Ubah! - Bringing The Country Towards A Paradigm Shift!

Expose this, expose that. Revelations here and there. Persecute him and her. It's been going on for the last 5 years and that's certainly a long time in politics. The issues and hopes will finally culminate on 9th May, 2018. That's when Malaysians will cast their votes based on the controversies raised since GE13. That's also a day where Malaysians put their hopes and vision when they mark their respective ballot papers. Change didn't happen in GE13 and if you remember the crowds of support (the photo on the right might jolt you back to the few days before GE13) and many were disappointed that Change! wasn't complete but we were almost there. We have a current government who has minority support, put in place by gerrymandering.

And so, the effort towards a complete takeover of the federal government continues. The cost of living and the consequent suffering had increased since 2013 as the corrupt conveniently forgets their promises to help it's citizens lead a comfortable life. Promises which gave hope to a minority of voters who were taken in with their sweet words (and gifts). Alas, the promises were not realised but the corrupt continued their plunder of the country's wealth to ensure their life of luxury and extravagance despite the rakyat's suffering.

Fast forward to 28th April, 2018 - the nation once again congregates to nominate their candidates of Hope, who they believe can help to reduce their sufferings and bring back the country's pride back into their little and fragile hearts. Malays, Chinese, Indians and aborigines will all congregate as Malaysians to carry out their patriotic duty as they await the opportune moment to cast their votes on 5th of May, 2018. A Wednesday, in the middle of the week. The corrupt throws the spanner into the works of voters who desire Change! They can only hope to reduce the losses as Malaysians work together in their fight to replace the current government.

With 222 parliamentary seats and 505 states seats at stake, it's important to know who will represent you in the respective dewans. Let's put our votes for Mohamad Sabu in P111 Kota Raja. You can check out the list of candidates here. It's vital that you follow the news carefully and be intimate with the issues raised and the manifestos promised. Being an ex-ISA detainee, one can be assured that Mohamad Sabu has the interests of the rakyat at heart. The suffering and mental torture that a detainee goes through is not for the faint hearted and certainly not for you and me. The only thing that we can do to show our appreciation to them is, just an 'X' mark on the ballot paper for PKR on the ballot paper for Parliament.

2,333 candidates vying for both parliament and states seats - now, that's not a figure to be sniffed at. Every parliament candidate has to put in a deposit of RM10,000 while those vying for state seats will have to cough up RM5,000; both of which will be returned if they win. The opposition works on public donations and part of the money will go towards the deposit while the rest will be used to fund the various ceramahs across the country. Ceramahs too, are not for the faint hearted, demanding a tortuous 0800 - 0200 hrs schedule daily. Shouting their voices hoarse, they seek to remind the rakyat of the issues that plague the country and also to convince the pessimists of the hope for Ubah! For all his efforts, let's put our votes in for N50 -Ganabathirau Veraman.

Not forgetting N49 - Haji Mat Shuhaimi Bin Haji Shafie who had been looking after the Sri Muda constituency before the redelineation process which saw him leaving Sri Muda in the good hands of Ganabathirau in the new constituency of N50 which covers Kota Kemuning, to serve N49 - Sri Kandis. A new challenge will await him as he works hard to convince the Malays for their votes in an area dominated by the dark blue colour folks. YB Shuhaimi had been instrumental in giving the Chinese a new primary school aka SJK (C) Khe Beng, a spacious area for its students compared to the cramped conditions of the old school, which had been existence over 80 years. A Chinese school where Indians and Malays share.

Pakatan Harapan, an amalgamation of DAP, PKR, PPBM and Amanah. The party had grown tremendously in support and the recent actions of the government in persecuting the opposition through the abuse of the legal and justice system processes, only served to strengthen the will of the rakyat to rise against the corrupt and spendthrift. We're paying taxes to help them pay off debts, which aren't ours to bear logically. Pakatan Harapan represents the various races and a wide range of education and financial standing.

In 11 days' time, we will all go to the respective voting stations to cast our votes. Check out your voting station details here. Every vote counts towards freeing the country from it's current leaders who only have their self interests to fulfill. They will continue to rob the rakyat of the country's wealth and burden the rakyat with unnecessary taxes, so that you can help them pay off their debts while they live a luxury and extravagance at our cost. This is certainly not the life that we, the rakyat, envisaged when our parents brought us into this world.

Vote for Pakatan Harapan for a better future and

Save the country from the corrupt!

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Ubah! Our Fight Against The Regime of Corrupt and Abuse.

Read here, read there, disagree here and there, agree there and here, jokes and cynicism everywhere on social media. The polls is finally here and the whole country is back alive on hyper level, as the nation's politics and political situation are shared and discussed heavily. It's a bare fact who's the one carrying weight and who's the underdog as the nation's entire machinery is used against the opposition and the corrupt continues to abuse taxpayer's property in their political campaigns. We have no choice in this as it's their time in government and surely, the entire machinery will be ours to had, if we succeed in Ubah!

In the fight against the extreme corruption, we've had to call upon a former leader, in his twilight years, to help us to Ubah! On the opposite of the fence now, the man known by various monickers like Maha Kutty, Maha Firaun, etc certainly still has immense influence on national politics. After the decade of hibernation since retiring, he's suddenly back in action at 93 years old of age. And spring into action he did, with his hectic schedule at ceramahs around the country. That too, with his lovely and charming wife in tow. A lovely couple who's growing into old age gracefully and loved by all. Behind the successful man, is the patient and wise wife, or so they say.

Are you going to take a decision to lead your future or are you going to leave it in the hands of the corrupt? After one decade of mismanagement and abuse, you'd have recorded in memory the list of actions contrary to the nation's progress. Public funds have been abused to cover the wastages, which is used by the corrupted leaders to lead an extravagant lifestyle at taxpayers' cost. Don't you feel frustrated at having to pay GST while they strut around the world in private jets for their shopping spree? Representatives of justice have been murdered and dumped into cemented drums in their violent attempt to cover-up.Will you make it your agenda to effect Ubah!? Will you be responsible?

In the national agenda to effect Ubah!, are you even a registered voter? For those who have procastinated in voter registration, do you even feel a tinge of guilt as you're left behind? This is despite reminders from the good folks to register early lest the corrupt decides that you aren't able to cast your valuable vote against the corrupted system. If you have registered, check your status here. Every vote counts and it's vital to challenge the system in every legal way we can. We're fighting the entire corrupted machinery and it'll take a lot of effort and time to plan our moves.

Even as the corrupt attempts to stiffle the rakyat's attempt in their haste for Ubah!, the opposition parties have come together despite their differences and unite under one political umbrella - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), To avoid the confusion, messages have been going around to vote for the blue and red symbol with the nostalgic (bruised) eye. Simple even for the simplistic kampung folks who may be illiterate. Simple even for the newbies to the voting process. All you have to do to support the Ubah! movement is to mark a CROSS in the box next the PKR symbol on the ballot paper. Once you've done that, you've carried out your patriotic duty.

And that brings us to the issue of returning back to our respective voting areas to cast our vote. 9th of May had been declared, in their corrupted bid to scuttle our momentum towards Ubah! A weekday voting on a Wednesday is just the right formula to discourage voters turnout. But are we to let it go just like that? The vast majority of Malaysians in Singapore have made it a point to return to exercise their voting rights. Many kind people, both individuals and organisations have contributed towards either providing direct transport or organising funds collection to get the voters home. And currently trending is the #pulangmengundi effort.

Much has been shared in the corrupt's propaganda against the efforts of the opposition to effect Ubah! From the mainstream media tools such as papers and television, their editors and broadcasting directors have been going hyper-active in the mud throwing campaigns. However, the reach is only to the village folks who may still be undecided and easily coaxed (but there's wind of their will against the corrupt growing in the expanding tide of Ubah!) and is therefore, a total waste of taxpayers' money. It's a Whatsapp and FB elections, going by the messages shared. Paid corrupted bloggers are a waste of taxpayers' funds!

Taking Selangor and Penang as examples, you can appreciate the good that Ubah! brought. Except Perak which was felled illegally (due to debt of business opportunity), the two states showed significantly larger funds saved from corrupt practices and the money is put to good use to develop the people and the community. It's a Bangsa Malaysia movement and we stand together towards meritocracy, shared development and progress for the country.

It's your patriotic duty to cast your vote and may we together, Ubah!

Danang And Hoi An - UNESCO Heritage Town & The Hills

Travel here, travel there. See this, see that. Life is a wonderful experience which gives us an opportunity to celebrate it. Life is not boring but it depends on what you make of it. Life can be as exciting as you want it to be or as boring as dull as you're able to imagine it to be.

My travels bring me to Vietnam this time round. As we touched down at the airport, we took a cab straight to Hoi An where we put up for two night. During travels, I normally keep my mind blank, devoid of any expectations and would leave it to the location to satisfy my curiosity. As it is with every place that we visit, it never fails to make us leave with a tinge of sadness as we fly away into the skies.

Now, back to Hoi An.The cab took all about 45 minutes from Danang International Airport to Hoi An. No taxi touts to harass us but a commercially registered Toyota took us through Danang town to the stretch of seaside before coming to a rest at Thanh Van hotel (http://www.thanhvanhotelhoian.com/) which was recommended by a fellow traveller. A rustic building with air conditioning a pool in the middle of it. What did I tell you about visiting a place with a blank mind? This hotel already wowed me to bits!

After checking in and looking over the room, it's time for local food! What do you do in Vietnam? Get their pho, baguette and coffee, of course! And so, with our biological compass, off we went for a walk to check out the town. Old as it is, there's nary a plastic bag on the streets nor grafitti on the walls of buildings. It's a UNESCO heritage old town, befitting it's recognition. We plonked ourselves at one comfortable looking cafe and called for our pho and coffee. After 10 minutes, we were working our way through the meal that defined Vietnam. A meal of flat noodles with plenty of basil leaves and bean sprouts to go with it, not to miss the chillie padi accompaniment. Ah, this is Life.


With our stomachs filled, let's take a walk through the old town. And did I mention that it's 21 degrees here? It's a welcome relief after experiencing the 36 degrees back home. The whole town is on air conditioning! When it comes to purchasing, divide their dong with 5,000 to get it's equivalent in ringgit. After a while, you'll get used to it. And there's plenty of purchases to be made if you're not in control of yourself! Lots of handicraft to fill your imagination. However, be mindful how much you can bring on board the airplane.

The entire town is filled with tourists satisfying their curiosity of this little heritage town. Locals occupy the streets selling their stuff and wares, while shutterbugs click away and supported by the super fast, local free Wifi service to help upload photos pronto. It's a very good strategy and investment by the local council, to help themselves publicise to the world and promoting the heritage town in a big way. With more tweets and postings in Facebook, the world's attention will be drawn to it by the tourists who flock this quaint, peaceful town.

One thing's for sure. There's plenty of food around to satisfy your gastronomic curiosity. If you're not fussy about hygiene, you'll enjoy the local food more by squatting with the locals to enjoy the food in this paradise. If you're not conversant in their local language, it wont be a hindrance to partake in the food and culture. Just point your fingers to what you want, and the calculator will be used to display the price. Always bargain to half the price displayed. That's what I've learned when buying things within the Asia Pacific region. Unlike Malaysians who sulk if you don't make the purchase after the bargain, they will still offer a smile. Who'll not return, one may ask.

When we arrived, it just so happened that there was a Food Festival organised for the night. No need for such a grand welcome, we told ourselves. Ho ho ho The event only lasted the night and that too, while we there. How lucky we were! With all the fanfare and games, the atmosphere was electic. Laughter and merriment was the other of the night. The popular game was hitting a earthern pot hung in front of you while blindfolded. It looked easy but it's certainly not. The spectators certainly enjoyed laughing their hearts out, at the antics of the participants.

If you're planning to visit this town, take note that fees are collected to help maintain the place. So, do support them and it doesn't cost much. For a minimal fee, the entire town is offered clean and neat. The thing about little heritage towns is their abundance of boutique cafes, for you to enjoy their local cuisine. As you bask in awe at their creative designs to prick the interests of potential clients, take more photos if you'd rather keep yourselves out of these cafes. No worries about theft but it's good to be careful. But don't your worry hinder your enjoyment of the place.

Once you've had enough of the town, head down to the beach which is just about 5 km away. An Bang beach, facing the South China Sea offered waves for your enjoyment, blowing off sand dust and mist with their strength. Although the beach was out of bounds for swimmers, tourists threw caution to the wind and jumped in. It was evening and winds were too cold for me to follow them into the waters. Therefore, I just stood there watching hoards of tourists getting themselves wet. For them, the free showers are available on the shore.

After two nights in this heritage town, off we went to Danang city and stayed the night at Sanouva Hotel (http://www.sanouvadanang.com/) with complimentary 30 mins massage,to enjoy the hills of Ba Na (http://www.banahills.com.vn/). Who would've thought there was a cable car ride to the hill top resort? Well, it's just a 30 minutes cab ride to the location and the cab'll wait for your return. You need to inform the driver about this, if you don't want to waste time waiting for other cabs to fetch you back to town. The view during the cable car ride was awesomely beautiful, stretching across tree tops over the 15 minutes ride, past clouds of mist. There's free Wifi at the top although there's no chance to send anything over the internet as the bandwidth is overcrowded.

This is one ride that's not available in Malaysia. It's like some kind of luge on rails, with you seated in the car, manipulating the brakes as you zip down the hill. I would release the brake all the way, if I were you, to enhance the excitement! Yes, it was fun and a unique experience indeed. There's cameras shooting you and a printed 8R sized print out costs only RM20. It's much cheaper than what we'd pay in our own theme parks. And who would not buy the photos if it was so cheap and affordable. It's a good strategy. Otherwise, they'd have to try really hard to convince visitors to buy and that's a waste of time and energy. A good strategy. With the printed photo fixed inside a cardboard frame, it'll be a collection of our memorable time on this hill.

The other local produce would be the marble carvings of statuettes, depicting the demons and angels of religious folklore. The temple at the hilltop reminds one of the Shaolin temples in China and the monks look like they're going to use their kungfu moves on you anytime. We came across one helper who guided us through the cave behind the temple while mumbling to himself. I was very worried for us because he behave like a psycho with his mumbles in the local language. Ho ho ho But it turned out well as we exited the various caves that housed Buddha statues. I was actually glad and relieved that the tour was over! Perhaps I shouldn't have over used my imagination but it's better to be careful, right?

Back to ground level, it's time to look for food again and here's another dish to satisfy our hunger. Noodles in small portions allows us to savour more of the local food varieties, so that's a good thing. However, the cost of meals isn't exactly cheap at RM6 for a bowl of noodles. At the local market, just point to the picture since the capability to read the local language is next to nothing. And that'll do, for the seller understands that perfectly well.

The flight and accomodation cost us RM2,000 for the flight was booked a year prior. Spending on land costs another RM2,000 for the entire family. It's an affordable holiday and it's good to see the world, so that we can appreciate what we have or not. Vietnam is a good place for a holiday besides Thailand. Take a break once a while and travel to a place you've never been before. Till the next travel, take an interest in the world!

Life's Pandemonium

Argue here, argue there. Fight here, fight there. Disagree here, disagree there. In Life, there'll be many opportunities for disagreements and hopefully, some will turn out to be agreements. Humans are a social lot and the need to communicate and express one's thoughts plays a big role in society. Likewise, blogs are one of the means of communication.

Life and strife borders strongly on two areas : politics and religion. Some may opine that religion is a bit like politics, where it's a matter of collecting people from the same group of thoughts. Money and might makes these two areas in humans' lives attractive. Is there anything free in this world?

In politics, there's elections and the contest to determine who's mightier and garners more support. Though money can be used to buy votes and promises of development can be dangled in front of the donkey, the voters are still 'free' to vote their favourite political party. However, violence shouldn't be part of it. But are the authorities strong-willed enough not to take sides? Well, in the events over the recent weeks, they have disappointed many of us and proven to be selective in persecuting the guilty, and they have chosen sides.

In religion, where it's ideology espouses peace and harmony, recent cases have cast doubts on whether religion does what it's supposed to do - spread peace and harmony? Bodies have been snatched and weddings disrupted, only to see the victims suffer in agony over their lost ones and the ceremonial hosts embarassed. Are these crimes against society to be allowed to propogate and permeate every level of society?

Freedom of speech and actions form the basis of our constitutional rights. However, the constitution itself is being challenged by the ultras and the justice system seems powerless to act against the vile actions of these select group of people in authority. Or will they summon enough courage to set in place, a true system of justice where the judgements will be respected? The perception has to be corrected and may they succeed in doing so. Failing which the people will take to the street law, in getting what they want.

Freedom of religion is an ideal philosophy and the faithful should steadfastly remain true to this claim. Freedom means that one has a choice of embracing and leaving the religion should one cease to believe. Freedom should not be institutionalised into a law that prevents one from leaving the religion. This freedom is part of a human's rights and should be respected, if the masses are to be convinced.

Religion, is a set of beliefs, similar to politics, except that there's an ethereal entity involved. The mystery surrounding religion dates back many eons, setting in place many discoveries that beguils the current minds. Having said that, it remains that words are written by mankind. In politics, it's also about a set of beliefs that sets the party in motion. And the words are also written by mankind.

Do we need religion and politics in this world? Well, it certainly adds colour to our lives. From the basic of the main religions and political thoughts, it has led to the iteration of beliefs into many others and causing many more splits in society as they group under the umbrella of religion and politics of their choice. That being said, if the division causes strife - then it should be prevented from disrupting our lives. We need a voice of Sense. We need to live in Peace. We need to work in Harmony.