Dear Allah, the Most Beneficiant, the Most Merciful

My grandmother is in hospital again.

Mother and almost everyone in the family are down there in Singapore.

I can't be there yet as I got things to do here.

Mother said it's okay as my grandmother's condition was not serious.

Still I worry.

Feeling so helpless because I can't really do anything about it.

All I can offer now are my prayers for my grandmother to recover.

Hopefully Allah will grant my wish and she will be well again.

I'm sure Allah will consider my prayers even though my grandmother is not a Muslim.

My grandmother is the most kind hearted person.

It has never really matter to me that she is a non-Muslim.

I personally know quite a number of evil, malicious and depraved Muslims.

I'm quite sure Allah loves my grandmother more than them.

Seriously, at a time like this, all the other things such as politics and what ever do not really matter to me.

They seem even silly to me at the moment.

After all, not as if all the aggravations changed anything.

You all may think that I'm the one being silly, but really, as far as all those political nonsense are concerned, it's now better to just pray for the good to win in the end.

I think it's better to pray for Allah to save this country rather than praying for one side or the other to win.

You can't really be 100 per cent sure your side is the good side, aren't you?

That's why we should still pray for the best and accept the outcome later.

I'm not a religious person but I think you all should not underestimate the power of prayers.

After trying your best, prayers are all you have. Really.

Okay, I need to get back to work.

I choose this song for your Sunday. Enjoy.

We read only what we want to believe

One of the most uncomfortable things that I learnt from writing this blog is that most Malaysian readers only want to read what they want to believe.

Basically, most of us want to feel good about what we read, preferring those written which confirm what we believe.

To put it simply, most of us actually read because we want to be entertained. That's all.

Pro-opposition people want to read pro-opposition stories while pro-government ones prefer to read pro-government stories.

They want the writings to comfort them into believing that what they believe is the truth.

Of course the pro-opposition stories are more juicy because they were laced by many elements of alleged scandals and improprieties, thus attracting quite a number of readers from among the pro-establishment too.

We like gossips, after all.

Truth and facts are actually secondary.

Those who really want to be properly informed are in fact the minority.

So, as it is, when I write about something that favour the opposition, those who are pro-establishment would jump at me and vice versa.

At first, it was quite difficult for me, but I got used to it after a while.

Nowadays,  I just don't feel anything anymore, being called names ranging from Umno bitch to DAP hired cybertrooper.

Yup, I had been called both, among many others. It all depends on what kind of story I wrote on any particular day.

Well, I guess that's the way things are and I simply have to accept it.

Anyway, these days I can't be bothered too much by all these.

Nothing much to motivate me, anyway.

These days I write whenever I feel like doing so instead of making it a discipline like before.

That's why you would notice that I don't write everyday anymore.

Yup, I'm getting lazy.

This posting, for instance, I just opened up my laptop, went to this blog and just write whatever that crosses my mind.

No research, no nothing

Why should I go through the trouble of doing that. No reason, okay.

You all may not believe it, but I really am writing this blog just out of boredom these days.

As I wrote previously, this blog is just sort of a journal of my thoughts and nothing more.

It's not really to influence you all and it's absolutely not for fame or money.

Who wants to pay me writing about myself riding my mamachari in the morning or missing my beloved in the middle of the night, anyway?

I did quite a lot of those in this blog.

You all can believe or dismiss this blog all you want. It doesn't really matter to me.

Okay, I know I'm rambling again.

Well, at least I don't think my rambling is hurting anyone.

It's not like I'm promoting hate and violence or anything like that, right?

Seriously, aren't you all tired of Malaysian politics?

It's the same shit over and over again.

Mostly, it's really not worth my time to write, okay.

Just wait for election, can or not? Use the time for work instead of quarrelling with each others.

Eh, better listen to a nice song lah.

Sorry that I am wasting your time making you read this stupid rambling of mine today.

Here, better enjoy this one instead :

Guys, behave yourselves

Normally, I wouldn't think twice to dismiss RPK's more sensational writings.

In fact, sometimes I even took the trouble to dispute his allegations such as when he recently wrote about a menteri besar as being a homosexual. You can read that in this post,

• About wasted effort, Mcoba boys and a bit of Guan Eng

However, when I read this latest posting of his,

Maybe Husni forgot about his sex scandals

it made me paused and ponder about a story I was told involving the former second finance minister not too long ago.

I'm not saying that the story made me totally believe in RPK's allegation against Husni, but I think it should be a lesson for especially men who can't be bothered to control where their hands are going.

I have no doubt that the story told to me is true because the person who related it to me was there when it happened and there were several other witnesses, whom are all known to me.

It happened at a place where a group of people were having dinner.

One of them is a beautiful young lady with hair suitable to be featured in a Sunsilk shampoo advertisement.

As I was told, Husni turned up at the place as the group were in the middle of their dinner.

Upon seeing them, Husni approached the table and to the shock of everyone touched the young lady's hair and said "Huih...cantiknya rambut" (Huih...such beautiful hair).

He didn't even bother to first greet everyone there or introduce himself.

It so happened that one of the people seated at the table is the father of the young lady.

I was told that the guy kept his cool and just said "Datuk, tu anak saya (Datuk, that's my daughter)".

Husni, despite what must surely be an extremely embarrassing moment  was said to have managed to depart from the table without suffering any physical harm.

Lucky him.

I think it would be a much more painful outcome if a less cool father saw an elderly man behaving inappropriately towards his young daughter like that.

Come on. You must not touch other people like that, especially so if you are an elderly man and the other person is a young lady.

Well, maybe Husni didn't mean any harm and was merely acting on instinct, but still he should have better control of himself.

What more that he is a known public figure.

It's just wrong to behave like that.

I hope you all guys learn something from this story.

Try to control your gatalness, okay.

Eat what you can afford, not what you feel like eating

At my aunt's place.

She's my father's sister.

She used to be an officer at the Fisheries Department but has now retired.

I'm at her place to settle some personal issues over the weekend.

Helped her cooked lunch today.

We had fried peria (bitter gourd), grilled ikan keli (catfish) and ulam (Malay salad) with sambal.

Simple lunch.

My aunt told me that these days she only buy food which are sold cheap at the time of her shopping.

"Cik sekarang beli mana yang murah, bukan beli yang teringin makan," she said.

"Peria tengah murah masa Cik beli tu. Cuma 90 sen sekilo je. Kalau ada yang murah buat apa beli yang mahal.

"Peria pun sedap juga. Nanti kalau brokoli tengah murah Cik beli lah brokoli pulak.

"Nak kata semua barang mahal tak juga. Kita pilih la yang kita mampu.

"Ikan keli tu pun murah je. Memang la tak sesedap dan seglamer ikan salmon, tapi okay juga la.

"Ulam sambung nyawa tu pun Cik tanam je kat pasu depan rumah tu. Tak payah beli."

My aunt who is in her late 50s grew up in a poor family.

It's a big family and my late grandfather was the sole breadwinner, working as a labourer.

My father used to tell me how things were different back then, growing up in a poor Malay family before the New Economic Policy was implemented.

Lacking things which now most of us took for granted was a norm back then according to him.

As my aunt was telling me today, my late grandmother was the one who thought her the concept of spending only what she can afford.

"Ya lah, kalau kita nak komplen je pasal hidup susah, tapi belanja nak macam tu juga, memang la tak jadi apa," said my aunt.

My aunt also reminded me that it's normal for the economy to go up and down all the time.

"Memang ekonomi ni macam tu. Sekejap mewah, sekejap susah. Kita kena adjust la.

"Kalau ekonomi merudum, kita belanja lah ala kadar. Tak boleh la ikut rasa je.

 "Nanti kalau ekonomi dah okay semula, boleh la makan ikan bawal ke, ikan halibut ke.

"Tak payah nak kecoh-kecoh.

"Kena sabar banyak dan hidup ikut kemampuan."

My aunt is a bit like me when it comes to politics.

She's quite tired of what's going on.

Not unlike me, she feels that everyone should chill off and wait for the next general election to settle things.

"Yang dia orang nak huru hara bergaduh sekarang tu nak buat apa.

"Pilihanraya nanti undi je lah mana yang rasa boleh improve keadaan.

"Kalau kecoh sekarang pun suruh Najib tu turun bukannya jadi apa pun.

"Lebih baik concentrate kerja kuat lagi untuk tambah pendapatan.

"Kata ekonomi tak bagus, barang mahal, jadi kalau boleh buat duit lebih sikit kan bagus."

I totally agreed with my aunt on all that she said.

They were all just plain common sense.

Now they must arrest Maria too

I think the authorities are doing the right thing.

Today,

Police arrests Red Shirts leader

Now they must arrest the Bersih leaders too.

Anyone instigating the public to break the laws must be stopped.

I have made my position clear about street rallies in these previous posts,

• Street rallies in Malaysia are built on hate

• Stop the Bersih vs Red Shirts nonsense

• The good Red guys from Kelantan

Both Bersih and Red Shirts are wrong and must be stopped.

If people have complaints, they should make themselves heard without bothering others.

There's the social media where everyone can says almost anything.

Express yourself there all you want as long as you don't break the laws.

Why then the need to go to the streets and cause problems for others?

Even in this blog I let almost every comment through because of that.

Freedom of speech and expression doesn't mean freedom to bother others.

Bersih chief Maria Chin Abdullah, as Jamal of Red Shirts, has made it known that her movement will go to the streets no matter what.

Even if it breaks the laws.

Promising a peaceful rally is not good enough if it's still done against the laws.

She cannot instigate the public to break the laws.

Jamal did it and was arrested.

Now it should be her turn.

The authorities must be fair on this.

They must stop both the Bersih and Red Shirts rallies.

Everyone can campaign for their respective causes but they must do so peacefully without putting public safety in danger.

Political differences should be settled in the general election, plain and simple.

That's democracy.

Anyone who are against a peaceful political process must be stopped from causing trouble.

This kind of monkey behaviour must be stopped,

Okay, that's all for today.

Sorry if I kinda sound a bit terse.

Got some personal issues to settle.

Until next time.

Little chat at a virtual golf course (updated)

(Updates at the bottom)

It's Sunday and I'm relaxing.

Not doing much.

Just reading a bit and playing with my phone.

I have been playing this game called WGT Golf since last week.

I'm still at the amature level and could only just play three holes at a time against my opponents.

The players of the game are from all over the world.

This morning however was my first encounter with a player from Malaysia.

His nic is SamAurora.

So, I said hi and we chatted a bit while playing. The game got a chat column.

It turned out that SamAurora stays in Bangi.

Both of us don't play real golf.

In my case, no time and can't really afford it.

But I like the idea of playing golf. So relaxing.

Since it's just a brief competition over three holes, I decided to invite SamAurora to read this blog.

His response was surprisingly interesting,

Well, as he said, he used to read this blog but has since moved to Jebat Must Die.

Good for my friend Jebat then.

Jebat is in my blogroll.

I have to admit that Jebat writes better than me and he is a more serious blogger.

Well, at least SamAurora knows my blog :)

We chatted a bit more after that and it was all very pleasant.

Anyway, after I told him about my blog, his game unfortunately didn't go very well at the final hole.

This is the outcome,

Hopefully I can bump into SamAurora again in the game and we can have a rematch.

I'm sure he wants to beat me next time :)

That's all for now.

You all have a good Sunday, okay.

UPDATES

Bumped into SamAurora at the game again yesterday evening and we had a rematch.

He was more serious, probably trying to concentrate at beating me.

No talk about Jebat or Tuah or Sang Nila Utama or Parameswara or whatever this time.

But still it was nice playing him again.

SamAurora seemed to be trying really hard.

But it was a scrappy game and the course was quite tough.

Here is the outcome.

Better luck next time dear SamAurora.

The good Red guys from Kelantan

I like this story,

JELI, Oct 15 2016 : Kelantan Umno is reviving the ‘Jelajah Gelombang Merah’ programme by making it more people-friendly in anticipation of the 14th General Election, said its liaison chief Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

He said the programme, first introduced by Kelantan Umno in the last general election, would be redesigned with a new format to include the participation of Umno state, division and branch leaders.

“We will improve on the programme to make it more relaxed and people-friendly as we believe this concept will boost the people’s spirit to support Barisan Nasional in ensuring the coalition’s victory in Kelantan in the 14th general election,” he added.

He told this to reporters after launching the programme for Jeli divisional level here yesterday.

Mustapa said the programme would include ‘gotong royong’ to clean public facilities, community sports, cultural performances, health screening, exhibition, sale carnival and briefings on current issues.

He said the programme would be carried out in all the 14 Umno divisions in the state as a run up to the 14th general election. – Bernama

I doubt that BN or to be more exact Umno can capture Kelantan from Pas in the next general election, but I think this "relaxed and people-friendly"  Jelajah Gelombang Merah will help improve Umno's image throughout the country.

It's much better than the Red Shirts, who are on a collision course with the Bersih people next month.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I dislike the Red Shirts and Bersih for their troublesome antics of wanting to impose their presence on the streets.

If Tok Pa and his people in Kelantan can come up with peaceful and beneficial programme to highlight their initiatives for the people, why can't Bersih and Red Shirts do the same?

Why must they threatened to brawl on our streets?

I know that some people love to see the fighting and are goading them to go at each others' throat in their blogs, etc, but I hope it will not happen.

As I stated previously, I will even support the authorities if they intervene to stop both the Bersih and Red Shirts rallies. 

Enough of their nonsense, okay.

We got better things to do than being bothered by them, such as improving our lives and caring for the ones we love.

We all really should just do things peacefully without disturbing others and wait for the general election to settle our political differences.

Just be patient for the time being. It's not that long from now.

If we need to campaign, we can do so the nice way like Tok Pa and his people.

I always like Tok Pa.

I first met him many years ago when he was the Entrepreneur Development Minister.

He was nice then and he is still nice now. 

I even once hung out quite a bit with one of his daughters.

She was also nice to me like her father.

Some people say nice guys don't win wars, but I disagree.

As far as I'm concerned Tok Pa is a winner because of his nice ways.

I hope everyone can learn from him and his people in Kelantan.

It's not a contest of who are more "gedebe" (gangster-like). It's actually  a contest of who are the ones the people like more.

Who do you all like more? Ambiga, Jamal or Tok Pa?

I choose Tok Pa any time.

Think about it, okay.