Fitna

Have you watched the film "FITNA" by Geert Wilders? This short film is said to have really insulted Islam and the holy book Al-Qur'an. Muslims around the world have condemned the showing of this film. I have watched the film through "you tube". Though I did not watch it in full, as I have problem with my internet connection, but what I can say here is the film is an insult to Islam. The film relates Al-Qur'an with terrorism. Yes, Geert Wilders quote the Qur'anic verse but it was interpreted wrongly by someone who knows nothing about Islam and taken out of context. Al-Qur'an has never ever asked the Muslims to go and kill the non muslim as they wish. In fact, killing fellow human being is prohibited in Islam. However, in making the film, Geert Wilders was being unfair in the sense that either he faled or purposely refused to look at what caused some Muslims to react in such a way that they are labelled as terrorist. In all fairness, the Muslim around the world in being treated unfairly by the Americans and the Westerns. Almost everyday the Jews mercilessly killing the innocent Palestinians and yet the American labelled the Palestinian as terrorist. The war in Gaza peninsular is far from over. Whatever peaceful plan promoted by the American is only for the benefit of the Jews. The whole world is aware of this but nobody does anything.

Look also at the way America attacked Iraq. Despite the fact that IAEA reported that there was no nuclear weapon development in Iraq and no support from the UN, the American vis-a-vis the bushy Bush went on to attack Iraq just to cause irrepairable damage to the Muslim country and found no nuclear weapon programme. But then they still said that it was a right decision and nobody dares to do anything against the US. Look also at the incident of 9/11. After the attack, the Americans straightaway accused Osama Bin Laden to be responsible for the attack. It was so easy for the US to point finger to a Muslim and the whole world would listen to them. However, investigation on the 9/11 has given more questions than answer. After all, there was no direct evidence that it was Osama Bin Laden who launched the attack. But the Americans used that as an excuse to attack Afghanistan on the pretext that Osama Bin Laden was hiding in Afghanistan. Funny isn't it? After 7 years, the US still could not find Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan. Now, after causing damage to Iraq, US is paying their attention to Iran on their nuclear programme. Despite denial by Iran that their nuclear programme is not meant for weapon, the US insisted that IAEA to go in and investigate. To me, it will be the same story like what happened to Iraq. Even if IAEA finds that there is no proof that Iran is developing the nuclear weapon, the US will not believe in the report and will go ahead to attack them. Why can't the US deal with the nuclear issue in North Korea? North Korea has the same issue even before Iraq was attacked. And now, after so many years, the US still did not do anything to the North Korea, but instead, interested in dealing with Iran first.

So, with all the above, of course to mention a few, do not you agree that Muslims all around the world have been treated unfairly? Is it wrong for the Muslim to take the law into their hands when they are being provoked in doing so?

Only if Geert Wilders can see what caused the Muslim to react in such away in a very fairly manner, I believe that he will not come out with such heinous film.

In any event, Allah said in the Qur'an that "lakum dinukum waliyadin" which means that "for them is their religion and for you is your religion". The verse simply means that the Muslim should not disturn other religion and vice versa.

On another note, LiveLeak.com, a website that aired the film has decided to stop airing it for safety reason, as their staff received death threat. In response, LiveLeak.com made a statement that it marks the end of freedom of speech on the net. Well, any freedom must have a limit. Here, the freedom of speech has been misused by the unethical Dutch politician. And for their insensitivity in airing the film on the net, is it not logical for them to receive the death threat? All these westerners, they are a laughing stock. They will condemn people who pass racist remark but will support people who insult other religion especially Islam. And in condemning the people who pass racist remark, they do not regard that as limiting the freedom of speech.

Ring Tone

I was told by my nephew who is studying in Egypt that a fatwa has been issued by the Muslim scholars in Egypt that the use of Quranic Verses as ring tone or caller ring tone is haram (forbidden) The reason is that when the call is answered, the Quranic verse may not be fully read, thus it can give different meaning.

Well, I know that to the people who use Quranic verse as their rig tone, they do it wth good intention and with full sincerity in order to be rewarded. However, I fully agree with the fatwa, as not only that the Quranic verse will be truncated half way through, imagine if we are in te toilt and suddenly our phone ringing with Quranic verse as the ring tone, we will get a sin instead of being rewarded. While it is good to have Quranic verse close to us in every second, if it is wrongly used (perhaps unintentially), it can work against us.

So, to all my friends out there or fiends to my friends wo are using the Quranic verse a their ring tone or caller ring tone, I urge you to immediately change it.

To what extent Sultan/King should be respected?

Sultan/King is the symbol of sovereignity for the Malaysian as a whole and Malays in particular. The place for the Sultan/King nowadays is still the highest in our society though with not so much power in hand as compared to their predecessors. Certain quarters in our society particularly the Malays are very sensitive when it comes to the Sultan/King to the extent that anybody that goes against the wishes of the Sultan/King has committed an act of disrespectful towards the Sultan/King, thus, being rude.

However, the issue in hand here is how far the Sultanate institution in our country nowadays, with very least power, is respected and can still be relevant in the many years to come? Or it will disappear just like that over time? From legal perspective, Sultan/King does not have much absolute power in term of decision making. In many instances, for example, the Yang Di Pertuan Agong, in making a decision should get the advice from the Prime Minister and conventionally, the advice of the Prime Minister shall prevail. For example, in appointing the Chief Justice, even though the appointment letter is issued by the Yang Di Pertuan Agong, it is in the real sense, made in accordance with the advice and recommendation made by the Prime Minister. So, even on the surface it is the Yang Di Pertuan Agong who made the appointment, in reality, it is the Prime Minister who make the decision.

That is why we normally feel the existence of the Sultan/King when His Royal Highness officiate certain functions.

However, as I mentioned earlier, the Malays society is so sensitive if the Sultan/King is not respected by certain parties. If I can bring you to what happened with regards to the appointment of Perak Menteri Besar whereby the DAP Leader, Lim Kit Siang had asked the DAP wakil rakyat to boycott the swearing in ceremony on the appointment of the Menteri Besar just because DAP could not agree with the Palace's choice of Menteri Besar. As a result, Lim Kit Siang received a lot of pressure and critics which in the end, he (Lim Kit Siang) had to make a public apology to the Sultan of Perak.

How about if it is the Malays who are against the Sultan? Who will make noise? Let us take a look at the issue surrounding the appointment of the Terengganu Menteri Besar, whereby it involves a tussle between the Palace and the Federal Government when both parties have their own preferred candidate to be the Menteri Besar. If legally speaking, it is Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh who is supposed to be appointed as the Menteri Besar, the question is, is it proper to use legal means to deny and go against the wish of the Palace? Which one is more important for the Malays? The wish of the Sultan/King or the wish of the Prime Minister?

Is it proper to use the legal means as a mean to deny and go against the wish of the Palace? If this is allowed to take place, where is the rightful position of the Sultan/King in our society nowadays. Are they still significant if they are continuously legally challenged?

Personally, I am of the opinion that with regard to the issue surrounding the appointment of Terengganu Menteri Besar, the wish of the Palace should prevail over the wish of the Prime Minister. This is so important in order to preserve the dignity of the Sultan of Terengganu, who is also the Yang Di Pertuan Agong. If in the end, the Menteri Besar of Terengganu is the one who is supported by the Prime Minister and not the Palace, it is cleary an act of total disrespectful towards the Sultanate institution in Malaysia. It can also cause the rakyat to lose their confidence and respect towards the Sultan/King, as their (Sultan/King) decision and wish can be overruled by the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

While the Malays, especially UMNO leaders condemned and criticised Lim Kit Siang as I mentioned above, is there any different with what Lim Kit Siang did as compared to UMNO with regard to the appointment of Terengganu Menteri Besar? UMNO's threat to withdraw the UMNO membership of the Terengganu Menteri Besar of the Palace's choice, to me, is regarded as blatant disregard and an act of rudeness towards the Sultan/King. If it is true that Datuk Ahmad Said's membership in UMNO will be withdrawn simply because he followed the Palace's instruction, it simply means that Datuk Ahmad Said will be an independent wakil rakyat and it also means that he is not eligible to be the Menteri Besar, as the Menteri Besar should come from the ruling party, that is BN. Datuk Ahmad Said is also said to have go against the wish and instruction of the President of UMNO if he accepts the appointment. It is with full of sadness to note that simply because he followed the wish of the Palace, which for all intent and purposes, he should, he is now said to be the traitor in the party. With that, I can conclude that the Prime Minister of Malaysia is prevail over the Sultan and it is ok to go against the Sultan but not the Prime Minister...ooops, I thought it should be the other way around?

Having said that, I do not mean that the Palace should be above the law all the time. What I mean is that in handling issue like this, we should not use legal means to outlaw the Sultan/King. In another note, I also believe that the Palace should not involve in politics and not to be politicised and it should remain impartial towards everybody.

Something to ponder upon.

Is Mek (pronounced as "Mac") only for Kelantanese Malay Ladies?

All these while, I thought "Mek" only refers to Kelantanese Malay ladies. You know, Mek Zainab, Mek Na, Mek Ha, Mek this and Mek that. But it all changed when I saw this one shop at Tanah Merah, Kelantan. The name of the shop is "Mek Guan" and when I went in, the owner is a Chinese lady.

My son, Iman

My wife and I always teach my eldest son, Iman, who is going to be four years old end of this coming May the rules of the traffic light. Red means "stop", yellow means "ready to stop" and green means "go". So, whenever we reach traffic lights, we always ask him about the rules and now he can tell us what each colour means. I am proud of my son but I never thought his cleverness will be used against me. Today as I was rushing to send him to his Kumon class, I had intentionally jumped the traffic light. As the traffic light turned yellow, I sped my car and by the time I passed the traffic light, it had turned red. Suddenly my son asked me, "Papa, red kenapa Papa tak berhenti?". Ooopss, what should I say? Caught red handed.

Well, it is so true as in the tv commercial on road safety, "even kids know (the traffic rule)".

Show good example to our children. Lead by example. Walk the talk...:-)

Boss' rule

Rule No. 1 - Your boss is always right
Rule No. 2 - If your boss is wrong, go back to rule no. 1

Do they dare to speak up the truth???

If you remember, in my previous posting on my analysis on the post election, I did mention on our political scenario whereby even if our political leaders do not agree with their President, they will not dare to speak up. The reason, as I said in that posting was, it will mark the end of their political career. Then, they will walk alone.

This is a syndrome, which is unhealthy and the effect can be a disaster for things can go wrong unnoticed or if noticed, they will pretend not to notice it. I am not talking about Pak Lah's administation only. It happened during Tun's time and it may happen in the future if we do not change our mindset.

Put it this way...is the President untouchable and undisposable? Is the President perfect? Is it not that nobody is perfect? Is the President unable to make any mistake? Or if the President make a mistake, is the President cannot be corrected?

Let us see what happened to Tun Mahathir. When he was a PM, nobody in his cabinet dare to speak against him openly. Whatever Tun said, his Ministers stood by him. However, after he stepped down, he is vulnerable. Some of Tun's subordinate when he was the PM had the courage to speak up and go against their used-to-be mentor in any issue simply because Tun has no more power to decide on their political career. Look at Nazri Aziz on how he condemned Tun and defended Pak Lah. Look also at Hishammuddin and Rafidah Aziz. I can say for sure people like Nazri Aziz can condemn Pak Lah after Pak Lah steps down, if he (Nazri) remains in the cabinet. It seems that to be a politician in Malaysia, you need to be a kaki bodek as well.

Going back to the issue of perfect President, I would like to bring to your attention to one incident where Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was corrected by Allah. This is mentioned in Holy Qur'an when Allah said "abasa watawalla, anja ahul a'ma" which means that "he (Muhammad) had turned his face against a blind man when the blind man came to him (Muhammad). This Quranic verse was a caution from Allah to the Prophet on how he (Prophet) treated the blind man. See, even the Prophet Muhammad, someone who is guaranteed paradise, stood to be corrected. What more people like us? So, is the President perfect and stand not to be corected? The answer is a "no no".

Now it happen in Pak Lah's time. Datuk Mukhriz, the youngest son of Tun Mahathir has sent a letter to Pak Lah, the PM of Malaysia and the President of UMNO and BN to step down and to take full responsibility on BN's dismal performance. The letter was sent to Pak Lah one day after Mukhriz has stated his full support on Pak Lah's administration. It creates a big hu ha among the UMNO leaders, especially those "yes man" and kaki bodek. I read in the Utusan online on how Penang UMNO asked Hishammudin Tun Hussein to fire Mukhriz and also the call from Selangor UMNO youth for an action to be taken by Hishammuddin. They also said that Mukhriz was rude in making the call. Well, sad to note that Mukhriz is alone in this matter, though, there may be other BN leaders who are in agreement with Mukhriz but dare not to speak up.

It was also commented that Mukhriz was not firm in his stance in this matter, as one day before making the call, he has expressed his support to Pak Lah. Well, it seems that he could not make up his mind properly. What different is it with Pak Lah???Remember when Pak Lah had told reporters on the 12/3/2008 that Parliament would not be dissolve on 13/3/2008 and later on 13/3/2008, he dissolved the Parliament. What is the different between Pak Lah and Mukhriz in this context? No different isn't it? But any BN or UMNO leaders, to be specific, condemned Pak Lah for that? I have already given you the answer.

Can UMNO and PAS work together?

After the dismal performance of BN in the just concluded general election last week, various parties have asked other parties to take full responsibility. There are statements made by various quarters that can spark the racial disharmony in Malaysia and disunited among BN coalition.

The annoucement by Penang government to scrap the NEP was taken as an attempt to keep on marginalise the Malays. Well, Malay marginalisation has been there in Penang, even during BN's administration in the state. Look at who occupied most part of Georgetown? Hardly you can see Penang Malays own a high end apartment or a double storey houses. Most of the Malays are living in the suburban area like Balik Pulau as well as in the mainland. So, when we talk about Malays being marginalised in Penang under the DAP administration, it is nothing new to me. The abolishment of NEP is just make the marginalisation worst and more obvious.

So, with the DAP making its presence felt in the Malaysian politics especially in Penang and Perak, I believe if no proactive action taken by Malay leaders, Malays' future is in danger and with no surprise, Malaysia will be the next Singapore with Malays become minority in trm of power though majority in term of population. It must be noted that even within BN coalition, they are not that happy among each other. An UMNO leader made a statement that MIC should not be given any ministerial post due to their poor performance in the general election. Well, I would say that all three main component parties in BN had a poor performance in the election. So, to just say that this political party or that party alone had been performing poorly could ony make things worst. It is like putting salt in the wound. For BN generaly and UMNO specifically, this is not the right time to point finger and to blame each other. They should be more focus and move on from now. To me, from the way I look at it, if DAP can prove to the Penangites (I mean the Chinese) that they can really admnister the state, I am not surprised to see that in the next general election, Chinese votes will go to DAP instead of MCA and Gerakan. Why not? Under BN coalition, MCA is not that great after all. They always have UMNO above them while for DAP they are on their own. So, what hapen then if the Chinese united under one roof i.e. DAP? What is going to happen to the Malays?

At the moment, Malays are being represented by three main political parties i.e. UMNO, PAS and PKR. While UMNO is fighting and protecting for the Malays (though some quarters doubt so), PAS is fighting for Islamic State, frankly speaking I do not see what PKR is fighting for except for Anwar Ibrahim. After all, that was the reason PKR was established.

If Malays can not be united because of different political agenda and remained disunited under three political parties, I do not see why Malays can still have the upperhand over other races in the future though Malays will still form the majority race in Malaysia. So, what's next?

For the interest of the Malays in Malaysia, I strongly believe that it is high time for the Malays political parties to sit together and see what best they can do to keep on protect the interest of the Malays? To me, they need to compromise on certain things and start to work together to make the Malays stronger. After all, united we stand.

I also believe the cause that PAS and UMNO are fighting for can still be achieved if they can compromise on certain things and put the Malays interest as their main agenda and put aside their ego. This I believe, while UMNO is fighting for development of the nation, it can still be done in Islamic way and making Malaysia a real Islamic country. When I said Islamic way, of course, I am not referring to Islam Hadhari. I mean the real Islam. There is a hadith from Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) which means: "Work for your worldly as if you are going to live forever and work for your hereater as if you are going to die tomorrow". This hadith is best to describe what I have in my mind while writing this article. The hadith illustrates the importance of having the worldly development without neglecting the Islamic value. In another hadith, the Prophet (pbuh) said (meaning): "It is not the best among you those who leave their world life while for the hereafter and those who leave the hereafter for their world life". So, do not you think that PAS and UMNO can best work together for Islam and Malays? PAS leaders must understand that they are highly unlikely can succeed in establishing the Islamic country. As for UMNO, they are fully aware that they are not that Islamic as what they claim all this while. So, again, I strongly believe that by combining into one party, UMNO and PAS can reach their agenda together while keeping the Malays interest intact. But of course, in doing so, they need to compromise on certain things. I think UMNO and PAS, they compliment each other.

As for PKR, I think we still need a Malay opposition party to ensure check and balance. If they do not change their cause of fighting, I do not see the relevancy of PKR in Malaysia political arena especially for Malays.

Having said all of the above, I am not saying that UMNO and PAS should be united and neglecting other BN coalition such as MCA, MIC, etc, etc. After all, we are living in a multi racial country. So, definitely we need to help each other and work together. So, what I am suggesting here is for UMNO and PAS to joint force under one name and at the same time work together with MCA and MIC and other BN coalition parties to form a more stabilised and successful Malaysia.

This is my two sen thought.

Wisdom behind the BN's dismal performance

I always believe in whatever happened, good or bad, whether somthing that we like or otherwise, there is always a wisdom behind it.

The wisdom for UMNO is that they should wake up and realise that they have diverted from their path...and now is the time for them to return to where they used to start, and in doing so, of course without KJ. They will never be able to find where they started if they do it with KJ. After all, KJ was not even born when UMNO was formed

As for the Indian Community, the dismal performance of the biggest Indian party, MIC has at least brought four leaders, who previously could not see each other eye-to-eye to unity. They are Kayveas, Subramaniam (former Deputy President of MIC), MG Pandithan and of course Samy Vellu. Well, actully it was Samy who could not see the other three eye-to-eye and he liked to have an open war with them while the other three, I do not think they have problem against each other. Thier readiness to unite is evidenced in today's The Star report, and I quoted verbatimly what Samy said: -

"I have already had discussions with Subramaniam and PPP president Datuk M. Kayveas and will have similar discussions with IPF president Tan Sri M.G. Pandithan."

Post election analysis

A lot have been said about the aftermath of the 12th general election. People have came out with various theory as to why BN suffered such a big losses, the worst ever in the coalition’s history since its formation prior to Independence Day. Even on Monday, like in any other places, in my office, we were talking about this. While we were talking on serious note about the result, there were also few jokes made to make us feel better. Well, after all, the result shocked everybody including the opposition. While the BN coalition did not expect to suffer such big losses, the opposition on the other hand did not expect to enjoy such big victories. Before election, BN was so confident is wresting Kelantan from PAS. That was pre-election. However, post-election, not only BN failed to wrest Kelantan from PAS, they also lost Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur for that matter to opposition. Well, I do not think I have to touch much on that, as it is a judicial notice (it goes without saying).

Like anyone else, I have also been coming up with my own theory as to why the election results came out in the most unexpected manner. I have been thinking about this since Saturday night but because so many things that came to my mind, I just do not know where to start. So, finally, I made up my mind and these are, for me, the contributing factors that led to the dismal performance of BN during the 12th general election.

A lot of people said that Malaysians have spoken. Yes, I do agree but why Malaysians spoken in that manner. I personally do not think that it is because majority Malaysians supports the opposition but rather majority Malaysians was unhappy with Pak Lah’s government. So, at the end, they used their voting power to wake Pak Lah up. So, it is not that they want to give their votes to the opposition but they do not want their vote to go to BN. What choice do they have? Vote for the opposition. I think the current situation is not really that bad for BN to restore the rakyat confidence in them. They just need to buck up and show to the rakyat that BN is really care for them. BN needs to really listen to the rakyat’s voice, which has been unheard for the past four years. If they can do that for the next four years, I do not see why they can’t repossess the five states plus one FT from the opposition in the next coming general election. It is different if the rakyat really support the opposition. Then, BN has an uphill task to do, as not only they need to prove their relevance in Malaysia but also they need to create unhappiness among the rakyat towards the opposition, which for all intent and purposes, is actually not within their control.

What are then the factors that cause unhappiness among the rakyat towards BN, their government for the past 51 years? There are a lot and among those: -

KJ Factor
This, to me is the most contributing factors. When Pak Lah took over from Tun Mahathir, the rakyat regarded him as Mr. Nice Guy and with his clean image he managed to lead BN to the most successful victory for BN in the 11th general election. The best ever, since the formation of the coalition more than 50 years ago. However, people started to talk about him (not in a positive manner) when KJ was made popular by being elected as the No. 2 in UMNO youth movement. Though Pak Lah and KJ said that it was the grassroots who wanted KJ to be the No. 2, it is not easy to fool the rakyat. We all know nobody dares to tell Pak Lah that they do not want KJ, as by doing so, it would mean the end of their political career. So, it is actually Pak Lah who is supposed to tell KJ not to contest for the No. 2 post. Despite that, Pak Lah did nothing. Who was KJ before Pak Lah became our PM? I did not know KJ then and I believe a lot of people out there were in the same boat with me. Suddenly everybody wants KJ. Don’t you think it is weird? In politics, especially in Malaysia, the party leaders have to show support of what their president is doing, whether it is the right or wrong thing to do. No one dares to go against their leaders. Not even Anwar Ibrahim when he was the DPM (only now that he makes the noise). From that moment (KJ became No. 2 in UMNO youth wing), rakyat’s confidence towards Pak Lah has started to erode, as rakyat believe that KJ is the de facto PM of Malaysia. A lot of people have been talking about this and Pak Lah knew it. But he lets his son in law to remain to be seen to be in power. So, who’s fault? In fact, Pak Lah made another blunder when KJ was allowed to contest in Rembau. What’s wrong with the then incumbent? After all, the then incumbent for Rembau Parliament, Datuk Firdaus Mohd Rom Harun won with a huge majority of 18,656 votes in 2004. The reason given was because KJ is No. 2 in UMNO youth wing. Do you think rakyat believe in that? Or is it the personal request from KJ or the instruction from Pak Lah? I bet the rakyat would believe the latter than the former. After all, if we look at KJ’s majority, which was ONLY 5,746 votes as compared to the then incumbent who recorded 18,656 mojority, it is a very clear message to KJ and Pak Lah that KJ is actually not welcomed in Rembau. The rakyat does not want KJ. Full stop.

With such big losses for BN, Pak Lah said he has learnt the lesson. However, to me, that is not the case if Pak Lah appointed KJ into his cabinet whether as full ministers or otherwise. He will make another blunder and we, as the rakyat needs to put a stop to this practice and in the end, the rakyat will suffer (for choosing the opposition). To have KJ in Pak Lah’s cabinet is a, to borrow the words of Chandra Muzaffar, an unmitigating disaster for Malaysia.

2004 Factor
After recording the biggest win ever for BN in 2004, the BN government proudly said that there were given big mandate by the rakyat. To certain extent, I do agree with the statement. However, with the big mandate from the rakyat, Pak Lah’s government seems to be arrogance in one way or another. They got distracted with such a big mandate. They thought they can do whatever they wanted to do. They heard what the rakyat said but they never listen.

Look at how Nazri Aziz spoken. Most of the times, he talked rubbish in his arrogance manner and there is nothing Pak Lah did about it. He was allowed to keep on talking. The same goes to the untouchable but in the end, disposable Uncle Sam (Samy Vellu). Last but not least, KJ of course. He looks arrogance when he talks. Not to forget is Khir Toyo. Look at how he handled the environment issue in Selangor. Look also at how he handled the Dto’ Zakaria’s case. Both were badly handled. But who could correct him? No one.

They must remember that they were actually appointed by the rakyat. They knew this but the pretend not to be aware about it. They do not listen to rakyat. They only listen to their own instinct and greed. In the end, what choice do they give to the rakyat, other than to vote them out?

Talking about the arrogance of BN leaders, this was further proven when some of them like Uncle Sam and Khir Toyo (I hope I spell his father’s name correctly…did I leave the letter L”?) lost in the election. They were very frustrated. They were the sore losers. They were so arrogant. They can’t accept the defeat. They can’t accept democracy though they have been upholding the system before. In the same note, I must say that I respect Dr. Koh Tsu Koon and Dr Awang Adek, who conceded the losses in the most respected way.

Hindraf Factor
The illegal Hindraf rally caused a big blow to MIC directly and BN indirectly. The plight of the Indians through Hindraf shows that MIC and the government have not done enough for the Indian community. Whether it is true or not, that is different issue. When people are not happy with BN leadership on many issues, they would be easily influenced to believe anything that is against the government and that is actually happen in Hindraf case. People are not happy with BN and suddenly Hindraf came into the picture with a very interesting message, what do you think the Indian community will do? After all, they also were not happy with Uncle Sam (though Uncle Sam always said that the Indian community is with the MIC…I tell you that is a bluff).

Samy Velly has been at the helm for the past 30 years or may be close to it, which means almost half of his age. Even if you have done much for the community, somehow or rather people will get bored with you. Further, the way he speaks…oh my God!!! So arrogance and untouchable but in the end disposable. Anybody goes against him will feel the pain. He thought he was so powerful. But he is not. A lot of people told him to step down but he refused as he claimed that the Indian community still want him to lead them without him knowing that most if not every Indian and Malaysian wants him to give way to other leaders. So, when he refused to step down, people use their voting power to let him go. Not only him but other MIC leaders as well. After all, that was his own wish i.e. to step down when the Indian community want him to step down. It is just that he stepped down in the most ungraceful manner.

Dr. M Factor
I must admit that though he is no longer in power, his influence is till there. Everywhere. People are still listening to him. So, when Dr. M attacked Pak Lah on the latter’s administration and the involvement of KJ, people tend to believe Dr. M than Pak Lah because if we were to compare between the two of them, I would say that Dr. M’s credibility as a leader is far above Pak Lah’s. While it is not fair to compare Pak Lah with his predecessor, but people will still do that.

So, when rakyat listen more to what Tun said, their confidence in Pak Lah as their leader, which has eroded became worst.

Candidacy Factor
It is another big hu ha for BN in naming their candidates. Look at what happened in Perlis. When rumours spread out that Shahidan will not be the next MB for Perlis, BN supporters started to torn down BN’s flags and sprayed Pak Lah’s posters in red paint.

Rakyat are not happy with certain candidates. Kayveas, for example, he was asked by either MCA or Gerakan, I can’t remember, to return the seat to them and asked Kayveas to contest somewhere. But Kayveas insisted to contest in Taiping and Pak Lah allowed it to happen though the supporters of the party asking for the return of the seat had vowed to go against Kayveas. So, I do not really surprise when Kayveas lost his seat.

A lot of seats, be it state or parliament, we could see father gave way to their children. Lim Keng Yeik gave way to Si Pin, Chua Soi Lek gave way to his son, Dato’ Zakaria of Port Klang (arwah) gave way to his daughter in law and few others. Except for Chua Soi Lek’s son who won the election (because he contested in Johor), the other two lost their election. The way they did it looks as if there was no other suitable or more credible candidate to contest other then their children. They wanted to create legacy and people are not happy. Look at What Dato’ Zakaria did. He submitted his name for Port Klang, followed by his son and daughter in law as the substitute candidates. In the end, his daughter in law, Roslinda was nominated. It was a clear cut legacy. If he was not selected, then he will make sure his son gets it and if his son does not, his daughter in law then. And it works. But in the end, she lost in her first bid. She may be a good candidate but people looked at it in different way.

On another note, the naming of Tengku Adenan as candidate to contest in Putrajaya also, I think is a big blow to BN. Whether he is clean or not is not the issue but as I said earlier, he needs to be seen as clean. His name was implicated in Lingam’s inquiry on the appointment of judges. His answers during the proceeding were far from convincing. Even I think my ten years old nephew can give better answers. And yet he was nominated. Though he won in Putrajaya, the effect can be somewhere else.

Also the nomination of KJ, as I discussed earlier.

The rakyat’s unhappiness on the candidacy has led them to give their vote to the opposition.

Islam Hadhari Factor
What is Islam Hadhari? I do not know. I came from Islamic school and based o what I studied, there is only one Islam, the one that was brought by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). BN leaders have been talking about Islam Hadhari but I bet, if we were to ask any ministers about Islam Hadhari, most if not all of them cannot talk on the subject matter. If they tak, they are actually bluffing. After all, they are politicians. That is their specialty.

What difference Islam n Malaysia per and post Islam Hadhari. I would say, apart from the perkampungan Hadhari, there is none. So, Pak Lah is using the Islam Hadhari concept to show his Islamic image. At first people do believe in him. That belief and trust then started to erode. A very simple question for something very basic in Islam. How many of the muslim ministers’ wife are wearing tudung? Not only they do not wear tudung, there are some or at least one, who always berkemban. Is that hadhari? I mean, if they cannot control their wife for the basic thing in Islam, forget about Islam Hadhari. After all, what is Islam Hadhari?

Other Factors
Abuse of power among BN leaders. Again, the most notorious one is the case of Dato’ Zakaria. Remember of his mansion? Remember of him not paying his taxes to local authority for ten years? Remember of the court case against him by the Company Commission, which was later withdrawn? Remember of his illegal sate stall? The best part was he escaped.

Remember the then Jasin MP who fought for his own cause in Parliament? He was then known as “close one eye MP”. Simply because he gave unlawful instruction, which amounted to abuse of power to the customs and excise department. He escaped.

EC Factors
Remember the two blunders by EC just before the election? I mean the indelible ink and the stamping issues? People has not only lost confidence in the EC, but it can also be seen as the dirty tactics employed by BN to win the election in the dirty way.

There are a lot of factors that contributed to the worst performance for BN in Malaysia’s election history. In 1999, there was one major issue i.e. the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim. People were so angry with Dr. But then BN still managed to win 2/3 majority. This year, there were no really major issues but the so called not major issues when combined together is actually bigger than the one that BN had in 1999

So for Pak Lah, it is either he steps down or remain in power and listen…I mean really listen to the rakyat. If he cannot do any one of those, believe me, BN will disappear from local politics in the next coming general election. Pak La said that his cabinet will be the rakyat’s cabinet. Let me tell you, rakyat’s cabinet is a cabinet without KJ, not even his influence.

Let us see the new cabinet line up, where it is really what the rakyat want?

Don't be too skeptical

With the then opposition is now ruling five states, a lot of people are talking about their capability to deliver what they promised the rakyat in their manifesto. The question is whether they can deliver or not? Well, for me it is too early to talk about that. Why don't we given them times to deliver their promises. Then only we judge them. Even for BN, I do not think that they have fully delivered what they have promised in the 11th general election. Came the 12th general election, there are projects that are still on going. May be some of us might say, "hey! it is on going project, which meanse BN has kept to its promises". To me that is not the case, as any project has the prospect of being abandoned at any time and at any stage. So, until and unless the projects have completed, BN cannot be said to have fulfilled their promises made in 2004 general election. So, we need to be fair to both parties in evaluating and assessing their performances.

Let us not be skeptical with the new government in Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Kelatan. Let the time decide.

p/s: Can't wait to see Khir Toyo being the opposition leader...hahaha

Of anger and silent

"Anger" not necessarily means "against" and "silent" not necessarily means "for"

Do it right

Are you ready to vote? Have you made up your mind? If you are still undecisive, never mind, do not rush, you have until 5.00 pm tomoroow to cast your vote. While it is our responsibility to vote, do vote wisely. Put aside your anger or whatever ill feelings that you have. Go to the polling station in clear and peaceful mind. Make sure that the decision that you make will not cause you any regret, at least for the next four years.

SELAMAT MENGUNDI

Right or Wrong?

In Islam, politics and religion is not separated. Politics is part of Islam. That is the difference between Islam and secular as the latter separates religion from politics.

Since Islam and politics is not separated, does it mean we can use masjid, especially druing friday sermon to campaign for election? While I agree that politics is part of Islam, I do not quite agree if masjid especially friday sermon is used as a forum to campaign, as more often than not, when we campign, we tend to talk bad about others. Don't get me wrong. I am not totally against it as long as they talk on purely religious issues.

So, to certain extend, I personally do agree with Najib's statement comdemning PAS for using the masjid especially during friday sermon to campaign.

That notwithstanding, while I think it is not religously right to campaign during friday sermon, I also think that it is morally wrong for BN to use the mass media like television and newspaper to do their campaign. This is totally not fair to the opposition, as the opposition does not have access to these mass media. BN is at full advantage by using the mass media, as they can easily reach the Malaysians by using the media.

So, I think BN, in condemning PAS for campagning in masjid, I regard it as "ketam mengajar anaknya berjalan" because BN is not competent to speak about it.

Sing different song for the same issue

Different treatment for the same issue. That is how I sum up the two reports by The Star on the way two candidates carried out their campaign. One was from DAP while the other from MIC.

These two candidates were reportedly resorted to standing at the junction near the traffic light while waving at the motorists. While the act of the DAP man was described as "extreme tactics", the same act done by the MIC man was described as "bizarre campaign style". If you were to read the full reports by The Star (the DAP on 27/2/2008 and the MIC on 6/3/2008) you can see different impression were given to both candidates. And of course I am talking about positive impression about MIC and adverse impression on the DAP.

While I am neither the supporter of MIC nor DAP, I think our mass media should give a fair and equal treatment to all parties contesting in the general election. I mean, tell the truth!!!

Do they Walk the Talk or they don't?

During election campaign, a lot of candidates used, what they called it, character assasination (serangan peribadi). Well, this bad attitute is always associated with the opposition. Pak Lah and many top BN leaders always condemned this personal attacks and always advise their own people not to indulge to such style. More often than not, they proudly said that it is not their (BN) style to resort to such tactics and BN candidates won't do such thing.

While to certain extent I personally agree that candidates should not resort to personal attacks, on the other hand, we as the rakyat definitely need to know if there is immoral candidates contesting in the general election, as we do not want an immoral person to lead us. That was what Dr. M did when he expelled Anwar Ibrahim for alleged engagement in immoral activities (though ANwar was later freed of those charges by the Federal @ apex Court). An immoral person should not be our leader. After all, we need to be led by example. So, when a fact is presented to us about the immoral activities of certain candidates, I do not think that it amounts to character assasination. So, to me if you want to talk about other candidates' personal life, make sure it is fact and not a slander. It is a personal attack when it is a slander and it is information when it is a fact.

Going back to what Pak Lah and other BN leaders said about character assasination, I would like to bring you to what Khairy Jamaluddin (KJ), Pak Lah's blue eyed boy cum son-in-law said during his campaign. I have watched and listen to the video clip and to my surprise KJ who is the one that supposed to listen to Pak Lah's advice, his own father-in-law had lauched a personal attack on Anwar Ibrahim. In one of his campaigns, KJ amongst other had stated that the opposition always resorted to muta'ah (contract marriage). They would marry before election and divorce thereafter. To be accurate, this is what KJ said:

"dia (those engage in muta'ah marriage) kawin satu malam, dia main malam tu, esok hari dia cerai untuk menghalalkan maksiat. Parti pembangkang ini, dia kawin muta'ah. Dia kawin, PAS main DAP ikut kiri, DAP main PAS ikut kanan, ANWAR MAIN DUA-DUA IKUT BELAKANG, lepas tu bila kalah, dia cerai..."

Look at the one that I bold. Do not you think that it is a personal attack? Not only a personal attack, it was also amounted to a libel and contempt of court, as the Federal Court had freed Anwar from sodomy charges. So, who is KJ to tell otherwise? Well, what BN leaders including KJ's very own father-in-law and his deputy has got to say about this? Do you think that the BN leaders including Najib and Pak Lah dares to tell KJ that what he said was, not only factually wrong, but it was also go against the spirit of BN. I bet no one dares. C'on! After all, we are talking about KJ here. Understood.

So, BN leaders, do they walk the talk? Not at all!!!
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You may watch the clip by clicking at the video bar with KJ's image

Development Model

I read a news report in Utusan online just now about Datuk Seri Najib's statement on the development issue in Kelantan.

In a statement made in Marang today, Najib was quoted as saying that BN will use Terengganu as the model to develop Kelantan, if BN is given the power to do so. This is because, within the last four years, after BN took over from PAS, BN has brought in development to Terengganu as opposed to Kelantan, which was under the administration of PAS for the past 18 years, has seen no development.

I must admit that I have not been to Terengganu since BN took over from PAS in 2004. Other than what was reported in TV and newspaper, I do not know how develop Terengganu is? But with due respect to our DPM, I was in Terenggau for four years. I studied there. When I first came to Kuala Terengganu in 1995, I was so shocked that the "petroleum" state was just like Melaka in the ealy 80's. You get what I mean? I would say, in term of development in 1995, they were far behind. And that, I am talking about Terengganu while they were under the administration of BN and Tan Seri Wan Mokhtar Ahmad was the then Menteri Besar. How long was BN in power in Terengganu before PAS took over in 1999? If BN could not bring the development in Terengganu before 1999, what do they expect the PAS government to do in just four years in power? Well, I am not speaking on behalf of PAS but I am annoyed with this type of comparison. It is like comparing our petrol price with Singapore while converting Singapore Dollar to Ringgit Malaysia. If you want to compare, do it genuinely. Do not simply look at the development in the last four years. Look also at the "development" before 1999. Then only you are justified to comment.

After all, BN is so proud in talking about the development they brought in Malaysia. While we can see the worldly development, what are the effort made by the Hadhari government in preparing Malaysian for the hereafter?

Another 11th Hour Decision

Again, Election Commission (EC) made a u-turn to their decision. This time, the decision made with regard to the use of indelible ink, which, earlier on the EC said that the use of the ink could prevent phantom voters i.e. to avoid voters from voting for more than one time. The cost for the said ink, which was imported from India was reported to be RM2.4million. The decision was made yesterday as a result from four police reports lodged claiming that there are attempts to sabotage the using of the ink on the voters especially those in the rural area. There are possibility that some voters may be deprived of their constitutional rights to vote, as it is said that irresponsible parties will tell the rural voters that they have to put the ink on their finger before voting.

To certain extend, after reading the explanation by the EC on their latest "u-turn" decision in the newspaper, I personally agree with the steps taken by the EC. If the use of indelible ink can cause some voters being denied their constitutional right to vote, by all means, the usage of the ink should not take place.

However, there are certain issues that made me puzzle on the EC's decision to introduce the usage of the indelible ink, which caused the country around RM2.4million and of course by using the tax payers' money).

First-According to the Attorney General, for the ink to be used, Article 119 of the Federal Constitution must be amended. Article 119 of the Constitution talks about qualification of electors/voters. However, until the dissolution of Parliament on 13/2/2008, Article 119 has not been amended, thus legally speaking, the usage of the indelible ink on the polling day on 8/3/2008 is unconctitutional and have no legal effect. In other words, it simply means EC can't use the ink on 8/3/2008. To what extent the unconstitutonality of the usage of ink will affect the validity of the election. Well, that needs a very thorough discussion, which I am not going to discuss here and the Court is the best forum to highlight the issue but one of the possibilities is that it can nullify the election.

Second-Perlis CID chief Supt Mat Nassir Hussein was reported to have said that before the Parliament was dissolved on 13/2/2008, two police reports were lodged at Padang Besar and Mata Ayer police station with regard to some people purchasing the ink from neighbouring country (the very same reason given for not using the ink) and the same to be used for sabotaging purposes. The question is, if that is really the reason for not using the ink on the polling day, why didn't the EC made such decision even before the Parliament was dissolved i.e. after the two police reports lodged in Perlis? Why do they have to wait until yesterday? Why do they need to wait until four police reports to be lodged? What is special about number four? From feng shui point of view, I do not think it brings any luck. I think, we as the tax payers, whose money of RM2.4million was wasted on something "useless" have every right to know and the EC owes us a plausible explanation and not something like melepaskan batuk ditangga.

Linking the statement by the AG and the Perlis CID, it made me now wonder, is it really the "sabotage" being the cause of such "u-turn" decision or because of its constitutionality issue that caused such decision to be made? I strongly believe it is the latter rather than the earlier but to make it sounds nicer and to save face (after making blunder on the issue of stamping of statutory declaration), the EC has to use the "sabotage" issue as an "excuse" for the second "blunder". This is my theory.

With this, the people in powe in EC has lost credibility thus cauding the EC to lose its credibility as well. Two blunders within the span of two weeks. What else? We have another three days before Malaysians select the next government and we simply can't afford to have another blunder from the EC. As I put in my earlier posting, w have had enough with the Lingam Tape Inquiry and please do not make us a laughing stock.

Perhaps, the EC Chairman and those responsbile for the two blunders (or may be more to come in the next few days) should really consider their position in the EC soon after the election.

Who to listen to if we want to know the truth about ourselves??

I remember a motivator (I can't remember his name) when I attended a motivation course during my school day said that, "if you want to know someting nice about yourselves, then ask your friend but if you want to know the thruth about yourselves, then ask your enemy".

Think about it.

Good or bad speaker

I was in a seminar earlier today. There various issues presented by a number of speakers. All of the topics presented interest me. However, that alone is not good enough to keep me awake, as there was one speaker who delivered his speech on a very interesting topic but in a very boring way. I just can't help myself from being sleepy (ended up sitting outside the ballroom).

That made me think of a good and a bad (not so good) speaker. While some people said that public speaking is a gift, there are also some people that said that it is actually a skill that can be acquired. Well, after all practice makes perfect.

While I would agree with the second proposition, I do not agree that everybody can, through a constant practice, become a good speaker. Some people are simply born not to be a speaker, at least.

What then constitute a good speaker? Is it someone who is able to deliver topic with substance while doing it in a very attractive manner? or someone who does not know the substance of his topic but can deliver his speech in a very attractive manner? or someone who knows the substance but deliver it in a boring way?

Well, I would say that, in giving our speech, the bottom line is whether the message that we want to deliver reaches the audience. If we are able to do that,then we are a good speaker. Otherwise we are not or may be not yet a good speaker.

Reasons and impact of not voting

During every election, be it general or by-election, most of the times, if not every time, we can see less than 100% voters’ turnout to cast their votes. Have we ever wondered why? Well, at least for sure I know one of the reasons, i.e. those people who have this in their mind-what difference do I make with my one vote? This is because I was one of those. I had that in mind way back in 1999 (well, I was 23 then).

Coming this 12th general election, a lot of efforts have been made by the parties contesting in the election to ensure that people go out to cast their votes (with the hope that people will vote their party). There are advertisements in electronic media as well as the public places like the LRT stations to encourage people to cast their votes, providing buses for the people to go back to their hometown to cast their votes, paying petrol and toll money for the same reason (I do not know how far this is true but I was told it happen), etc, etc.

For the last few weeks, I have had conversation with few people about election, which some of them told me that they are not going to exercise their once-in-four-year right to determine the next government to run the country. There are various reasons for that.

One of my friends told me that he is not going back to his hometown to vote, as it is not worth the expenses to be incurred i.e. toll and petrol unless any party is willing to give him money. Upfront, I would say that this is not a healthy practice but do I totally blame my friend? Partly yes, partly no. Assuming that what I was told (about giving money for toll and petrol) is true, then it is the parties) that providing such “services” is to be faulted. Casting vote should be made voluntary and sincere. However, once we make an offer of giving money for people to vote, there is no more voluntary and sincerity in voting. I would say that it amounts to vote buying or should I say money politics? While money politics normally refers to individual buying vote for himself, are we to extend the definition of money politics into political party? I do not see any difference between an individual and a political party and as such, such definition of money politics should also be extended to political party as well. But then, who is to take action against the political party? The answer is no one will.

The question is, is it legally and morally right for the voters to be paid to do what they are obliged to do? Assuming of a police officer who is supposed to issue traffic summon to a driver and the driver, to avoid from getting the summon, gave money to the police officer. Straightaway, we would think of bribery. If you have that in mind, you are definitely right.

Now, we, as the Malaysian citizen, our duty are to cast vote during election. So, if certain party pay us in order for us to vote (what we are obliged to do) or provide some sort of “assistance” for that matter, is there any difference with the case of the police officer above? I do not see any. So, in my humble opinion, such practice is not only legally wrong, as it tantamounts to corruption, but t is also morally wrong, as we should carry out our rsponsibilities wholeheartedly and honestly and with sincerity. So, in the future, if such practice continue to happen, I won’t be surprise if there many more cases of corruption happening in our society.

Another friend of mine told me that he is not going to vote, as the candidates in his place are not from the political party that he supports. Casting our vote is not only about voting for the party that we support. While that is the main priority, casting vote, in that situation can also be done by ensuring that the party/candidate that we like the least or we don’t like or we hate the most, losses in the election. If we can’t help our party to win, on the same note, we can “help” our opponent to lose. To borrow the words of my colleague-"Your enemy’s enemy is your friend".

Few of the people that I spoken to, told me of the most common reason i.e. what difference will they make with their one vote? Believe me folk, every vote counts. While it is not commonly happen in Malaysia (majority by one vote), believe me it can happen and it was so close to happen in the 11th general election in 2004 at DUN Kemuning, Kelantan whereby PAS’ candidate, Zakaria bin Yaacob, a.k.a Cikgu Ya (6078 votes) won the state seat by majority of TWO (2) votes only over BN’s candidate Dato’ Wan Mohamad Zin Bin Mat Amin (6076 votes). If we can still remember, in the 11th general election, PAS won in Kelantan by the difference of TWO (2) seats (that was before the Pengkalan Pasir by-election). After the by-election, the state seat (which was held by PAS before the by-election), changed hand to BN. With that, PAS ruled Kelantan with the advantage of only one (1) seat.

Now, imagine these two scenarios.

First, assuming three (3) of PAS voters in that state seat (who had voted) decided not to vote in the 11th general election, that would mean BN would win the seat by majority of one (1) vote. That would further mean, after the Pengkalan Pasir by-election, Kelantan would have a mix government, as PAS and BN would hold the same number of state seats. What a losses to PAS isn’t it and at least a small victory for BN?

Second, BN would win the state seats if they have another three (3) more votes but they didn’t. It could due to at least three (3) of their voters decided not to vote (as they might think what difference would their one (1) vote made?). In this situation, BN was the one who suffered the losses. If the three (3) BN voters decided to vote, they would, at least caused a mixed government to be formed and simultaneously, limited PAS’ authority in Kelantan.

So, who said that one vote does not count? From the above, we can see clearly the impact of not voting.

There are also people who do not bother about who is running the country. This group of people, I would say, live in their own circle like a Malay proverb, “seperti katak di bawah tempurung”. They are only concern about their own “world”. Who runs the country is none of their business.

So, have our EC done enough to create awareness among the rakyat on the importance for them to cast their votes for any reason whatsoever? The EC could have done enough to ask people to register as voters but not in good enough in encouraging them to vote. This function or role should not be left to the political parties contesting in the election to perform, as it may lead to money politics or better known as corruption. Political parties are interested parties while EC is independent. So, definitely EC could have done it more effectively and sincerely.

So, whatever reason that you may have not to cast your votes, put that aside, as sometimes, we need to put the country’s interesst over ours. So folk, vote!!!

For those who do not vote on 8th March, you have waived your right to criticise the next government in power at least for the next four (4) years. Shame on you!!!

How far a teacher can go to punish students?

I read a news report in Harian Metro online today about a group of six primary school students who were punished for making noise, running and fighting in the class until it disturbed other students’ concentration. The punishment was standing in the assembly field (berjemur) topless. According to the Head Master, before he imposed the punishment, he gave two options to the students: either caning or “berjemur” and all of them chose the latter.

In the report, it was also stated that a father, who coincidentally went to the school was shocked to see the students were punished in that manner (the father is the culprit who sent email to the newspaper). He said that it was an insult for the student to be punished in that manner and it does not reflect the professionalism a teacher should have. There should be more proper way of punishing but he did not give any suggestion. Perhaps, I guess, verbal warning will do for him.

With due respect, I totally disagree with him (the father). Parents like him don’t want the best for their children. Parents nowadays, I would say pamper their children too much. They send their children to school. If the teachers punish their children for doing something wrong, they will blame the teacher. Police reports against the teachers are not uncommon nowadays. But if their children do not get the good results also they will blame the teachers. But so far, no police report lodged for that matter.

I remember when I was in primary school (mid 80’s), I was once slapped twice by my Headmaster (a real slapped) simply because I was seen playing sepak takraw with my friends at the canteen during class hour. Actually, those who represented my school (including me) were given early release, as we had important match that afternoon. As it was raining and we couldn’t go back, we decided to train at the canteen and because of that, I received two slaps from my HM. Did I tell my father? No, I did not dare because I would not know what to expect if I tell my parent. Those were the days where teachers were empowered to correct the wrongdoings. But now, I think teachers are like toothless tiger. And for that I totally blame the parents (most and not all).

Last time (before my time), i knew there were parents who sent their children to school and told the teachers, "you can do anything to my son as long as you don't cause him to blind and no facture (of bones)". I will faint if there are millennium parents who will say that way.

Ikan Bakar. Simply Delicious!!!

Have you eaten ikan bakar?…I mean the real ikan bakar in Melaka, my home town…for those who have not, my advice, go and for all you know, you will get addicted…you will want to go there more and more. If Kajang is famous with its sate and Terengganu is famous with its keropok lekor, Melaka is not getting any lesser…it is famous for its ikan bakar and masak asam. Hmmm, now I am hungry.

A lot of outsiders come to Melaka to eat ikan bakar especially those from KL and Singapore. The price, I would say very reasonable, if not cheap. Imagine of fresh fish, fresh prawn, fresh squid, everything is fresh there. This is the taste that we normally won’t get though everyday we eat fish, prawn and squid.

You can have variety types of fish, various size of prawn and squid…o ya! Forget to mention, they have crab too. All that we need to do is just to choose the seafood that we want and ask the restaurateur to either grill, fry or make sambal or tomyam or anything that we want. It is like, “you name it, they have it”. It is a seafood heaven. The best of all is that you eat the ikan bakar of whatever seafood of your choice with nasi lemak…oh my God! Simply delicious. Simply irresistible.

Well! I am not really good in describing food (on how good it is but I can describe food that tastes lousy). So, reading my write up, you might not find it really interesting or worth it to go to Melaka to taste the ikan bakar but one thing I can tell you, if you find my writing on food as not interesting, it means the food is really good and if you find my writing is interesting, then the food is not good. As simple as that.

Last night, a group of five gentlemen drove all the way from KL to Melaka after work just to enjoy the freshness of ikan bakar and the prawn. It was worth a journey for all of us. It was an all-paid-for trip for me…hehehe…thanks a lot guys. Having to enjoy the seafood is one thing, having to spend time with my friends is another thing. We talked about a lot of things in the car as well as before and after we enjoy the food. But when the food was served, everybody stop talking and enjoy the food. Really, no heavy conversation. Even if we talked, it was about asking others to give us the ikan or the prawn. That’s all. There was no such prior arrangement (like no conversation while eating) but everybody understood it very well.

We reached Umbai around 7pm and we were there until about 10pm. As we were about to make our move back to KL (suddenly made us realize, ooops, we have family in KL and we need to go back, after all I have to work today), we could see a lot of cars from outside Melaka especially KL and Johor had arrived. They too, like us drove all the way from outstation to enjoy the freshness of the ikan bakar.

So, when is next?