The Merdeka Day Farce

Ive realised that I definitely am not the only one feeling this way.

Malaysia Today (http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/index.php?itemid=7719#nucleus_cf) and Uncle Kit ( http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2007/08/31/50th-merdeka-anniversary-feel-good-euphoria-absent-instead-a-stifling-feel-worse-sentiment-among-malaysians/) Nak Tak (http://naktak.blogspot.com/) blog ( also mentioned that the celebrations was so UMNOfied that it was just farcical. It’s disappointing to say the least, depressing in some ways. (also have spent a few hours with certain relatives, makes me more negative HAHA).  My apologies about the links, stupid thing is having a “moment”.

Im so tired lah.. read the papers, hear the stories, not sure where we are heading..

Merdeka day parades.

the Cuddly Family watched a very impressive display of fireworks (about half hour) from our master bedroom windows (kids woke up at the first boom around midnight) and watching their faces lit up with such joy and delight is really something special. Js were like “woaahh” and “wow!” K was like “Wow! Look at that!” and would excitedly keep pointing at the sky. These are such precious moments.

Ok, sappy moment aside. hehe This morning, we were watching the Merdeka day parade on TV,a kind of tradition in the household (for either side). The Js are excited cos they love watching parades, they’ve also been learning about Malaysia and the flag, national symbols (the keris doesn’t count matey) so they will excitedly look for these things amongst the parade. They have assembly on mondays where they sing the national anthem. They puff up with such pride when they tried to sing along with the national anthem being played. This also is a precious moment for me, cos I felt (and still feel) the same way when it comes to my country, anthem etc. Oops another sappy moment slipped in there!

Anyways, while enjoying this peaceful moment with the kids at breakfast while waiting for parade to commence, I was barely paying attention to the commentator as he yabbered on  about the various dignitaries arriving from the various countries, Prince Andrew included! Then he said something after one of the Caucasian dignitaries (not sure in what context) was shaking hands and he said something that “something..something orang yang kulit lebih cerah daripada kami” (roughly translated to something like “people whose skin is brighter than ours”). I was like huh? huh? Not sure what context but apalah must mention lah… (major eye rolling moment).

Can someone explain to me why KJ has given the honour of re-enacting the flag raising etc etc? (sorry Marina, I couldn’t find it on the star, I had to curi from u) Is it symbolic? Do “they” see him as like future PM material (Heaven help us all then)? oh man, I won’t be able to stomach seeing that arrogant man handle something so important etc! UGH

and this debacle in Parliament was another thing. how inept, and stupid and childish!!!  Uncle Kit posted more on this on his blog but MAN, I can understand how they were POed. How rude, uncouth, nasty, childish! (oh wait, what was I thinking?! It’s our MPs after all). How can you yell that they are traitors? What a farcical attempt. But they are unchecked, arrogant now. Even the Speaker of the house (allegedly the neutral position) is so obviously biased. Sigh. Is this the “best” of who we’ve voted in? What does it say about our citizens when we vote em in? (phantom voters etc aside).

One day maybe this will be true. I’d like to think we are all Malaysian, but if we still maintain racial politics, then that’s a tough battle ahead. Seeing the headlines today and all the spiel they are trying to spinning just makes me gag. I used to look forward to the Merdeka day, parades etc but this year, our 50th, is just been spoilt and tinged with such damned nasty rhetoric.

Ok, enough with the vitriol and  ranting It’s time for me to enjoy my Merdeka day with folks who know the score, who are important and to me are the real future.

Happy Merdeka, all!

HAPPy MERDEKA, ONE AND ALL :)

Here’s to wishing EVERYONE (and not just BN) a very happy and safe Merdeka Celebration

Here’s to 50 years!

so what did I read today?

I haven’t really finished reading the papers, busy day today. But this headline caught my eye..

Najib: Don’t use contentious issues to gain support http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/29/nation/18720088&sec=nation

Abdullah: Pay workers fair wages
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/29/nation/18718948&sec=nation

PM: Rumours of racial clashes are lies
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/29/nation/18724608&sec=nation

A bit of the kettle-pot-black situation aint it???  (eye rolling moment). So they can do all that but no one else can.. really ah.. hypocrisy at its best, perhaps…

Tolerance

Every time I read our mouthy politicians preaching “tolerance” it does make me cringe. It sounds like “I will just tolerate you cos oh well, I guess I have to”. Tolerance isn’t acceptance. It’s guarded, cautious, much like “we are watching you carefully just in case you step out of line”.

am I the only one who sees it that way?

Please don’t call me a super-mum..

Folks call me a super mum sometimes but I really don’t think I am. IF I was a supermum, I would be running my own successful biz, have a bunch of supremely well behaved, intelligent, socially well adjusted kids, my house will be neat, clean and super well organised. I’d be slim, attractive and find time to exercise amidst the well ordered routine of my life. Any little bump thrown my way, I’ll sort it out with a wave of a well manicured hand.

Reality check people. How many folks really have that? My kids are pretty ok, they are mostly polite, they do TRY to help with the chores etc and most of all they are bright, lovable and happy. check that. Slim? No. Rather be fit and healthy, the idea of “perfect weight” is in the eye of the beholder Working up towards the fit and healthy part again!

Successful home biz? we are just starting out, amid the chaos. Clean, neat and super well organised home? Err.. not as well as it should be, the toys are a messy pile right now. I admit it, I’m crap at being a “housewife” in the traditional sense of the world. I hate cleaning, ironing. I’m cool with the laundry and all that. But my helper has been unavailable for a week, other than the occasional hoovering and perfunctory cleaning of bathroom, I’ve let things slide.  What a wuss. So you can imagine that well manicured hands are so not possible hehe I haven’t even washed the car for TWO weeks, urgh.

The kids had their first sleepover/playdate this weekend, thanks to A and A I tell you, it was weird at first being kidless, particularly in the evening! D and I went out with friends for dins and the customary sitting around with tea/coffee and yakking (or talking “cock” as locals would have it). We spent Sat at the Merdeka Community Fair helping out Min and the comic guys. Whew that was tiring! On sunday, we got up late (now THAT is the ultimate luxury), had breakfast (went to some timsum place in SS2, BLECH, wasn’t a good one). Persuaded d to try massage (he’s never had one!), went to this place in the Curve(been there before, quite nice, price ok) and had a couples massage. I almost went to sleeeeep LOL D enjoyed it despite the occasional ticklish moments! Picked the kids up after lunch, Js insisted they wanted to go bowling with S ko-ko and A and A said they could drop them off later. So we took k back (he fell asleep in the car!), dropped by N and S’s for their farewell makan (very short visit, k was a right cranky git), picked up some milk and went home. Js came back later. They were tired but had such a fab time, acc to A, they had been very well behaved, polite and lovely boys. All is good

anyways, kids are back in school, going to have to get back into the swing of things and catch up with my work. But please, don’t call me super-mum!  I’m not sure I want to be either hehehe.

What is YOUR view of patriotism?

After reading this post and PT’s blog, curious.. what is your view on patriotism…

The things we do.. and the things politicians do..

Yesterday’s story of interest (can’t be bothered to dig up the others) is this. the call for islamic law. Right. Now, Im not saying there shouldn’t be islamic law for muslims etc, but for everybody? I quote:

The call by Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim for the abolition of the common law system and favouring its replacement by Islamic law system is most unbecoming of the highest judicial officer of the land sworn to defend and uphold the Constitution and the Merdeka social contract.

Dang right, Uncle Kit! (like I know him but .. lol) Each day I read both the Star and the “alternative” media and think.. what on earth is our govt doing?? What idiocies/scandals/overexcitedness/ denials is going to happen next? More tragedies? I really, really hope that no one takes this guy’s call seriously. And yet, today’s papers two guys (one Minister in the PM’s Dept (and what the hell does that all mean anyway “minister in a dept”) and an AG) supported this call for change to syariah law. Wait.. eye rolling moment… Perhaps the laws (certain) need an update or a kick up the pants but switching completely… Let’s really hope they all behave sensibly and ignore this fella.. (wait, who am I kidding? Since when have they behaved “sensibly”) hehehhee.

On a similar (ish) note, I used to hum Negaraku and the Penang state anthem to my kids (and it used to calm them and put them to sleep). Yes, I know I’m odd! Does anyone have the lyrics to this stuff? I sudah lupa wei! Terrible hor. So Im going to search for the lyrics! (no, not the Negarakuku ones hehe). Keris waving bunch of.. anyways..

I’ve been looking after a baby since last week, during weekdays and “office” hours for my friends L and hubby A. He has the same name as my boy, fully breastfed *YAY* and he’s now adjusting to how a babysitter will layan him. Thankfully we managed to train him to take the bottle as well and to get used to amusing himself in the playpen and lay there and try and sleep on his own. Whew! For his parents sake, I hope this “training” helps when he starts in the new nursery on monday. It’s weird having a baby in the house (without accompanying parent I mean lol). Been interesting!

Now this is a very lovely post in a young Malaysian’s blog. If my kids can feel something similar, I’ll have done a good job as a Malaysian mum. (not sure about all the travelling part but the sense of pride anyway).  I curi from Jeff Ooi’s blog

the kids are at a playdate today and baby is asleep, such blissssssful quiet.  And tomorrow. Tomorrow is the merdeka fair and the Subang Run on sunday, Oh lordy! LOL I havent been exercising as much as I used to, been so hectic! sigh. Once back at school, time to get back into it! Esp the walking I’ve got the terry fox run in NOv to get fit for! hehe Must try and run the distance for that!

Ok time to get back to work since baby has fallen asleep!

whew!

Ahh.. bureaucracy. I read Amir Mohammed’s blog on how he set up his company. He kindly provided a link to the Company registration type people so i decided to browse on over yday. D and I planned to set up a partnership anyhow, talked to a couple of folks who said they can set it up for you but it’s going to cost $$$ and unless I use “backdoor” way (read more $$$), then very hardlah… and d and I would have had to lug the kids ALLLLLL the way and hang about there.. URGH.. Then I noticed a little icon that says “e-lodgement”. So I thought hmmm.. so I took a good look around (not the easiest of places if you aren’t web savvy enough) and discovered you can submit your biz application online! starting with name approval. So I did that (you had to sign up for the govt portal and the SSM folks portal but ok lor). Got the name approved the following day. So far, so good.

The only headache was the actual biz registeration form. It was really tedious and I had many trials and errors to go thru. In the end, I called up the hotline which one lady said to me ” you must be doing something wrong!” I said yeah I know Im doing something wrong, thats why I called YOU! after that frustrating call, I went back to it. the system crashed. I thought great. So I tried again in the evening (after a 2nd call to the hotline where she gave me a tech guys direct line and he was very helpful!), lo and behold, it went pretty well and now we are process pending! big big sigh of relief right there hehe.

no need to go thru agent and bayar $$$ (well ok you had to pay licence fees lah, but saved us quite a pretty penny and less headache too). Let’s wait and see.

50 years, 50 years..

(or slightly less if u count East Malaysia’s entry, I really think we should have two holidays, one for the formation of MALAYSIA and one for independence for the british).

What have we got to show for it? Well, I suspect we would have more, but it seems to be fast unravelling. All the beating on chest for the UMNO putras, the faint bleats of the component parties. Even the Merdeka celebration is political centric, to the point even the Sultan of Selangor has to say something. Usually the royalty don’t seem to say much in terms of politics etc, but first the Raja Muda of Perak  and now the Sultan of Selangor are commenting regularly now. What gives? Does it take these guys to keep hounding the UmnoPutra centric govt to get their heads screwed back on? I dunno.

Every day I read what SIL, Cousin and No:2 have to say, and I think.. ugh.. Then I hear what the PM says and think.. ok that’s nothing at all?! What gives, fellas? You’re descended from a turkish woman, so also pendatang asing? hehehe

It’s been a week, man! and it’s only just started. Sigh.. Hope springs eternal.