Eid al Fitri greetings and other snippets.

29.9.2008.

So Ramadan for 1429 Hijriah is left with two more days. It's a certainty that Wednesday will be Hari Raya Puasa. In fact some of my neighbours' working children are already back home, taking one last big extended break from their workplaces for the year. 

This Ramadan has been eventful for me and the missus. Both of us lost someone dear - my dear mother passed away on the 10th. of Ramadan, and my 76-year old brother-in-law died yesterday at Subuh, may his soul receive God's rahmah. 

My wife's late elder brother had worked in Singapore all his working life, where he also married his Singaporean wife. Several years ago, long years after retirement, they decided to resettle in Seremban. Many of their working children are in Malaysia, anyway- in KL, Alor Star and Seremban. Two have remained in Singapore. With the big in-law brood back in Singapore, they more or less settled to an itinerent lifestyle, travelling back and forth frequently.

My No.3 Son received some kind of inspiration last week, when he came home for an overnight stay. He unilaterally (this is the inspired part) decided to paint the brick wall fronting our house compound. And he did it all by himself, on the first day right into midnight ! All I did was supply the paint. I have to write it here because I don't know when he'll get inspired again, if ever. Looking at his handiwork, the white brick wall does give a nice fresh look.

I've not bought a newspaper since the last GE in March. Newswise I don't seem to miss anything, surfing the internet daily. In fact I can hardly keep up with the newsflashes from around the globe. What keeps coming up like a bad coin, though, are the bad news - the economy, the teenage crimes, the water crisis (too much in some places and too little in others),  , petroleum supply-and-demand see-saw and the concommittant upheavals, the African political mess and the other made-in-USA messes in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all kinds of human conditions, mostly of the unpleasant variety. 

And then there's the domestic variety. The one glaring statistic that the country's politicians are NOT talking about is the 8.7 % CPI. In fact this is going to hit everybody in a big, big way in the remaining days of 2008. And what have we got by way of taking matters in controlled hands ? The Finance Minister and the Defence Minister decided to play musical chairs. Not that it's going to be an improvement, I don't think. 

Well, for the dominant political party, I have this to say. History is on your side. Now don't perk up just yet and think this is good news. History says no political party survives intact beyond 50 years. Just look at Germany, the USSR, India, Indonesia, the Philipines and the Balkans, as examples. The US two-party system and the Singapore one-party system require recategorization and would not contradict the  proposition. 

So, how many years has UMNO been in power ?

Another flip to Dollah's flop.

27.9.2008.

Since the news yesterday about (what else) the change decided by Dollah & Najib on a new date for the UMNO 2008 General Assembly, I had already commented on some blogsites. Surfing the internet today made me decide to put my comments on my own blog, for my own future reference as well as to let my No. 2 Son take a crack at me !

For starters, this is another vintage flip from our flip-flop PM.

The last MKT UMNO meeting was just a couple of days ago. Already there apparently has been a major ground shift, otherwise this new "thinking" should have been made known at the earlier MKT meeting.  This is another example of Dollah not having all the feedback that he should have.  More probable, feedback he's getting, but keeps denying, until he's unable to deny it any longer.

Secondly, is UMNO owned by Dollah and Najib only ?

I say this because these two said several times in the last several days, to the press, and apparently also to the MKT, that the both of them would discuss in details the manner of the implementation of a "mutually agreed" take-over plan. I thought UMNO belongs to all members, who pay exactly the same party fee. I also thought the MKT (read "Supreme") is the highest decision-making body under the existing party Constitution. So, how could the MKT members just sat there and swallowed the crap about the two deciding for themselves what rightly belong to the General Assembly ? Certainly I know for a fact ordinary UMNO members are angry.  

Thirdly, why is there dichotomy now in the party proceedings - that the Divisional AGMs continue as planned, but the Genaral Assembly postponed to March 09(which by the way marks one year from the   "Debacle").  Perhaps Dollah thinks he's clever. 

I continue to be amazed at Dollah's performance since becoming PM. I know it's a tough job, especially for him with his background. But as "el supremo", he can have the best advice in the land. Either he's not having access to good advice,  or is ignoring good advice, or simply doesn't have good advisors.. In any of these cases, he's showing abysmal incompetence.   Just look at the things that he has done since securing  90% in Parliament in 2004:

i)  He  managed to very quickly atagonize the old man who gave him the job, simply by dismantling the projects that he as a Cabinet Member had supported. He made the  mistake of underrating the old fox. 

ii) He let family members get involved in extremely large Government corporate dealings. And he of the "transparency, accountabilty and corruption free" grand speeches.

iii)  He  allowed the fiscal and monetary management of the country run its own course unchecked - either out of ignorance, or out of insouciance (I don't know which is worse).

iv)  He  neglected his duties as the Chairman of the OIC, and showed scant interest in Malaysia's international role, especially among the Third World Countries.

v)  He has consistently showed abject insensitivity to the leadership role as a national leader in the nation's hours of need.  For example abondoning the visit  to the Johore floods for his brother's Nasi Kandar opening in Perth, and being deaf to the outcry about  increasing  petrol price (by a preposterous 41 %). 

The good achieved before 2004 squandered in 4 short years !

And in all that time he has managed to do quite well for himself. He got a newly renovated mansion in Putra Jaya. He got a spanking new executive jet. He got a newly refurbished mansion in Perth. He even got a new  wife !

It's time to go, Dol,  Before you get the boot.

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MUBARAK & DOLLAH.

20.9.2008.

Zahar Ujang is not the most articulate of lawyers. But on 17th. September I saw him for the first time, in all the years that I've known him, articulating a statement in a most appropriate situation. It didn't come out as a punchy, gung ho exclamation I would have liked.   Or quite the smart reprimand that he himself would have us believe , as he described it that buka puasa gathering. But it'll do. In fact it was a statement to the press that had the whole Supreme Council of MUBARAK as its author.  Give Zahar some credit for actually uttering it from the written script. In front of the host for the buka puasa,  Mahathir, Zahar tried to put some  drama to his announcement to the 100 odd people present. 

That  afternoon MUBARAK had a press conference at their HQ, and had publicly asked Dollah  to hand over the PMship before the coming UMNO National Convention in December. I say that the simple statement, coming from this small national body at this point of time, was  dramatic enough.  

Dollah's reply the next day   was a slap in MUBARAK's face - " they are nothing ". Such  a  grasp for the situation ! And he  calls  himself a Muslim leader, and in this holy month of Ramadan  ? But can we expect anything different from this fellow ?

This is a leader who in 4 short years had gone from one General Elections in 2004 that gave him 90 % of the seats in Parliament and control of all but one of the States, to another General Elections in 2008, that saw him squandering all that support,  losing 40 % of Parliament and 38 % of the States ! It's mind boggling !

Here was MUBARAK, an NGO he's certainly  destined for, perhaps sooner rather than later, making a responsible statement ( perhaps he didn't  read  the full statement ) and he gave the knee-jerk reply, the jerk !

MUBARAK is not nothing, Dol. First of all, you agreed to be the Patron years ago, and in fact gave some money.   So now you're a Patron of Nothing ? Secondly, these maybe ex-Parliamentarians and ex-ADUNS, but practically all are still active UMNO members and many most probably would also become delegates to this year's UMNO Convention, so there ! Thirdly, of all people, MUBARAKIANS maybe the  people who are in vantage position to give you the ground reading. And you famously said not too long ago "tell me, I'm listening". Shame on you ! Lastly, but most certainly not the least, MUBARAKIANS have connections.   Can you  imagine the fallout now ? Perhaps I should  mention some of what  Mahathir told the gathering before it dispersed. Mahathir said Dollah's behaviour, including the latest switch of Cabinet posts, is indicative of a state of loss. When the whole world is affected by the financial meltdown of US capitalism, Malaysia included, instead of putting more interest in the Finance Ministry, he's deserting his post ! In retrospect it may in fact be good, because now he cannot mess up that important Ministry any more. In truth it is an open admission, long perceived by everyone else in the country, that Finance is beyond him.

Mahathir also said Dolah has no blood pressure. When the 2008 GE results were confirmed he said it's OK. When Permatang Pauh was lost, again, he said it's OK. When the economy was already found not OK, he said it's OK. When everyone other than his Cabinet Ministers say UMNO is very not OK, he said it's OK.

Mahathir also let on that even Musa Hitam had advised that he resign, but his son told him not to, and he chose to listen to the son. When UMNO Sabah complained about Ministerships due to Sabah for their very significant role in the GE, he chose to listen to the son-in-law. Then he took that ride on the train. Mahathir said he thought that now he really wants to see for himself the problems facing commuters. Instead he commented on the need to refurbish and add coaches, to be supplied by, who else, Scomi.

There were other grave misgivings mentioned by Mahathir. But I've had my fill of Dollah for one night. We were served a lot of sweet stuff that evening. But that night I drove home with a bitter taste in my mouth.

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What's the country coming to ?

19.9.2008.

The holy month of Ramadan is mentioned in the Quran as being specially "barakah"(Malay berkat, but barakah is more than that). This is the month of nuzul Quran, or the deliverence of the Quran to Muhammad s.a.w. so that the word of God can be conveyed to all mankind for their guidence and salvation. I'm not particularly steeped in religious teachings, beyond the simple Islamic obligations that were imparted to me in my primary school days. I guess I qualify to be called a "practising Muslim" as the term is generally understood. But in this month of Supplication I wish God could convey to me the understanding of the incongruencies of the current Malaysian mess. 

The mess of the last General Elections have not fully played out the extreme repurcussions, including the completely wasteful and pointless bye-election in Permatang Pauh. The mess of the mismanagement, or perhaps more accurately, non-management of the economy should strike cold fear to the entire citizenary, but unexplicably is not. The mess with religious-cultural-racial juxtapositioning of contradictions and anomosities, mostly fed by ignorance and fuelled by sentiment and bigotry should make everyone cringe, but everybody seems quite happy to play with fire.

The Constitution  is bandied around like a scrap of worthless paper. Certainly the other lesser laws are broken again and again like scraps of worthless paper. I'd like to shout out - "who the hell is in-charge here !" The question facing all Malaysians, while there still exist such creatures, is not an UMNO problem anymore. Every single one of us, especially people like me who have no place else to run away to - no Australia or New Zealand or Canada -must gang up and get rid of Dollah . "They" say Najib is no better, nor Muhyiddin, or Anwar Ibrahim or Hadi Awang. But we don't know for sure. What is as sure as the sun still rises from the East is Dollah  is disaster. If Malaysians of all creed and colour don't get rid of this fellow, then we all deserve him. While Ramadan is still here, I'm praying extra hard.

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May Allah have mercy on you, Hajjah Che Yong binti Hajjah Tiamin.

14.9.2008.

She was "officially" born on the 17th. of November, 1926, but dad  had told us that she's actually three years older, the registration processes being what they were in those pre World War days. I've checked the Perpetual Calender and determined that it was a Wednesday. When born she was given the name "Azizah", in consonance with those of her sisters Rajmah, Hapipah and Rahmah. But because of childhood illnesses, following the sometime Malay custom at that time, she was renamed "Che' Yong".

She had complained to some of her siblings, and certainly to me as I remember it, that this new name may have been to avert more illnesses, but she didn't fancy it because its spelling in "Jawi" carried the two letters "cha" and "nga" not found in the Arabic alphabet, or as she said it, "not in the Quran".

Hajjah Che Yong binti Haji Hassan bin Hitam passed away at 9.50 pm on the day of her birth, Wednesday, 10th. September, 2008, or 10th. of Ramadan al Mubarak, 1429 Hijriah. Our mother would have been "officially" 84 years and 10 months, but actually 87 years and 10 months.  May Allah have mercy on you, dear mother.

When mom was doing her ablutions for the Magrib prayers at 7 p.m., my younger sister Yan was in the bathroom with her. This has been the practice all these later years as mom grew increasingly weak. Then she collapsed and Yan called out for my younger brother Padir, who happened to have been back home for the last 5 days.  They helped put her to bed, which is just several feet away from the bathroom. Mom had lost consciousness by then. I was doing my Magrib prayers at home in Seremban, after having broken fast about 30 minutes earlier, when Idah, my wife received a call from Padir. I noticed later that he'd called my mobile. The message given was mom was unconscious. We left immediately. I was by her bedside by about 9.15. 

My auntie Rahmah, Padir, Yan and several others were gathered around the old wooden bed that has been mom's for as long as I can remember, all either offering Quranic recitations, keeping vigil, or in the case of Acik Rahmah, massaging mom's hands and chest and wiping her face with a small towel. I recited Surah Yaasin once and repeated the Syahaadah several times to her left ear, as I was on her left side. She was breathing in  laboured breaths. As I have not performed the Isya' prayers, I led a few others in it at the front lounge. After that, alone, I performed twice two raka'at of the Tarawih, when Idah urgently stopped me and said mom was "nazak".

We  made the necessary religious arrangements, and also the tedious official reporting to the relevent authorities (of which I will write about later). The "mandi jenazah" began at 10.30 Thursday morning, followed with the wearing of the death shroud. The "solat jenazah" was performed at the surau nearby, the same surau she went to all her life. She was finally interred at the Tanah Wakaf Jalan Melang at about 12 noon. The 2nd. Imam Mesjid Yamtuan Radin read the "Talqin". 

 She raised 9 of us singlehanded, because dad was always busy with his work at school and off it. The studies at the English school we attended in the earlier part of our schooling were pretty much left to us to devise, but she took interest in our religious obligations. To this day I remember to utter the word "wajjahtu wajhia lil lazi..." in the "doa Aftitah" clearly in the way she admonised me about it when I was very small. She had never fail to perform the solat and the fast, paid more than her Fitrah and Zakat dues, and read the Quran unfailingly every day of her life. She had performed the Hajj and later the Umrah more than once. A simple, quiet and unassuming woman, pious in her own quiet way, dressing, eating and speaking sparingly, and never asking much from us, even thanking me every time I came to see her, I pray to Allah aza wajala to have pity on her soul, and to put her together with those who have had guidance in this temporal life in the Hereafter, Amin !

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