SNIPPETS

"Saudi man splurges RM416,160 on champagne"
This piece of news was reported by UAE newspaper and was carried in a small column of our local neswpaper.
GOSH, guzzling down the champagne made him and his friends very happy and on top of  the world.
Any Malaysian willing to do the same feat???????

Here is a bottle (see above) for you to bid!!!!!!!!!!

Struck with DIABETES

Part one
An experience which I wish to share so that you could be alerted on diabetes. About a year ago my fasting blood sugar (FBS) reading was 7.3 which is considered high (prediabetic). Not much attention was taken although both my parents were diabetics.And the next FBS test would not be due until July.

The development of diabetes is not just overnight. It is a cumulative effect and must have turned serious over the past one month. The first symptom was thirst and frequent urination. It was presumed that because of profuse sweating in the estate or doing some garden work makes one thirsty. Moreover the throat and mouth were always dry. To quench the severe thirst I had beer, drinks from preserved 'kat chai" or limau kasturi in sugar made by my wife; rum & coke; campari 7up and of course plenty of cold water.

Concurrently there was frequent urination both at night and day.Again this was presumed that whatever fluid/water goes into the mouth must be out from the pipe!! It was assumed that the more you drink the more frequent it will be - almost every hour!!

 Tiredness is another symptom. Always felt like lying down and sleeping a few times a day. Again I tried to find out why and presumed that it was because of disturbed sleep due to frequent urination at night.

 Finally, there was blurred vision. Could it be due to too much computer usage?? All these effects led to loss in weight - lost4.5 kilos. Do not ignore the presence of the mighty ants on the floor or around the toilet bowl after urination. This is also a sign of sugar in the urine.

It was not until dizziness, forgetfulness (nya nyok) and lethargy that I finally felt that I should consult the doctor.

SNIPPETS

Just for Laughs - Non Racial/racist

AT A CLINIC

A Chinese lady was asking for permission to jump que for blood sampling.

: Malay lady- Apasal mau cepat??
:Chinese lady - pasal mau pergi Hospital Pinang - mau pergi 'BAKAR".  What she meant was going for radiation.

AT A BICYCLE SHOP

An Indian man was looking for a bicycle pump.

;Indian- Tauke ada BOMP???
:Chinese tauke- Ada 'PONG'!!!!

HINDU TEMPLE CELEBRATION

Temple was celebrating  a festival

;Chinese- Ada ambil 'COWDI'???  (meant to be KAVADI)
;Indian- Tada, mau 'TURUN API'!!!!   (means fire walking)


Cheers!!! no malice meant!!

Politics

Political Parties - KITA to be dissolved
Zaid announced that KITA would be dissolved. It brings me back memories of the formation of the first KITA - Kesatuan Insaf Tanah Air in 1974. The promoters of the party were, *Encik Mustapha Hussein (lawyer, ex Gerakan) *Encik Hashim Gerak (ex pas member also popularly known as dancing MP then) and Encik Ng Hoe Hun (ex Gerakan, known as giant killer of Taiping's Dr. Lim Swee Aun, then Minister). The name of the party was well thought of and to be multi racial.  There was much debate on the choice of the logo/emblem. There were many suggestions and since the country is agricultural  the choice was narrowed to padi, coconut tree and oil palm tree. The coconut treee was chosen and again the debate centred on the number of nuts. It was agreed that each nut to represent one racial group - 3-4 nuts ???  Cannot remember how many nuts agreed upon.
When the party was introduced there were jokes flying around. Some purposely twisted it to a GUITAR party. Then, they combined it with the dancing MP.And a coconut tree with 'tuak' to go round. And all agreed that it was jolly good party.
So politicians when you go for KITA again think over and over again. IT may be a jinx!!!!

*Spelling of the names stand to be corrected. 

FESTIVALS

Chinese New Year - Year of the Water Dragon

Among the 12  Chinese zodiac animals the dragon is the only mythical animal and hence it is the most significant and popular. So much has been written but I wish to  highlight a few attributes and snippets.

According to Chinese folklore the first Chinese Emperor Hsi was partly a dragon. The Emperor's dragon is made up of 5 claws while the commoner's dragon is with 3 or 4 claws.The male dragon is yin while the female yang is the phoenix. The dragon and phoenix, hence makes the royal couple.

The dragon represents the Emperor and to-day it symbolises the Chinese nation and Chinese as a race.
People who are born in the year of the dragon are in popular demand to perform certain rites during auspicious occasions. I remember dragon children are asked to roll on wedding beds during the prenuptial ceremony, and to open the car door for the bridegroom on the wedding day when he arrives at the bride's home. It is supposed to bring good luck and happiness.

       WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY & PROSPEROUS YEAR OF THE DRAGON

Happy new Year 2012

Good wishes to everyone and may the Year of The Dragon bring good health, happines and prosperity to all.

Place Names

Usually a river would be the boundary to demarcate the neighbouring states or countries. In the case of Perak and Penang the Krian River serves as the boundary. But the area between Parit Buntar in the east and Sg. Acheh, that is south of Sungei Krian/Nibong Tebal the land is under Penang. Sg. Krian is not the boundary for this part. The boundary for this part of Perak/Penang is at the cross road of a small town known as Simpang Empat where on the Penang side is known as Permatang Kling.

How did it happen?

It goes back to 1825, a bit of history from Joginder Singh Jessy's History of Malaya 1400-1959.The penghulu of Kurau was Nakhoda Udin was suspected of being a pirate. He was arrested by the British and handed over to the Raja of Ligor who claimed that Udin was not a pirate and that Kurau was part of Kedah (now Province Wellesley or Seberang Prai Selatan).And since Perak feared the Siamese it was not challenged but Governor Fullerton even endorsed it.

Hence , the northern part of Krian belonged to Penang and the east-west road became the boundary.

Next time when you take the old trunk road to Penang keep a look out for this border town.

Names of Places

It will be a matter of time before the name of the town "Batang Berjuntai" will be well forgotten. Now, the name is written with a bracket after the new name "BESTARI JAYA"!!!! Apparently the new name was approved by the State Government in 2007.

In May 1966, almost 50 years ago, I reported for work at Socfin headquarters in Bangsar. The late Tan Sri Dato V. M. Hutson who was then the Industrial Relations Group Manager, carried out the customary briefing regarding my posting. He informed me.." You will be posted to Sungei Tinggi Estate, BATANG BERJUNTAI as a probationary assistant. The Company driver will take you to the estate and the journey may take 2 hours." Yes Sir was the reply. In my mind I was wondering where is this God foresaken place? I had never heard of this place!!Am I going to spend time with my "batang berjuntai "- (in hokkien .."shaking in between the legs"). Batang Berjuntai then was a one street town and there was a provision shop known as BB store where we obtained our supplies of food provisions.

How the town got its name is anybody's guess!! Probably there was a huge tree with one of its branches having a phallic shape and dangling. Anyway in those days we were innocent and the name just came off our lips without any other naughty connotations. Nowadays, the town has expanded in line with the development of the state and more people are uttering the name. So, the mere mention of the name can be the butt of jokes and may even incite sexual harassment!! And so the name Batang Berjuntai must be replaced. The authorities must have proposed several names but they chose "Bestari Jaya." Did they ever think of "Batang Bestari"?

Well, the name will taken off sign boards and be forgotten like the railway line that once connect this town to Batu Arang 100 years ago. NO MORE BATANG BERJUNTAI!!!!!

The Immortals

DO YOU KNOW ????

18 LOHANS - From Wikipedia

The 18 Lohans are also known as 18 ARHATS. It is not of Chinese origin. Originally, the arhats composed of only 10 disciples of Gautama Buddha. This was inceased to 16 and later on when Buddhism spread to China another 2 was added during the Tang Dynasty. Modern Chinese Buddhism now depicts 18 Lohans . The first paintings of the Lohan was done by a Chinese monk, Guan Xiu. in the year AD891 in Chengdu. He saw them in his dream and when he woke up he painted them. The eulogy and synopsis is too long to produce here but you can go into the internet to know more.

These 18 Lohans must not be confused with the 8 IMMORTALS (Pat SIAN).

EIGHT IMMORTALS (PAT SIAN)

Another form of reading a person's horoscope is to see who is your patron. Once, I took my late mother to Kek Lok See temple in Air Hitam. That was many many years ago before I was married. Maybe my younger brothers and sister were with us. While we were looking at the paintings and enjoy feeding the tortoise at the famous tortoise pond my mother as usual would go about praying. Now, I wish to narrate what my mother told me. She went to the alter of the 8 Immortals to pray. She took a bundle of burning joss sticks and placed one to each of the 8 immortals. She had to repeat the sequence until the last joss stick. The immortal that receives the last joss stick is your patron. My mother was shocked and almost fainted when it was Li Tie Guai. The idol depicted him as a beggar carrying a double guord. She was frightened with the thought that her son was to be a beggar.Then she approached the temple keeper for interpretation. To make her happy and to assure her all the good things the temple Ah Pek must have spun a good story line that her son would not be a beggar!!

Actually Li Tie Guai is known for helping the needy, the sick and those in distress. He became a beggar because when his soul came back he could not find his body as it was burnt. He was forced to enter the beggar's body.

If anyone of you know who is your patron is, then let's share it. If not, we try to get one for you following mother's way, not necessarily at Kek Lok Si, but at 36A!!!

Cheers!!!!!!

Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals

News of cruelty against animals hit the newspapers just after Hari Raya, early September. There is no need to repeat on what was reported. Actually it is about a private boarding home or "hotel" for cats where cat owners can leave them under the care of the operator for a fee. In this case the operator was negligent and about 200 cats were starved and some died. It was the statement by the DG of Veterinary Services Department that the Animal Welfare Act would be introduced that drew my attention and prompted me to narrate an incident written by S. Durai Raja Singam in his book "Malayan Tit Bits" : .......
Many years ago the magistrate at Pait Buntar was trying a case of ill-treatment of a bullock which had a sore neck
After the police sergeant had given his evidence, there was no defence from the bullock owner. But the case did not end there.
The police sergeant was called back into the box, and instead of a compliment for the arrest the following dialogue took place;
Magistrate: You arrested this man at Selama. Now, how far is Selama from Parit Buntar?
Sergeant : Twenty-two miles
Magistrate: And how did you come here?
Sergeant : By bullock cart.
Magistrate: Using the same bullock?
Sergeant : Yes
Magistrate: Well, you too are fined $5 for ill treating a bullock.
The court broke into laughter. It was a case of biter bit.

You see, in the early 1900s there was already a law on Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Mind you on working animals! Wonder what has happened to the "hotel operator"!!!!!

Mustapha Hussain - Malay Nationalism Before UMNO

It was RPK's Malaysia Today that I read about Mustapha Hussain. I am not a historian nor a political analyst to comment. However, I have something to share to those who may not be aware. It is a paper on Malayan History - Kaum Muda - Kaum Tuah: Innovation and Reaction amongst the Malays, 1900-1941 by William Roff presented at the First International Conference of South East Asian Historians Singapore 1961. Here are some excerpts from the paper.

"It was in 1937 that Ibrahim Yaacob and Ishak bin Haji Muhammad formed the Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM - Young Malay Union). Members were recruited mainly from the students of Sultan Idris Training College, the Agricultural College at Serdang and the Trade School in Kuala Lumpur. Sutan Djenain one of the original refugees from the collapse of the 1926 rbellionin Java, acted as liaisonbetween the KMM and the Malayan Communist Party. The political platform of the KMM was vague, and never elaborated in any contemporary document. Its chief components were a generalised anti-colonialism (expresed in the slogan 'non cooperation'), independence for Malaya, and union of Malaya within a Greater Indonesia (Indonesia Raya)."
This extract is not meant to counter any opinion or historical events.
I am attracted to this article because of the following:
a) am a graduate from Serdang - never knew that late Mustapha was in Serdang
b) Sukarno was against the formation of Malaysia in 1963 when Greater Indonesia was
hatched in 1937

Comments or additional info are welcomed!

A THOUGHT FOR OUR DEPARTED ONES

It could be anyone of us. But the trajic loss of a fine young man who is my nephew (late youngest brother's youngest son) makes me look back and try to understand more - is it a co-incidence, or as the Muslims would say ,its takdir (fate). A wandering mind sometimes could even speculate on whether it could be bad feng shui, a believe common among the Chinese when bad luck or misfortune happens. (Picture taken on during Chinese New Year, 2 months before my father passed away)

To those younger members of the family, let's go back to my mother's generation.We all seem to know more about our maternal side, purely because there are no blood brothers and sisters of our father living in Malaysia. All that we knew was that they were poor and living in harsh conditions in China. And all that they looked forward was financial support from my father who was very filial.

The story begins. My mother, ( The picture taken one week before her passing away taken during nomination day when my nephew Ong teng Boon stood for elections ),better known as "Ah Tet or Sa Chee" came from a big Choe family-comprising 4 males and 6 females.My grandfather was a rich and successful tin miner but misfortune struck and he became poor overnight like all tin miners during his time when tin slumped. Fortunately the 2nd and 3rd sons found employment. Not only was he finacially down my grandmother died and that was the moment when my mother, a young girl of 16/17 had to leave school and assume the role of mother for the family. She was the 3rd. eldest girl and had to look after the welfare of all - the older ones and the younger ones. What a herculean job!!

Now let's get to know my mother's siblings. The eldest boy/brother disappeared into the jungle and never returned-presumed dead. The eldest girl got married and later died. The eldest girl as she grew older became mentally handicapped while the 2nd girl was married but died later. Hence, Ah Tet had to hold the family. An incident occured when the 5th.girl was to be given away for adoption.My mother was dead against it and refused to let her younger sister go as she wanted the family to be together. My 5th. aunty who is now in her 80s since then was ever grateful. Fortunately my 2nd. uncle, an "ang moh sai" because of vast relationships with orang putihs became a very sucessful and rich businessman supported all the unmarried siblings and lived under a single roof. But trajedy struck when he lost his wife (my aunty)when she gave birth to the youngest child (son). This generation is now left with 3 iron ladies, Ah Siew (no.4), Ah Koid (No. 5) and Ah Moy (No. 6-youngest).

Here comes the next generation of Choes and Ongs-brothers and cousins. I lost 2 Choe cousins who were at their prime-one was an up coming businessman and the other a very vociferous unionist/politician. Both were the eldest sons from the families of 2nd and 3rd uncle. From the Ong's side we lost our youngest brother-a promising law professor. Oh yes let's not forget my cute sister younger to me, Poh Choo, who passed away as a young child maybe 2 years old.

Time flies and our generation of cousins - Ongs and Choes have now gone their own ways with families. Many of us have gone past 55 !! Hardly do we meet -Where have all the flowers gone !!

To kick start our next generation of 2nd. of cousins, the Choe side saw the first trajedy when the youngest son - Derek lost his eldest child. The Ong family came in 2nd trajedy - the loss of King. SAD!!!

The story ends with the head of Choe family, my grandfather with whom I was close. Choe See Peng (translated into Hokkien - make into 4 parts, became the butt of jokes on my late mother), lived a life of contentment never misses his bottle of liquor- be it beer, stout or brandy, lived to a ripe old age. As the saying goes some one must inherit some of his genes. I suppose he and I have something in common - he was a miner and I a planter, he had his ups and downs and I too have mine. I still have my bottle!! Ripe old age ?????? Takdir!!!!!!!

May our departed loved ones rest in peace!

So is it also a co-incidence that I write this during the month of the Hungry Ghost?????

Happy reading, don't shed a tear. Life goes on. Bye.

RACIAL TOLERANCE

Good Racial Relations

Lat's cartoons on the antics of various races in Malaysia are good for laughs and in no way being condemned as racist. He had said that his cartoons had never been rejected based on racial grounds. Once a upon a time people can always enjoy a good laugh at each other's expense and there were no hard feelings. Today one must be careful with the jokes that one makes otherwise the word racist would appear immediately.

In the eighties jokes on race were still tolerated even at official meetings, of course off record, in a light hearted manner. It goes this way:

Chairman: Where shall we go for study tour? Shall we go to Australia ?
Malay Councillor: Apa bikin ? Sana cakap orang putih, kita pun kurang faham! Apa mahu belajar?
Indian Councillor: Lebih baik kita pergi lawatan India. Curry pun sedap dan original.
Chinese Councillor: Lagi baik kita pergi negeri Cina. Sana pun ada orang Muslim
Non Commital Councillor: Boleh pergi dua dua negeri dan kos lagi murah pergi Australia.
Chairman: Baik lah kita pergi Singapore - paling murah, naik bas sahaja !!!
All Councillors: Sebulat suara, jom pergi lawatan Singapura !!!

And all went to Singapore and stayed in a hotel in Katong.

NON GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Day always falls on 10th. December of each year. A few days ago it celebrated its 61st. Anniversary. On its 10th. Anniversary in 1958 the Postal Department of Malaysia even issued commemorative stamps.

Human Rights today is very closely linked to ISA and other related issues that even gave rise to a minor political party known as National Human Rights Party (HRP). HRP had its early footing in 1990 and by 2007 its activities are sometimes under the banner of HINDRAF.

It would be of interest to look forward to the next anniversary as to whether greater awareness would be created through various forums or even the issue of commemorative stamps.

MOSQUITOS

Malaria & Dengue

Firstly, do you know that its the female mosquitos that bite and sucks your blood?

Recently, the Ministry of Health released figures to show a rise in the incidence of dengue and that the government and the public have to play effective roles in containing a outbreak of dengue.

For centuries malaria had been equated with mosquitos. Quinine an extract from the bark of cinchona trees was the medicine to save lives. The drug came in many forms to counter malaria. In Malaysia during the early 1960s a drug maloprim was commonly consumed by the plantation workers to prevent malaria attacks. It was the duty of the plantation staff to ensure the workers under their charge regularly swallow the pills!! Of course there are other preventive measures lsuch as spraying with DDT insecticides which is now banned. To-day the most common preventive measures carried out by the health units is fogging with anti-mosquito insecticides.

It is interesting to note that in the 18th century the French Foreign Legionares (soldiers) in active service in North Africa had to take quinine to prevent malaria. And taking quinine is most distasteful. To make it more pleasant to consume a Frenchman, Joseph Dubonnet created a drink of wine mixed with quinine and other herbs and the wine/vermouth was called DUBONNET.This wine is now very popular even in North America. IS QUININE STILL ADDED ???

MCA CRISIS

MCA Circus III

The above caricature by Lat portrays vividly the MCA circus II.

There are indications that the show is coming to an end. The ring master has appeared and all the clowns, acrobats, actors and actresses have already appeared for the grand finale. And again the audience is waiting anxiously for the final performance which will be under the command of the ring master.

This time around there is no Tun Ghafar Baba but Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has taken over the role of putting MCA on track again. Hopefully, he will be spared the role of Acting MCA President to ensure that the greater unity plan, "GUP" is in place. The secret formula of resolving the crisis would be in place when the PM, Dato Seri Najib Razak returns.

Apparently, one of the components of the formula is to have fresh polls and let the delegates make their choice as indicated by CSL and LTL. This has caused everyone in the top leadership and CC members worried. The big question uppermost in their minds is whether they would be re-elected. Those who had lost previously will definitely take the opportunity of making a come back. All kinds of alignment and re-alignment will surface with the usual horse trading. Of course there will be lists of menu "Chai Tans". It will not be surprising that veterans, and "tok dalangs" will be seen playing a crucial role.

But what is most important is the MCA's availability of a team of leaders that can provide a strong leadership which can regain the respect, dignity and confidence of the people. Does MCA have the leaders who can be at par with the other top leaders of BN component parties particularly UMNO? For example, they should be able to command respect and support from the BN back benches instead of being ridiculed ?

As for maintaining cordiality and rapport with the Chinese community leaders the present crop of top leadership leaves much to be desired. The top Chinese community and business leaders made an attempt on 16/11/09 at a dinner to help resolve the crisis but to no avail. Whether any secret formula was put forward or not at the dinner was not known. The traditional spirit of elders of the Chinesese community assisting in resolving disputes was probably ignored. Consequently, the Chinese community and business leaders will ignore MCA and hence have no role to play in future.

In conclusion, will MCA continue to play an effective role in the government? Or will it merely portray Chinese representation in the government?

MCA CRISIS

MCA Circus II


The show continues with more clowns and jugglers appearing to entertain the audience. More faces of the third force are appearing like heavyweights, ex-Secretary General Ong Kah Chuan and featherweights like Tan Kah Choun. More faces may appear as the MCA drums beat louder. Whoever is the saviour of MCA the party must be seen to be able to save itself. If MCA cannot save itself from oblivion how can it represent the Chinese community and defend (forget about fighting) the rights and position.

Now it is an opportunity for all warring factions to sort out their problems together without begging for outside help. Show some pride and self respect and act accordingly without any attachments of self interests. Can you ???

Forget about the Brutus, the traitors, "boleh pakais" and "tak boleh pakais" but call for a truce. If more is being said the deeper is the grave being dug not only for the key players but also the party.

The following may be food for thought.

1. The loss by even 1 vote is a loss based on the principle of first past the post. So OTK you have lost a vote of no confidence although by a narrow margin. As it is not a 2/3 majority vote on a resolution to remove the President the question of resignation does not arise. In such circumstances the President cannot speak from a strong bargaining position and with great confidence. He will be ridiculed as had happened recently in Parliament when he was asked to quit his post as Minister.

2. OTK should therefore, stand for re-election as President and fight for his principles and what he believes in. There will be no problem in winning with a bigger majority if he is truthful, transparent and above all can provide the leadership so as to prove his foes wrong. Dato Paul Low from Transparency International is a fine example when he was re-elected as President.

3. As for CSL he should also seek re-election if he can command the respect and confidence of the delegates inspite of his scandals he will be able to retain his post.

4. The third force led by LTL has surfaced and his supporters are already known. However, the force behind the third have yet to be identified as they are still playing the "Tok Dalangs". There are still wild speculatons on their hidden agenda. If you are sincere they must explain themselves and tell all.

In conclusion, the elections must be held quickly to avoid the party's disintegration through their gimmicks and intrigues. All campaigning should be stopped as the leaders who are key players had already done their rounds.

It is up to the delegates who will be matured to choose wisely and act without blind loyalty so as to SAVE MCA.

Plantation - Chain of Command

Follow Instructions

As a young assistant working in the plantation in the middle of 1960s following instructions is the rule of the day. This is so if you are planting your future and the Company's future. It means the new planting or replanting of rubber and oil palms. The transfer of the planting material from the nursery and planting proper must be properly supervised to ensure a high success rate.

In those days rubber planting was done with seeds, budded stumps and stumped buddings. Stumped buddings in simple language are young rubber seedlings of 1.5 to 2 years old which are pulled out from the nursery and planted straight in the field. These seedlings are either bare rooted or the roots are intact with a clod of earth. During the preparation of the buddings which are of 7 to 12 feet high they are cut at a certain height.

The command from the immediate superior was to cut seedlings at 4 feet height. When he went on leave Big Chief, the Group Manager paid a visit to the nursery where the buddings were being prepared. He was furious when he saw the short rubber stumps and immediately instructed the contractor to cut them as high as possible which was about 7 feet. It was miserable to receive 2 different instructions. The solution was to seek advice from the Deputy Chief. A good compromise was reached, that is, minimum of 4 feet and a maximum of 7 feet. Actually, it should have been at the juxtoposition of the green wood and the brown wood above a whorl of buds.

Hence the plantings in field were of different heights, the lowest being identified with the 3rd. boss who was really short. The trees of average height belong to the Deputy Chief who also happened to be of medium height, whereas the tallest ones are identified with the Big Chief who was a six footer plus.

At the conclusion it was all smiles when the General Manager visited and exclaimed " Oh, what a fine planting - CHEERS !!"

BADGES

CAR BADGES

It is not uncommon to see all sorts of badges displayed on the grills, number plates, bumpers and windscreens of cars. They mean a lot to the car owners and to some people these attach a lot of meaning. In the 1950s and the 1960s the car badges were collectible items and most of them belong to motoring clubs, for example AAM, RAC. Today the badges displayed on cars can reveal the status of the owners, membership of the various clubs and associations. And this certainly conveys to the general public who the owners are. They maybe Royalty,Yang Berhormats, Yang Berbahagias, officers of Government Departments, state and federal awardees, members of prestigious clubs and associations.

At one time the Sultan of Selangor disallowed the display of badges with the state crest on cars. Certain car owners who feel that they are one above others even added the alphabets VVIP or VIP to their badges. As there is no law to ban the display of badges on cars, it becomes very decorative especially with more badges displayed. But one should not be fooled and be misled by the VVIPs as they are also another member of the rakyat enjoying the same rights and priveledges.

This then, leads to the "dog badges" that is hung from the neck. It tells the name of the person and the organisation he belongs to. While passing by a group of businessmen in lounge suits attending a conference and exhibition in KL, I overheard their conversation which was full of excitement and gusto. Suddenly, there were of cries of the FOUR LETTER words in Hokkien (KKK) and Cantonese (TTT). "Out of curiousity I turned around to catch a look at them. And lo and behold these "genteelmen" were wearing badges showing their names with large letterings VVIP. So I turned to my friend that the 'VVIP' may mean "very very ignorant punks".

MCA CIRCUS

The MCA Circus

Apparently the MCA circus has not left town. Probably the magicians who are the crowd puller have not completed their tricks or intrigues and also the ring master has not given the command to end the show. Meanwhile, the audience will be kept entertained. And who knows new shows maybe introduced.

The present leadership tussle will continue with each faction trying to outdo the other. It will not be surprising that there will be more Brutus around and accusations of betrayals. CSL was betrayed in the sex scandal. OTK also claimed that his trusted leutenants betrayed him. Soon LTL will also allege that he was betrayed. So what class of leaders does MCA have ?? A bunch of TRAITORS - to betray and be betrayed!!!

In Perak there is a dispute on the rightful State Government caused by the 3 hopping ADUNs. One solution to resolve the impasse which is again disputed is to call a general election for the state. So similarly with MCA which has lost its sense of direction on the claims of leadership. OTK claims that he has an important job to implement the "greater unity plan" and also to complete the unfinished tasks. LTL and his supporters claim that they were not briefed on this great plan and also OTK had not kept his word to resign. All these are mere excuses to justify their actions. Thus, it looks like a long drawn battle among the CC members. If they are unable to settle among themselves, then, they should be brave enough to collectively resign and call for a fresh general elections rather than clinging to their seats or waiting for a "TAIKOR" to ADVICE. Come on, show some pride and win back some respect from the Chinese community. And to the delegates - if you vote in rubbish you deserve to be led by rubbish leaders!!