Ipoh Timor / Canning for 13GE

Having some extra time has allowed me to write a first-look impression on the candidates for the Parliament level of Ipoh Timur and the state seat of Canning. 

Basically, the criteria that I am looking for the two candidates is that the MP and the ADUN has to do a decent job. Nonetheless, people have to understand the hierarchy of looking for the appropriate persons to do the job. Local Councillors are the lowest of the hierarchy, followed by the state assemblyman. Generally, the area where a voter would be should usually look for the lower and if not, the middle-tier, that is the assemblyman.

If all else fails or if something requires federal government attention, then it is the job of the MP to do it. I once remembered a professor at a forum saying that MPs are not supermen and instead suggested that the people view it from the hierarchy and understand the demands of the job, supposed if they are one of them someday.

When I voted for the first time the last time round, I understood from the beginning that getting the right MP to represent that constituency is more important over than voting for the right assemblyman. Ultimately the resources are controlled by the federal government. State governments can only take it up to a certain limit. 

Taking a cue from my friend Haris Ibrahim's posting, I am prepared to settle for someone who ultimately does a decent job and not being a mere "drain ADUN / MP". The goal for this GE is to whack UMNO and BN to kingdom come. In 2008, I just told some people in Ipoh town, those whom I know, family friends there to give the vote to DAP, and not to some man in MCA whom many have learnt that they just merely kow tow to the whims of UMNO, as it was run by the Ong brothers.

I recalled asking my late grandparents in the late 1990s about her thoughts of the then MP, Thong Fah Chong and the then assemblyman Hew (something ).  My late grandmother's answer was summarized as "not doing their jobs". At that time, internet in Malaysia has yet to expand though.

Now that Lim Kit Siang has moved to Gelang Patah (in DAP's strategy move), Thomas Su, originally the Pasar Pinji assemblyman has been promoted to the Parliamentary capacity while Howard Lee (formerly part of Kah Woh's motley crew) has been moved to that place.

I know some of you may recall an episode that Mediaperak reported in Taman Kaya (Ipoh Garden East) involving Howard's parents and the old man Simon Thong that there's a call for punishment or protest against DAP. But at this point of time, I have to disagree of the timing, but more importantly the need to remove the "scales in blue" party takes a higher precedence. 

While I am not familiar with Thomas, word from the mouth of those who were in Pasir Pinji painted a positive light on Thomas for his work done. In fact, Fong Po Kuan, who wanted to vacate the seat before the 2008 elections had in fact recommended Thomas for Batu Gajah but was persuaded at the last moment to stay there for one more term until now.

Do you remember Ceylyn, the Gerakan Ipoh councilor who was caught saying "ham kah chan" in Cantonese early last year? Watching a Chinese New Year greeting banner hanging at the Gerakan's house office in Kampung Simee with her picture on it seems to be a direct hint there. 

Here's an interesting thing: the bilik gerakan for DAP in Kampung Simee is less than 100 yards away from the Gerakan's bilik gerakan!

From their work rate, Kah Woh and Thomas have passed the integrity test, and there are at times I would bump into the former and his motley crew in some assemblies. I have also have seen his name mentioned prominently in the news about his work in Canning and as well as hitting the headlines of having the BN 6 suspended (prior to the February 2009 coup).

While I am not familiar with the MCA candidate there, I think that it is vital to send a message to the MCA that they are to be ditched for they have outlived their purpose of representing the Malaysian Chinese community.

Place Your Bets! The Casino Has Opened!

20 April 2013 - this special casino has opened its business to the people and other parties.

But the game they offered is very much different from the other casinos that you see in the world. This is because the game that they play do not require luck. You either take side A or side B.

In the hours following the nomination on Saturday, the bets have now opened. Big time rollers, as seen in the Penang and Klang festivities have started betting for the casino, not the player. Of course, any savvy casino player will know that the chances for the bank to win each hand are much higher than siding with the player.

And yes, judging from the amount of campaign ads on the ground and even on cyberspace, the amount of campaign money is not around RM 700 million so to speak but instead around RM 1.7 billion. Leading the boardroom in this special period is the casino owner himself, the 88-year old man who has restless nights fearing that his one-time protege is out to take the money that has been stored in the vaults and the banks who are connected with the casino. 

A RM 500 million loss approximate loss in the betting day means that the big pit boss will be kicked out by the casino owner in a special assembly next door of the casino in June 2013. The so-called alphabet and transformation programs could end up in the drain, unless, the casino wins at least RM 1.1. billion. 

But what is known is that there are pit bosses and their underlings that are far worst than the normal pit bosses and the croupiers that I've seen in international casinos. The writing is on the wall that the casino could lose more the amount lost in the 2008 edition. The latest rumor mill from insiders in the casino seems to confirm my suspicion.

In the next 13 days, I will try my best to write some thoughts and err "necessary insults" to get people wake up.

Six Feet Under

I don't like to get overconfident but with the main non-UMNO members of the coalition in Peninsular fielding in a total of 58 against UMNO's remaining 107 out of the 165 Parliamentary seats, it has the obvious signs that they are likely to be almost buried six-feet. It's one of the signs, the other being when Ah Koon (Gerakan's Koh Tsu Koon) and the pornstar both said that they will not contest in the general elections.

Two main points about MCA that I felt is that the party had already outlived its purpose and claims to defend the Chinese. Question mark is defending against who exactly after World War II and the Malayan Emergency was already long gone? When UMNO radicals started screaming over the Allah bible issue or the Shah Alam cow head issue, what was MCA doing? Daydreaming? Keeping quiet as like when the Ong brothers running the show? 

MCA and Gerakan both have the common thing of being kow tow to the lesser intelligent but yet the bigger bully in the current coalition called UMNO, a.k.a The Casino in Kuala Lumpur. As what Lim Kit Siang pointed that when MCA surrendered Kuantan and Gelang Patah to UMNO, it also paints a  perception that MCA is losing its marbles, knowing that full well that they could be in the bin.

On Saturday, while in Ipoh old town for some food, there were a group of MCA people going around giving pamphlets to customers in various shops. This reminded me of the MCA group that went around Lou Wong and Tuck Kee a few nights before the 12th GE many years ago. I think many still regards MCA candidates in particular as a typical example of a 'drain MP' - jaga longkang.

I told a few friends that they should go wager against the MCA that the party would lose worse than the last round from 15 to say around 7 seats, with each loss that they pay monies, a.k.a casino style. I would really like to see them dead and buried. Now that Superman OTK has been excluded in the candidates list, I have a feeling that it indirectly gives Rafizi Ramli a clearer shot in Pandan, unless there is a direct intervention from Najib or an unexpected problem happening in the PKR camp and so forth.

In 2012, Ipoh city councillor Ceylyn Tay was under hot soup for allegedly uttering "ham kah chan". While it didn't really interest me much of that petty issue, I knew for sure that she would definitely contest in Canning, given of a Chinese New Year banner that I saw in Simee Market for last year's Chinese New Year. I don't know how good is she, but my impressions with the present incumbent, Wong Kah Woh seems to say that he has handled well on his own, for now, given of a group of 12? people in his team. 

That's a little bit for those from Ipoh reading and voting there next month.

Gerakan is near death throes last round. MCA is sinking waist down. Could they be hammered one more time deeper to six feet under? I wish to see that, but you can't be that overconfident, considering that there are several die-hard people from that side, naive, and hardcore BN people out to stop the sinking sub-ships.

April 15: The Two Emma(s) Day

For almost every year without fail on this day 15 April I would definitely re-post what I've written in the 5 years. Today is famously known as the "Two Emma(s) Day" in conjunction with the actresses who share the same birthday. 

I trust that since most of us are internet savvy, you can use various resources like Wikipedia, Google and IMDB to check it out. That's what I encourage you readers to do some searching, eh?

2010 (here):

2008 (here)

On the other hand, it is also the anniversary of the infamous Hillsborough disaster, and for those Liverpudlian people, a moment of silence for them as well.