WHEN THE -POWERS -THAT- BE REARS IT'S UGLY HEAD......

'Dato' Hj Jamry ordered to vacate his office at JAIP within 24 hours!' screamed the RTM news headline barely 2 hours ago. I was shocked. Appalled, in fact.! Dato' Jamry is a very committed government officer. high on intregrity and commendable in duty.He is very accomadating . always humble and would bent over backwards to help the needy. I should know cos I had the priviledge to work with him in Perak Tengah for eight years.Thus the unexpected turn of events concerning the well respected administrator of Islamic affairs in the state of Perak came as a total surprise, to say the least.

There are many questions that beg to be answered. Why did the Mentri Besar deem it proper to issue a 24 hours notice( as reported widely by the local media) to an officer of the state without outlining the reasons behind such an unprecedented act towards a JAIP Director? Does the MB know what he is doing, or is he so blinded by his new found political power ? Are the people of Perak to understand that hitherto any state officer is subjected to rash decisions without been given any chance to defend oneself? I would like to ask.........what philosophy or theory of management is applied by the PR government in this matter ?And, more importantly, does he not know that he is responsible and answerable to H.R.H. The Sultan of Perak ?

Dato ' Jamry is a dedicated govt. officer. I believe he is welcomed wherever he is asked to serve.JAIP 's loss is some other department's gain. However, on the positive side, this episode that happened to him is a blessing in disguise for the rakyat in general. The shoddy treatment accorded to Dato' Jamry, without any doubt, has put on show the antics of the PR govt in Perak. It is hoped that this worrying trend would lift the veil that has blurred the visions of the voters in Perak and elsewhere.The people now know the terrible mistake that they have made when they voted in the PR candidates. Never mind , .........regret away, it is ok; next time vote wisely and place your trust in the accomplished hands of the Barisan Nasional.

BALKIS.........THE MUCH COVETED "MAIDEN "!

I followed with interest the reaction of the new Selangor government with regards to the dissolution of BALKIS by its members three days after the 12th General Election. I read with disbelieve the statement issued by the Selangor Mentri Besar's wife, Puan Sri Salbiah Tunut, that she should be BALKIS's President as she is the Menteri Besar's wife (Sunday Star 27 April 2008). She reportedly gave this statement to the press flanked by Pakatan Rakyat's women elected representatives.

Actually,as a woman I am embarrassed by all this Pakatan-led showboating.

Did it not occur to anyone that on the day BALKIS was dissolved, it was still under the jurisdiction of the former president, simply because the new Menteri Besar had not been sworn in yet? To my mind, those who failed to understand this simple fact inadvertently displayed a lack of comprehension on a very elementary logic.

I have had the honour to be associated with BALKIS's counterpart in Perak, namely BAIDURI, and I found that the members were honorable and trust worthy. I have been told that every time there was a trip involving the association, the members had to pay their own way if they wanted to participate. In fact, there were known to be cases of member wives who wanted to join in these trips but could not do so because of the high personal expenditures involved.

So Datin Seri Zaharah Kechik, cheer up. To my mind, you did nothing wrong. Your intentions were noble. You wanted to be sure that the funds were to be secured for proper use. You did the right thing ,so don't ever let anybody tell you otherwise!

To those who are too eager and too quick to point fingers at BALKIS, think twice before you embarrass yourselves. This in an NGO, so doesn't this validity issue fall under the purview of the ROS? Why all the silly hooha? Please be reminded, that the voters are watching!

THE KERIS..........THE KERIS !

Now what was Hishammuddin thinking?

I read the other day that our Dato Seri Hisham was very sorry for waving a symbolic kris at PWTC which raised a lot of comments from within & without. Apologise for drawing and kissing the keris at The UMNO Youth General Assembly last year?

I just want to ask him one simple question.

Did he unsheathe the keris to 'warn' the non-Malays that he was in a warrior-bloodshed mood and woe betide those who crossed his path? If so, apologise away. But if not, why apologise?

In my humble opinion Dato Seri Hisham, you did the unthinkable. You used the keris in vain! But wait...apologise properly to the Malays as well. The keris is historically a very sacred legacy. It depicts and has always depicted the determination and empowerment of the Malays in the face of challenges and any impending attack to the entire community.

Now, was Hishammudin and his 'community' under a real physical attack from some quarter? Were we in real mortal danger with real mortal consequences? If yes, say so. If not, why use the keris at the Assembly? Was that a publicity gimmick, and was it worth it?

One should never ever, use the keris as a symbol merely to suit one's own mood & agenda. The keris was not designed for any one person alone!

AL-FATIHAH

One of my best friends, Hamsiah, passed away peacefully on a wet Sunday night ,20th April 2008 .She was not only my political allay, but also my confidante , having served as my secretary ( Wanita UMNO ) for close to fourteen years. We had our share of tensed and anxious moments as well as joyous and fulfilling days.

She sacrificed enormously in the spirit of political affinity, and was always prepared to give her best in the name of duty and commitment to her country and community. Even when she was diagnosed with cancer, she continued to contribute her service best as she could for the party, besides taking care of her family single-handedly . Farewell Hamsiah . I miss you dearly and will always treasure the bond that we share. May Allah be with you always. Al Fatihah.

OF ROTI CANAI AND NASI LEMAK.

Woke up this morning with a sudden craving for nasi lemak. Must have been the blog I read last night about someone eating nasi lemak bungkus at an R and R location somewhere along the north south highway.His nasi lemak sounded so convincingly delicious, that I just had to have nasi lemak for breakfast today! Talk about the influence of bloggers!!

After subuh prayer, I put on a casual baju kurung and persuaded my other half that a morning drive amidst kampung scenery and serene lifestyle would freshen the mind and soul .....and the therapy would only be completed with a plate of nasi lemak and kopi o .After all this was my home kampong, Kampong Gajah, and I had a whole three hours before my first community function .

There was this eating place I spotted the other week.So we started up the main road towards Telok Intan and turned into a mud track leadind to this wooden structure premise.From a distance I could see that the place was quite packed.We were about twenty meters from the entrance when I noticed the attention we were attracting. A set of no less than fifteen eyes were focussed on me, hubby and the car. It was very unsettling! One middle-aged guy even put down his morning paper just to join in the silent eye 'feast'. Hubby got the cue when I almost grabbed the steering wheel to make a Uturn back to the main road. Another people habit I was not confortable with. Why couldn't everybody just ignored us so we could eat our nasi lemak, pay the bill and took our departure unnoticed like they did in Kuala Lumpur! Ah well, that was the end of nasi lemak kampong. Hope the nasi lemak there was not that delicious after all..

Next stop was Telok Intan itself. We proceeded to this new Medan Selera on the outskirts of town. Good, there was
ample parking space..... too many infact, that hubby was spoilt for choice and went a full round of the parking lot before taking a space nearest to the entrance. So pleasantly unlike Kuala Lumpur..

We chose a stall selling roti canai. Hubby just loved roti canai and would unhesitatingly order roti canai for breakfast
on one condition ---- the roti canai must be direct from the kwali AND the roti canai maker must be handling the dough and doing nothing else! You see he had to be sure thet the roti canai maker did not touch his nose or clean tables while
waiting for the roti to be done. "The dough easily absorbed dirt and if their hands were dirty, the roti canai would be soo 'enriched' " he reasoned.

I had to have my nasi lemak. Firt stall did not get through my ISO standard. This particular stall had his sambal separated from the anchovies ! Didn't his mother teach him how to make the original sambal bilis! You mixed the bilis and the sambal in the kwali and not on the nasi lemak plate. My nasi lemak must be authentic. Nasi lemak cooked in coco-nut milk with onions and ginger and salt to taste. The sambal must be sambal ikan bilis cooked with blended dried chillies and not chilibok.Eggs must be hard- boiled , and slices of cucumber on the plate would neutralise the 'hotness' of the sambal. That's nasi lemak for you." Go make your own nasi lemak " my husband would say. And my children? " Mak, please, please open a nasi lemak stall
We can then enjoy our nasi lemak in peace," they said.

At last I found a stall that fulfilled my sambal bilis standard. I ordered the basic authentic nasi lemak plate and a cup of black coffee. I sat beside hubby, who was happily tucking in his second roti canai, waiting for my order to come. After about two minutes the waiter with the nasi lemak in one hand and kopi o in the other made his way to my table. He set the plate and cup of kopi o in front of me. That was when I had a full view of this grissly forty something man. His shirt , hanging loosely on his body, was wet and stained; his hair uncombed and everything about him was unkempt. Now how was I going to enjoy my nasi lemak ????

WHEN HE'S GOOD HE'S VERY, VERY GOOD; WHEN HE'S BAD HE'S ..............

Just came back from Ipoh last night. I was one of the priviledged grassroots to be invited to this very hyped meeting with our VIP officials. It was in every sense a no holds barred session .Very refreshing , yet not without its share of tense , 'sparks-fly' moments. Nothing serious though, just politics democrasy at its best. Everyone was given an oppurtunity to air his or her views.Some seized the honour of taking the floor and dancing to the music of the ever enthusiastic crowd; others shouted themselves hoarse to egg on the speakers with encores and catcalls, while a majority sat back taking in the morning's event with mixed feelings of awe and admiration.

To me it potrayed a total spectrum of emotions : pent- up anger, disillusionments, love and esprit de core, compassion and even unexpected outburst of sentiments best left untouched. I watched transfixed as each 'delegate' spoke with earnest and a degree of seriousness rarely seen before. Each proposal was carefully presented with every solution laced with pressure, emitting a sense of urgency as if the worries of Malaysia were the burden of this selected group of speakers who were now assembled in the moderately lighted room. But the surprise that awaited me was something out of the blue!

Normally dignified middle-aged leaders ,well groomed and exuding an aura of authority and sophistication were suddenly transformed into angry orators, quoting words so unpleasant that drew gasps of disapproval..... or was it approval from fellow 'grassroots'.I was totally taken aback. One well-dressed professional who was always respectful, mild-mannered and soft spoken suddenly reared his ugly head. He stood straight and defiant infront of the much conveted mike and bared his emotions throwing challenges and provoking the highly charged gallery.I have never seen this side of him before! Reminds me of a Communication 101 class I attended at Marshall U which, among others, dictated that every person had four 'characters' visible exclusively only at certain times and to certain people. Apparently what I was withnessing at that point in time was a side of him that emerged only very, very rarely. And what a sight !!!. This character was like a man possessed.... so adamant, so hostile and so not acceptable!!!.

Perak dialect, vocab and intonation, came to the fore. Words previously regarded as taboo flowed like a burst pipe on a stormy day. It was certainly a day of revelation. Angry young men displaying raw emotions and throwing caution to the winds, well adorned ladies poignantly taking in the scenario and at times tempting to pull some of these boisterous speakers by the ears ,and aged gentlemen trying to come to terms with this new breed of politicians, and lamententing the demise of well rehearsed opinions and polished manners. It was totally unbelievable! All pent up emotions broke loose, some well received,  others unrelevant and uncalled for. 


But at the end of the day, reasons prevailed. Admittedly, issues had to be tackled, personalities had to be cautioned, and actions had to be perceived to have been taken.

The officals who were treated to a show of diversed opinions and display of hitherto unexposed antics had an earful and an armful. The crowd dispersed with hope and expectation that this episode would pave the way to a storming of brains and the setting of new directions for the party; and that in the final analysis the party is supreme, that this sacred 'wadah perjuangan' should be preserved at all cost and that the light at the end of the tunnel is nigh!!!

CELAKA AYAM

Matahari masih terbit di ufuk timur. Helang di pucuk angsana masih berwarna hitam.Cempaka putih masih harum semerbak. Namun suasana tanah air kita diliputi mega mendung yang muncul dengan tiba-tiba tanpa dijangka , jauh sekali diundang.

Nenek moyang pejuang bangsa menggadai nyawa di medan pembebasan ibu pertiwi, tanpa memikirkan kepentingan diri . Kini, di simpang mana perjalanan kita di lebuhraya perjuangan politik ini? Lupakah kita pada perjuangan bangsa ? Mana letaknya rasa kasih dan sayang kita pada wadah perjuangan?

Generasi yang kita warisi tidak berlepas begitu saja tanpa memupuk dan membimbing kita ke arah pemeliharaan maruah dan ketuanan bangsa. Dari bumi Dato' Sagor dan Dato' Maharajalela berbagai pesanan dan pembahasaan diturunkan. Cicit Dato' Sagor , Allahyarham Dato' Mohd. Abas meninggalkan kata -kata hikmah yang diwarisi daripada moyangnya. . . .

Jangan diikut CELAKA AYAM .........

Ada makanan dikais-kais

Hendak berlaki patuk anak

Helang terbang khabarkan diri

Rumah tuan diberak berak

Dibawa bersampan menyeberang sungai

Bertelor sebiji rioh sekampung.........



Oleh itu hubaya hubayalah............agar nasi tidak menjadi bubur!!!