olddog-samesame

The 2008 UPSR results were announcement on the 13 November 2008. My 12 year old daughter was one of the candidates. The atmosphere in the house over the week leading to the announcement had been one of stark contrast. The daughter was sort of laid back and nonchalant about it. There is no sign that she was exited or worried. The wife on the other hand was tense and worried sick. She complained of sleepless nights and the night before the results were announced was a nervous wreck. Technically 5As, 6As or 7As makes little difference. The student still proceeds to Form 1. So the pressure arose more from peer competition among the net-working Hockey Mums. Egos and bragging rights were more at stake than another thing else. Statistics from the previous years Lick Hung School's results indicated that the top 20% of the students would normally obtain 7As. There would be a few exceptions of course if the students occidentally screwed up one of the papers. ML was a consistent top 10 studen

The 3 days 2 night long Diwali weekend was spent in Damai Laut. The drive up along the coastal road took about 4 hours including a wrong turn towards Bagan Datuk instead of Teluk Intan. It must have been at least 10 years the last time we travelled up this route. Small towns and villages and scenery that had somewhat faded from memory slowly became familiar again. It was almost a nostalgic journey. Reached Sitiawan town around 1:30P.M. The wife was craving for a bowl of rice wine mien sein . Enquires with the few locals drew a blank. They claimed there is no stall selling the item. The sun was blazing and we were hot, tired and hungry so we did not persist and settled for some normal fare at the corner Kopitiam. The resort is located some 10km off the old trunk road leading to Pantai Remis and Taiping. The location is superb. Isolated, hidden away in the middle of no where and nestled by the sea with its own stretch of sandy beach and complete with its own 18 holes golf course. The m

Last Wednesday was J Card members’ Day in Jusco, 1 Utama. The wife took a day off and requested my company. With no meeting scheduled for that day, I obliged without realising the grave implications associated with the outing. We arrived at 1 Utama before 9:00AM. The first omen of impending disaster was the chaotic traffic congestion leading to the shopping complex - unthinkable for an early weekday morning. Circumventing the mayhem, we smartly detoured to the basement car park of the adjoining One World Hotel. Emerging from the basement we were in for another shock. The whole of 1 Utama shopping complex was packed to the rafters. One can hardly move in the sea of people. It took a few long minutes for the body and mind to adapt and adjust. There were 2 distinctive categories of shoppers on that day. The majority in the crowd were apparently seasoned shoppers. These veterans were armed to the teeth, with steely determination in their eyes they charged to the targeted aisles piling in

I am back after a 7 month long hiatus. After the high over the March 8 GE, was eagerly waiting for the next political tsunami to sweep over the country. However, the impending storm did not materialize despite the much publicized and repeated warnings. 916 came, went by and had since faded into oblivion. Looks like Plan E or is it Plan F is still brewing in the back burner. 4 November 2008

The tumultuous political storm that swept through Peninsula Malaysia on 8 March 2008 took everyone by surprise. The rumblings and undercurrents of discontentment had built up over the years. All the tell tale signs were there but no one has foreseen the devastating scale of the eruption. And then on Election Day, the voice of the Peoples’ Power came through overwhelmingly loud and clear through the ballot boxes. The Rakyat has finally awakened after 50 long years of political deceits and abuse to usher in a new exciting political era. It was unfortunate that our brethren in East Malaysia were still in their slumber. It was through their massive block of 54 seats that allowed BN to survive by the skin of their teeth. Nevertheless, 5 States fell to Barisan Rakyat. The election result could actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise. An over night change after 50 long years of a one government system might be too sudden and difficult for the people to digest. A 2-stage transition on t

For the past weeks the on going election and ceramahs has taken centre stage in the news and blogs. The last GE Ceramah that I had attended was so long ago that I cannot even remember what year it was. So when I learned of the DAP’s ceramah at neighbourhood field in USJ 12 on Saturday night, I decided to drop by to check it out. Scheduled to start at 9:00PM, the residential neighbourhood was already jam packed with cars within a radius of 2 km from the site of the event when I casually drove there at 9:05PM. After trying unsuccessfully to find a parking spot within reasonable walking distance I ended up getting the wife to drop me by the main road. The ceramahs you see on YouTube and the real live action is very different. The turn up that night was 5000-6000 strong despite not having any heavy weight speakers. The atmosphere was almost festive and the crowd feisty and responsive. The audience were aware of the current sorry state of national affairs. Malaysians are not so politically

It was announced over the news today that the 12th General Election will be held on 8th March 2008. Though an extremely important event, it does not bring forth a gush of anticipation and excitement from the people. Malaysian elections are by and large rather tame, one-sided affairs with so many restrictions on campaigning imposed by the government of the day. BN is always expected to win. The only unknown factor is the margin of the win. Even then 2/3 majority is more or less a foregone conclusion. Despite being a non-event, come polling day, whether rain or shine, I will dutifully queue up to cast my ballot. I have done the same without fail for the past 5-6 general elections after registering as a voter in Subang Jaya some 27 years ago. That was probably a mistake I did not anticipate when I registered. Subang Jaya is, has been and always will be a BN stronghold. The opposition is not likely to win in Subang Jaya for the next 30 years. The votes that I had cast for Semangat 46, PAS,

Turned 55 years old last week. There is no stopping mother time. The first thing that struck me on my birthday was I had reached my retirement age if I were to work for a firm in the private sector. I happened to be in Genting Highlands on my birthday and was taking my daughter to the Theme Park. The notice at the ticketing counter declares that anyone above 55 years old qualifies as a Senior Citizen. So the second thing that struck me was, I have officially become a Senior Citizen. I have always considered myself to be in middle age category. This honorific title that unexpectedly creeps up on me suddenly make me feels so old. I have joined the Ancient Generation category now :< So how do you celebrate a birthday with such an unwelcome and unhappy reminder. Fortunately there is an upside to it as well on such a depressing day. As a Senior Citizen, the entrance ticket to the Theme Park is at half price, which means that I pay less than my 11 year old daughter. Riding the roller coas

Made another trip to Kuala Kangsar last Friday. Put on full alert driver mode. Thought I would investigate whether I got scammed by the cops the previous week. The plan was to drive at the 110kph speed limit all the way and see whether I would be flagged down. My normal driving comfort zone (depending on the car) will be in the region of 140-160kph. Thus, it was excruciatingly tedious keeping the speed down to 110kph, esp. when even Kancils and Protons overtook me at the down hill stretches. The urge to floor the accelerator made my foot itch. It took a great deal of restraint and determination to persevere and stick to the plan right to the end. Thus, it was a major letdown when there was no road block or a single traffic cop in sight on the highway that day. All the restraints and plan were in vain. The only positive thing was, at that speed with the engine running at 2000-2500 rpm, the fuel consumption was extremely economical. The car consumed only ¾ tank of petrol for the return j