Raya eve thoughts

Raya eve, the last day of Ramadhan...most likely.

I think everyone should stop fighting and reflects on things.

We should try to see each other and seek forgiveness.

Well, of course that's just my wish. It will never happen.

The fighting will continue.

Even on Raya day, I think.

Too much bad blood already.

Never mind. It has been like that for quite a while now.

But still, I miss my friends whom I have not seen ever since the fighting started two years ago.

I'm also missing my beloved. Miss....so much.

Another sombre Raya for me, I guess.

Honestly, I don't really enjoy Raya much these days.

I will just be doing the usual obligatory rituals of wearing the baju Raya and eating and visiting relatives of my father's side of the family.

That's about it.

I'm not even going to balik kampung.

The mosque of my kampung

None of my father's family members is in Kluang anymore. All of them are now in KL.

Good also. No need to go through the horrible Raya highway jam.

Well, Raya is indeed not much of a celebration for me these days.

But that's me. I hope you all enjoy your Raya very much instead.

For today, I still have an appointment with doctor this morning.

Going in a short while.

I think I'm getting better but most of the time I still stay in bed.

I'm writing this lying on my chest in bed, actually.

After seeing the doctor, I'll be joining my father at the family house.

My mother is not around. She's busy as usual. Miss her too...so much.

No serious thoughts for today. Just want to take it easy.

I better get up now.

Need to put on a happy Raya face later for my father.

Otherwise, the old man would be sad and starts pestering me to be happy.

Always got on my nerves whenever he does that.

Okay, here's a song for Raya,

That's nice, isn't it?

Sorry ya. I don't really like the usual Raya songs.

They played them too much at shopping malls.

Whatever it is, cheers for your Raya, okay.

Italian Ducati, Malaysian Proton

Ducati is the Ferrari of motorcycles.

But I don't really care much for it, preferring the more mundane but practical Japanese of Kawasaki, Honda and Yamaha.

Still, I always have respect for the brand.

It's after all Italian.

At least that's how I always see it.

So do most other people who care about motorcycles, I think.

However, this morning I saw this story,

Harley-Davidson enters race to buy Italian rival Ducati

excerpts;

U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson is lining up a takeover bid for Italian rival Ducati, potentially bringing together two of the most famous names in motorcycling in a deal that could be worth up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.67 billion), sources told Reuters.

Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto and several buyout funds are also preparing bids for Ducati, which is being put up for sale by German carmaker Volkswagen.

So, Ducati is actually own by the Germans and about to be sold to the Americans or Indians or whomever else later.

By the way, the Indian Bajaj is the one which recently partnered Malaysian Modenas.

I think everyone knows Harley. That clunky and noisy American contraption of middle-aged men :)

Still, somehow I think Ducati will still be Italian.

I never see it as German despite all these while it's own by Volkswagen.

It still seems Italian sexy even though I prefer the technologically superior and efficient Japanese bikes.

Only a Lady Ducati can ride wearing heels like that. I know I can't.

It just feels that way.

Doesn't matter who will owns it later, the bike still feels Italian.

It's the same with Volvo being Swedish despite now it's own by China's Geely.

It just feels that way.

No one will say Volvo is Chinese, right?

Somehow, that's the way it is with other automotive brands too.

Rolls Royce and Jaguar, for instance, will always be British even if they are own by Martians.

Therefore I think, Proton which is now partnering Geely will always be Malaysian.

I don't think it will turn Chinese because of Geely's interests in it.

Proton will always be Malaysian, as far as I'm concerned, the same way Ducati being Italian despite being own by some Americans, or Indians or Nepalese or whatever.

I know, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was sad back then when the Proton-Geely partnership was announced.

That's understandable. I don't get it why some people mercilessly whacked the handsome old man because of that. They shouldn't, okay.

Dr Mahathir is the father of Proton and he wants Proton to remain totally Malaysian.

Just like a Kedahan father who wants his child to remain a Kedahan.

But the child needs to grow up and in the process he may not retain the original Kedahan ways like what the father wants.

The father may be unhappy about the changes but that's just the way things are.

It's unavoidable if the child is to grow up.

He needs to go to school and college and later on the workplace where he may learn other values than that of what he learnt as a child of Kedah.

But despite all that, I believe the child will remain a Kedahan and loves his father, no matter what.

At least that's how I feel about it. 

Okay, back to Ducati and Italy, here's a video,

See, it's still as Italian as ever.

That's all.

Ciao.

A hungry mob is an angry mob (updated)

UPDATES

Oh, okay. They have apparently just now cancelled the latest GST order.

Just received this,

Good lah.

ORIGINAL POST

All the Chinese newspapers' main frontpage story today are about the government going to start charging GST for some food items such as sweet corns, potatoes, grapes, mee hoon, kuey teow etc.

Apparently it was an "exclusive" story that they shared.

The other "mainstream" newspapers don't seem to have the story.

The Star Online was however quick to check and confirmed the Chinese newspapers story this morning,

GST on more than 60 food items from July 1

PETALING JAYA: More than 60 types of food items will have the Goods and Services Tax (GST) imposed on them starting July 1.

These include certain seafood, vegetables, fruits, tea, coffee, spices and noodles, China Press reported yesterday.

Customs Department director-general Datuk Subromaniam Tholasy confirmed the report and said a full statement would be issued today.

“It’s only a few items not consumed by the masses,” he said.

The new items that will be levied with GST include eel, swordfish and imported fruits like avocados, figs, grapes, nectarines, cherries and berries. However, vegetables such as potatoes, long beans, peas, spinach and sweet corn would also be taken off the GST zero-rated list.

Other items include bihun, kuey teow, laksa mee and coconut oil.

The Government introduced GST in April 2015 in the form of a 6% tax on goods and services. For the complete list of zero-rated goods and services, visit gst.customs.gov.my or www.federalgazette.agc.gov.my.

I'm of the opinion that the timing of this whole thing is all wrong for the BN government.

Is it really necessary to do this now?

It's near Raya la.

These kind of stories are not good to be discussed when people get together to celebrate Raya.

Can't they do it bit by bit instead so that people don't get the perception that the cost of living is getting higher without end.

And the fact that the Chinese newspapers are the ones which broke the story is even worse.

Now the mainstream media have to follow their lead.

They should have at least preempt the story by being the ones who break the story, complete with the rationale on why the move was taken.

Now the damage done already, okay.

Some may argue, that a few sen of price increase is nothing much, but for the people out there earning small salaries, it means a lot.

Higher cost of living for me is a more dangerous threat to the government than all the other issues put together.

1MDB, for instance, is to me just an issue only understood by those who know the financial world. Ordinary people like me don't really understand it.

Sometimes I feel that those who claim to know the 1MDB issue and boasting about their higher intellect are merely a bunch of show off.

I found them irritating.

Now, issue of higher cost of living is more immediate and easier to understand.

Pricier goods - you go to the grocery store and you can understand what it's all about.

Townsfolk or kampungfolk, they all can understand it.

If they are not happy about it, then the government will be in trouble.

As simple as that.

Well, I'm just stating the facts here, okay.

If the BN government don't care about it, then that's not my problem.

If they care, they better do something to manage the people's perception on this whole thing.

I know, the opposition is in a mess, but as I wrote previously, if the people get too angry, they would just show their anger without thinking of the consequences.

Orang dah geram bukan peduli apa nak jadi.

Okay, that's all.

Here's a song to go with this post,

About a friend's help and a bit on buka puasa functions

I have an appointment with a doctor later this afternoon.

This doctor is one of those expensive ones.

By right, I actually can't afford the treatment (even with my insurance) but the appointment was arranged by a rich Chinese guy who said he is paying for it.

Initially I was reluctant to take up his kind offer, but after he repeatedly said he just wants to help as a friend, then I decided to agree with it.

Felt that if I still refused, it's like not wanting to be his friend.

I actually don't really like owing anything to anybody.

My little bit of pride, that one.

See lah, if the bills turn out to be not too expensive, I'll pay for it myself.

I need the treatment because I have been suffering from my ailment for almost a month now.

The other treatments I had over the past weeks didn't seem to improve my condition.

Even though I can now actually move around quite a bit, there are still lots of pain involved.

Hopefully I will not be accused of eating dedak if the Chinese guy eventually pays for my medical bills.

He's pro-Najib but nonetheless is just a friend who wants to help me.

It doesn't make a difference to me either if he's pro-Dr Mahathir, okay.

And nope, my rich Chinese friend is not Jho Low....almost, but not him :)

No kidding, okay.

Later on, I have a buka puasa appointment which my boss wanted me to attend.

It's part of my job, actually.

The function is somewhere in downtown KL. Hopefully there will be no jam and my condition holds till then.

I planned to escape from the buka puasa function as early as possible.

Anyway, I'm not a big fan of buka puasa functions.

Always awkward, especially when bumping into people that I don't like at such functions. It could spoil my puasa mood.

Prefer having it in the comfort of home instead.

This is going to be my first buka puasa function this year. Hopefully the last one too.

Okay, need to get ready to go now.

Ciao.

Couldn't care less

Spent yesterday mostly lying down.

On drugs.

Yup, I'm still not well.

Saw some little commotions in the Wassap groups over the new 1MDB-related legal suit by US Department of Justice (DoJ).

But it was just between some pro-Najib supporters on how to deal with it.

My only input was that they shouldn't worry too much about it.

I don't think the new DoJ's suit makes any difference.

Well, it doesn't make a difference to me.

A year ago, when DoJ filed the first suit, I did three postings on that single day to get all the angles to the story.

Not this time.

I was like...Oh another one. Que serra serra.

I think most people are also like me.

Tired of the whole mess.

Even the anti-Najib crowd seems not to care too much about the new DoJ suit.

Not care as much as last year, at least.

I think most people just want to go on with life and peacefully wait for the election.

They probably have made up their mind.

They don't want to hear about anything politics too much.

It's getting really tiresome.

That's why I hope the election could be held early.

Get it over and done with.

Honestly, these days I just read news of current events.

I skip all the opinion and theory pieces.

All the whacking and counter whacking seemed stupid and a waste of time.

Tired of reading people with over-inflated ego who think they are right all the time.

I rather watch anime, actually.

A scene from Only Yesterday

Or listen to rock music.

Why can't we have rockers as leaders of our country?

I meant the clever ones la.

It would be so cool, I think.

Most rockers are cool, okay.

They are much better than politicians.

At least to me la.

In fact, this is much better to me than a political speech,

What to do, I'm like that.

Cheers and enjoy your weekend.

The sad breakdown of Singapore's first family

This is sad,

Singapore PM’s siblings say they feel threatened, have lost confidence in him

excerpts;

At the heart of the family dispute is the future of the house in which their father, Lee Kuan Yew, lived for most of his life. He was the first Prime Minister of Singapore and ruled the country for three decades.

Lee died in 2015, and according to the younger siblings wanted the home demolished rather than turned into a monument. They claim that the prime minister and his wife, Ho Ching, had opposed this wish.

The younger siblings accused the prime minister of wanting to milk Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy for their own political purposes. They said that they believed the prime minister and his wife, Ho Ching, harbour political ambitions for their son, Li Hongyi. 

All that are very unfortunate, isn't it?

I wondered but not dare to speculate what actually happened between the siblings.

It's hard for me to believe that Lee Hsien Loong is as bad as what his brother and sister said.

The guy is so nice and gentle.

Anyway, I felt that the whole matter may be too private for me to comment.

It's after all a family matter.

I actually began to admire the Lee family after learning more about them after Lee Kuan Yew's death.

Whatever it is, I hope they could resolve their family problems soon.

It's always sad to see a family breaking up.

Here's some  old posts that I did about them,

Another LKY story

A good girl 2

Singaporean rhapsody

And here's what Lee Hsien Loong said about his father after LKY passed away,

Getting angry at Nazri

Everyone seems to be angry with Tourism Minister DS Nazri Aziz.

You can read about it at Rocky's

Nazri's poor tact

I'm not angry with him though.

In fact, I almost expected him to behave that way.

He has always been like that, what.

I think he was even made a minister because he is like that.

Really.

Not at all surprising.

Nazri is simply a pugnacious man.

But such a man can be useful in certain situations.

I believe that's why he's been a minister for so long.

So, what's going to happen to him now?

I think nothing.

He will remain as he is and he will continue to behave as he is.

Of course unless PM DS Najib Razak sacks him, which I don't believe would happen.

Sack him for what?

For being rude to a state "minister"?

I don't think so.

The guy even quarrelled with the powerful Johor royalty two years ago and nothing happened.

Click on this link to read a bit about it,

Royalty in the ring

Don't tell me it's okay for Nazri to be rude with Tengku Mahkota Johor but he can't be rude with a Sarawak "minister".

Yes, this one will also blow away like last time and Nazri will go on with his merry ways.

All the angry people will cool off soon anyway.

Personally, I'm already used to Nazri's antics.

Kinda provide some humor to the political scene, don't you think?

I also find him not the worst among Najib's people.

In fact, I prefer him more than the likes of Ku Nan and Puad Zarkashi.

Really can't stand those two.

At least Nazri is relatively macho and handsome, okay.

Eh, enough lah.

Listen to this song better,

Okay, I'm going to take it easy for the rest of the day.

Not full recovered yet.

Ciao.