I am putting this up to help a friend. He is selling his land in Sungai Penchala, KL at the government rate of RM75 per square foot. He is not selling just 1 square foot though, You have to buy at least half of the plot. Since my maths is very weak (Every maths lesson I was sent under the stairs by Mr.Maurice Chai) you have to calculate yourself how much the whole plot is. The land is Malay Reserve land. On it there is a single storey house with many rooms.It has a road frontage and the road is metalled. (Click to get a bigger picture) Please send your offer to kustamang@gmail.com
Last night when I dropped by to give a birthday hug to Aliya, Adam her brother pointed to a jar on the coffee table. It was a jar of cookies and Adam insisted that I try some. I decided that I would risk food poisoning for the sake of my grandchildren. They were delicious. Lots of butter, lots of chocolate and very crunchy. I do not know how many hours the two girls and their brother labored in the kitchen and what was the state of the kitchen after the cookies were finally baked. The icing on the cake was a big hand drawn note pasted on the cover of the jar: To Wan, Ki and Cek Mi We made this ourselves (big heart) Fran, who was with me could not stop munching on the cookies. I did not tell her that the cookies were delicious because they were made with lots of love. I doubt that those cookies would last till malam tujuh likor, let alone Raya day. Later we were wondering whether it was her aunt Elisa who gave them the recipe.
When I started this post it was just 19 minutes into September 16, a date that many is excited about. It is too early to tell whether we are going to have a new government. Do I want a new government? If the new government can ensure that Arif (shown above with his mother) and his cousins can have a better life in the future, why not? Like Deng Xiopeng said "It does not matter what colour is the cat as long as it catches mice."
September 16 is Malaysia Day and also the Armed Forces of Malaysia Day. Salute to our soldiers, sailors and airmen. It is also Dolly's (my third daughter) birthday.
Dolly was our quietest baby and a late bloomer. Her sister Elisa always referred to her as TDB - not for Tengku Dalia Bustaman but as "The One That Does Not Blog" because she is the only one among my children that does not have a blog. This does not mean that Dolly could not write. When she was in school she won a writing contest organised by an English newspaper. She then went to Bognor Regis to learn more about writing and teaching English. She decided not to teach so she had to pay the government for her trip to England.
Dolly has chosen not to be on TV anymore. Now she spends her time watching TV, mostly soap operas.
To Dolly, may September 16 brings you lots of joy. To the rest of my fellow Malaysians, we have to see what the day brings.
Yesterday I learned from the TV news that a couple of kids in Terengganu got separated from their fingers while playing with ngecong (firecrackers). It was not the headliner though. The headliner was Dato' Ahmad Ismail's suspension for what was seen by some as ngacong (incitement). Many thought that the punishment for Dato' Ahmad is not severe enough. I guess it was difficult for the UMNO Supreme Council to make the decision. It was akin to what the Malays would say: Ibarat memukul ular -Ular biar mati, tanah jangan lekuk, buluh jangan patah (It is like striking a snake - the snake must be killed, there is no depression on the ground and the bamboo must not be broken). I fervently hope that the snake is really dead and would not frighten ordinary Malaysians again.
Ngacong is as dangerous as ngecong and just as explosive as events in the last few days clearly illustrated. Politicians from both sides and even ordinary folks like you and me should learn the art of persuasion. It is more peaceful.
Now, if only people in Mengabang Telipot and other parts of Terengganu can persuade their kids not to play ngecong every Ramadhan or at any other time. Otherwise there will be a time when someone spies upon a youth with missing fingers he would ask " Mung budok Teranung ke?"
My mother was not scared of anything or anybody but she was a little unsure of Elisa. Elisa had a temper more fiery than my mother's. When she was very young, Elisa was a handful. Elisa soon outgrew her tempestuous temper and is now calm and gentle. Her temper is still there but under very good control. Elisa is one the rare full time housewives with a Masters degree -not in in housewifing though. She is also one of the most-travelled in the family. She has the most-travelled family because she took her family along in most of her travels. Happy Birthday from all of us in Malaysia!
