TRAVESTIES

A few days ago, I read the crawler headlines on TV and there was a headline telling me that the Terengganu State Government has appointed a consultant to tell them (the govt.) what infrastructure is required by the state.This was followed by another headline telling me that Kuala Nerus might be turned into a district.

The problem with crawlers is that it doesn't tell you much. Terengganu folks would say dak tau pala ekor (Wouldnt know head or tail). Was the consultant appointed to determine what infrastructure Terengganu needs? I am not sure. So I searched BERNAMA. Typing "Terengganu Appoints Consultant" and "Terengganu Infrastructure" did not come up with any news item that assuage my curiousity. Typing "infrastructure" gave me the news that Bukit Besi Iron Mine would be reopened. I heard that 2 weeks ago at a dinner. The only relevant news I could dig up was this.

Ok, they are studying the possibility of setting up a new district and they have appointed a consultant for that purpose. Asking the people in the soon-to-be-new district what they want is not mentioned. I guess the consultant will do the asking. I can only hope and pray that the consultant would not recommend the razing of historical mosques and other buildings just for the sake of development. It happened in Kuala Terengganu, let it not happen anywhere else. If you do not learn from your mistakes, you are a bloody fool and it takes a wise man to know what are your mistakes.

Another travesty that I discovered, albeit one that can be forgiven (over time) is to mess with nasi dagang. There is a spanking new restaurant, The Tappers in The Sphere, Bangsar South (where Kampung Kerinchi used to be) where you can have nasi dagang with gulai ikan aya (tuna curry Terengganu style) or with chicken (Kelantan style). The travesty? The chef added boiled egg and kerepok to the dish. The nasi dagang purists would choke on the kerepok and the egg. The rice is nice though and so is the service, the ambient and the price.
Go and try and see if you can forgive them. It would be easier than forgiving all those idiocy being done in our beloved state in the name of progress or tourism.

Labels: Bukit Besi The Tappers, nasi dagang, new district