31 REASONS WHY I LOVE YOU

 Today, is a very special day for my wife. Today on 31 May, 2013, she turns 31. She has been nothing short of a blessing to me so here’s 31 reasons why I love her (you)…

1.       Because you first loved me…

2.       You have been my place of solace after a stressful day at work.

3.       You have been the voice of reason when I am unreasonable.

4.       You have never contacted the psychiatric ward when I do outrageously stupid things.

5.       When I forget to hang the clothes, you quietly do it while I sleep.

6.       You enjoy beaches as much as I do.

7.       You laugh at my jokes even though they can be lame.

8.       You have a hidden talent of telling jokes seamlessly which never fails to amaze me.

9.       You completed your degree in 2 and a half years.

10.   And you completed your masters in less than 3 years.

11.   You never fail to buy my most needed wants as gifts.

12.   You love kids.

13.   You delivered to us a baby girl.

14.   And then you decided to make it a pair by delivering a boy.

15.   And you seem to be considering doubling that.

16.   You went through 20 hours of labor to deliver our girl with epidural.

17.   And you decided to do better by going through 10 hours of labor WITHOUT epidural.

18.   Your consistent fervor to provide the best for our kids – in terms of healthy food.

19.   The nights where after your work or during the weekends, where you spend that free time not on yourself but by cooking super healthy meals for our kids for the week to come.

20.   Your sacrifices in bearing with breastfeeding our kids and the countless times you’ve cried cause the journey has been tough.

21.   Your sacrifices through interrupted and barely sufficient sleep to take care of the kids at night.

22.   Your strength in going through a wailing child.

23.   How you have for the past 2 years over been fetching our girl to your parents place while you carried your bags, her bags and her down 3 flight of stairs into the car.

24.   How you still continue to hang on through your job no matter how tough it has been to further supplement our salaries.

25.   How you introduced me to coffee and that now, I am a self-proclaimed half-baked coffee connoisseur.

26.   In the available free times you have, you cook up a delicious meal for our dinner.

27.   Your support in all that I do.

28.   Your love for food.

29.   Your warm smile that melts away all the worries of the world.

30.   Your faith in God and the assurance you exhibit.

31.   Your patience when I have been mean.

So today on your birthday, I just want to let you know that you have been an absolute blessing to me and the fruits of our loins (our kids). I am thankful that the fruits of your parents loins bore fruit to such a wonderful woman whom I have the privilege of calling “My Wife”. I cherish every moment that we have gone through and look forward to the coming years together as we both age. I love you!

POST GE13: ORANG CINA, APASAL YOU TAKUT?

So, admittedly, we Chinese are a scared lot. We’re afraid of a lot of things ranging from stepping on an ant hill less it’s the home of some gods. We’re afraid of the many things that might go wrong during pre and post pregnancy that we have an endless list of pantang larang. We’re afraid of losing “ong” during Chinese New Year that we have another set of pantang larang. We’re afraid of our sitting position in office which attracts bad luck. We’re afraid that our car plate numbers are not right. We’re afraid of various spirits that we have gods everywhere – kitchen, front door, back door etc. We’re afraid of death and we have a list of superstition to protect us. We’re afraid of hospitals and we have another list of superstition to protect us. WE’RE JUST REALLY AFRAID OF EVERYTHING. Just google for Chinese superstitious and you’ll know.

So although expectedly when our bastardly PM decided to say “Chinese Tsunami” when he announced that BN has once again won, opening the flood gates of low IQ Malaysians to hurl racist remarks at us… we became AFRAID again. To say that I was disappointed at how we reacted is an understatement.

Before the elections, we increased our participation in Bersih, Anti-Lynas, Anti-ISA together with our Malay, Indian dan lain-lain brothers and sisters to fight for a cleaner, less corrupted & a more accountable Malaysia, braving any possible risk of arrest, tear gas, beating and possible death. During the elections, we became human barricade (again with the other Malaysians) to ensure no phantom voters got to vote and no suspicious ballot boxes were brought in. 12 midnight, when we found out that SPR was being hanky panky, we together as 1Malaysia turn our profiles black, planned mini rallies of wearing black shirt and taping our mouths. We together as 1Malaysia demanded for the truth!

Then Najib said, “Chinese Tsunami” and in the morning we realize that we were being made the scapegoat for BN’s poor performance, we became afraid again. Utusan asked us, “Apa Cina mau lagi”, Kosmos accused of being, “Talam dua muka” although the only talam I know is kuih talam which I love very much but I don’t think they meant it in such a way, and we began to realize that on FB, there were a group of Malays hurling very abusive racist remarks asking us to “Balik Cina” and Chua Soi Lek said, “There would not be any Chinese representative in the cabinet”.

Then we reacted, not with the facts that we knew but with fear. We began forwarding messages telling our friends not to wear black and not to forward the said message to any non-Chinese or on FB, we started telling each other “Stay safe”, we receive SMSs asking us to remove our black picture profile less we became victims, we told each other on FB to remove them… stay neutral, there might be riots, they’re trying to create trouble.

I personally got sick pissed when someone forwarded me those messages not only because we so quickly forget what we have achieved but we began abandoning our fight for justice just to ensure our asses (plural for ass) are safe… the same old mentality of selfishness and caring for our own race. On top of that, it only made things worst. Putting people in a flight or fight mode, in which any small rumor/scuffle that might happen will easily escalate into something bigger in no time. It didn’t help. We just became puppets to BN’s fear mongering game.

To my dear Chinese friends, let me ask you… Michelle Yeoh bukan Cina ar? Chua Soi Lek bukan Cina ar? Liow Tiong Lai bukan Cina ar? Koh Tsu Koon bukan Cina ar? If they were going to start anything, you think they’re going to throw petrol bombs into their houses?

Haven’t we gone through these all our lives living in Malaysia? Have we forgotten UMNO’s general assembly and the keris? Ridhuan Tee and his endless condemnation of the Chinese? Ibrahim Ali and Zul Noordin? The never ending threat of May 13? The screening of May 13? The too many times we’ve heard “Cina balik Cina”? Haven’t BN been continuously trying to divide us Malaysians by our race?

Let me also ask you… Who voted out Ibrahim Ali from KELANTAN? Who voted out Zul Noordin in SHAH ALAM? Who were the 52% of voters that voted against BN? Who were the majority that stood beside you in BERSIH? Who voted for PAS? Who voted for a Malay candidate from Pakatan instead of a Chinese candidate from BN?

The fight was never a fight of one race abandoning another. It was a fight of Malaysians of every race fighting against inequality. Against corruption. Against cronyism. Against injustice.

So please, don’t tell me to “Stay safe” when there are more serious things to worry about like snatch thefts, death in custody, witnesses jumping off MACC buildings, blackouts etc. Don’t tell me to stock up food when there might not even be food in 5 years time. Don’t tell me to stay as neutral as possible behind the scenes because I refuse to subject myself and my children’s future to such racist remarks and corruption in future. I will continue to fight openly together with my Malay, Indian dan lain lain brothers and sisters of Malaysia to uphold everything that is right. DO NOT BE COWED. We’re not Sharizat.

To my friends of all races, thank you for standing up when you shared pictures of you and your friends of other races together, posting experiences in full honesty of what 1Malaysia really meant, and standing up to any racist bigot. Sharing and re-sharing those stories you came across. Dousing the fire of racism not with fear but with flowers of true togetherness and harmony of us Malaysians. With these experiences, I know if anything should happen, I have enough Malay friends to come to my assistance as I would to them.

To Chua Soi Lek: I really don’t give a crap if there are no Chinese representatives in the cabinet. What use were they when they couldn’t even protect us when we were subjected to racist remarks in the past? My Malay brothers and sisters in Pakatan seem to be doing a much better job than any Chinese cabinet minister.

We today are moving closer as a truly 1Malaysia. Closing the gaps between races that have been put there by BN for the longest years. It’s not going to happen overnight. There will still be racist bigots out there but this time around, we’ve resoundingly told them that “Malaysia has no place for racist bastards”. So, let’s not lose focus. Let not fear get the better of us and let us push forward together as 1Malaysia to see a better Malaysia. We’re not Chinese, Indian, Malay anymore.

WE ARE MALAYSIANS!

GE13: RAYS OF HOPE AMIDST BLACKOUT

Albeit the fact that we had to fend off foreigners, erect human barricade, watch our indelible ink become delible and become victims of BLACKOUT MAGIC, here are some facts that still provides us Malaysian with some hope.

1.          BN might have won seats but they have lost popular votes: Federal Seats: BN-5.2m (48%), PR-5.6m (52%) and State Seats: BN-4.5m (48%), PR-4.9m (52%).

2.          Overall Parliament seats, BN is further weaken by the lost 7 more seats (from 140-133). PR has increased their Parliament seats from 82-89.

3.          Overall State seats, BN further loss another 33 seats to PR.

4.          Parliament seats 2008 vs 2013, PR did better in Terregganu, Pahang, Melaka, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak

5.          State seats2008 vs 2013, PR did better in Terrengganu, Pahang, Selangor, Melaka, Johor and Sabah.

6.          In Selangor State seats, PR further strengthen their grip by winning an additional 8 seats as compared to 2008 (from 36-44)

7.          Top BN big guns slayed – Saifuddin Abdullah (Deputy MInister), Puad (Deputy Minister), Kong Cho Ha (Transport Minister), Chor Chee Hung (MCA VP), Raja Nong Chik (FT Minister), Bernard Dompok (Plantation Minister), Teng (President Gerakan), A. Kohilan (Deputy Minister), SK Devamany (Deputy Minister), VK Liew (Sabah Federal Minister), Joseph Kurup (Sabah Federal Minister) and Yong Koon Seng ( Sarawak Federal Minister),

8.          BN Chief Ministers for Johor and Melaka slayed – Ali Rustam & Ghani.

9.          In Sabah, PR won 11 seats this time around (2008-only won 1 seat).

10.      Terrengganu state seats BN won by a slim majority of 2 seats.

11.      Perak state seats BN won by a slim majority of 3 seats.

12.      MCA suffered near extinction losses by only winning 7 out of 37 Parliament seats it contested in. They won 15 seats in 2008. MCA also won on 11 State seats out of the 90 State seats it contested in. They previously secured 32 in 2008.

13.      MCA suffered a total wipeout in Penang, KL and NS.

14.      Inroads made into Johor, Sabah and Sarawak

15.      Malaysians have united to send a clear message - RACIST BIGOTS DON’T BELONG HERE!

16.      Malaysian have come together to ensure that foreigners messes not with Malaysia.

17.      Nurul Izzah has thus far slain 2 Ministers – 1 Lembu Minister & 1 Longkang Minister… who’s next?

GE13: IT WOULDN’T MAKE SENSE

 It wouldn’t make sense if you’re a…

1.       CHRISTIAN and you pangkah BN – Under BN, you have been systematically “cleansed” via the difficulty to obtain land to build your church, to easily display any effigy of your faith (i.e. the Cross), banned from using “Allah” (while PAKATAN top echelons have openly said that there’s nothing wrong in Christians using “Allah”), continuously slandered through the years (i.e. the spreading of false rumor such as the baptism of Muslims etc), made a scapegoat to attempt to unite Muslims for political reasons (i.e. the current BN campaign which uses pictures of your places of worship to scare Muslims) and the best part of it all – they tell you we’re a democratic country with every religion is allowed to practice their faith and for all the slander and scapegoating they’ve done – NO ACTION TAKEN.

2.       CHINESE and you pangkah BN – Under BN, you too have been constantly called to “balik CINA”, given white ang pow packets for CNY, threatened with the keris and constantly made to look as though you are some selfish race who have stole all the wealth of Malaysia (when the truth of the matter is that BN themselves have awarded you the contracts cause of corruption). You are afraid that your alcohol, TOTO, pork etc would be banned when PAS becomes powerful enough (a myth that can never happen in Malaysia) but you forget than under BN, corruption has become so rampant that you, your family or your friends will most probably not see justice serve if BN people are involved. In any case, in Shah Alam under BN, pork was made to be sold in the market with any visual sight of the pork wrap around black garbage bag when in Kelantan, it’s been sold openly in their market. If you still are worried, Hasan Ali (previously a PAS member) who tried to circumvent your right by trying to ban alcohol at 7-11’s in Shah Alam was sacked while racist bigots in BN is still made to stand in the upcoming elections.

3.       INDIAN and you pangkah BN – Under BN, you have been called a Keling, your holy books brought to ridicule, your holy river smirked at and your sacred animal (the cow) stepped on in disgust and your temples demolished. You have been marginalized, denied the right of a blue I/C even though you’re a Malaysian in every sense, your people too die in police custody without the sight of justice and your beloved deceased bodies have been snatched off your very eyes while you are grieving without any recourse.

4.       MALAY and you pangkah BN – Under BN, you are made to believe that all BN is doing is to raise the inequality of wealth in Malaysia especially for you but the truth of the matter is that the majority of your people still live in poverty after 56 years. 56 years of the same message being said over and over but the reality has not changed much. What has happen is within your very race, there has been an even bigger gap of inequality of wealth where the BN cronies become super rich while you, me and all other races in Malaysia that falls under the non-cronies category find it harder and harder to live and survive through our everyday needs. What’s worse is that you are made to hate me and I am made to fear you. I remember the days when I played gasing and guli with you with no care as to what race you and I belong to, but today, I have to make the conscious effort to remove my fear and my tainted race glasses because I know, the color of our blood is red – nothing else. You and I today have to undo the fear, the hatred, the feeling of inequality between you and me and the brainwashing that we have undergone by the powers today to separate us to ensure they rule us via our division for a very long time. Today, I look to PAS whenever I have any doubts about our relationship and I am more assured than ever that you and me – we’re in the same boat, we need to work together, we need to put aside all fears and hatred that has been instilled so both you and me reject all calls for division cause only as one that we can truly reflect what Malaysia truly is. If you still fear that Pakatan might erode your livelihood, just take a look at Penang and how that with an open tender system, your people are more than capable to secure contracts – don’t let BN to continue to fool both you and me.

5.       ORANG ASLI and you pangkah BN – Under BN, your lands have been taken from you, your children denied easy access to education and your people marginalized the most with most of your people still living in poverty and your women raped by timber lords and you have no justice to date. To think about it, what has BN really done for you? Your basic right to water and electricity is also so hard to come by. Huge, useless dams are build where your houses use to be not for the betterment of the country cause the electricity generated from the dam now is useless but your houses have been lost, your livelihood gone and your way of life a distant memory. You come from the wealthiest states with rich resources but yet the only people that are probably multi-millionaires/billionaires are your CM.

6.       MALAYSIAN and you pangkah BN – Under BN through the years, as much as BN shouts 1Malaysia, their actions have only reflected the opposite by consistently dividing us Malaysian further. Do you feel more 1Malaysian when listening to BN talk or do you feel more 1Malaysia when you attend a Bersih rally? Especially now with the upcoming GE13 coming around the corner, listening to the BN’s advertisement and speeches, do you really feel 1Malaysia? Apart from unity, think about corruption, injustice, racist bigots, scandals and tell me in my face that this is the BN that you condone.

So… before you vote this Sunday, think really deep… what does voting for BN really means to you, me and Malaysia. Where do we want to be for the next 5 years?


p/s - For the record, I am a Christian by conviction, Chinese by birth and a true believer in unity amongst Malaysian.