Koleksi SMS Raya Saya

(Koleksi SMS Raya yang saya hantar tahun ini. Setiap SMS dihantar kepada orang yang berlainan)

Kalau gelang biar emas,
Hiasan lengan tuan puteri,
Dari Kajang ke Pasir Mas,
Berangkat pulang saya bercuti.

(dihantar kepada seorang yang dikurniakan rezeki yang lebih)
Hisap rokok di pagi raya,
Rokok dibawa dari China,
Pohon maaf terkeji terkata,
Duit raya aku mana?

Kalau gelang biar emas,
Hiasan lengan tuan puteri,
Puteri jelita muda belia,
Dari Kajang ke Pasir Mas,
Berangkat pulang saya bercuti,
Cuti raya sama keluarga.

(dihantar kepada seorang kawan yang bergelar Doktor)
Sakit hati jumpa dukun,
Sakit jantung jumpa doktor,
Sepuluh jari amba susun,
Mohon ampun jika terlanjur.

(dihantar kepada seorang kawan penganut Hindu)
Makan roti sapu kaya,
Makan tosai kuah kari,
Kami sini sambut raya,
I wish you all happy Deepavali.

Dini hari pergi dusun,
Lepas sahur padam pelita,
Sepuluh jari kami susun,
Tangan dihulur duit diminta!

Makan ketupat daun palas,
Enak dimakan bersama-sama,
Ana beraya di Pasir Mas,
Anta pula beraya di mana?

Anyam ketupat tepi sungai,
Daun palas digulung-gulung,
Kalau mandu jangan cuai,
Ingat nahas tidak beruntung.

(dihantar kepada seorang yang bernama Fitri)
Anak kecil makan megi,
Puasa yang yok makan sembunyi,
Berkat mulia aidil fitri,
Semoga Fitri selalu diberkati.

(dihantar kepada seorang yang beraya di Shah Alam)
Tasik Chini banyak garam,
Tapi lautan lagi masin,
Tahun ini raya Shah Alam,
Tahun depan raya di Aberdeen?

(dihantar kepada seorang yang berasal dari Batu Pahat)
Pergi kedai beli gamat,
Beli gamat di kedai pak man,
Tahun ini raya di Batu Pahat,
Tahun depan raya di Oman?

Syawal 1427.

Singapore vs Malaysia

(in response to Malaysia being highly rated as compared to Singapore by their ASEAN neighbours as reported by a survey)

Singapore is just like Israel...always has siege mentality...always thinks highly of themselves, surrounded by hostile neighbours...close relation with the US...and militarily strong...I am not surprised if one day they secretly develop nuclear weapons too.

But in many ways we should emulate them. Their universities are among the best in the world (NUS is top 25 in the world) while our best can only be no.192nd? On this I think our Government should allow at least one university to be truly based on Meritocracy. Let them choose their own VC, take in students based on merits (regardless of race), practise true democracy in student elections, promote professors based on academic excellence and do away with bumiputera quota just for this one university. Let's see this university can be as good as NUS. The outcome will prove whether or not our poor ranking is due to absence of Meritocracy and lack of freedom due to Univ & Univ Colleges Act. If the ranking improves then we know the real reason why we are rated so low on the world ranking.

Other things that Malaysia would do well to emulate are their achievements in biotechnology. In fact, the have created Biopolis, something like our MSC but forbiotech where they attract famous professors/researchers from US and Europe to do groundbreaking research in biotechnology. Some years ago Malaysia also has a scheme to attract Malaysian professionals working abroad to return and contribute to development of this country. But I hardly see any "brain gain" coming our way. What I see is the reverse - "brain drain". I can testify to the fact that some of my Malaysian friends and many others who are now in Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia etc.?

On world ranking for corruption perception they also do better than us. While we claim we are true Muslims (model for the Muslim world), we don't do well on the corruption index either.
And, by the way, two other muslim countries have won the Nobel Prize for this year: Turkey for Literature and Bangladesh for Peace. What happened to this model Muslim country of ours?

17-10-2006

Book Review: “The Diarist” by (Tan Sri) Abdullah Ahmad

Another book that is in my travelling bag these days is a political diary by Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad “The Diarist”. He is a veteran journalist and was Editor-in-Chief of NST before he was sacked in November 2003. His book is slim (120 pages) but packed with anecdotes and witty comments about Malaysian politicians and politics in general. He is very secular and very much anti-American as he is anti-Pas. I sometimes wonder how he can reconcile both extremes. As a politician he has tasted the sweetness of power as an UMNO Supreme Council member as well as the bitterness of the lack of it after five years under ISA detention in Kamunting from 1976 to 1981. He is a Cambridge-Harvard educated “old guard” of post-Merdeka Malaysian politics who served under three PMs.

His job as NST Editor-in-Chief took him to various places interviewing prominent politicians, covering VIP visits or simply playing golf with his golfer buddies. He was MP for Kok Lanas, Kelantan and a Deputy Minister at one time. But, alas, in Malaysian politics and business, what another former Editor-in-Chief of a Malaysian daily (Datuk Johan Jaafar) once said prove to be right. Speaking from his own experience after he was axed following the sacking of Anwar, JJ observed that in Malaysia one whole generation of Malay businessmen would be replaced when a new UMNO leader came to power. The NST diarist was unceremoniously dismissed from his paper in 2003 soon after Pak Lah was made PM. Obviously, he was not one of Pak Lah’s favourite editors. Without a full time job, perhaps he can concentrate on writing his memoir. I notice, unlike politicians in the UK or US, not many of our retired politicians engage in writing about their experiences for future generation of leaders to learn. It would be a waste if their wealth of experience followed them to the grave.

p/s: Have yet to read LKY’s “The Singapore Story” and still waiting for our Tun Dr M to sit at home and write his memoir rather than trading insults with the current PM.

Kajang
7-10-2006

Book Review: Goerge Soros - "The bubble of American Supremacy ..."

I bought this book at a discount price on a business trip to the City of Miri, Sarawak (actually I don’t think this place qualifies as a city at all, but that’s another story).

Goerge Soros is a student of Karl Popper, the famous philosopher of Science, so his writing is very much philosophical as it is political. He made a lot of money from currency speculation (once he speculated on the British pound and made 1 billion pound profits in one day! He's eventually known as the man who broke the Bank of England). He sees opportunities in movement of currency exchange and deals with it to gain profits. Some would say he is a modern day robber – may be a Robin Hood in reverse, as in the case of Asian monetary crisis he robbed from the poor (us) and gave it to the rich (them). But he's not regarded as a criminal because, I guess, he's not gone against any international law.

He wrote "the bubble of American Supremacy ..." just before the 2004 American election in order to persuade American people not to vote for Bush. He's very much anti-Bush, anti-neo-cons and anti-War. He supports the Democrats. He says in his book that the Iraq war had been planned by the neo-cons since 1997 when a group of neo-cons urged the then President Clinton to increase American military spending. In effect, these neo-conswere pushing for the president to exercise American military might to maintain American Supremacy ("Project for New American Century"). He's saying if these neo-cons are able to control America and the world by influencing Mr Bush's decision, American image to the world will be hurt. He agrees that the US should exercise leadership in the world but that it should not adopt a heavy-handed approach. America will be more respected by showing leadership through diplomacy than military action. Unfortunately, as we all know, Mr Bush got re-elected and he's going to carry out the neo-cons plans to attack Muslim contries with huge oil resources whose leaders are not yet undertheir control. Only history will tell whether the American Empire, based upon coercion and military force will rule the world, or like empires before it, will crumble into the dustbin of history.

So that's the gist of it. I am sure many have heard/read about this before. The Malaysian press is not really fond of him after he broke the Bank Negara in 1997 sending this country and the region into a regional financial, and later political crisis. Mahathir wrote a very fiery book on the 1997 crisis and hurled a lot of bad accusations against him.Surprisingly, he only had one sentence reference to the man who had called him a moron. He called him a repressive ruler.

23/9/2004

On Writing

Life in oil and gas industry is very hectic now that oil price is above USD60 a barrel. I barely find time to read and even less to write. But when the urge comes I have to put my pen to paper (or rather fingers to keyboard!) and let out what is going on in my mind. I suppose because I am not a man of spoken words, I have to somehow release what I have to say in writing. That’s what got me into writing. I started writing on irregular basis (whenever I feel like it) when I was a student abroad, about 10 years ago. When I did my post-graduate degree, I was left alone by my undergraduate friends who had gone back home right after their graduation. There was plenty of time for me to read, ponder and observe. I was also fortunate to live in a university town with whole community associated with academic life.

I started reading non-engineering stuff after spending so much time during my undergraduate years staring at figures and equations. So that was how I developed my interest in reading which I have kept alive ever since. Reading has helped me a lot in improving my language skills. I read anything that I can lay my hands on, whenever I have free time (which is not much these days), and wherever my absolute focus is not required somewhere else (like while driving or talking to a beautiful woman!). My best companion while reading is a good dictionary. If I come across an unfamiliar word more than twice, I will stop and look it up in the dictionary. I am a poor memorizer but if I can remember 2 or 3 out of 10 new words that I come across I would call it a success.

I believe no matter how technical (in engineering/scientific sense) a person is, deep inside her, there is the “art” side. Some people express their creativity in making music, writing songs, lyrics, novels, painting etc. I suppose mine is just writing about myself. If I was younger I would probably sign up for Akademi Fantasia! If I had good looks I would probably try my luck at acting. After all, singers and actors seem to be the Idols of the young these days! If I was a rich divorced businessman with killer moustache, better still I would probably marry an attractive young singer and invite a TV station to telecast my wedding live! But I am just ordinary man trying to raise a family.

I don’t know what I want to do yet. One moment I am thinking of working overseas and earn more money. Some of my friends have already packed up their bags and flown west to the Middle East. Some take the risk and venture into their own business. Some just stay here and simply run through the 9 to 5 routines. I stepped out of my comfort zone last year by leaving big and established company to join an engineering consultancy. I think that taught me some lessons in taking risks in life. In time, I hope it will prove to be a good decision.

Kajang
21/9/2006

Stories from My Childhood

The other day I was scanning my old photos on a newly bought scanner after years of neglect and in danger of fading into oblivion. I had planned to do it for quite some time but never really enforced unto myself any definite deadline. But I had lost a lot of my old colour photographs. Over time the chemical used in processing the photos reacted with moisture in the air and slowly eating up the colours. All of my secondary school days memories captured on camera are now gone. So are those of my undergraduate days in London back in the late 80s and early 90s. Now I have to visit my friends during those years and look at their pictures hoping that I am somewhere in there if I wanted to glance back into my younger days. Fearing the same fate would befall the memories of my research days, I decided not to put the photos in albums. My decision proved to be right as most of the pictures of me riding my bike to the turbomachinery research lab are still untouched. I hope my new scanner will save the day and whatever is left of my photos will be preserved for my children to see.

As I was flipping through the dust covered photo albums, I laid my eyes on a black and white photo dated around early 70s. Perhaps because of different chemical used on the paper, it was not affected by the same process that had destroyed my other colour pictures. It was a picture of me at about four years old sitting on a mengkuang mat, looking down with my left hand touching my little sister. The day was hot and the photo session took place in front of a coconut tree just outside our wooden house. I was shy of the camera but my little sister stared straight into the lens. My mother made me wear a worn out shirt and shorts, probably the best my parents could afford at that time. Draped around my sister’s neck is a locket attached to a gold necklace. In those days it was not just mere ornament but more importantly a means of survival to be taken to a pawn shop whenever we ran out of rice. And I imagine my family must have lived through days and months without the necklace during rainy seasons when my parents could not work on the rubber trees. It must have been tough living through the days when our daily survival hung on that piece of gold kept in a pawn shop. Sitting on the mengkuang mat, I could not look into the camera even with constant request from the cameraman. I remember the cameraman was a travelling photographer who went to our village from house to house selling his service. I imagine it must be an unnecessary indulgence to get a family portrait in those days considering the same money could be used to buy the family dinner. But I am glad my parents made that decision. The memory is still with me and I will be able to pass it on to my children.

I have moved places quite a lot since the picture was taken more than 30 years ago. Some years ago, I visited the place again. The kampong is now barely recognizable; it’s now part of the rapidly expanding township. The sight of buffalos bathing in mud ponds in the paddy fields is now replaced with rows of terraced houses. The old sawah padi, which used to fetch a few hundred ringgit a piece is now going at tens of thousands. The piece of land on which my family’s wooden house was built is now taken by TNB for the National Electricity Transmission Grid. Whole neighbourhood had to make way for the Grid. It was not my parents land; it belonged to my uncle. We were allowed to live and work the land, but the land title was not in our name. The places where I had spent my early childhood are now covered with bushes and shrubs spanned by long overhead cables carrying high voltage electricity. Unless you are an archaeologist out on an excavation trip, it’s hard to notice even traces of past human activities there. No sign that families had actually grown up there. I walked up to an old man cutting grass for his cows and introduced myself to him. He did not recognise me but said it rang a bell when I reminded him about my father. He asked about my father who was waiting in my car parked close to the main road. I told him that my father was not well enough to walk up this far. The man sent his best regards to his old friend and neighbour and I left him there to continue reaping grass for his cows. I continued to walk, trying to find traces of our old wooden house. Later I realised nothing existed anymore except in my own memory. I took a long deep look at my childhood playground, snapped a few pictures and slowly headed back to my car. As it turned out, it was the last time I took my father to visit his old farm and the place where he raised me as a small boy. His health condition never improved and he died a year later.

The place in the old picture is no longer there. I don’t know what eventually happened to the necklace. Perhaps, there were times when things got so tough that my parents had to just let it go. The mat probably became so worn out later that it had to be thrown away. The shirt and shorts that I wore that day probably met the same fate. But the picture somehow survived to tell stories from my childhood.

Kajang
8 September 2006

Merdekakah kita?

Kebelakangan ini saban hari di kaca TV, di akhbar dan di Internet berita pembunuhan umat Islam di seluruh dunia disiarkan seolah-olah mereka dilahirkan untuk dihina, dicap sebagai pengganas dan dibunuh sewenang-wenangnya. Di Lubnan, Palestin dan Iraq negara mereka dijajah dan perang saudara berleluasa. Negara mereka dipecah-pecahkan, suku kaum yang berlainan dilaga-lagakan supaya mereka senang untuk diperintah. Taktik kotor penjajah British pada kurun ke-19 yang memecah dan memerintah diulang tayang semula di negara Arab oleh penjajah baru Amerika. Kalau dulu alasannya menyebarkan agama Kristian dan peradaban Barat kepada dunia Timur yang kuno dan mundur, kini ia diadun semula dengan kulit demokrasi, kebebasan dan perang melawan pengganas. Kalau dulu muslihatnya ialah untuk mendapatkan bahan mentah dan membuka pasaran baru, kini habuannya adalah kuasa ke atas minyak dan sumber tenaga dunia. Mereka semua adalah sama. Tapi kita tidak dapat berbuat apa-apa kerana mereka menguasai segala-galanya. Kuasa media digunakan untuk mengaburi mata dunia, ekonomi untuk mendesak sokongan dan ketenteraan untuk menghapuskan negara Islam. Aku rasa rakyat biasa dan umat Islam sedar akan penipuan ini, namun kita tidak dapat berbuat apa-apa. Tangan dan kaki, mulut serta telinga pemimpin-pemimpin kita diikat lalu mereka bagai lembu dicucuk hidung yang akan mengikut saja apa yang diperintahkan oleh tuan mereka walaupun rakyat menderita.

Sebagai individu yang lemah apa yang boleh kita buat? Ramai antara kita lupa bahawa kita sebenarnya menyokong ekonomi mereka dengan menggunakan produk-produk mereka. Apa kata kalau kita semua sedar dan bersatu untuk memulaukan barangan mereka dan berubah menggunakan produk alternatif dari negara-negara yang tidak memusuhi Islam? Ini sajalah usaha yang dapat kita lakukan di dalam keadaan serba kekurangan sekarang. Sedarkah kita bahawa banyak produk yang mereka perkenalkan kepada kita sebenarnya tidak diperlukan untuk kelangsungan hidup. Siapa perlukan kopi Starbucks yang berharga RM10 secawan sedangkan pekerja ladang kopi di tempat asal bahan tersebut di Colombia hanya diupah RM10 sehari? Siapa perlukan burger McDonalds sedangkan nenek-moyang kita dulu dapat hidup sehingga 80 tahun tanpa pernah mengidamkan makan daging dengan roti bun. Dan siapa perlu minum Coca Cola kalau air nira kelapa kita pun lebih enak dari minuman berasid itu? Namun media di sekeliling kita mengubah persepsi dan membuatkan seolah-olah barangan tersebut sekarang adalah suatu keperluan. Media massa melalui iklan yang bertubi-tubi mempengaruhi jiwa kita supaya menggunakan produk yang tidak perlu. Kita sudah terlalu bergantung kepada media untuk memberitahu kita apa yang kita perlu makan dan bagaimana menjalani hidup supaya kita nampak bergaya dan tidak ketinggalan zaman. Akhirnya penjajahan minda sudah lengkap dan kita hanya mengikut telunjuk mereka. Kalaulah kita seperti orang asli di hutan yang tidak kisah dengan TV dan radio. Kalaulah kita seperti mereka tidak tamak mencari duit untuk bergaya dan mengejar gaya kehidupan yang kebendaan. Tentunya kita akan lebih merdeka.

Kajang
31 Ogos 2006

I'm lovin' it

I have been quite depressed lately. My fellow muslims are being killed in Beirut and Palestine. Their homes are bombed, their country surrounded and citizens taken hostage. My brothers in Iraq are killing one another. Lunatics blow themselves up in mosques in the name of Islam. They seem to like killing one another than fighting their enemy as one. My friends in Iran are being threatened with bombs and sanctions. We are told that the whole country is led by a suicidal extremist who will threaten the whole world if he gets his hands on a nuclear bomb. Another fellow muslim country, Afghanistan, was bombed to pieces, the old regime changed and they still could not get public enemy number 1. Closer to home hundreds die in killer earthquakes and tsunamis in the most populous muslim nation in the world. Barely have they been able to recover from a disaster when another one follows. It seems the life of people who embrace Islam is cheap these days. So cheap that we can be killed at will and nobody stands up to defend our rights. Even natural disasters seem to prefer muslims to other people.

There is no doubt that as a people we are very weak. We are not united and bent on killing. So bent on killing that we engage in killing each other when we should join forces together in defending our land from our common enemy. I have never seen muslim being in such a low and weak position as we are today. And I am quite sure during my lifetime I will never see our enemies stop killing defenceless muslims. I don’t think I will ever see during my lifetime muslims rise up again and stand up to defend their rights. Our leaders are merely puppets, unable to even say out their disapproval of what is being done to their own people. Most of them keep their mouths shut lest they are next to be subjected to regime change. Our Shia and Sunni camps are always ever ready to blow themselves to smithereens in order to kill the other camp. Little do they realise that while they are fighting among themselves their oil is being pumped out to fuel development in some faraway countries.

As I am writing this the Israel military are preparing for ground invasion of Lebanon. More bombs from USA are being sent to their closest ally in the Middle East to ‘neutralise’ Hizbollah capability. We will see more muslim blood being shed. Another muslim country is being invaded on the pretext of disarming ‘terrorists’. The invader, the strongest army in the Middle East, is yet again on expansion mood backed by the only superpower in the world. Militarily we are too weak to fight back.

They say the least we can do is perhaps stop buying American products. But that’s difficult, isn’t it? I mean how can I do it when I am typing this on a Dell laptop, using Microsoft Word and now posting this on Yahoo! I don’t see our future. It’s all so bleak. Shall I just shut my eyes and pretend that this is all not happening? Perhaps I should just stay tuned to Akademi Fantasia 4 or read more of Siti Nurhaliza’s wedding on Harian Metro. Yes, perhaps that will cheer me up while I sit tight in front of my TV watching Superman on HBO, sipping Coca-Cola and gorging a McD. I’m lovin’ it!

22-7-2006
Kajang

Pantun Minyak Naik

I got to the office late again
Too many people, I couldn’t board the train
Thought of using my own transport
But fuel price is high I can’t afford

My boss was angry and wanted explanation
Write show-cause letter or he’ll take action
He wants things to change for the better
But how can I do that when everything’s pricier?

The Government announced fuel price hike
Too much subsidy, the Govt don’t like
They want people to change lifestyle
Sure we have to but it’ll take a while

30 cents per liter is highest increase
Never in history had it gone up like this
But who are we to say no?
Perhaps the Opposition, consumer groups and NGO

My teh tarik price will surely go up
It will cost more to enjoy my favourite cup
Mamak stalls association says it has no choice
I want to complain but nobody hears my voice

Transport operators are also complaining
They cannot believe that this is happening
How can they absorb the mounting costs?
They ask,” Who wants to operate at a loss”?

Electricity tariffs are up next
TNB wants approval of the Cabinet
It’s been ages since last revision
But they’ve been making profits by the millions!

Last night the DPM came on TV
To explain to the people why it was necessary
Fuel price is up to reduce subsidy
Haven’t we heard that many times already?

Compared to them, our fuel is still cheap
So we are told by Datuk Seri Najib
But why compare with other countries
Stop blaming our neighbours, pleeez!

Embracing globalisation is the way to go
Open your market so says WTO
Increased efficiency the desired result
Reducing subsidy is a good start

People’s benefit always in mind
The rich, the poor will all be fine
Reduce subsidy to finance projects
But rich contractors get all the contracts!

Many people will feel the pain
Endure it now for long-term gain
I think this trend will be maintained
Until one year before Election

Don’t drive your car to save fuel
Talk to your friends and go on car pool
Or even better just take a bus
Save on toll, less money to PLUS

So next time you take a bus ride
Don’t feel so bad, do it with pride
Less jam, less stress, no worry about toll
That’s very good we’ve all been told

I am a little man with no power
Always saying yes and meant to suffer
What can I do to make a difference?
Don’t give them vote in next Election?

No matter what people say now
They will forget it, you and I know
There will be goodies in Election year
And they will return this government to power!

March 2006

(Streamed out of my mind during a suffocating train journey to work from Kajang to KL Sentral, while staring at the roof, on an unusually crowded coach, nervously wondering whether I would be late)

My new year resolution

It is going into the second day of the year and I am watching the Hollywood blockbuster Pearl Harbor on TV. My nurse wife is working on night shift and I am left at home taking care of my three little kids. I don’t normally stay up this late to watch a movie, but tonight I feel like giving the Americans the chance to explain why they had to drop the Bombs and stopped World War II. Now I know they had to annihilate Hiroshima and Nagasaki because two young men were fighting over a beautiful nurse! When the movie ends at half past one, my kids – 2 daughters and a son - are all fast asleep. I carry all of them – one by one – upstairs to the bedroom and I begin typing these words.

At this hour everyone is deep in his dreams. I don’t feel like sleeping as my mind sieves through the things that I have done in the past 12 months. In February 2005, I moved into my own home after 10 years of being a tenant. I had been saving some money for this move. Within two months I used it all on renovation work and some furniture. I think with the same amount of money I could buy a bungalow in Pasir Mas. But no one in Pasir Mas would employ me as an oil and gas pipeline engineer. Not until they find oil in Pantai Sabak or gas in Sungai Kelantan!

It’s been more than ten years since I got back from studying abroad and served the company who had sponsored my studies. I felt like I needed to decide what to do with my professional life. I had reached a crossroads and I had to make a choice. I am not the type who likes doing anything drastic to my life. But last year I did break from my normal routine and made a major decision. I thought I would continue to be comfortable in my familiar environment, going about my 8 to 5 routine. But series of things happened and I was pushed into making the major decision. I thought if I did not do it then, I would be consigned into a life of predictable routine. So I resigned from my fairly secured job which promised relatively easy life. I left a big government company to join a small private consultancy. I resigned at the point when my former employer was at the top of their performance, and when they were at their most generous moment. A crazy decision many would say. But I followed my heart and did what I did.

Last year saw two deaths in my extended family. My drug addict uncle died at the age of 34, suspected of HIV/AIDS. That was early in 2005. He left behind 4 small kids and a wife. I still see them every time I visit my kampung, just to see how they are coping with life. I make sure I leave them some ringgit notes, but my contribution is just a drop in the ocean in the face of their uncertain future. Another uncle died unexpectedly just 9 days short of the New Year. Unlike the other uncle, his children should be fine. He was a retired teacher and owned some pieces of land. I went to his house to see him 10 days before his sudden death but he was not at home. He was up and about even two days before his kidney and other vital organs failed, so nobody expected this to happen. Sadly, I missed the last chance to meet him. The last time we met was during Hari Raya Puasa of 2004. Fate has it that I was never going to see him alive again after that.

On a happier note, there were also some weddings and births in my extended family. On most occasions, I was not able to attend the ceremonies. I just hope they understand that because of the distance it is not always possible for me to be there. Two thousand five also saw the birth of my third child, Sofea. Now my family is five people. An ideal size considering the mounting costs these days. After celebrating some births and mourning in funerals, I can’t help but realize that the old generation is being gradually replaced with new one, and I am pushed one step higher in the pyramid of responsibility. If this worked like a multi-level marketing scheme, pretty soon I would be a millionaire!

The school holidays are drawing to a close. I wish I had spent more time teaching my children – especially the eldest one who is now moving to Standard Two. I had let my children watch too much TV. I know it will be hard but I hope I will be able to teach them to see less of Disney Channel and help them to pick up books to find enjoyment in reading. On Tuesday, I will join thousands of parents across the country taking their kids back to school after the long break. This year, I will have to dig deeper into my pocket to pay for my daughter’s school fees, books and transportation. Definitely a lot deeper than last year as prices of things have gone up. The school bus Mak Chik now demands 50 ringgit per month, a raise of RM20 from last year’s RM30. I thank Pak Lah for reducing my car road tax by half but I am afraid he is going to have to do better than that to win my vote. The savings from one year’s road tax can only pay for two months of my daughter’s school bus fare! School books will cost another RM100 on top of two hundred or so already spent on uniforms, stationery and other accessories. Now I understand why my brother, who works as a factory security guard with three children attending school, is having a hard time.

As the clock struck 12 last night, fireworks were launched to the sky. My daughter and son begged me to take them outside our home to watch the distant firework display over the hills of Kajang. And so I watched fireworks exploding in the sky with my children as 2005 disappeared into the night. This new year, I hope there will be more time to see my kids grow. More time to teach my daughter ABCs, to watch her struggle with her homework and to see all of them blow their birthday candles. I wish I could play these golden moments in slow motion. But I know as soon as those 365 days have passed, another 365 start counting down. I’d like to live this moment and slowly appreciate it. I know if I don’t the kids will be all grown up in no time. Soon, when they leave home for boarding school, or pursue their dreams at university, the fireworks display will probably still be there. But it’s not going to be the same. I dread the time when I may have to watch it alone. The day when the kids are all gone to lead a life of their own.