Crouching Tiger of Jelutong

When there is a piece of barren soil left abandoned, it attracts nobody but once it is being cultivated, then many will be competing to have a share in it. That’s what a Chinese saying “瘦田无人耕，耕开有人争” literally means. And it seems that it was the root cause of the “Warlord vs. Godfather” drama currently putting up on stage by some frictions of DAP. Warlord refers to Dr Ramasamy, the deputy Chief Minister of Penang while the Godfather is none other than the crouching tiger of Jelutong, Karpal Singh. 

Karpal is no stranger to Malaysians, whether you like politics or hate it, Karpal has earned his reputation both as a lawyer and politician. To his millions’ of admirer, Karpal is the true voice of the people and a brave enough politician to even go after the “big shots” such as the prime minister, the sultans or even the yang Pertuan Agong. He is a highly controversial politician, DAP staunch leader and along with Lim Kit Siang, were frequently labeled as racists by some people, government people especially. But this time around, Karpal is at loggerhead with a person from his own camp, Dr Ramasamy, which is the deputy Chief Minister of Penang but a political novice as compared to Karpal who has been a member of DAP since 1970, and in and out of Parliament for many times since he joined politics.

The tussle between Karpal and Ramasamy was mainly due to the fight on candidacy for the upcoming general election. Since causing a political tsunami in 2008 general election which for the first time in the history denying the BN two third majority, some of the politicians from the Pakatan Rakyat are started to see the “good side” of politics; the “dollar sign” of politics as the portfolios that come along after forming a state government are something that opposition parties such as DAP could never have dreamt for. 2008 political tsunami was a game changer for DAP as together with PAS and Keadilan, they captured Pulau Pinang, Selangor, Kelantan and then the Perak which was later fallen into BN again due to some crossovers and backstabbing. 

The politicians from the opposition camp are even thinking of taking over Putrajaya for the upcoming general election and although such thing was unthinkable in the past but time has changed and all unthinkable is now possible with the change in the mindset of the voters. But too bad that infighting in DAP is occurring at a time when unification is more crucial than any other moments in the past as if we can’t ride on the present momentum to completely overhaul the present government system, then that’s it, everything back to square one.    

A fading hope.................

There were two disappointments in the Super Series Masters Final which was curtain-dropping event for 2011. First there was no Lee Chong Wei-Lin Dan showdown and second, Chen Long who fought so hard to defeat Lee in the semifinal was not even his usual self with such defensive play that hardly posed a threat to Lin Dan. The badminton fans around the world would have expected for a fiercely fought match between Lee and Lin but the way Chen Long lost to Lin Dan was just in the way showing that he had no interest in the match, not really the cocky and aggressive Chen Long that defeated Lee Chong Wei fair and square in the semifinal.

Could it be team order by the coaches to allow Lin Dan winning his first ever Masters Finals title that resulted in Chen Long playing so half-heartedly? Or was it because he was really exhausted after a tough battle with Lee Chong Wei in the semifinal? In my mind, it was the team order rather than anything else as Chen Long had not showing any great interest in the match. If he were playing as aggressive as when he was playing Lee in the semi, then, it would be a different scenario all together.

Chen Long has never beaten Lin Dan on any tournament before except for walkover conceded by Lin Dan. But from the way Chen Long defeated Lee a couple of time before, he really has the ability and skill to defeat his more illustrious teammate, Lin Dan but whenever Chen Long playing against Lin Dan, it is very clear that he lacks the fire and desire. He was so suppressed and easily went down to Lin Dan. But when playing Lee Chong Wei, the lanky Chen long will be jumping high in making one after another deadly smashes and diving low to save tricky shots by Lee Chong Wei. He was so arrogant on the court and showing a lot of emotions. But when he was playing against Lin Dan, very tame, I must say.

As the 2012 Olympics is coming ever nearer, we know that the first ever gold for Malaysia is nothing but a fading hope. I am not saying that Lee is completely ruled out for gold with his recent below par performances but China now have two capable players standing in his way. The Super Dan is already a tough opponent to beat, and now there is another one standing in the way. Even if he can defeat one of them in the semi, he will be exhausted already and China will ensure that Lee’s opponent in the final will be as fresh and fit as he possibly can be to compete in the final.

Raining days, drive slowly....

While travelling back from Kuala Terengganu yesterday, there were scattered rains along the way but the sky was clearly much darker towards Kuala Lumpur as we travelled along East-West Expressway. Sure enough, there was thunderstorm as we passed the exit road to Genting Highlands and all the cars were slowing down due to poor visibility and also slippery road. It can be dangerous if you go on too high a speed especially on the winding road near Genting.

As we were travelling on the Middle Ring Road near Ampang, the rains became heavier and the traffic was slow moving. After a long hour travelling from Kuala Terengganu, such crawling traffic was certainly tiring for the driver and passengers alike. But in KL, if it is raining, you can surely expect a traffic congestion as the vehicles moving slowly but there will be some daredevils, despite of the traffic congestion, trying very hard to overtake dangerously. Such silly and very irresponsible drivers are nothing more than brainless monkeys emulating the rain master Michael Schumacher. Worst still, some lorries were also driven by mad drivers recklessly fast and some time causing the water from the ground to spill on our car windscreen further worsening the visibility under torrential rains.

Some of the drivers of the huge commercial vehicles are simply care less about the rest of the road users simply because they are big, I mean their vehicles are big, so other passenger cars must give way to them by virtue of their size. It was reported in the Star that an empty school bus crashed into an ambulance from the opposite direction while trying to overtake a few days ago. The accident caused a 10-vehicle pile-up and although it was the reckless driving of one driver but many other unfortunate people were suffering from injuries or car damage. It was so fortunate that the bus was not loaded with pupils otherwise, it will be a big disaster.

Raining days, drive slowly-lar, slow a bit can still reach home safely and that’s the most important thing after all.

That's life

Aging and sickness are the norm in life but it is still sad when you discover some of your friends are suffering from chronic sickness, and it is frightening of late that many such incidents are happening. I was told by a friend not too long ago that our colleague was undergoing treatment in Singapore for colon cancer and this morning again a friend told me that our colleague’s wife was undergoing cancer treatment. Not too long ago, a colleague of mine was diagnosed with a tumor growing in her brain and as she was recuperating from the illness after going in and out from the hospital, her husband was out of the sudden passed away due to stroke. Sometimes, come to think about it, we are at the mercy of the Almighty and nothing we can to avoid sickness. That’s life; you’re born, growing old, affected by illness, then die.

A Chinese actor from the mainland China used to say this; “when you close your eyes and open again, that’s a day, but when you close your eyes and never open again, that’s your whole life”. Like it or not, this world that we are living in, comprise of people from all sorts of thought, some value life some not. Some are brave to face all sorts of adversity but some are slowly killing themselves dwelling in life threatening activities, drugs and all sorts of other criminal things and so on. Some even murder their own babies upon delivered and disposed them just like chucking a dead animal. Some committed suicide for all sorts of funny reasons only known to them.

I have traveled a lot to poor countryside in Indonesia, Laos, China and sometime you look at those poor people struggling to make ends meet, it makes me wonder where the hell they gain the strength to carry on in spite of all those adversity and hardship? Maybe, the strength lies in their believe that by virtual of being alive, is already a winner. 

Why................?

We can’t read a person’s mind. Sometimes we can’t even read our own. Therefore millions of fans simply couldn’t understand why Gary Speed, a seemingly cherish, happy-go-lucky person with a promising coaching career, a happy family and no history of mental illnesses or whatsoever, out of the sudden, committed suicide. 

When Leslie Leong did the same thing many years ago, many fans of him also couldn’t comprehend the reason behind the pop singer took his own life. I mean he had everything that an ordinary person like us could only dream for; fame, money, talent and everything else. If he was deeply depressed, with his money he could have the best medical expert to treat him or just let go everything and simply enjoying a luxurious life flying here and there seeing all the beautiful scenery around the world. Why did he kill himself? 

Speed’s death remains the greatest mystery to his family and fans alike. But it shows us that depression could virtually affect anyone. Whether you’re weak or strong, your appearance or behaviors certainly do not tell the rest of the people everything. All these inner feelings can be hidden somewhere whether intentionally or not. 

RIP Gary Speed, may you find peace in another world.