The scraps and their last journey on the highway

What a day yesterday!

Spent about 6 hours on the road driving the company's Auto-transmission Nissan Sentra all the way to the South and back. Very nice. Exceeded the speed limit many times. I hope there won't be any 'letter' from the Administration office telling me that I need to pay fines for speeding on the motorway. The last time we went there was in the company's Perodua Myvi. Cute car but not very suitable for long-distance.

Thinking of my predicament regarding the scrap car thingy, it so happened that we managed to pass by not one but TWO trailers with old cars that we assumed to be sent to scrapping centre. In other words, the government would send the fully working ones to some countries where the standard of living are lower than ours. You can always rely on our government on finding ways to extort money from the people.

Saw an old Honda at the back of one trailer. I know that one. Very hard body. Sturdy build. If any of the newers cars hit it, you'll know which one would suffer and which one would get away with some minor scratches. Now, tell me why would anyone in the right mind scrap an engineering wonder like that?

Photo Source: Toronto Scrap Car Disposal

My colleague was like, "One of those could be yours". Yikes! Horror!

Met my old buddy from school who was adamant to give me some durians from her father's yard. The 'King of Fruits'! Told her of my problem and both of us were totally missing brains! None of us remembered that one of her housemates actually renews car insurances as a job. My buddy talked about me to her and the girl said she could do it for me because she has even renewed insurances for 40-yr-old cars!

Anyway, at least I have a backup plan for next year. Good news. I got my insurance renewed yesterday along with the road tax label. So, I can keep myself afloat for the next 12 months.

p/s: So, how were the durians? Yeah, anything to keep my nephews happy.
Thanks mate. Love.

How tiny I am in the hands of the powers-that-be..... :-(

Malaysian Government want us to do this to our beloved old cars!

Photo from Winchester City Council Operation Scrap It

Something happened today that woke me up to the reality of living and how powerless I am.

I got a reminder from the bank to renew my car insurance in March. The deadline is 19 June. So, today I went to the bank as I had always done before to get it renewed.

I was shocked when I was turned down. The reason being my car was too old. To add insult to injury, a FAT lady standing next to me laughed at me like I was some kind of a villager from a remote jungle who had no idea of the world and how it worked. I felt like yelling to her face, "Oy, nobody asked for your opinion, you fat b****h!"

It struck me in the head how naive I am about the grip that the powers-that-be actually have on little people like me.

Last year, when the economy started to go downward, the car sellers started to complain to the government about not making sales and lobbied to have the cruel system of forcing any car older than 15 years to be scrapped. Meaning all car owners in Malaysia would need to replace their car every 15 years regardless how good you take car of the car or how much you love it.

I know there are many people who see cars as 'things'. I'm one of those who don't. I see the car I drive as a reflection of my life and personality. My car is everything that represents me. So what if it's already 17 years old? It's of a much higher quality than many of the newer cars nowadays.

Even at 17 years of age, the body is sturdier than most of the local cars. The dashboard doesn't vibrate 'violently' on rough tracks. It's fuel efficient, smooth and even with its quite expensive spare parts, they last long.

I never thought that the 15-yr car ruling would affect me. They said it's optional. So I guess people like me and lovers of classic cars would be able to continue with our passion. Man, I was so wrong!

If no banks would renew insurance for cars older than 15 years, the owners wouldn't be able to renew the road tax either. Meaning their cars couldn't be legally driven on our roads. So, that's what they meant with 'optional'. You can opt to keep your car but that's all there is to it. You keep the car. Nobody said anything about you being allowed to drive it!

Shocking? Yes. At the moment, I'm very very angry.

How easy for the powers-that-be to sideline me. This is also unfair for lovers of classic cars. Now I know why my father has been keeping his 1978 Mercedez under the roof depreciating and collecting dust. He can't renew the insurance. So, that's why he was so gung-ho about getting another car a couple of years ago.

I am outraged! How unfair this is. Btw, my other dream car is actually the classic Volkswagen Beetle. Great engineering. Super cool design. A head turner anytime. However, if the banks continue to behave this way, believe me they will, then I will never be able to drive one in our country :-(

Finally, the worst nightmare. I might be forced to give up my car T_T

How could they do this to me? That car means the world to me. It holds so many memories. I can't afford to get a new car without letting go of the old one. This is just CRUEL! CRUEL! CRUEL!

Disgusting Malaysian politics.......!

Can things get more disgusting than Malaysian politics?

Got to get this out of my chest.

In the last election, the Opposition (better known as PKR) won 5 states which among them was the state of Perak. It's one of the biggest states in Peninsula Malaysia and the win certainly was a major breakthrough for the PKR.

This being Malaysia, it never takes long for things to get down and dirty. Super filthy.

Last year, 2 MPs from the PKR were caught in an entanglement of sex scandals (allegedly) and bribery. I'm not sure about the details. Not interested to know that deep. This year, the 'shamed ones' were reported as 'missing' or 'kidnapped'.

Then, the news broke yesterday that the National Coalition party had won the state of Perak because the two 'shamed MPs' had left the PKR. They call this 'party-hopping'.

I am so disgusted with this. There is one very prominent figure in the PKR who is determined to make 'party-hopping' illegal. I'm very much on his side on this issue.

This is how I see it. Even if 'party-hopping' legal for now, it's still IMMORAL. In the first place, those who voted for the 'party-hoppers' DID NOT vote them to represent any other parties. To turn 180 degree turn is downright disrespectful.

The honourable thing to do is to step down from the posts, officially announced to your constituents about pulling out and have a re-election where the voters have their say.

This is one of those times that I envy countries like the USA. I mean, when Clinton got embroiled in sex scandals, he was impeached. He stepped down honourably. It is not so in a country like Malaysia.

How desperate can Malaysian politicians be? The National Coalition is so hung up on wanting to win even by resorting to poaching corrupt leaders from another party. The PKR traitors are now representing their constituents as 'free' MPs.

I cringe thinking of who would be our next PM. At the moment, the
National Coalition is rooting for a man who :

1. Was mentioned in the court room by the cousin of a murdered Mongolian woman as someone she saw as being in the same photo of the dead lady. He denied vehemently that the murdered woman and him knew each other nor ever met.

2. Despite being the son of a highly respected late political figure who didn't think twice about taking even a bicycle to visit poor folks in the rural areas, this man is never known for showing up in the villages except during elections.

3. Talking about the murdered Mongolian with a C4 bomb mind you. How come he as the then Minister of the Defence Ministry claimed to not know or authorize the 'issuing' of the bomb from the Ministry?

4. Don't let me start on the poor Mongolian's travel record into Malaysia being non-existent. Hmm.......

5. When the former PM's wife was a respected intelligent figure and the late wife of the current PM worked tirelessly to promote our Arts and cultural heritage most noticeably the batik, this man's wife is better known for having a face that turns more like plastic each and every year. Her most famous social 'contribution' has been a flirty exchange with a Bollywood superstar that caused an uproar in our conservative society.

Back to the Perak affair, the PKR State Minister who was chosen by the Perak Royal Palace is an educated, multi-lingual and religious man who has achieved so much in his life and people friendly too. At last, I thought, someone with a brain that works got to lead. Of course, he was chosen by the educated royals of the state Palace.

20 years ago, I never would have hoped for this but somehow in the face of the current situation, I want us to be saved by nothing more than a family of intelligent royals who understand what the phrase 'for the people' means and I'm not even a fan of royal families.

Anwar Ibrahim, victory, Malaysia's future and the small people

Tonight is definitely Malaysia's ruling National Coalition Party's worst nightmare as the man they brought down, ousted from the office and went hellbent to wipe off the country's political arena is back in full vengeance.


The charismatic Anwar Ibrahim won the election of his former Parliamentary seat in Permatang Pauh. The result was expected.

Wow, I can't describe how the politicians rallied against him, determined not to let him gain power in any way.

Some of the mega embarrassing things the desperate politicians tried to spin for us the people here.

1. Taking advantage of this country's conservative Muslim majority society, the desperate politicians accused Anwar of sodomizing his former aide (talked about this one before in this post and this post) in the hope of tarnishing his image and sending him to jail once again (anal sex is illegal in this country and punishable by law). Strangely, if you are the one reporting the sex act to the police, then you are considered the victim and will not be punishable. Haha! That's what one of the desperate ministers said anyway.

2. Suddenly reducing the Petrol price by MYR0.15 per litre before the election. Wow! After months of telling us the people the government couldn't afford to do so, the fear towards 1 political enemy suddenly enable them to. Magic huh?

Malaysia oh Malaysia....!

OK.

Since this country is going to celebrate its Independence Day on 31st August, I think I need to tell the world the plight of the little people of the country.

Last Friday, after work, I stopped by the Mahkota Parade shopping mall and was greeted by this banner as I approaced the building.

It says : "We want justice...! What is our fate after this....! Don't push us to the sideline and why are we being stomped upon!! What's the meaning of development if small traders like us are treated second rate....!!"
Happy celebrating the 51st Independence Day and blessing to the coming month of Ramadhan Al-Mubarak.

The glowing lights decorating the vibrant night views here in Melaka Zone A shopping spot. Just like glowing candles in the night. Beautiful but behind it all, there are people struggling to make ends meet.

I didn't ask the traders what kind of oppression they were facing. However, knowing how things work in this country, I'm sure that these people are being forced to pay escalating rent price for the tiny space at the side of the shopping mall. Add to that the location is sitting on a hot spot literally. It faces the afternoon scorching Sun!

If only the politicians stop and really look into the plight of the people instead, then we would not be subject to the world's ridicule in this theatre of political mega drama that can put even Hollywood to shame.

Form the Government Today, Reduce the Oil Price the Next Day

In a move that was the first of its kind in this country, the leading Opposition figure and former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the current Information Minister Dato’ Shabery Cheek went head to head in a public debate shown live on TV on July 15^th 2008 with the topic I translated as ‘Form the Government today, reduce the oil price the next day’.

Overall, the debate was conducted in a fair manner with each debater given 4mins at a time to present their points. Despite a reminder by the Chairman/Mediator, it certainly didn’t take long for the Ruling Party’s rep to start personal attacks on the former DPM. He defended his action as “to create doubts and questions over the credibility of the opponent” especially the former DPM’s rebel years as a student activist in 1974 and his terms as a Minister and later DPM in the ruling government. Anwar chose to keep the personal attacks on his stride and went on to present his facts and figures the way he used to during his time as a Finance Minister. *Anwar was taken into police custody the day after the debate to testify against the sodomy charges upon him and released on bail on the day I wrote this*

For me, a public debate between TWO opposing parties has long been a turn in my country’s democracy (or lack thereof) I have eagerly awaited since my days as a student in the UK.

When I just arrived in the UK, the country was gearing up towards a National Election that would determine the fate of the then Ruling Party the Conservative led by PM John Major (the successor to Iron Lady Ms. Margaret Thatcher).

What I was fascinated by were:

1. The THREE major parties (Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat) were each given a fair “campaign time” on national TVs to promote their parties and persuade the voters as to why they should be elected.

2. When I registered myself for a UK National Security number in my 3^rd Year, I had a major surprise of my life when a letter arrived two days later informing me of which polling district I belonged to despite my status as a mere student.

3. The live airtime of the Parliamentary debates on TV where you can see the MPs showing their true colours and actual level of intelligence *sarcasm here*

At the same time Stateside, the presidential race was on and the one I certainly was drawn to was:

The series of Public debates between the candidates on their policies and major issues should they be elected.

Imagine my shock when I came back to Malaysia to face the following:

1. Even with my registration as a voter, the government conveniently made a rule that new voters had to wait 8 months from date of the registration to allow it to “mature” first. Then, you are qualified to vote after the maturity period was over. ~ Is there such a thing as a Database of people’s names that matures? What sort of crap is that?

2. Students were blocked from getting involved in any political parties because the powers-that-be claimed that “students are obliged to remain neutral and should concentrate on their studies and prepare themselves in building the Nation” ~ How hypocrite! I was once dragged by a friend of mine to vote for another student acquaintance in the ruling party’s sub UMNO UK division election. No politics for students? Hello! As long as it’s not in their home country.

However, we were not as stupid as they thought. It was obvious that:

They knew the young voters were more likely to have different views of the political world than the veterans and vote for the Opposition. It was further fuelled by the fact that Anwar was very popular among the younger crowds and this was acknowledged by many. It was risky for the ruling party and the stupid rule was implemented amidst outcries from the younger generation.

Despite his shortcomings, I still salute the Information Minister for his guts to come forward to speak for the ruling National Coalition party. It is due to his open policy that Malaysia’s top political Bloggers now have their chance to air their views on TV. One wonders though, why sent the Information Minister? Why not the Finance Minister? Or better still, since Anwar is the leading figure in Opposition, the PM or at least the current DPM should be the one to face him.

Nah!

Anwar? His true match will be and has always been the equally intelligent and formidable Tun Dr. Mahathir the former Prime Minister himself. *Here is Dr.M and his wife at the back in this sweet photo*

Maybe the Almighty sent Anwar to this world for this purpose. If it wasn’t for him and everything that happened, our country might not have been alerted to shift gears. I still see this as a step towards a more open democracy (without foregoing the Islamic values) and there is no need to call upon the Information Minister’s resignation as some Malaysians have called out for since the debate on 15^th July. This country needs more gutsy leaders instead of the cowards who choose to live in denial (I won’t name anyone but any sane Malaysians understand what I mean).

My dream is for this country to flourish with an uncorrupted democracy with a healthy balance of Islamic values and leaders who always put the people first and foremost.

When Dishonesty becomes the Policy

Got a feedback on my previous post about the dual-bands.

Rather than sexuality, it really is about dishonesty and how it hurts
innocent people.

The post was inspired by a dear friend of mine who shares his thoughts,
laughter, fear and tears with me everyday. About how he has been
manipulated sometimes by dishonest people he meets online and offline.

In fact, my blog is partly my way of showing him that there is sincerity
and beauty out there if he really wants to see it. That happiness does
not necessarily need to be sexual and it's ok not to have someone to
cuddle you to sleep at night.

Also, I'm frustrated with the way some people in my country Malaysia
take advantage of the conservative society here and use sexuality to
destroy anyone whom they see as threat to their positions.

It's the most convenient way. Currently, a leading figure in the
Opposition is facing another sodomy accusation to stifle his comeback
into Malaysia's political arena. A few years back, certain quarters
tried to accuse a rising politician who is also an unmarried intelligent
lady lawyer of being a lesbian just because they were jealous that she
was personally picked by the then Prime Minister to be in the cabinet
and lead a Top Post in the party's women's wing. She got to the top for
her impressive resume and not dirty political game.

Though I never intended for my blog to be a political vent, sometimes I
can't help speaking out when I see innocent souls getting hurt by
dishonesty.

The Dual-Bands justify my left-wing ideology

A friend of mine recently told me that he had been receiving a series of angry SMS from the wife of one of his Internet contacts. She wasn’t happy finding racy photos in her husband’s phone and blamed my friend whom her husband regularly contacted.

My friend wisely chose to calm the storm by saying it was all meant to be a joke. She seemed to accept it. Then, my friend told me about the actual story. Apparently, the “contact” posted his profile publicly onto the Internet claiming to be single and looking for “guys” to “connect” with, if you know what I mean.

I was shocked as it meant this guy, whose wife said would never divulge anything to her, really is living as a “dual-band”. That’s a term coined for people who swing both ways. It angered me as I felt that my friend was victimized by the situation while the culprit got away scots-free.

“Next time, just send the wife the URL!”

How does this relate to my left-wing political tendency? It was well-known in the international political arena how Malaysian’s former Deputy Prime Minister was charged for sodomy back in 1998. It was dropped years later after they thought his political influence had waned and even the former Prime Minister (the one who owns the Loaf) himself publicly declared that his former DPM didn’t do anything wrong.

Now, in another bizarre twist, the former DPM, who’s now the main force in the leading Opposition side, has landed in hot water again when his former assistant of 3 months claimed to have been sodomized by him.

Now, this is where the drama started. The former assistant is a young man of 23, tall and lean. The former DPM is now a grandpa already in his 60s with reports of having a bad back during imprisonment. The young man claimed that it happened a few times and it drove him mad to the point of going suicidal.

The young man’s fiancé declared to the press that she’ll stand by her man. It means she will still accept a guy who has had sex with another person (while being engaged to marry her) as her future husband. Hey, gay or straight, sex is still sex. Wake up girl!

I know that Malaysian right-wingers would certainly want to believe that it’s all true and want to see the former DPM gone for good. I just want everybody to take a moment to think of this.

1. How come a young man of 23 couldn’t even fight the sexual advances of a 60+-yr old man?

2. Are you people totally clueless about sex? Do you know how the act of anal sex is actually done? Do you honestly think that it’s easy for a 60+ yr old man to get someone taller than him to drop his pants and get into that submitting position where he can be unwillingly “entered”? (The young man certainly portrays the thing as non-consensual)

3. So, is the young man going to prove that it was forced or rape? Shame on him for not being man enough to physically fight back. Calling himself a man? I’m not talking about a boy who has been manipulated like many of the pedophile cases we’ve heard. This is a fully grown educated man who should’ve been able to use his better judgment.

Why my left-wing view is justified?

Being a left-winger means I believe that the act didn’t happen and that a 23-yr-old man and a 60+yr-old grandpa are NOT the Dual-Bands who cheat on each other’s fiancé and wife respectively. That another educated young woman isn’t stupid enough to think a man who could let himself be “sexed’ by another is still a man worthy of being the father of her future children.