CHINESE CUSTOM OF KEEPING WAKE

Keeping the Wake

The custom of keeping wake at funerals depends on the choice of the priest or monk from the religious sect. The practice of religious rites vary greatly in the use of musical instruments, chanting and the participation of the family members. The Buddhist monks say their prayers and chant without the use of musical instruments. On the contrary the Taoist priests conduct their rites with a lot of action and the playing of the musical instruments loudly. The family members would be kept busy performing the rites or group praying. Guests would be served with packets of mineral water, peanuts and sometimes a light supper.

Donations are accepted and in return 2 sweets are given for good luck. The funeral parlour can offer various packages to cater to the family's needs. This then is the normal traditional wake.

There are however, some variations to the modern way of keeping wakes which are uncommon. There was a case where there was no monk or priest to perform the rites and no prayers. The only sounds were from the casset player which played non-stop soft music and songs from the oldies. The decease daughter told me that these were her late mother's favourites. The atmosphere was serene, friendly except that it was in a funeral parlour.

There was another case where there was a small group in the wake. Apart from the Taoist rites brandy and beer was served in teapots to the drinking "kakis." As for me when almost all the guests had left the wake for my late mother, the drinking "kakis" of the family got together and had a good session until the wee hours with bouts of cheers to grandma(amah) and mak as she was also once a "kaki"too. Above are pictures taken during my late mother's wake.

Having related this story to a friend he also said that he had instructed his wife for a simple funeral. Being a Hindu the rites are already simple and yet he wanted it to be more simple and quick. She replied that when you are alive we take instructions but when your are dead you take

our instructions !!!

MCA - EGM AFTERMATH

MCA - Jostling for Positions

- When MCA is in trouble - look for Tun Ghafar Baba
- When looking for business - look for Ali Baba
- When in Penang and Melaka - look for Nonya Baba
- When looking for religious solace - look for Sai Baba

Tun Dr. Mahathir is suggesting another Tun Ghafar Baba to help resolve the MCA crisis and he is none other than Dato Seri Najib Razak. MCA is already being branded as a lackey of UMNO and should UMNO or any UMNO member play a role directly or indirectly in reaching an amicable settlement, the public's negative perceptions of MCA would be far reaching and difficult to explain.

The jostling for positions in the party is now set in motion irrespective of the options available to resolve the leadership crisis. Yes, every aspirant for the No. 1 position thinks that he is the most suitable and has the vision to lead. But unfortunately, the party had always failed to groom leaders in their succession plans. And that is why today MCA has been unable to identify strong leaders that can be slotted in to be the flag carrier when a situation like this arises. No President would accomodate a strong No.2 or even No. 3 ??

The winner takes all and even if there are good quality leaders in the opposing camp they would be neglected or chopped off for fear of being trouble makers.

Thus today it is back to square one where it is difficult to identify good, competent and transparent leaders that can stand at par with the senior leaders in UMNO and at the same time be a respected leader of the Chinese community in every sense.

The party adrift

THE PARTY ADRIFT - MCA EGM

And who is the WINNER ? It is none other than LIM KIT SIANG (LKS). It is quite certain that LKS did not foresee the chaotic situation of MCA as it is in today. ONG TEE KEAT (OTK) was constantly hounded by LKS on the PKFZ fiasco since the day OTK announced that he would have it investigated and a report to be made public. Since then several top politicians past and present especially from the MCA had to face public scrutiny and unwanted perceptions.
Although OTK was doing a good job in wanting to get to the core of the problems of PKFZ and to remedy and save the project he unwittingly opened a can of worms which of course offended those connected directly or indirectly to the project.

Over the past few months the hot potato PKFZ became very explosive until the Prime Minister had to diffuse it by forming a super committee to take over. Meanwhile LKS was rubbing his hands gleefully as it has spilled into the MCA. While this was boiling the DR. CHUA SOI LEK (CSL) saga exploded with him being sacked. CAN OTK TAKE THIS DOUBLE WHAMMY ? The results of the EGM has shown that he was not ready. It must be remembered that all this while he had been a loner. Having been elected President for more than a year he has failed to consolidate his position and expand his base of support quickly. The interests of the warlords were not enhanced and influential kingmakers were not won over. It could be due to his nature and character. And finally the auspicious "10-10-10" ahs dictated his future.

AND SO WHAT NOW ?
History is now in the making. Technically there is no President or Deputy President as decided at the EGM. The Secretary General had said that the CWC would meet and decide on the next course of action. Whatever is the outcome, MCA must quickly find a suitable leader who would be able to rally the members behind him. The 13th GE is not far away and MCA must prove its worth and relevance or else they will be phased out politically. Although the majority of the Chinese community are unperturbed by the MCA crisis they are still interested in the outcome. Hopefully it will not result in the members losing faith in the partyand finally thinking of other options.

Incorporated Society of Planters-ISP

Incorporated Society of Planters -ISP
Happy 90th. Anniversary. To many members and planters they may not be aware that the ISP was launched on 9th. October 1909 after having confirmed its registration the previous day. It is worthwhile to note that the Golden Jubilee celebrations was on 9th. November 1969 and the guest of honour then was the Prime Minister Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin Datuk Hussein and Toh Puan Hajjah Rahah.

In 10 years time, that is 2019, ISP would be celebrating its centenary and on this auspicious occasion it would be interesting that the son, Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak the Prime Minister could also be the guest of honour.
Hopefully many of the older generation of planters would still be around.

Government hospitals

Hospitals - Meeting Place

Regular visits to hospitals has become a norm to some of us - senior citizens. When we were young in the 30s to 50s most of us were visiting sick relatives and friends or visit a doctor for the common cough and colds. As we approach the golden age which we call senior citizens, the body dictates our health care requirements. Some may need more attention and intensive treatment while the luckier ones are on regular check-ups or treatment for ailments common to old age. Waiting for one's turn to be called can be time consuming and boring although now the hospitals' waiting rooms are more comfortable and in some places even air conditioned. This is where the more friendly patients make new friends and exchange notes.

There is a friend of mine who makes the habit of going to the other units' waiting rooms looking for his buddies whenever he keeps his appointments. There was an occasion where an impatient lady was walking about and grumbling to the other patients that she had been waiting for a long time. She asked the nurse to her allow to be attended earlier as she was old. When the nurse asked for her age she replied that was 70. And with tongue in her cheek she told her that she was not that old enough and asked her to wait for a little while more.

As for me I am much younger and so I patiently waited for my turn. Afterall it is FREE.

MCA CRISIS -2009

Crisis in MCA is nothing new. During Tun Tan Siew Sin's time the party saw a split of the top leadership in 1959 with the departure of Tun Lim Chong Eu. However during that time the differences of opinion that caused a crisis was centred on principles affecting the Chinese community. Since then MCA top leaders had been embroiled in one crisis after another at one time or another. Are they centred on national interests or the Chinese community's interests ? The latest spat between Ong and Chua was of no interest to the majority of the Chinese community. This is an opportunity for the MCA to assess the Chinese community's mood towards MCA and if receptive to take pro-active steps to regain their confidence. Should MCA continue to be ineffective and unable to deliver the Chinese votes then some top leader will one day repeat what Tun Dr. Ismail said in 1971 -"MCA NEITHER DEAD NOR ALIVE'. Whoever wins on 10-10-10 would not make any difference and the victor would have to be content in leading a divided MCA. A strong leader that can provide leadership with a will to forge unity and above all transparent and free from money politics is a tall order.

My Name

My name is Ong Kok Dee which was given by the policeman at the registration counter. Like all names there are meanings attached to them. More so where there are nicknames for example: "Ah Too" (hokkien dialect) means pig, "Ah Kau" means monkey, "Ang Moh Kiah" my grandson means caucasian boy & etc..

Actually my father came from China and spoke like a typical Chinaman who mispronounced alphabets like R, L, Z . He had wanted my second name to be Hock which means luck and the last name as Lee. And so due to the miscommunication between a Chinaman and the Malay policeman my name became Kok Dee. As it is quite a rare name my friends started to tease me with crude undertones "hey, C*** Dee" at college. However, I had my last laugh when I answered "C*** you is here!!"

This brings me to a sales executive whom I just met and her name is Vynter Hugh. What a name ! As I had never met her I called her Winter over the phone. And when I met her I was wondering whether she is a caucasian girl. As I was about to raise this she beat me to it and said that for umpteen times she had to explain that she is Chinese and her surname is Kew and that all her siblings had different spellings like Kieu, Hew . Anyway, thanks to the policeman whose spelling mistake makes good conversation topics !! Surely there are many of you out there that are also in our similar situation.