Post 12th General Election 2008

Wow!!! What an exciting weekend... Most of us had stayed up almost to the wee hours of Sunday morning trying to get the most up to date results by surfing on various channels that were telecasting live since 2100hrs on Saturday night.

We all know the results by now. Many are still in shock and surprise and not many expected that the results would be so drastic.

Well, the winds of change has blown and the Political tsunami had already settled down. What do we really see? The Rakyat (public) had spoken and voiced their dissatisfaction at the government. The voice was so loud, so much so that the state of Kelantan was still retained by PAS, and 4 more states were captured by the opposition who had decided not to contest against each other but to go head on with the ruling party. We saw that states like Kedah being won over by both PAS and PKR, Pulau Pinang or Penang falling to DAP and PKR and states of Perak and Selangor falling to the opposition.

Many of the young voters whom are educated and know what had been going on in the local political scene had come out to fulfill their civil duty this time. Those who had previously voted for the coalition had decided to vote for the Oppostion as all of us would like to see changes happening and not just promises or the tax payers money being squandered aimlessly. This is partly why 4 of these developed and developing states had fallen.

Many of the Ministers and head of parties which are part of the coalition lost heavily and were removed. Only a few managed to retain their seats and perhaps their positions. Ministers and party leaders who had long been in power saw their positions and party topple immediately overnight.

The ruling coalition only managed to form a government with a simple majority (53%). Not even by 2/3 compared to their previous landslide victory back in 2004. By denying the coalition a 2/3 victory in the polls, it means that the government would not be able to simply disolve the constituency and have things simply done their way.

When the PM was asked whether the results show a vote of no-confidence, those of us watching the telecast simply saw that he avoided answering the question.

The winds had blown and the dust is now settling. Many of us would be looking forward to see what the government has to offer us for the next 4 years. We would also be looking to the states which had been taken over by the Opposition to see how things are run on a state level especially Penang.

I hope the rulling coalition party had taken the results of this polls very seriously and have been given a strong jolt for them to sit up and pay attention for once. Otherwise, it would not be surprising at all to see more states falling to the Opposition in the next general elections come 4 years time. Also, with the strong rumoured return of de-facto leader and party advisor of PKR Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, things are starting to heat up and get exciting. I also hope that members of the coalition party would not jump ship but to continue to fight for the Rakyat and for things they strongly believe in how a nation should be.

I for one had never been interested in politics but to think of it as a dirty game. However, after following this election very closely, I am starting to pick up a new interest and this game seems to be one of excitement and lessons. I am looking forward to the next 4 years.

Heartiest congratulations to all over the election results. Thank you Opposition for your ever willing to stand up for us, the minority and the Rakyat. Thanks!!!

12th General Elections - 8th March 2008

So, the general population here is headed for the polls tomorrow to cast their votes for their representatives. I am sure by now, everyone of you had already know the who-ha's about this and that, the ruling Government trying to squash the Opposition and vice-versa and whatever that has been reported in the media, forwarded thru emails and word of mouth from family, relatives, friends or even strangers.

I know who to cast my vote on BUT unfortunately, I did not register this time. I know, I know... I should be taken to the firing squad to be shot to death or have stones pelted on me till I die but I promise you that I will do so that in the next election, my vote would make a minor difference to the standings.

Generally, we are now divided into 3 camps. What 3 camps? Well, one would be those that would still support the present ruling coalition and government and the other would be those that feels that they have had enough with just sitting back and keeping quiet over the governance of the country and politics and demand a change and new blood through the government and the final group would be the fence sitters.

Are we ready for changes? Here again, we are split into two camps. One who really wants it and the other who is not too sure. See, the ruling party had been around for ages. Very much since our independence dating back to 31st August 1957. They had been sitting there being way too comfortable to even move a muscle. They and their people had enjoyed tremendous good times; so much so that the rest are not able to just sit around and keep their silence anymore.

There are people complaining that they had been marginalised. Thanks to a certain group of people who had decided to take the risk and voice out their dissatisfaction that we can now have a little more space to breathe in.

So, what are we waiting for? This Saturday would be THE day... Come all and unite for changes that we want to see happening...

Of age and health...

I have realised of late that I had been concious of my body shape and weight alot.

I enjoy eating. Meat and noodles especially. In addition to that, I smoke alot too; almost a pack a day on a normal daily routine. If I am out for coffee or drinks, it is a disaster then as I can easily finish a pack of cigarettes in a matter of hours.


Only way to get fit then is to work out. I have started to go to the gym at my condo on a daily basis with each workout session ranging from an hour to two each. Cardio and weights are crammed into each session. I know that experts say that it is not the right way to workout and instead, these two workouts should be separated. However, I believe that different workout suits different people and I am seeing the results coming in slowly now.

Just after Chinese New Year this year, I was at 90kgs. As of Monday this week, I am at 85kgs and I can see outlines of muscles being toned on my body already. I am targetting to hit roughly 75kgs by end April. I am also about to start a weekly basketball session (my favourite court sport) on Thursday nights and I hope that it would be on a regular weekly basis. I am also planning to start back my MTB riding sessions on either Saturday or Sunday mornings weekly. Of course with the rain these days, it is going to be a very technical and gruelling workout.

Why do I push myself so hard you might ask. Well, I am hitting 30 this year and also getting married in October too. I want to look my best in a suit and while my body can still take the physical punishment, I might as well go all out to achieve a good body and try stay healthy.

I can see that giving up smoking is going to be a very tough thing for me but I would need to do it soon. In the meantime, I shall make sure that I stick to my regular workout routine.

Bali

Amanda and I went to Bali, Indonesia for a 6 days retreat from 12th - 17th January 2008. We stayed at 2 towns. Kuta and Ubud each with it's own charm and magic. Here are some shots.

Engaged?

I know... I have not been here for the longest time... Been busy with things lately...

See, I have recently proposed and gotten engaged. Well, not too recent actually, as it was back in January when Amanda and I went to Bali for a 6 days retreat. That was where I proposed and here is a picture of the engagement ring.




What do you think?

I never did imagine that it would only take me a year to date someone and find out that they would be the right person. Actually, I did know that Amanda and I were on the right track after the second month of dating. However, being Asians, we did not want to put our parents into shock by saying that we wanted to tie the knot then.

So there it is, slightly after a year. We are now engaged with the wedding happening in October.

This is the reason why I had not stepped in here for so long with the planning and arrangement of the wedding all underway.

Would provide more details as the plans gets firmed up.

New Year's Eve BBQ countdown 2007

I recently welcomed 2008 with a group of close friends at my condo in Mont Kiara. We had a BBQ on the car park roof garden at my place. It was a small gathering with around 20 people including my parents and family friends from Manchester, England.

The food was almost finished. There were Lamb, Chicken and steak with potatoes that I ordered. Thanks to Lola and Cynthia who also prepared some extra food too. Here are the pictures... With this, I shall bid farewell to 2007 and look forward to a good 2008. Enjoy...

New interest

I have recently developed a new interest. Digital photography. Not your normal point and shoot digicams with a big lcd screen and simple functions of just focusing and zooming in onto the subject and shoot but Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) photography.

I find it fun and interesting. At least it allows me to experiment with things here and there where you try adjusting either the shutter speed or one thing or the other.

It is a fairly simple camera which I had bought for myself sometime back in October last year as a birthday gift to myself. It is a Cannon EOS 350D with D denoting digital. I had always been interested in photography just that I find the old school SLRs to be way too expensive and back then you have to use films. Imagine the amount of rolls you have to go through just to experiment with a subject. As though that is not time consuming enough, you then need to develop the pictures and then get to see the quality and beauty (if any) of the shots taken.

With DSLRs however, you still adjust and shoot BUT the picture is then displayed onto the little LCD screen on the camera and whatever picture saved, is stored onto the memory card. I am sure everyone knows by now how these digicams work so I shall not go into details. So there you go, time and cost saved.

Here are some sample shots of some pictures I have taken so far. Hope you all enjoy it.