation assembly for ALL 600 new undergraduates could fit into the Arts Concourse. The Students Union President was a final year Science undergraduate called Mokhtar Hashim. Hamid and I were in the same faculty, so we were always bumping into each other. There was Said Awang, Zainuddin Bahari, Zakaria Awang Soh, Nik Fakhrulrazi , Yusof Ibrahim, Lilian , and many others in the faculty. Also in that year's Arts intake was Rahim Nor. 

The one memorable feature of the wedding in Brunei, as shown on the video, was the many old Malay customs that were once practiced here in the Malay Peninsula. These were the adat berbedak for bride-to-be, mandi limau for the groom (not shown), membasuh kaki, and the donning of the intricate songket baju with the rich gold ornaments for both bride and groom.

Nowadays wedding couples prefer the modern fashion. The "menepong tawar",too, was blissfully brief, involving a very small number of participants. These things can drag ,sometimes. Although I noticed a fair number of Tan Sris present, thankfully Hamid limited the number called to very immediate family members only. The cake cutting became the yellow glutinous rice cutting, for which the couple quickly changed to western dress backstage. 

The live music accompaniment, at this point, wasn't the best I've heard, but it wasn't too intruding. However, the MC made a mistake, unnoticed, when praising the couple, by saying "like Laila and majnun".It's Laila and Quis. Majnun is Arabic for mad. At the end of it, the couple decided to mingle rather than stand at the entrance to signal the end of the reception, and the crowd encouraged to do so instead of leaving straight away. Seeing that it was 11 p.m. we decided to leave anyway.

 I saw a few old collegues. In fact Zalfan sat at my table. Yusuf I met at the surau during Magrib prayers, and Mat Abbas when I came out of the toilet before leaving. Md. Zin Ali, the "small boy" passed by my table early in the evening, but joined his own friends at another table. Zalfan and I were talking away most of the evening, though we had difficulty hearing each other sometimes because of the loud recorded music. This is the one thing I notice at these functions, the inabilty of the organizers to play the music in moderation. Most of the times it is decibles too loud. A good start to the evening is usually to look out for the loud speakers and find a seat as far away as possible. 

Each guest took back a small songket-covered box of Trengganu-made sweets, quite nice to the taste. This was also a nice variation from the old "bunga telor".Zalfan and I left our congratulatory notes on the cards provided, a novelty I've seen for the first time, a nice touch. They even provided the ball-pens. I pocketed mine, "for souvenirs". 

I estimated the attendance at about 600. I thought this was a good number. We tend to invite everybody to these weddings, when in fact we don't have to. The private weddings of Hollywood are of course the opposite extreme. 

I never did say goodbye to Hamid. But when he and his wife came around to our table, I did say I have two more children not married, and he replied same here. So I guess we'll see each other again four more times. Hopely it won't take the next 40 years.

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Last Old Man Standing.

13.5.2008.

I've just read, and commented on, Mahathir's blog. Finally he has put it in black and white, on the internet for the whole world to see, the full blame for the thrashing that UMNO, in particular, received at the GE13 - on Dolah's slim shoulders. To me, this is indeed a sad sight. An old man, standing alone, now facing the wrath of the entire UMNO Supreme Council. He can expect no one to come to his side now. Not even those who owe their political lives to him. 

The early post-election fervour, the shrill voices in Sungai Petani, Ipoh , Johore Baru and Cheras ,are gone and silent now. Perhaps this is a man facing the repercussions of his own bad judgement. In his frailty as a mere human, Mahathir has had his share of bad judgements. But this one, the choice of Dolah over Najib, will probably haunt him for the rest of his days. Perhaps this is why he is so persistent in trying to make amends . Dolah must respond to Mahathir's posting. If he keeps his "unelegent silence", then Mahathir is right. If he contradicts Mahathir, then one of them is lying. 

The plain truth is that UMNO got a walloping at the elections. Musa Hitam, ever with that axe to grind, had publicly said that this was Dolah's election. He had to say this for his new boss, because the 2004 elections that UMNO won huge cannot be credited to Dolah alone, riding on the coattails of the Mahathir era. Musa, and surely Dolah, too, must have thought, dreaming in their wildest dreams, this was a sure thing.

For the last four years Dolah had been trying very hard to impose his own print on the Malaysian body politics. One way of doing this is to build his own legacy. But this takes time.Mahathir had 22 years to do that. The short cut is to remove Mahathir's legacy. And in this scheme Dolah had plenty of help. Unfortunately, all his advisors had their own little agenda. No thoughts were given to the goodwill that Mahathir surely must have earned from at least among the older generation UMNO members. Believing in their own counsel, these advisors have led Dolah into, in turn, believing his own dreams, never anticipating the nightmare awaiting him.

Four years is enough time for people to judge Dolah. He entered the scene riding on the crest of the successes of Mahathir, and topped it up with so much promise of transparency and shared resposibilty, and the people bought it. All too soon it became obvious that he did not walk the talk. There was no transparency in the business dealings of his family members. There was no sharing of responsibilty in the flip-flop decisions by his Cabinet - "I'm the PM" he kept saying. Corporate decisions were made that beg for rationalisation to appear sane, like the national car fiasco ,and creation of economic corridors without in-depth studies.

All the while Mahathir is being flogged as the enemy, instead of being recognized as the longest serving President of the party. So much for gratitude. 

Meanwhile the class F contractors were not getting any jobs. These are the UMNO supporters who fuel the grass-root UMNO machinery. The industrialisation emphasis is reversed with an agricultural one, probably not realizing that all countries in the world look towards industrialisation for economic progress, not agriculture that is low impetus and gives lower income. 

During all this time, Dolah even has time to get married again. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, but I find it hard to imagine that, at his age, a busy PM has the stirrings of a young colt, and so soon after the demise of a much "beloved" spouse. 

If Dolah has a shred of conscience in him, he would be at least be able to admit that his is the main cause of the election debacle. He should cast off the self-denial and stop blaming others. The honourable thing to do, in fact the only thing to do, is to vacate his PMship and allow someone else ,who is better endowed , to take over and resuscitate the party. 

No one is indispensible, not Onn Jaafar, nor Tunku, nor Razak ,nor Hussain, not even Mahathir. It would appear that Dolah is the only bad PM out of the 5 we've had so far. That's not a bad percentage. Unfortunately, as PMs go, that is one too many.

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My golfing career (continued).

12.5.2008.

As I said, in my early "golfing career", 36-hole weekends were common. Getting hooked late, it was as if I was making up for lost time. 4.30 didn't come fast enough, I couldn't wait to rush to the Club for 9 holes, though usually the office meetings took care of that. Because there were not many golfers in the office at that time, and we were talking about golf most of the time, it sounded like there was nothing else that we did. So much so our Big Boss Raja Alias was supposed to have said ( I say this because I never heard it directly from him, nor did I see any memo to that effect) officers shouldn't take leave to play golf. So I didn't. I mean when I played golf during office hours, I didn't take leave, just as instructed. 

I have never seen Raja Alias play golf. Once while vacationing at Fraser's Hill we met one morning at breakfast at the chalet we happened to share, and I told him I played golf yesterday, and he said he would have joined me if he knew. That was the closest we came to playing together.

The next time was at Saujana when he gave away the prizes and said I play all the time as I took the second prize. I don't think he's anti-golf. I think he was jealous of us. 

There was the story that when he was the State Development Officer of Pahang, he played golf with the State Forest Officer at the now Royal Pahang Golf Club on the morning of one Hari Raya Haji.. Now, the official residence of the MB is just next to the course. The MB saw these two top Malay officers playing golf on Hari Raya morning, instead of going to the mosque for Hari Raya prayers. The next day they were called in and given an earful. That was when Raja Alias changed. But he didn't hate golf, I don't think. He just stopped playing, and wish we all could join him.

I have played all over the world, really. I have played in all the old traditional clubs in all the Peninsular States from Perlis to Johore. I have played at the oldest golf course in Malaysia, in Taiping, which is now sadly closed. I have played in Sabah and Sarawak. I have played in Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. I have played in Australia. I have played in England . I have played the legendary Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland . I have played in the US. And I have also played, in December, in Sweden. Brrrr ! 

So I have now come to the conclusion that a real golfer must achieve three things in his lifetime to say that his career in the game is complete. He must play to a single-digit handicap; he must get a hole-in-one; and he must play at the Old Course at St. Andrews. And I'm glad to announce that I have achieved this status. I have gone down to a career lowest of handicap 6; I have played at the Old Course in 1989; and I got my hole-in-one at the A'famosa on July, 22nd., 1997. (to be continued).

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Mother's Day.

11.5.2008.

To-day, May 11th., is Mother's Day. Last night some of us were at our mother's house for a kenduri, mainly for prayers for various things to be thankful for, like my neice's imminent matriculation for pre-medic, remembering our all beloved deceased, and for the blessings of the health and welfare of our kin. So, in a way it was also our Mother's Day celebrations.

Mom is about 83. I'll have to check her i.c. for the exact date. I think this is probably close, because I think she is about the same age as my late father's little sister, Siti Hawa, who passed away just two days ago. This posting, and last night's prayers, are also in her memory. 

Mom is frail now. But then she had never been a very robust woman, although she brought out all nine of us. When she was small, so my late grandmother said, she was a sickly girl. Some Malays believe that the name is unsuitable and should be changed. So my grandmother changed her name from the beautiful "Azizah" to the rather plain "Cik Yong", spelled the old way Che Yong. 

A funny thing happened later in adult life. She went to the District Hospital for her regular check up. As usual she gave her hospital visitation card, and sat waiting for her turn to see the doctor. After some time, the attending nurse called out" Chee Yong", as in a Chinese- sounding name. So my Mom just sat there, not responding, and waited. And waited. Until she inquired about her turn, and only then discovered the mispronouciation. 

Excepting for my school-teacher father who died rather early at 58, all of us, thank God, are still here. Mom doesn't leave the house now, but she still potters around whenever she feels strong enough. Her eyesight and hearing are not as sharp as before, but her mind is still clear. We count our blessings for her continuing presence among us.

Her family on my late grandfather's side all lived fairly long. My grandfather, Hassan, lived to nearly 90. His elder brother, Hussin, in Talang died, not long after a fall, at 96. Another brother and a sister of his also passed away at past their 90's. I hope the genes are passed on to me, ha ha. 

This afternoon my daughter, our 4th. and youngest child, smsed me to buy perfume for her mother. I'm pretty quick on the trigger and replied it's your mother, stupid. She replied it's berdosa to call her stupid, and I countered no dosa if factual, then no more reply. 

The other two boys also smsed their mother, but not my eldest, so I smsed HIM saying Happy Mother's Day, but there was no response. Either he didn't notice the sms, or he was ignoring it. 

Mom went to school as a child, which those days was not a given thing. So she's literate, although her handwriting is child-like. As far as I can remember, to this day she has never missed her daily prayers, and reads  the Holy Quran every day. She has also never missed not only the Ramadhan fast, but also the 6 days in Syawal, and often, until several years ago, the fast on Mondays and Thursdays. 

At the last count, Mom has 24 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. So while the house has been enlarged, come Hari Raya it's usually filled to the brim, at least for the first two days. Fortunately the compound is large enough to take in all the usual number of cars, although it has to be LIFO - last in, first out. 

Mom is of the Suku (clan) Sri Melenggang, or Solonggang, of the 12 Sukus in the Minangkabau- originated matriachal society system still practiced in most parts of Negeri Sembilan. So I'm also Solonggang. But my children, and my daughter's children, would take after my wife, a Tiga Batu.

There's a saying among the sukus - the Tedatar ( suku Tanah Datar ) likes his chillies, the Dondo (suku Biduanda) is tardy, the Tiga Batu is quarrelsome. I don't know how far this is true, but the saying that the Solonggang has a big mouth might be too close for comfort ! It was also true that my late father liked to chew on fresh "lada api" - the small fiery chillies - when he had his meals at home, and he was Tedatar. My wife is Tiga Batu, but sshh ! I don't want to start an arguement. 

Mom is always the quiet one, in spite of being a Solonggang. I know she is proud of what we, the children, have done with our lives, but I have never heard her talk to visitors about us, even when asked. She would say I dunno, so-and-so is in KL, dunno what he does. I know an in-law who boasts about her daughter to everyone who would listen, saying she gives her so much every month, and bought her this cloth which cost so much. 

Mom once gave, annonymously, to a mosque in Johol RM 3,000. For that time, this was large.  Mom is just the widow of a school-teacher drawing a small pension. Darus Salim who found out about this donation and told me about it, was genuinely impressed. Of course all of us, the children, regularly give her money, but she never talks about it. My guess is, assuming all of us contribute at least the same amount that I do, she receives a four-figure monthly stipend. 

Two of my sisters are staying with mom now, and she also has an Indonesian maid to help around the house. So I guess her daily needs are adequately met. All of us also visit frequently, although I must admit I don't do so often enough. My brother has rather late in life found new love in super bikes. So now he has good reason to tool down to Kuala Pilah on his 1,200 cc Yamaha on weekends. I don't know if he has his full "B" motorcycle licence. He's also into scuba diving.I hope it doesn't cross his mind to take mom for a spin on his big bike. Or go scuba diving.

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Karpal, the instigator.

8.5.2008.

I consider myself an educated, civil and level- headed person. I have many Chinese, Indian and Punjabi friends. I have grown with some of these friends since primary school days. I don't get excited easily, although I've been known to be stubborn, difficult even. I understand the concept of freedom of speech, and know what western democracy means. I have seen this country grow, from the backwaters of its colonial past, to the relatively modern and progressive Malaysia of to-day. 

But I have also personally seen the racial riots of May, 13, 1969. I was renting Shuib Tahir's house in Kampong Baru at that time. There were four of us in the house. The others were my brother, Padir, who later became the Group MD of Felda Holdings Bhd., Dr. Aziz Kadir, later to become the DG of RRIM, and Rahman Tahir,later to serve at the Malaysian Embassy in Belgrade. These people are still around to verify the authenticity of my account. 

The rented room was 200 meters from the official residence of the late Harun Idris, the Selangor MB , in Jalan Raja Muda, where it all started that fateful afternoon. Days before that, after the Opposition party had won a sizeable number of Parlimentary and State seats in the then just concluded 1969 General Elections, I saw mainly Chinese with some Indian demonstrators parading in 1-ton lorries in Batu Road and Bangsar, brandishing mock giant brooms, shouting they want to "sweep" the Malays. I saw some youths on the lorries exposing their genitals as a show of contempt directed specifically at the Malay bystanders. May 13 was real. The burning cars and Vespa scooters that I saw were real. The two bodies that I saw, slashed, were real. The bodies that were , a few days later, brought to the GH, as seen by the nurse who stayed in the house next door to us, were also very real. 

I thought we all have learned from this. Now Karpal is very, very close to lighting the fire of open racial conflict again. I'm a nobody. But let me be the first to warn Karpal to cease and desist before it's too late. Let him not be the immediate cause of the destruction of the very Malaysia that he desires. Karpal, of all people, should know about racial sensitivity. Isn't he of those who were so indignant about their people being called "Bengalis" ? This pales in comparison to what he's calling the Malay Sultans, and what he has on record said about Islam. What is the Punjabi population of this country ? If living in this country is so oppressive to the Punjabis, why do they stay here ? The fact is life has been good to the Punjabis, just as it has been good to all races, if they studied hard and worked hard. Of course, some have not been so fortunate, but that predicament is shared by all races. That's life.

All of us have a choice here. We can all pull together to make this country of ours work, or we don't.We just do not speak out because we can. We have to consider first whether what we are going to say would hurt other people. Let me remind Karpal; whether the Malays really love their Sultans or not, or whether they pray 5 times a day or not, insulting the Sultans and Islam openly is not going to be taken lightly by them. Remember, "amok" is a Malay word. Remember also the Natrah riots by the Malays in Singapore in the 50's. What Karpal is doing is not only an abuse of the freedom of speech, it is downright abhorrent in a Multi-racial country where the Sultans are still reigning, even if not ruling, and where the biggest percentage of the population is made up of Muslim Malays. Just because, after 40 years, the DAP is again rearing its head, Karpal shouldn't in turn lose his head. Because, and I say this in absolute equanimity, if Karpal isn't careful, he, and many others like him, may just do that - lose their heads.

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Persatuan Bekas Kakitangan Felda.

7.5.2008.

PBKF had their 9th. AGM on 26th. April at the Dewan Merak Kayangan. I had received the notice from Khairuddin, and had wanted to attend, which would have been a first time for me. We were reminded by Jayos during our exFelda golf at Nilai Spring on 22nd. April. However, something came up, and I had to miss it. 

This morning I met Azimah at the Giant, Ampangan. She asked whether I attended, so it reminded me and here I am posting my blog.

I have a whole lot to say about Felda. I'll try to find time to post my comments some day, but to-day I'll just write on one issue - where is Felda going ? This is one question I would have liked to raise at the AGM.

Before the post of Chairman was "politicised" the last person to hold it was Raja Alias. The special thing about Raja Alias was, prior to that, he was also the Director General of Felda for many years. Assuming the chairmanship, after some colourful figures who had occupied it, was an easy transition, in fact a natural upgrading for Raja Alias. I believe those years that Felda was stewarded by Raja Alias, first as the DG, and later as Chairman, were the vital and formative ones that made Felda what it is to-day.

Rubber was the crop of first choice in the early years, but it was the large scale opening of oil palm schemes that put Felda on the world map. Of course, it was the result of extensive studies that made the choice possible, but the fact that on hindsight this was almost a perfect decision, made in his watch, must make it undeniable that to Raja Alias accrued the full credit . 

The spectacular commercial success of palm oil in the commodities market allowed Felda to rake in huge profits over the years, so much so that it was reputed that Felda at that time sat on one of the biggest cash reserves in any government held organization.

In fact, while huge profits were being made, Felda was run very, very conservatively. All administrative expenditures were stringently controlled. There were none of the free-spending ways with high-salaried appointments ,and company cars, and flush offices that seem so to be expected these days. The cars did come eventually, but it was, for many top executives, painfully slow in coming, and painfully cheap when it did come. 

The story was that sometimes the GM's would ask to be dropped by their drivers away from the main entrance of the venue they were headed for, lest their counterparts, who came in their Volvos and Mercedes's, saw the GM's stepping out of their Peugeot's and Toyota's. In short, high profits and low costs made it possible for Felda to amass a large reserve. All the time the focus was on the main core business, the commodities market.

What I hear now is that Felda is branching into, well, apparently,everything. It is involved in the soccer league, the sports car rally, in retail business in the towns, in the travel industry, in shipping,and in catering domestically and internationally, among others that's been heard of. 

There was also a case of a land purchase in the open market, where before, as a government-controlled agency, Felda could acquire land from State Governments at nominal premiums. A few years ago there was a big news splash on an IPO, which fortunately did not materialise. I mean, one goes public to attract funds, but Felda was flush with cash. Going public would only open yourself to a possible unfriendly takeover. It is easy for the inheritors of Felda to spend away all the loot so painstakingly accumulated by the pioneers. Some are even heard saying that the old management was not bright enough to see the opportunities for investments, for chances to grow even richer. Admittedly Raja Alias was not known for his risk-taking, nor his mettle for grooming real talent, but surely his narrow scope of outlook for the core business that was Felda's had meant that Felda stayed within its field of competence, and achieved real success doing just that. 

I would really like to see Felda's portfolio now, and compute all the financial return to investment on all activities. As I always say, it is easy to count all the money the company makes, it's not so easy to go out and make the money in the first place. The Felda pioneers enjoyed none of the creature comforts of the present-day executives. Their salaries were a pittance compared to what is being paid now. I don't think these pioneers want any compensation for their " lost" income. But I do think that they want to see that all that they have forsaken for is not poured down the drain.

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Continuation of Malay-Javanese wedding...

6.5.2008.

Just then Mr. Balun , my late uncle Jamaluddin's youngest son, passed by, then reversed his car. His sister, Eda & daughter were inside. I asked Mr. Balun for ten bucks, but he just pulled out a tissue paper from the box in front of him. I think this threesome was the entire Jamaluddin's representative, but at least somebody came from this family.

By the way, Sarkum says Meru is also his kampong. Sarkum Rantam, as is his full name, is a full-blooded Javanese ( what else can you be with that name ! ) who is now a permanent resident of Paroi Jaya. I used to tell him his name is pre-Islamic, but he says it's originated from royalty. Of course I told him I don't believe him, because all the Javanese in Malaysia came as Jawa kontrak. I think his settling in Seremban has a lot to do with his wife, as she is from Bentong, and Seremban is about halfway between Meru and Bentong. 

Now back to the wedding story, the road leading to the wedding site was chockablock. What's with Malaysian drivers, anyway. They always seem to try and drive their cars as close as possible to wherever the event is, in this case maybe right up to the "pelamin". If they shop they seem to try and drive right into the store. So while the gridlocked drivers sorted themselves out, I squeezed between bumpers into the wedding compound, and the bride's mom - now Jimikoling's ex-wife - greeted us, " ingat lagi tempat ini, ya ?". I gave her my packet with my 50 + 10,and motioned to my wife, and they embraced.

Jimikoling's sister Nosa Ngat-ngat and hubby, Gaphal,  had greeted us earlier. I went straight to the food table. There was a fair-sized crowd, some eating at the tables, some milling around, all talking and laughing, and what with the loud music blaring out of the speakers, it was a right earful din. The two young girls manning the food table asked "nasi putih ke nasi minyak?" and I chose putih. This buffet-style feast is a fairly new thing in Malay weddings, perhaps more common in the last 6 - 7 years, I'm not sure. I think it benefits the caterer more than anything else. I personally detest it. In the first place it takes away the feeling of being attended to, as a welcomed guest who is ushered to a seat, and then has the food brought to him as in the old days. I mean, if you are taking all the trouble to have the kenduri, with all the tents and stuff, why not take one more step and have guests properly seated and served ? Buffet style means queing and jostling and grabbing food and taking enormous portions of everything and finally leaving half of everything in the plates and on the table uneaten and wasted. 

I had both hands on food and drink when I met my aunt, my mother's little sister, who is grandma to the bride. We embraced and she kissed me on my cheeks but I couldn't hold her because my hands were full. My other cousins were nearby - Mat Cit and wife, Narimah Obong and husband, Odin, and the grown up children. We don't meet often nowadays, except on occasions like this wedding, and I genuinely enjoy the contact. How time passes by, we all are made aware of, when we see each other, seeing the grey hair and the kids so grown up and unrecogniseable. We call each other names since small. Not complimentary names then, but I still call them so, but in my heart with warmth now, and not without affection.

I sat under a fan, picking at the rice, with my aunt chatting away beside me. It was hot in spite of the twirling fan, because these canvas tents usually are hot to sit under. This is the reason why I rented an air-conditioned hall when my two elder boys were married. I wanted my guests to be comfortable and not have their expensive silk dresses and batik shirts stick on their sweating backs. Now under the hot tent, without much "lauk" on my plate, I pushed away the mostly uneaten rice and ate some of the cakes on the table, and drank straight from the mineral water bottle.

Meanwhile, the loud music blared on, and the mc added to the noise-making. Except for Mashitok whom I met when I first arrived,I didn't see any of my other brothers. Later I found out that some came after I had left. But my youngest brother, Calit, had already told me that he would probably come early because he had to fetch Sabrina, his wife. 

I passed another brother, Padir ,on my drive home on Jalan Kopi, but I don't think he noticed me. I almost didn't notice him until I saw his familiar number plate. My aunt called the bride and groom as they were passing by from the "pelamin" to the house, and they came and my aunt said " ni Pa' Long " and I said "siji loro". I used to call the bride, when just a small girl at my aunt's house, siji loro, or "one, two" in Javanese. I don't think she remembered, because she just smiled, as did the groom. They looked a nice couple. They were in matching blue modern "kurung" and "baju Melayu" with keris. The bride has some of my cousin Jimikoling's features. I thought she looked slightly taller then the groom. But some Malays believe this is a good sign, "murah rezeki" - prosperous. I had half-expected the couple to don on the familiar Javanese wedding outfit. But often in these weddings, the couples would change quickly into a range of dresses, and to take plenty of photographs for posterity. 

Now it was approaching half-past two, and as I had not said my zohor prayers I signalled to my wife to get up and leave. This reception would go on until about 5 p.m. , having probably started at about 11 or 12. We took our wedding party tokens, in this case a paper bag with goodies, and stood up to take our quiet leave. In the old days, of course, it would have been a hard-boiled egg, usually coloured a bright red, tied to a bamboo stick decorated with paper flowers. Today it's often sweets, or potpurri, or even some momentoes like a keychain . We said goodbye to aunt and cousins, and at the compound entrance, to Su, and made our way to the car.

On the drive back, I stopped for zohor prayers at the As Syarif mosque. It's a fairly large one and looked quite new. On closer inspection I found the usual problem with all facilities in this country. Malaysia will rank up there when it comes to the construction of anything, highways, towers, seaports and airports and all the rest. But maintaining them is a different story, no, in fact it's the indifference story. In this case, you see litter everywhere, the ablution area less than spotless, shoe cases in disarray and other small stuff, giving an impression of benign neglect. What remained spanking new and proudly displayed were the PAS and PKR flags hung on many vantage points throughout the area we passed. Not a single BN flag of any description could be seen, except for one lone poster of the former MB. 

As I sped off along the large highways, I realized how well-costructed they were, how beneficial to people these must be, all built by the BN governments at State and Federal levels. And yet BN received a proper thrashing at the last GE. I wonder why.

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A Malay-Javanese Wedding.

6.5.2008.

Last Sunday Idah & I went to a Malay-Javanese wedding in Meru, Kelang. The Malay portion is from my first cousin, Jimikoling, while the Javanese one is from his wife, Su, who's from Meru. Since Jimi is the husband, the Malay part precedes in the hyphenated adjective.

To begin with, it was a long drive from Seremban, and felt more so since it was immediately after my golf competition which I completed at 12 noon. On long journeys I prefer to drive my 19-year old MB 300SE, so there was no question as to who drives that car - me. The last time we were here was when Jimi got married about 20 years ago. Anyway, the wedding invitation came with a schemetic map, so in the end the house was easily located. My wife was no help, though, although she was looking at the map while still on the NKVE. This time PLUS got it right with clear signage directing to Meru on the highway. Once we reached Meru town, the As Syarif mosque and Jalan Kopi that were clearly indicated on the map, together with the bunga manggar markers prominently tied to a few strategic posts helped us reach our destination in good time. I think it was a smart 75-minute drive.

There was no way we could park the car anywhere close to the house. So I chose a spot under a small tree on the roadside about 100 meters away. As I was parking the car, Rizal my nephew parked alongside, with my brother Mashitok and my sister-in-law Yah Doktor Bahagian Dapur (Calit gave her that monicker). I gave Rizal a kick in the shins and asked for RM 10, which he grinningly obliged, which I put together with my RM 50 that I later gave to the bride's mother. (my wife just called - we're visiting her sister who's unwell in Taman Melawati, so I'm stopping here and will continue later).

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Golf. Pt.4

5.5.2008.

I'll continue in this chapter for the time being, seeing as to how dismal the main news are in the papers this morning - the train derailment (again) in Seremban ( again), the untimely passing of a rising local enterpreneur, the stale political news, etc.

This time I'll talk about Chin Chin Choi. He's an old friend of Wang hantam, at least until today, because since Wang hantam is the source of this story, that friendship might not survive. 

About 30 years ago Chin Chin Choi was already playing golf. Being in the bank, just like Wang hantam, they got acquinted. Chin soon suggested Wang hantam also play golf. Wang's immediate reply was "why waste time hitting small balls on the padang - stupid !".

Eventually, before retirement, Wang took up the game, and Chin began to teach Wang how to play. After all, Chin had been playing all these years. Now, what about Wang's comment about the stupid game ? Well, this bugger is nothing if not bull-headed, once he's made up his mind. Once he finally decided to play golf, he put his heart and soul into it. And thus it has come to pass, in spite of a 20-year advantage, Chin Chin Choi has now been reduced to pleading to Wang hantam EVERY morning to give him, Chin, extra strokes. 

The moral of the story is, don't bring a horse to the water, because if it decides to drink it, you'll have to stop it from finishing all of it ! So this morning Chin escaped, because it rained and the siren went, and play was suspended.

At 9 o'clock I saw Wang challenging Chin and Lee to a putting contest on the practice green at the 10th. tee-box. Since there was no hope that this group would play, because to play they would be obliged to rent a buggy, and hell will freeze over before Wang hantam would unroll his RM 1 bills from the old newspaper wrapping to pay for the buggies, Wang was still, at 9.01 am trying to squeeze some money out of Chin Chin Choi.

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Golf. Pt. 3

3.5.2008.

I'll jump a bit to-day to golf pt. 3, before I forget to write about what happened at the club this morning. Lee Hon Seong asked about my blog last week, and has found it. This morning we met at the club, and he said to write some more about Wang Hak Tam ( I call him Wang hantam because he always hantam the wang ).

By the way, talking about parents giving their offsprings names without due consideration about future embarassment, Wang hantam has a brother called Wang Fak Yu. I cannot imagine how he went through life with that monicker. Maybe in Malaysia it's not too bad   ( though I doubt it ). If he, say, studied in the US or UK, my god ! Going back to Lee, and I must quote him, otherwise Wang hantam will come after me, he said Wang hantam used to roll the golf ball around on the ground before hitting it, under the pretext of checking whose ball it is. In the process, of course, the ball gets to sit pretty for better contact. No wonder Wang hantam has been hantamming the wang ! 

This morning one of the senior golfers who went to A'famosa on Wednesday refused to acknowledge my good morning greeting. I think I know why. Yesterday as I was waiting for my "kakis" to tee-off, I overheard him saying to another golfer nearby that he won a prize. I naughtily interjected the he shouldn't have won because someone saw him move his ball. He got annoyed and shouted to me "rubbish, bullshit!". I was only saying it in jest, and he knows it. But if he was really angry, then I might have struck at something sensitive. 

This getting angry over tongue-in-cheek comments by me by a few senior golfers has become a puzzlement for me. It's not as if I've just joined the senior golfers, and they are not familiar with me. Those who know me better will know that I have a good sense of humour, and my comments shouldn't be taken too seriously. Perhaps I shouldn't shoot off my mouth so carelessly. But I'm not about to change, I'm too old to change. I guess I'll just adopt the attitude - "those who matter won't mind, those who mind won't matter".

Normally we play "3-1-1". That means 3 balls for the game, 1 ball "insurance", and 1 ball "buy".The monetary value can be RM 1, 2, 5 or even 10 per ball. That means if you play RM 5 per ball, you can lose a maximun " full house" of 5 balls for a total of RM 5 x 5 balls = RM 25. Mostly these people play for RM 1 per ball, and I think this is better. The most you can lose over 9 holes in a flight of 4 would be 5 balls x 3 persons = RM 15. But you can't lose to everybody, and certainly not "full house", so normally you would lose around RM 5, which is OK. 

The trouble starts when you play for serious money, like RM 10 per ball, with multiple frames and "all fringes" (usually worth 1/2 ball), "double-up on the buy", and double up on "losers option" for the second nine. If, say, you lose "single frame" with no "fringes" to all the other 3 "full house" in the first 9, you would lose a total of RM 150. If you played 2 frames with the same results, plus, say 2 fringes, you would lose RM 310. If you "double-up" the second 9 with the same results, you will end up the full 18 holes RM 930 poorer !

Some people start at RM 20 per ball, and triple up the second 9 ! This is when the cheating starts, when friends become enemies, sadly. I don't play for such big sums, simply because I can't afford it. But I have played for RM 5 per ball quite often, since this is an acceptible rate for the more serious golfers. Even at this rate, spotting my opponents sometimes as many as 8 strokes for 18 holes   ( a discount of almost 45% in terms of strokes given), I have lost a few friends. These are, to me, sore losers who should have known better than to just add the odds on themselves when playing with me, knowing full well the vagaries of the game, and more than that, their own mental strengths. 

You see, I'm a late comer to golf. I only got my handicap at the age of 43. But through the years, I taught myself with the help of books, magazines and later cds, and became aware of the mental side of the game. When I play, I know that I'm playing against the course, not the other golfers in my flight. Because golf came late for me, I am mature enough to realise that only the correct analysis of the way that I play can help me play as well as I possibly can. For instance, I have accepted the fact that I can't drive it 240 meters, and that the long irons are difficult. I also know that putting is almost 40% of all the strokes in a round of golf. So what have I done ? I bought a high tech. forgiving driver, replaced all my long irons with woods and hybrids, and practice, practice, practice my chipping and putting.

Where you can buy technology, you buy technology, because you sure as hell can't buy skill.I'm proud to say that at 63, on a good day I can still break 80, no problem ! Now, as an added measure, I try to visualise my target rather than think of the number to shoot. In golf, the target is the hole, not how many strokes you'd like to make per hole. 

So, Wang hantam, and Lee, or Ng the Voice ( Ng is the lawyer with a distinctive voice that no high court judge can mistake) if you read this, think twice before you challange me to a round of golf. For you information, my S-yard driver, my hybrids and both pairs of Nike shoes were paid for by my victims. Ha, ha.

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