Acik at Boting.

4.10.2015.

For some time now I'd wanted to visit Acik at Boting. She'd moved in with Nosa Ngatngat, I was told, since Jimikoling moved back his belongings to Acik's Senaling house. At that time Jimikoling only came back weekends, but now apparently he's moving back for good. In fact he came to Boting about 10 minutes behind us this afternoon and said he's rewiring the Senaling house, so that was proof. Jimikoling is a trained wireman.

This Boting plot was acquired by Pakcik Udin, and is a few acres in size. Nosa built the original house when Pakcik Udin was still alive. This was my second visit to the house, and I was surprised by the rebuilt house. It's been tastefully enlarged and redesigned inside and out. The fixtures were also nicely done. I thought Nosa said it cost her 200 grand ! The original house was less than 80 grand.

I asked to see Acik's room and was shown the middle bedroom with two single beds, a cupboard, a wall a/c and a stand fan. So I said to Acik she should just stay with Nosa here and forget about her Senaling house. I said Jimikoling loves his wife (his third) and Acik must accept that, and not be bothered about her ways.

Acik is my last remaining aunty. All other siblings of my late mother are gone now. Acik herself is almost 80 now, I figure. She's still healthy, but is becoming more forgetful. She couldn't recognize No. 2 Son at Calit's kenduri yesterday.

The Boting house should be good for Acik. The house sits in the middle of agricultural land, and the green scenery looks pleasant to me. There's a surau and a mosque nearby, so that part of her daily routine should be covered, though I don't think she goes to the surau anymore The only drawback seems to be the distance to the nearest neighbour. 

I should try to visit her more often, I resolve.

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Amal and her wedding.

3.10.2015.

Yesterday, Friday 2nd. of October 2015, Amal was married off by Calit, her dad, my youngest brother, at Husayn Mosque, S2 at about quarter to four, to Wassim. Today, Saturday, the reception was held at Warisan Puteri.

On both days it was the meeting again of relatives and friends of old that I more than anything else savoured.

I was seated at the main table next to Dato' Dr. Nordin Keling, a 90-year-old relative from Tg. Jati, the former Veterinary Sec.Gen. Like Suman a.k.a. Ibrahim Keling (Dato') his younger brother, Nordin is quite deaf without his hearing aid. Between the loud music and his condition, our attempted conversation largely failed.  I had to practically put my mouth next to his  ear ! He said he's 1 year younger than Mahathir, and they know each other. He said Mahathir would always ask how old is he. Dr. Nordin asked me what I think of Ku Nan, the UMNO Sec. Gen. He said he remembers him when he was a contractor for the veterinary services, and Najib was in the Ministry. 

I was part of the receiving party, so until the married couple arrived, I met most of the guests that came. Most of the old relatives and friends were still recognizable through the wrinkles and white hair.  Nab the "wassup girl" was there. "G-man" the PKR donation collector and Fahmy, my PKR nephew also came, and I corrected him about spelling his own father's name - it's Muhammad Fadzil, no just Fadzil, I insisted. Then "Jimikoling" and "Deka" and "Jingkung" and "Kito", Cikgu Othman's son, a very long-time neighbour from Tobek Koring  came, and  so many more, all seemed to have made the trip. My two ex-Appeal Court Judges golfing kakis also made it, and I put them together at one table.

Yesterday Timah prepared the high tea for 100. There were at least 150 that came. So you know what happened. To-day KRS prepared food for 750.  1,200 came. Guess what happened.  Food that was supposed to last until 4 p.m. didn't survive 1 o'clock.   Idah was so nervous, she was sweating, but Calit & Nina seemed cool. The next day Calit came to the house and cried in front of Idah. Luckily I was at golf.

After the "menyembah" ceremony at about 3.30, conducted by Bang Piei, the reception only slowly trailed off, in spite of the "food crisis". I met some more friends who had come late, and the food didn't seem to matter. Other than that, I think Calit pulled off a successful wedding reception.  I saw the 24-year-olds truly happy, and that was the important thing. 

We stopped at Man Tom Yum on the way home. I had a  coconut drink and mee ladna (no chicken), followed by black coffee. Everybody else ordered different food and drinks.  I saw Wok at   the next table with her own group.  So now everybody is refuelling because of the "food crisis". Wok is a cousin and a full-fledged  Police Superintendent now attached to SPRM Putra Jaya. I made her pay for our table  before they left ahead of us. I gave her Dekna's number, and asked  her to call Dekna, adding if they have lunch together  Wok should pay because she has  worked longer and has  a bigger pay.

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Rizal

23.8.2015.

I had to decide yesterday, Saturday 22nd August, whether to send Rizal on his betrothal, which was decided earlier, or attend my grandson Husyn's 1st birthday ? It was an easy choice because I'd committed to Rizal first. Also, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, while Husyn has many,many more birthdays coming. Plus, I'm the leader of Rizal's delegation.

So, after my last visit to Felda Sg. Lui maybe 35 years ago, here I was again, entrusted with asking for a young woman's hands in marriage to the second son of my fourth brother. 

If  I didn't ask Idah to go to Mashitok's house to get the clarification for the proposed ceremony, we would probably be still in the dark. Mash did come to the house two weeks ago to tell me and Idah "Rizal nak bertunang." That was all he said, literally. Even at the last minute Yah said he didn't want the "tepak sireh." Two days later we went to the house to clear things up. In turned out Mash and Yah, too, were not sure. It was all up to Rizal. After waiting for some time, being told he was on the way home from work, we went back to my car, and Rizal arrived just as I switched the engine on. So there at the car window I got the itinerary all sorted out, and here we were at almost 12 noon, the appointed time, at Aisha's house, Sg. Lui, where the parents and family were already waiting.

I'd prepared a small write-up of some pepatah-petiteh a la adat meminang Nogori, but couldn't print it up because my 8-year-old hp stupid printer decided to quit on me, and my regular computer repairer said it's cheaper to replace than repair, and I'm not about to buy a new one. So I made up my mind early that I'd just go by the seat of my pants.

It went ok. We were there at 12, and we were ready to wrap things up before one, with "menyarung cicin" & photos, and lunch all thrown in. In fact the four of us in my car were even able to visit Bang Kalang just around the corner. Bang Kaland a.k.a. Razak Yaacob a.k.a. Jalaluddin Yaacob is the younger brother of the late Bang Sudin, my biras.

Nothing is cheap nowadays. Aisha's parents want a 10,000 dowry. I suppose the two of them can share that sum. After all they're going to get it for themselves. I might even suggest to Rizal to write a cheque - just don't bank it, ha ha. I said to the father, details should be discussed between Rizal & Aisha. We want everything to end well.

On the way home we stopped for cendul pulut at Bal's classmate's warong at Air Itam, had coffee at Cik Ani's house in Bahau, visited my parents' graves at Melang, bought cempedak and pisang goreng at Paroi (made Calit pay !), and finally reached the house. Wafa and her twin brothers were at S2.

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Is the PM a crook ?

9.8.2015.

Events are unfolding at an incredible pace, in UMNO's business and all it touches.

Looking at the answers given by Najib & Co, incredible is an apt adjective.

I was a delegate to the Seremban UMNO division annual general assembly on 1st. of August. I came dutifully at 8.30, the appointed time. I asked both the Secretary and the executive secretary about the programme for the day, because the letter said  the meeting would be at Pusat Dakwah, but the opening ceremony by Najib at Kelana Resort. That's typical UMNO confusion. When the answer was everything at Pusat Dakwah on Najib's instruction, "to cut costs" ( ha ha !), morning session for opening ceremony, after Zohor for the meeting proper, I left the hall and came back around 1.50.  Mohd. Nor Bakar, the fish monger told me Isa and the freshly sacked Hasan Malek were there. In fact the tv showed  Hasan Malek sitting in the front row right in front of Najib.  If I was sacked, I wouldn't be anywhere near Najib, at least not in in first 3 days. Anyway, I'm not trying to get a chairmanship at a GLC , I suppose!

In the aftermath of the shoot-out of the 28th. of August, when the DPM Muhyiddin, the Minister Shafiei Apdal , (and of course poor Hasan Malik), the AG were summarily sacked, and 4 of the PAC members were kicked upstairs, Najib effectively sabotaged his own self-designed framework for the  defence of the 1MDB debacle. Events may well materialise to the contrary, but to my mind this is the ultimate suicidal act.

At the Pusat Dakwah function, JASA, the UMNO propaganda arm, had distributed  "22 Jawapan Najib Razak." The smartly and expensively  printed booklet obviously is an attempt to "answer" all the criticisms that have for the last several months been hurled at Najib. There are 22 listed answers by count. In fact some of the answers are related to others, so there are actually 14 answers, not 22. Even here there is  something missing !

To the 14 groups of questions, I would add 7 that I think Najib should also answer:  the 2.6 billion "donation",  the sacking of the DPM,  2 Ministers and the AG,  the 25-million diamond ring, Isa Samad's role in Felda and the financial nightmare looming, the fall of the ringgit,  the rise of the cost of living, and the image of a concerned leader.

Taking the ringgit's fall first, I remember talking to a senior MoF officer who served under both Mahathir and Dollah, who later served in NS, who observed that Mahathir had a DAILY meeting beginning at 8.30 SHARP to monitor the ringgit crisis in 1997. When Dollah took over, sometimes the meeting, which continued, took place, sometimes not, but always NEVER  on time. Now I wonder if Najib chairs similiar ringgit-crisis committee meeting anymore.

On the 2.6 billion "donation", well nobody would have known about the money if the WSJ had not blown the lid. Even then Najib certainly took his time in admitting it, when he could have started saying it was this extremely generous donation before the GE 13 the moment it was exposed. Now he thinks he's turning the table on PKR and DAP by demanding that they also must declare their political contributions. Najib cannot expect us to believe the excuse of "party funds" when even the Deputy President of UMNO did not know about it when the humongous gift was first made. And to use his private a/c ? And on the subject,  there are videos of Najib saying clearly how "trust a/c" are  to be administered. 

I have spoken to a former member of the Malaysian Bench, a former First Board Plantation executive, a former head of a State Special Branch, a nasi lemak seller, and many of my friends of various political inclinations, and ALL say:  it's beyond belief anyone would give THAT much, unless it's for something in return, in which case it's corruption of the highest order; that this contravenes the Money Laundering Act; that since this was 2 years ago, the Income Tax Act has also been broken.    

On the whole-sale sackings, it's true that it's Najib's right. But the way he was using his right was wrong ! He doesn't know right from wrong.

When Anwar was sacked, he had committed a crime. What crime has Muhyiddin committed ? 2 days after he spoke out, again, against 1MDB, in an UMNO closed forum, suddenly Najib jumped out from his usual lethargic modus operandi  and fired the Deputy President and a Vice President of his own ruling party (and that Vice President from Sabah, the state that probably saved BN in the last general elections). If  Najib goes now, it's UMNO that will decide who becomes the PM.  The leadership of the party would pass to the incumbent Deputy President. 

The AG is not the secretary to the Cabinet. He beholds his position to the King, and his removal must follow strict constitutionsl ritual. His health ? He says differently, but the Chief Secretary seems to know better.  Not a dismissal ? Clearly there's constructive dismissal if ever there was one ! And talk about nicities - Gani has only until October to reach his retirement age, and Najib could have made a personal call. 

The 4 members of the PAC being "kicked upstairs"? This, together with the removal of the AG, is obviously sabotaging the mechanism that Najib himself put in place in the defence of the 1MDB debacle.

  

In view of that 2.6 billion, in retrospect, the story of Rosmah's  25-million diamond ring is not exactly ridiculous.

And why is Isa Samad still in Felda ? The KWSP and similiar government-connected funds were used in the IPO that saw FGV shares starting at 4.50 or thereabout. It's now 1.60. So what happens to the retirement funds and the rest of the investors ? And what about the losses in the current accounts, and the bad investments in and out of the country ? I hear Isa now has an escort car when he travels. Raja Alias who built Felda to what it was before the politicians took over, would sometimes drive his little Honda ( the old tiny breed, not the new super variety) to work. He'd probably hide his face "malu" if he had the Felsco escort. But then, he may not need protection.

I know Najib, like Mahathir, used to "walkabout" also. Has he done so recently ? Does he know the actual cost of living right now ? Yesterday I bought some fruits on the PLUS. I couldn't believe the prices. You should check it out, too.

You see and hear all the time leaders in the West cutting short whatever their doing  to asap attend to domestic catasrophies. They know they  are put there by the people, and the least they can do is to at least appear to show concern,  especially when tragedies strike. When floods strike and mountains move Najib just carries on playing golf with the US President or visiting rich friends in the Middle East. In the latter case he even drags two Vice Presidents along, when either one or both can cancel the trip. The rich and powerful host would have understood. So much for "rakyat didahulukan"!

Now back to the 14 questions.

The Altantuya case is settled as far as the Courts of Law go. The question that Mahathir had raised is who gave the instruction to the two officers convicted ? He's not accusing Najib.

That Malaysia is a corrupt country ? Come on lah !

That BRIM is corruption ?  You give out cash for what ?  Is it to buy votes ? Do all the receipients deserve it ? My neighbour, a retired school teacher (not a graduate) who drives TWO Mercedeses, because they have a school catering service and houses for rent, duly gets her BRIM.

The 1MDB issue. Has enough been said ? Certainly not enough has been explained. And now the "Salam 1 Malaysia" has been removed on tv. Afraid it's being equated to 1MDB ?

The crooked bridge ? This was a Cabinet decision. Do facts change when Cabinet changes ? Why are excuses been offered NOW ?

That Najib's performance was better than Dolah's ? More UMNO seats, yes. But combined Parliament BN seats were 63.1% in GE 12 with Dollah, and less than 60 % in GE 13 with Najib ! Which is worse ?

That EPU is being bypassed. Just talk to the Government Servants. Just look at the PMO's set up. And all the "Pemudah" etc.

The abondonment of the Bumiputra "agenda" ? Talk to the Bumiputra contractors at the District Offices. The 1 Malaysia slogan - now playing soccer at the district selection the Indian players cry out "1 Malaysia!" and they have to take in one or two more of them. That's not a problem, but the intonation is the "Malay quota" concept of the Bumiputra agenda in the big scheme of things is being openly challanged and succumbs for the sake of appearance and correctness.

Has crime rate increased since the abolishment of ISA (and the Emergency Ordinance) ? Don't just quote figures nobody can countercheck. Listen to the stories being told also. And Singapore must know something we don't for keeping THEIR ISA  intact.

The purchase of the new executive jet. It's timing, my friend, it's timing. You make people pay more for everything and you splurge on a new jet ! How dumb can you be ?

It's true the GST has noble intentions, and just about all the countries in the Free World have done it. Since the implementation, have you studied the impact and the implementation ? It's supposed to be a restructuring of tax, some more and some less. But I pay GST for everything now, so it's all more now. Even paying for my daughter's PTPTN I have to pay GST where I paid no such tax before. Explain that.

Finally, this Mahathir thing.

Sure, the old man made a lot of mistakes in his 22 years. In such a long time who wouldn't ? But it looks bad if you make the same mistakes after him. In less time.

When Lim Kok Wing told the old man to be careful to not lose his legacy ( probably prodded by his boss) I can almost see the smirk on the old man's face. The point is,legacy you don't dictate. History dictates. We shall see what has been done in the 22 years Mahathir was PM, all the good, the bad and the ugly.  The thing is, Mahathir's premiership is over and can't be undone. It's the current affairs that we must put right while we can. 

Maybe the biggest mistake Mahathir made was making Najib  PM.

It would be a sad, sad day for UMNO if a son destroys what the father painstakingly  built.

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S.I.T.C. cookhouse.

23.7.2015.

Padir (that's what we call him in the family) was maybe in Std 1 or 2. As usual in the morning, weekends, we'd wander around the College. One time we found ourselves at the cookhouse, where the cooks were cutting and frying  fish that day, inside the netted area. It was to keep the flies out, but there were still plenty inside because they were entering and leaving the room and the pesky pests simply followed suit.

Lots of fish were on the large knee-high cutting table. This was the meal for the entire College. They were expertly cutting out the innards and cutting each fish into two or three, and throwing the pieces straight into the large "kwali" with cooking oil boiling. One would stir the frying fish, and scoop out the cooked ones, and pile them into the waiting enamel basins. The cooks were not really paying attention to us boys, curiously watching the whole thing. We were inside the netted area - the cooks didn't seem to object and went on with their work.

I saw Padir picking a couple of cooked fish sections. I know we could slip out with a few. Just then the Assistant Steward suddenly appeared. We didn't see him coming.  He exclaimed "what are you  doing here, get out !" Then he grabbed Padir by the shoulder and demanded "what have you got there !" Padir had quickly put his hands behind his back when the Assistant Steward suddenly jumped on us. I guess he must have let the fish drop. The Assistant Steward chased us out of the cookhouse.

This was the new guy helping the real Steward, Jamaluddin, whom we knew, because he was staying with his family in the staff quarters area we all shared, and his son Jalalulmahli Jamaludin was one of our age-group friends.

Jamaluddin went to the Malaysia Hall, London as Steward years later. His son joined the Armed Forces , though I remember him as a "softie".

Padir ended as Group MD for the Felda Group, which had training centres, restaurants, and hotels with kitchens of their own. I wonder if he ever tried to pinch any fish there ?

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Glad to be back.

21.7.2015.

Phew !

Can't remember when I last posted on my blog. The problem was my cpu acting up before the fasting month, and I was too lazy to fix it. But this morning I finally went to the computer shop and had it done, and here we are.

Much has happened in the mean time. Malaysian politics, which I follow, is in deep shit. The Malaysian economy is, also. My pension is getting smaller and smaller. Shit. So what is new ?

Sadly, there have been several deaths, in the family, among friends, and in the neighbourhood. R.I.P. dear departed. I'm glad I was able to attend most of the sad funerals, except for Pa' Cu Kamil's.  Sharif chose to just sms me instead of making a call, and I only looked at the message just before the breaking of fast. I called Calit to go and visit together, mistakenly thinking Sharif meant the passing was 6.30 pm, when actually it was 6.30 am ! I was 12 hours too late !

Pa' Cu attended all my children's weddings. I even managed to get him to deliver a talk at the UiTM in front of Dekna's class when she was reading Law there. Pa' Cu would spend hours talking to my father into the wee hours every time he came back to Bukit Temensu in those days. My father wanted him to join UMNO and become the MB !

There is great news, too. After completing the required three-year experience, Memi had been admitted as a Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Glasgow, in March.  The Certificate arrived during the fasting month. Anyway, he's joining Shell next month, as an ACCA.  

I spoke to Yusni about 1MDB when he came for Hari Raya on Sunday. I know, coming from Pekan, he's Najib's man, but he listened to my comments without interrupting. Whatever opinion he's having about the whole issue, I think what I said made some impression.

I'm on the second day of my Syawal fast today. I'd plan to do six straight days this year, but I've to take a break Thursday because Bangdek is having a khenduri at his house, a thanksgiving for Aza getting her PhD in Education. So I'll finish Sunday, instead.

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Visiting Anna.

19.4.2015.

After a lengthy loss of contact, yesterday Saturday 18th April, Ari, Wira, my wife and I managed to visit ailing Anna at her PD house, the endowment of Anak Din, her husband who died 11 years ago. Ikhwan had given Anna's mobile number, and several calls followed by  several wrong turns finally brought us to her corner lot 3-room terrace house at Jalan 3/7 Taman Intan Perdana, Telok Kemang. Anna and her new husband were waiting for us.

What brought us to visit was the news that she nearly lost a foot due to diabetic infection, but was saved by "maggot treatment." I've read and seen such cases some years ago on the internet, but not the rest of the group. They were naturally puzzled by the "ulat" thing. Anna confirmed it, and it was as I'd seen on the internet. Back home that night I showed the video to Idah on my p.c.

After her husband died from illness when based at Sungei Besi, Anna was diagnosed with severe diabetes. She's now on 2 insulin injections daily, has lost weight, and depends on her husband for their household chores. The right foot infection started innocently enough  with a sore and some hard scratchings, and before long it became a large infected open wound on which she claimed to have spent RM 7,000 for hospital visits and various treatments without improvement, and ending with the PD Hospital's two final options  - amputation or maggots treatment. The choice was simple, and it worked !

Even when Anak Din was in Kuala Lipis (that was how they knew Siti Norhaliza, and in fact she came to Sg. Besi for their daughter's wedding before Anak Din passed away) and Nenasi, Pekan, we visited. He was transferred to many places before his last posting to Sungei Besi. Ari said he went to all of them. Anak Din was Ari's nephew.

Now that Anna is in ill health, Husin, a widower and her new husband, is looking after her. He's 61, a year older, and isn't working anymore, but they're managing on Anna's pension, and they say it's enough for them, and yesterday it appeared so. The children from both past marriages are all married with children of their own, staying all over the place but mostly in Pahang, so visits are infrequent, but Anna said she understands and doesn't mind. Cik Ani called last night asking about our visit which she heard about, and I told her to visit Anna soon.

Anak Din died well before retirement age, but since my marriage into that extended family in 1971 until his untimely passing in 2004, I had acquired a liking for his jovial nature, among others. He got his good looks from his late mother, and was quite a ladies' man. In fact his "casanova" ways got him in trouble, and there are a few instances that I know of. But he raised a good family, and they have remained, in spite of separation, close.

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