Tie a yellow ribbon around the Malaysian tree

I once read that the only thing worth reading in the newspaper is the date itself. Nothing more.

And judging from the amount of bollocks appearing in my country's local dailies, I think the statement is true after all.

Recent news have been centering on the recent Bersih 2.0 rally which if I must say, the event itself is a good reflection to show that some of us are not afraid to stand up for our rights. However, the spin given by the local dailies seemed to point these courageous souls as problem makers and an ungrateful lot who offended the concept of 'democracy'. Well, whose idea of democracy is it exactly that we are offending? Because as far as I know and have learned (both definitely not from the Malaysian system of governance), democracy is more than being given a right to vote once every five years. Democracy is about being able to vote without fear or favour and once you've voted, for that vote not to be tampered with or you suddenly finding that your vote has been silenced by multiple mysterious boxes containing votes leaning towards one particular alliance. And since we're at it, democracy is about our freedom to speak. There is no democracy when batons are lashed and chemical gases sprayed at civilians who wanted to speak their minds.

Although I was not surprised by the blatant one-sided and unfair coverage by the dailies, I was amazed by how the national media is now airing advertisements showing wartorn countries accompanied by the glaring message 'Ini Bukan Budaya Kita' (This is not our culture). The government talks about culture but seriously, what culture are we preserving thus far? Other countries preserve their heritage sites and buildings. Not us. We bulldoze them to the grounds in name of development. Either that or the once-important buildings are left abandoned for the likes of spirits and addicts. We build new (and most of the time, uglier and yes, weak) buildings which somehow leads us to wonder whether the country is deprived of good architects and civil engineers. In short, appreciation of history is definitely not a culture which the government is seeking to preserve.

The only culture which comes to mind is for Malaysians to continue swallowing 50 years and more of bollocks. The government wants us to silence the voice that we've been given. They want us to insult our brains by not thinking about the many misdeeds we had to suffer from. The government prefers indifferent citizens who are blind to the ways the country is run and how the taxpayers' money are treated like the government's God-given right. That is the only culture that those on the pedestals of power are interested in. For that, democracy must certainly take a back seat.

Yet, there were some who swallowed the government's propaganda hook, line and sinker. These narrow-minded creatures (I'm not even calling them as humans because clearly, they were not bestowed with the gift to think and rationalise) villify the rally as attacking Malaysia's social fabric or targeting a specific race as the catalyst for a pro-socialist movement. Stop it. Think, for once. Unlike what the government wanted us to believe, Bersih 2.0 was never about a particular race or religion. In fact, it was merely a push for electoral reforms which would ensure that the Malaysian election (which has been condemned time and time again) is free from any unholy influence. Electoral reforms affect everyone, whether or not you belong to one race or profess another religion. I thought it was plain common sense to support this cause. And if the cause is obviously good, then why would the ruling government oppose them? Think about it. If the ruling government did garner majority support during the last election (or all the elections during the past 5 decades) and has been doing a good job, then they should not mind these reforms. Who knows, it may even lead to a higher vote of confidence in the administration. The very fact that they are vehemently opposing these reforms (and shamelessly using the country's resources which are, by the way, paid by the tax payers' money!), we could only deduce one logical explanation. There must be skeletons being hidden in the political parties' closets and the accumulated stench (of 5 decades worth of improper governance and massive plundering of country's wealth) which must be covered at all costs. If I'm reading along the lines correctly, these electoral reforms, if they are in place, will see skeletons being paraded in the open and political leaders removed from their high pedestals of powers. Now, that is something they can't afford.

Although I did not manage to participate in the rally, I was immensely proud of my friends who did contribute to make our voices heard. They marched in their yellow attire regardless of their race and religion. All they wanted was for the election system to be cleaned.

I'm all for Bersih. The dirt and grime must be removed, even if it means I may just lose a whole lot of relatives. Perhaps I should do something along the likes of the British Queen. Anyone wants to tie a yellow ribbon around the Malaysian tree?

Singapore Stopover (1-3 July 2011)

It was what I would call as a planned impromptu trip. Am really sure it doesn’t make sense (oxymoron comes to mind) but if the current ruling government can ban yellow as a colour, I think anything is possible.

Along with my friends, we had planned for a retail therapy trip down south. The Great Singapore Sale was just the right reason for us to go crazy in Singapore malls (either by the sheer shopping experience or the mind-boggling currency conversions). Then, there was also the newly opened Universal Studios Singapore. Having been to the Japanese theme park, I was understandably curious to see what our richer neighbour has to offer. And that was how USS formed the bulk of our weekend Singapore itinerary. What else could we ask for? Fun in USS and shopping during THE sale.

But the trip almost never happened. A few events that had taken place could be seen as writings on the wall. Sya had an unscheduled course right smack in the weekend. Thankfully, it was taken off just as sudden as it was fixed in the first place. Akmar had started work in a new legal firm and she was supposed to work over the weekend. That too was gratefully postponed to another weekend. As for me, I had suffered from a nasty bout of flu days before the trip so naturally, Mom and Dad were far than keen for me to join.

Well, the travel bug in me was far more powerful than the flu.

We started the long journey at 9 p.m. on Friday night - four girls and a trustworthy car. Initial plan was to stop at Sungai Besi’s toll station for their fiery Ayam Penyet for dinner. Somehow, the shop was closed and having continued our journey, the search for dinner became supper. We had no choice but to dig in KFC along the way. Sya took over the wheels and before we knew it (or at least, myself for having slept most of the way), we reached JB close to 2 a.m. The plan was to spend the night (or what was left of it) at Sya’s aunty’s place in Nusa Damai. Now, a night roadtrip inevitably means passengers falling asleep at one point or another, a privilege which the driver should not even consider. However, we were all wide awake when Sya drove past a long lonely stretch of road and passed a signboard which reads ‘Kong Kong’. With such a funny name and us still fresh from our Hong Kong trip, the name really gave us one hearty laugh. At that time, I had thought that if I’m to write about the trip (which surprisingly, I am doing it right now), the title would be ‘From Hong Kong to Kong Kong’. The former is in SAR China and the latter, a small unheard place somewhere in Johore!

The next morning was rather chaotic. We didn’t have enough sleep, 2.5 hours max and despite waking up early, there was just not enough time for us to reach our travel bus. To make it worse, we had to go to Tune Hotel where the bus was waiting. And neither of us knew where Tune Hotel was. The wristwatch showed 5 minutes to 7.30 as we frantically tried to find our way to the Hotel and the bus which, we have been warned, would leave at 7.30 a.m. Perhaps the travel staff realized we were going to be late so they called Sya’s handphone. Rehan picked it up and when asked where were we, she innocently replied ‘Kat Johor’. Haha. Imagine if she replied Malacca. The caller would probably have fainted on the spot. By the time we reached the bus, it was already 7.45 and I could not help but notice the irate glances thrown our way. We were after all, the superstars who arrived late.

It was 10 a.m. when our bus finally sighted the Universal Studios signboard. Yeay! For me, it felt like returning to a familiar place. For my friends, I hoped it would be akin to entering a studio of possibilities and one place where both young and old (not necessarily in that order) could enjoy. But before we could start with anything, we had to store our luggages. And that was solved by renting a large locker for one full day at a cost of 20 Sg dollars. By sheer ingenuity or probably more of the ‘eeep! Bloody expensive!’ thought running in our heads, we crammed 2 trolley bags and 2 haversacks into the locker.

With our luggages tucked away safely, the weekend has just begun and with it, our journey into the fantasy world of Universal Studios!

Madagascar. Boogieing with the penguins and King Julien.

Far, far away. Watched the Donkey Show and the superb Shrek 4D Adventure.

Lunch at Goldilocks Café. No bears running around but the food was not that great. The only consolation was the Ben&Jerry’s icrecream which Sya and I bought.

Lost World of Jurassic. We spent close to 2 hours queueing for the ‘Rapid Adventure’. It was just a ride in a circular boat which took not more than 7 minutes. The end part did give us a heart attack (minor one) and Sya got drenched. Luckily, the rest of us escaped from the unexpected soaking.

Then we decided to ride the ‘Canopy Flyer’. The ride was merely described as having a panoramic view of the Jurassic World. What they forgot to mention was the fact that it was actually a mini roller coaster. I didn’t have time to take out my camera to take shots as I was busy hanging for dear life.

Off to Waterworld performance at 4.30 p.m.

Ancient Egypt. We’ve been told to ride ‘Revenge of the Mummy’ but even from the outside, the ride looked pretty daunting. Perhaps it was the statues that adorned the entrance. In the end, the ride was simply not an option.

SciFi World. Now, this world is one world I would forgo without regret. The extreme roller-coasters, aptly named Battlestar Galactica Cylon and Human were definitely beyond human capability. With its interwoven red and blue tracks that go as high as 14 storeys and make its way into the underground at an extremely fast pace, even looking at it is not for the fainthearted.

New York. If you’re in New York, do what the New Yorkers do. Catch that ubiquitous yellow cab which we did minus the actual driver! Then, it was off to ‘Lights, Camera, Action!’ which is a short special effects presentation with Steven Spielberg. Unfortunately, it was here that we realized Sya had dropped her sunglasses. Sya and I scrambled back to the streets of New York but our search was a failure. Obviously, people would not return an Armani sunglass lying on the street.

Hollywood. Nothing much here except for rows and rows of Oscar statuettes. We hit the Celebrity Café & Bakery for our evening tea.

Back to Madagascar. Rode the ‘A Crate Adventure’. There was no queue, thank God.

I am lying if I said we didn’t do any shopping in USS. Well, a souvenir here and there doesn't hurt.

After the closing fireworks at 9 p.m., we took the Sentosa Express to Vivo City. It was here that I met my friend, Brian who had kindly offered to bring us around. The first order was for halal food but considering it was almost closing time, I settled for bread from Bread Talk.

We then made our way to Chinatown as the girls wanted to do some souvenir shopping. And shopped they did. With that, we took the cab to Sya’s uncle’s place in Ang Mo Kio and called it a day.

The Next Day


Our plans (or dreams) to wake up early was beaten by Saturday's exhaustion. What was supposed to be a wake-up time at 7.30 a.m. became 9.30 a.m. There goes two extra hours. The itinerary was simple. Go to Merlion Park, snap pictures, eat lunch at Arab Street and shop at Orchard Road.

Anyway, we had a hard time flagging a cab. While we know how to catch a cab in Malaysia (stand anywhere and wave your arms towards the oncoming cab), we thought we would do the right thing in Singapore. With that mindset, we walked to the nearest bus stop and waited. The wait was long, extremely long. And yet, not one cab came to our rescue. After almost sweating for 1 hour under the hot sun, we finally learned that in Singapore, cabs don't pick up passengers at the bus stops. Sheesh. So the Singaporeans are the same as Malaysians in one aspect.

Waiting for a cab in vain and under the hot sun.

Merlion Park. To my surprise, this was the original statue. I had thought the only one was in Sentosa Island.

A short add-on to the itinerary - Singapore River Cruise to Clarke Quay. A 15 minutes ride which served as an impressive refresher course into Singapore's colourful history. It does make me wonder why Malaysia can't do the same thing. I mean, we do have rivers (Klang River and floating garbages came to mind) but it's not utilised to attract tourists. And it is sad that we don't preserve heritage buildings like the Singaporeans.

From Clarke Quay, we made our way to Bugis MRT Station. Met Brian here and he brought us to our lunch venue on Arab Street. We ate at a restaurant known as Singapore Zam Zam. Lunch, if it can be described in three words was, a sinful affair. The food we ordered was as if Armageddon was coming that evening itself. Either that or we were all planning to be on Asia's 'The Biggest Loser' reality show! 3 mutton briyanis, 1 chicken briyani, mutton murtabak, chicken murtabak and prawn masala spoke for themselves (and the reason behind our expanding waistlines).



I had wanted to proceed straight to Orchard Road (no time should be lost when it comes to shopping) but Brian thought we would want to walk around in that area. He was right. Speaking for myself, I was severely and excruciatingly tempted with the fabulous materials on offer. The only problem which arose was when the mind is unable to stop converting the prices into RM. And when the price hits you hard, it's back to the question of whether 'it's worth it?' and 'when exactly can I wear these clothes?'. But the hesitation didn't stop me from thumbing metres of materials. As I walked away empty handed, I left my heart with this gorgeous silver ensemble. My only consolation was that another trip with Mom must be on the cards very, very soon.

We made our way to Orchard Road via MRT. A funny thing happened as we waited to board the train at Bugis Station. By the time we reached the train, it was already there for quite some time and was bursting with people. Yet, Brian insisted on taking the train and jumped in. Right after he entered the train, the doors closed. That left us staring at him as the train left the station. Luckily it was him who got separated from us. If it had been one of my friends, we would be further delayed as we would try to find the missing person! In the end, we met at City Hall Station where we changed from the purple line to the red line bound for Orchard.

Remember me telling you that the Singapore Great Sale is in full swing? Guess what. I dragged my friends to ION Orchard, Takashimaya and yet, I could not find anything to buy! There I was in Singapore during the great sale and I left empty handed. I even tried to look for Mom's baking tools but was left disappointed. Sya made her way to Marks & Spencer by herself and as a result, she got lost while trying to find her way back to ION. In the end, we left Orchard Road around 8 p.m. and boarded the MRT to Yio Chu Kang.

It was time to leave Singapore. We retrieved our bags from Sya's uncle's place and boarded a cab back to Queen Street for the bus bound for JB. Everything was smooth except for the part where we had to get our bags screened by the Malaysian Immigration officers. Of all the times they actually work, it had to be the one where we passed through. After a quick McD dinner at the Larkin Bus Terminal, we took a cab to get us back at Tune Hotel where Sya's car was parked. Luckily Sya is a Johorean and knew the way because as it turned out, the old man who was driving the cab was a newbie! Judging from his dialect, he is a Kelantanese and does not know the roads in JB. However, he was very friendly and he initially thought we were Singaporeans. If we were indeed Singaporeans, I hate to imagine who should be the one giving him directions. That was not all. Just as we were about to reach Tune Hotel, we noticed there was a police roadblock. Sya who was seated in the co-driver seat was reminded by Akmar to put her seatbelt on. It was only then that we noticed something else. The old driver was also not wearing his seatbelt!

We were stunned and yes, horrified. We were also amazed because the old man calmly (and perhaps, innocently) said that he had never worn a seatbelt his entire life. Pushing aside the driver's naivety, we had to do something as we could not afford to have him detained. Thank God the old man listened to our frantic "Pakai, pakcik. Pakai!!!". And like a little kid who got forced into doing something he didn't like, the seatbelt was immediately removed the moment we passed by the policemen!

I finally reached home at 3.15 a.m. on Monday. Within 3 hours, I was supposed to be making my way to Seremban for a court matter. My sleeping hours were severely deprived, to say the very least. If I'm to summarise the whole trip, it was one crazy weekend. But maybe, that's what youth is for. To do crazy things.

p/s: To my youngest sister, I know the entry on Seoul is long overdue. Just to let you know it's still in my head :)