About 2 years back, I accompanied Mrs Tai to her course mate’s wedding in Penang. I was going to Penang on a business trip anyway. She had known this course mate for quite a while and the few of them would occasionally meet up and visit one another, including this particular course mate who’s hometown is in Pulau Ketam.

When my grandpa passed away and Mrs Tai found out that we had gone to somewhere near Pulau Ketam, she suddenly remembered this friend and was telling me all about her again…

Mrs Tai called me just this afternoon… This friend had been involved in a car accident this morning. Her friend did not survive while the husband and baby is in critical condition.

Last week, my brother-in-law asked me to help him get a notebook. As always, my first recommendation would always be DELL simply because price-wise and service-wise, they are very good (at least in Malaysia anyway).

So after asking him a few questions, like what he intends to do with the notebook and what is his budget, I suggested he go for Dell Inspiron 1420. Actually, for this case, asking for the purpose was redundant because eventually we got a very high spec notebook - his budget allowed it! Basically the notebook comes with an Intel Core2 Duo Processor (T5450 @ 1.66Ghz and 2MB cache), 2GB RAM, 160GB harddisk, 2MB integrated webcam, DVD Writer, Bluetooth, wifi-enabled, 3 years complete cover, etc… His only request - he wanted it to be Expresso brown.

It arrived today. And it comes preloaded with Windows Vista. So, first task, reinstall with Windows XP (yes, Windows Vista really sucks, IMHO). This is the one bit I don’t like about Dell — they don’t have option to install with Windows XP. So have to buy another license! Bummer…

Mrs Tai was feeling a little tired today. So I told her that I would cook lunch while she took a nap. But I warned her that it’s just going to be something very simple - instant noodles.

This was what greeted her at lunch time when she got up from her nap…

This morning, we went to the crematorium to pick up grandpa’s ashes. It was an emotional affair for my relatives, especially my aunts. After going through the custom ceremonies (which included prayers, etc), we were off to Port Klang to scatter the ashes. We had done the same for our grandma.

We chartered a bus as there were about more than 20 of us. We arrived at Port Klang about half and hour later and proceeded to board the two boats that has been arranged for us. We were told there wasn’t any boat big enough for all of us. So we had to split into two boats. I was told to board the boat carrying grandpa’s ashes. In about 10 minutes, we were on the way out to the ’sea’…

Clockwise from Top Left: We arrived at Port Klang; Walking down to the jetty; On the way out the the ’sea’; That is grandpa in two bags having his last sun bath
Dad holding onto grandpaAbout 10 minutes later, we arrived at our destination. We were not really out in the sea but it was far out enough from the port. As the boat slowed down to a stop, we could feel the boat swaying left and right. It was a bit rough. Dad and my uncle got started. They slowly poured grandpa’s ashes and bone bits into the sea. All it all, it was another 10 minutes followed by a quick prayer. We then started to head back to the jetty.

Rest well, grandpa…On the way back, I noticed that the water was some how separated at one area… You can sea the water is greenish on one side and brownish on the other…

See the line? The water seems to be separated by that line - green on one side, brown on the otherSince we were in Klang, someone suggested we have the famous Klang Bah Kut Teh (pork ribs in herbal soup).

Dad just called a few minutes ago…

My grandpa had just passed away…

He had fallen down twice yesterday and had been admitted into the hospital. He was still unconscious then. This morning, my uncle (dad’s youngest brother) had told us that grandpa has some brokens bones but no surgery can be done as he’s old and weak.

The past few months has been a series of bad news for me…

Dad sold of the old Volvo and got himself a Perodua Viva recently. The car arrived middle of the week and I have to say that it looks good. I believe the one he got was the 850cc version.

Since we were relatively ‘free’ over the weekend and dad has not been to Setia Alam (my future home) in a long time, we decided to try out his car and drive there.

Can’t say I know a lot about cars. So don’t expect an expert kind of review. The three of us (my dad, Mrs Tai @ my wife and myself) sat comfortably in the car. I am kinda impressed that at its price (I think around rm33k, all inclusive), it comes with power windows for all the windows. Cabin space was quite big. As I said, we felt quite comfortable inside. Dashboard was very minimal and basic. There is the single CD player. Side-view mirrors is not manual (meaning you push some buttons to adjust the side-view mirrors). I think it even comes with air-bag (I might be wrong about this — sorry la, like I said, I’m not a car freak).

Inside the Perodua Viva

So far, the things I noticed and found to be slightly ‘off’ is the lack of a meter to show the temperature. Viva only has two light indicator - one for COLD and one for HOT. They will only turn on when the engine is too cold or too hot. I think that’s kinda bad. I would like to know if the engine is starting to get too hot. Besides that, I also noticed there’s no way to turn off the air-cond vent. You can turn it left or right or up or down… But you just can’t shut it.

I think Mrs Tai has fallen in love with this car. She said that if not for our need to have extra space (meaning the car boot), she would love to get this. We have been told by friends who have kids to get a car with lots of space - for baby seats, strollers, etc…

The drive to Setia Alam was smooth. We didn’t expect much changes for the house since its like 95-99% completed already. I managed to speak to the sales person and she said that the house progress is still on schedule and we’re expected to receive the house keys next month (April). The Certificate of Fitness/ Occupation (CF) is expected to be ready in April or May. Once we get the CF, it means we can move in.

But for us, we are planning to only move in by the end of the year. Partly due to other more important matters - our baby is due in May. Plus, we would like to take our time to decorate and improve the house (plant flowers, add cabinets, etc) before we move it. Like Derrell, we will slowly move our things to our new home.

One more month and we should be getting the keys. That’s my dad’s new Perodua Viva

Over the past few weeks, things have been a bit of confusing for both my wife and myself. But I am glad to say that we have both ’settled-in’ (in regards to our baby’s complication). I have to say that I have never realised how much of preparation work is required for the would-be parents. Getting baby cot, strollers, making the house and bedroom more baby-friendly (meaning clean the room, etc), baby clothes, baby names (in a way, we have actually decided on the name), etc…

We are just glad that there are a few friends who have offered to loan us their baby strollers, baby cots, clothes, etc… If you believe what the old folks say, the baby will be ‘easier’ and more ‘comfortable’ when using hand-me-downs. The more hands the item’s been through, the better it is for the baby.

It was also nice to receive calls from family and friends offering to help us find out more about Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia from their local hospitals (these are friends staying overseas). Some even offered us a place to stay should we decide to go overseas for treatment. Others have included us in their prayers. We are so touched!

But I think for now, we will just stick to getting the treatment and surgery from UMMC. We have confidence in the doctors at the UMMC. But yes, we are also reading up, surfing the net, asking around, etc to find out more about Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. No harm in having more knowledge and options.

Two week ago, I bought two children’s songs CDs. It took me a while to find those CDs. And honestly, I forgot how to sing most of the songs on the CD. Seriously, how many can still remember the lyrics to songs “How much is that doggy in the window”?

Just last week, my wife bought a toy for our baby… Can’t remember what that toy is called… It’s the thing that plays music when you pull the string. But I told my wife the string was to short (the song ends very fast). Oh well, maybe we’ll get another one for our baby later.

You can get the final results here:
http://thestar.com.my/election/results/results.html
http://thestar.com.my/election/maps/

This time around, Barisan Nasional (BN) wins the election with only a simple majority. This is supposed to be BN’s worst performance since 1969. They did not get 2/3 majority which would have allowed them to approve or amend the new law without needing to consult the oppositions.

What I find puzzling is the fact that BN leaders seems to have been caught off-guard with this result. Mainstream media, as usual, chose not to report (or some may claim were ‘discouraged’ from reporting) many events that showed how much support the oppositions were getting during the campaigning period. I mean nowhere on TV and local newspapers could you find these:
http://www.mycen.com.my/sightings/sightings060308_ceramah.html
http://themalaysianinsider.com/mni/penang-rally-draws-30000.html

So much for intelligence reports if BN could not even detect and anticipate this results. For those who frequent the internet for a more comprehensive news, the results of the 12th General Election was no surprise.

I would like to end this post by quoting Raja Petra Kamarudin of Malaysia Today:

Thank you Malaysians, for having the confidence to opt for change.
Thank you Malaysians, for grabbing back power and handing it back to the people.
Thank you Malaysians, for giving back Malaysia its future.
Thank you Malaysians, for believing that your one vote can make a difference.
Thank you Malaysians, for ensuring that my grandchildren will have something to look forward to.

Vote counting process on going in many areas. News from everywhere seems to indicate a wind of change.

Want to know the latest results for Malaysia’s 12th General Election? Then check out these few sites:
http://www.malaysiakini.com/index.php <– Updated quite regularly
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/malaysia2008/seats.htm
http://www.dap-elections.com/
http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/election08/results.html

I noticed mainstream media (like TV and newspaper websites) are very slow to provide updates and results.

Today is the day where Malaysians go out and have their voices heard! This is the day where if you are not happy with how things have been, you make a change.

I have cast my vote. The process was relatively fast. Took me less than 10mins from the time I arrived at the polling station to the time I left the place. I was lucky my booth (more like classroom) was empty. I saw some booths that had quite a number of people queuing up outside.

I had wanted to write more about the 2008 General Election sometime earlier this week but I just couldn’t find the time, But here’s what I have to say about the 2008 General Elections.

Candidates
I won’t go into details about candidates all over the country but will just focus on mine - Kelana Jaya for Parliament Seat and Seri Setia for State Seat. Heck, I don’t think I want to even talk about the state seats. I have not really seen those two candidates in action. They don’t come off as impressive at all. As for Kelana Jaya, I was ‘lucky’ to have three candidates - Lee Hwa Beng for Barisan National, Loh Gwo Burne for Keadilan and Billi Lim running as an independant candidate.

Lim Hwa Beng was previously running in Subang Jaya. No introduction or explanation required. He’s been in newspapers, etc quite often. Loh Gwo Burne has also been in the news lately. You don’t know him?!? He’s the guy who taped Lingam la… Oh wait, Lingam said it looks like him, sounds like him, but might not be him (or something like that). Other than this Lingam thingy, I don’t think Gwo Burne’s being doing anything else (politically). He’s been so busy with his business that he’s got no time to even register himself as a voter. If he has no interest in politics, then what they heck is he doing running for Parliament seat? If he gets elected, will he actually be able to serve the people of Kelana Jaya? Or will it be business first, politics/ community second? I have once encountered a doctor who was also a politician (thank goodness he’s not running this year - what I heard is that there is in-fighting among the people in that party) who actually put politics first instead of his medical practice. I wonder if Gwo Burne’s even stayed in Kelana Jaya before.

Billi Lim (don’t you think he looks like Old Master Q? This is interesting (and that’s why he’s getting his own paragraph). I like his haircut. Oh good, he finally got his website updated. Yesterday it was still very crappy. From what I understand, he is a motivational speaker and the author of the book Dare To Fail. I guess Parliament can definitely do with some extra motivation and people like Bung can learn to speak better properly.

News flash: I just got an text message on my phone from +4540590097 saying “UNDILAH BARISAN NASIONAL UNTUK KITA SEMUA. SEMOGA SELAMAT AMAN DAN MAKMUR.” Does it mean if I don’t vote them, the country’s not going to be peaceful?!?

I wonder how many of the candidates have done community service? Or are the expecting a windfall when they become part of the government?

OPPOSITIONS
We do not have real oppositions. DAP? PAS? Keadilan? They only work together during election time. Plus, Khairy did raise an interesting question - If the oppositions win, who is their candidate for Prime Minister? I don’t really see anyone from the three parties that I would like to see as Malaysia’s future leader. If they are serious about being strong, form a new party.

CORRIDORS
I wonder why are all the corridors suddenly announced just before election? There have been many that says its too ambitious to have so many MEGA projects running almost simultaneously. If so, could it be that if Barisan Nasional do not get 2/3 majority, they can then say the projects can’t take off because oppositions are causing problems?

MY WISHES
I would like to see a party that is not based on race. I would like to see a party that fights for everyone - regardless of race or religion. I would like to see a party that is committed to developing our country and at the same time, care for the environment. Poverty does not only affect one race. Every Malaysian should have equal opportunity for health care, education, etc… Improve public transportation and reduce the number of cars on the road. It helps save reduce pollution and more importantly, our reliance on petrol. After all, only the rich can afford petrol guzzling cars, so why is the petrol subsidy used to benefit the rich who can afford such petrol guzzlers? I read somewhere that Malaysia will become a nett importer of petroleum in the next 5-10 years. When that time comes, what will be our country’s source of income? Proton?!? Don’t kid me…

Oh ya, would be nice to see more forward looking politicians. Most of our national plans, including election, seems so last minute. Speaking of last minute, how come the jokers who thought up the use of indelible inks never thought of the legal implications? Isn’t these the same people who should at least know some legal stuffs, especially when it comes to election-related legal issues?