Pail pool

You can also call it The Ordinaryman's Jacuzzi.

Toys everywhere

Toys"R"Us opened a branch in OneBorneo. The first in Sabah. And we went there a while ago.

Little boy was really excited, like... well... like a little boy in a toy shop.

Really knows how to go for the good stuffs. He spent most of the time playing those big plastic toy houses and slides that cost RM1K a piece.

Hmm... must stay away from this shop.

More fire after ISA

The Botak is back with a vengeance!

Why is it when anyone talks about the NEP it is interpreted as “provoking the Malays”? “Provoking” means asking for trouble. But this is how UMNO sees it when anyone talks about the NEP: you are asking for a fight.

The UMNO Bera division chief, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, wants the Gerakan Wanita Chief, Tan Lian Hoe, sacked from her party for allegedly saying that Malays are also immigrants, just like all the other races. Hello, brader, is that not so? Why get so hot and bothered about what is true? Many Malays are only second or third generation Malaysians. Their parents were born in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Middle East, etc. Tun Dr. Mahathir and Khir Toyo, amongst but just two, are cases in point.

And this is why the NEP has failed. The Malay “immigrants” abuse the NEP for their own benefit. The people do not really benefit. The gap between the haves and the have-nots has in fact widened. Do we really need a NEP that allows a minority in power to get rich at the expense of the majority?

Salaries over the last 40 years have doubled. Starting pay, which 40 years ago was about RM350 per month, is now about RM750. But the cost of living has gone up 10-15 times. What used to cost RM3,000 40 years ago now costs RM50,000. What used to cost RM8,000 40 years ago now costs RM100,000. People can no longer afford basic necessities.

He puts in words what I suspect is true all this while. Naik gaji? So what? Barang naik even faster. Poket kering even faster. U%#O is the hottest four-letter word in town?

Crutches are for cripples

Yes, Zaid and people like him do not need crutches. Only losers need crutches. And that is why UMNO wants these crutches to remain, because they are all a bunch of losers. I would like to believe that I am what I am because of who I am and not because of Ketuanan Melayu and the NEP. I take pride in that. I would hate people saying, “of course Raja Petra is successful. He is a Malay and Malays have Ketuanan Melayu and the NEP to help them. Malays need crutches to get ahead.”

It is time the crutches are removed and the Malays learned how to walk with their heads held up high. Malays have to be made to believe that the Ketuanan Melayu and the NEP is an insult and that it suggests Malays are weak creatures. Malays must be proud of their achievements and not credit their achievements to the protection and special privileges they enjoy because they are Malay. The Malays used to be a proud race. Now they are no longer proud. They accept that they are weak. So they demand protection to compensate for this weakness.

Heart warming words from the man who just regained physical freedom.

Made to look like an idiot?

Raja Petra Release is Blow For The ISA

Or maybe he is indeed one?

I am not talking about RPK.

If a government had to resort to a detention without trial in order to "protect the country from a security threat" caused by all but ONE person, than that government does not deserve to govern. It was a blatant abuse and misuse of power. An abuse which was reflective of the government's inability - or unwillingness? - to engage the people in connection with every grievance which the people had. From HERE.

A Tale of Two Botaks.

Yes we can

The walls are coming down.

USA: Obama Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls

Indonesia: Bill Against Racial Discrimination Passed

Malaysia: ?

Cemerlang, Gemilang, Temberang.

Wonderful

What do you do before you go and buy a car?

You ask around people who have the car for real comments. You go to the showroom and try out the seats, touch the paintwork, feel the interior, play with the steering, slam the door... (and get some free food and drinks). You scrutinise the brochure, compare fuel consumption and horsepower. You ask for a test drive and do some ganas maneuvers to see whether the car is worthy of your hard-earned cash.

At least that's what I did before splurging 50K on a car.

Our wonderful government buys RM 1.6 billion worth of helicopters by just reading brochures. By the way, anybody knows how many zeroes are there in a billion?

Wonderful, isn't it.

Stack game

Ryan is not interested in little baby's games.

He prefers to play with bigger stuffs.

Like the ones below...







"Oi budak, not yet close shop la!"

A week breakaway

We are back from a week's holiday in West Malaysia. Schedule was pretty tight, but well, we very kiasu mah, pack many things into one holiday, must get back full worth of the air ticket mah. What ever, it's good to get away from routine work for a week. And it's good to be pampered by parents once in a while.

To cut the long story short, here's what we did:

Fri: Arrived near midnight in Seremban. Late supper of sup kambing and mee goreng.

Sat: In KL for cousin's church wedding at a beautiful church near Dataran Merdeka. Rested at brother's place in the afternoon. Off for tea ceremony in the evening followed by dinner at Renaisance Hotel KL (posh place man...). Back to Seremban near midnight.

Sun: Off to Penang in the morning. A stopover at the Tapah Rest Area for some food and fruit-buying; and another stopover at Ipoh for taugeh-chicken-horfun (not that great la, won't go back again). Arrived in Penang to see Julia's new baby Caris. Did some shopping in TESCO at night.

"Long journey made easy with highway. How come Sabah roads got so many lubang one?"

"Missed the salted chicken in Ipoh. Lain kali je lah."

"Hello I am Caris. I just arrived a month ago."

"Really cool shopping cart in TESCO. If only they come to Sabah, Giant sure koyak."

Mon: Played with Caris. Afternoon went out to explore Georgetown and KOMTAR. Paid a courtesy call to saudara Lim Guan Eng (if you believe me). Ate the famous Penang laksa and cendol at Penang Road (not that great also). Thai food for dinner. Oyster-fried-egg for supper.

"Manja boy."

Tues: Left Penang in the afternoon. Stopover in Bidor to buy it's famous biscuits and ate duck-noodles (not great also). Arrived Seremban at night.

Wed: Drove up to KL. Window shopping at Sogo (lots of Japanese stuffs) and KLCC. Visited Irene's cousin and kids in Bintang Walk area. Arrived Seremban late at night.

Thurs: Drove up to PJ. Jalan-jalan at PJ SS2, Midvalley Megamall. Bought an expensive super lightweight stoller for Ryan (the only one that he would sit still for 2 minutes). Revisited the Chao Yang night market, a place that I used to frequent during uni days. Back to Seremban late at night.

"Can go very fast one. Even the brand is MacLaren. Let's try it out at Sepang F1 circuit."

Fri: Too lazy to drive far. Went to Seremban market to look for my favourite pig-mix-porridge, tau-foo-fa and cendol (better than the Penang one). Teochew food for lunch. Dad belanja us dinner at a steak house.

"Yeh yeh, I got a new old-handphone from grandpa." Show off.

Sat: Went to look for dim-sum breakfast. Last minute shopping at TESCO for stuffs to bring back to Sabah. Prices really cheap there. Dad sent us to airport at 3.30pm. Flight at 5.40pm back to Kota Kinabalu. On the plane Ryan cried and cried (great), and then vomited on me (GREAT).

Sun: ... and how time flies. A week gone by, and hereI am typing this story for you.

Sigh. Monday tomorrow. Back to work again.

Selamat Hari Raya

Whether you're celebrating it or enjoying the holiday, it's a time to be reminded about forgiveness and compassion.