Saturday, April 04, 2009

Bukit Gantang: A deciding evening at Kuala Sepetang

pix The Taikor and A Voice watch the fishermen sampans and boats pass by

"Tonight at a riverside seafood restaurant in Kuala Sepetang, we'll see if the Chinese voters will swing to Barisan Nasional," said my taikor friend, a local boy who once was a major player in Malaysia's corporate sector.

"Victory will be decided there."

Sounds a little dramatic but after two days of mingling with the Chinese community leaders - the three of us (A Voice, Bujai and I) spent a whole afternoon yesterday at this very restaurant, which stands on stilts in waters the provide for Malays, Chinese and Indian fishermen - one can sense that a climax hovers near. The Chinese makes up a little over a quarter of the voters in Bukit Gantang, which was won by PAS in March last year.

Anifah Aman, an extremely popular BN politician from Sabah and Hamidah Osman, who played a major role in the takeover of Perak from Pakatan Rakyat, will be there. "If you think Nizar can speak Mandarin, you should listen to YB Anifah," my friend told me.

Two nights ago, at the Kuan Tee association's anniversary dinner, more than 5000 people turned up. The do at the Kuala Sepetang restaurant is mainly for the leaders of the Chinese community leaders who, according to the taikor, had supported Pakatan at the 12th General Election.

33 comments:

  1. Anak Malaysia Sejati1:38 pm

    Rocky! Kita dah boleh tanggalkan banner "DAULAT TUANKU", sebab Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur semalam telah menetapkan bahawa pencabaran Dato Nizar terhadap kesahihan Zambry sebagai menteri besar adalah SAH.


    Dan oleh itu, baik semua bloggers-bloggers kalian turunkan sahaja lah Banner "Daulat Tuanku" sebagai propaganda menentang Pakatan Rakyat sebab Mahmakah dah putuskan bahawa Pakatan Rakyat dan Dato Nizar tidak ada apa-apa penentangan terhadap istana, Sultan atau Tuanku..

    Takbirrrr!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The light dim
    The passage dark
    As I walk to my destination
    Something telling me
    I better be aware
    Of my surrounding

    The corridors
    Everybody walks
    Knowing every inch
    Yet the foreboding tickles
    Don't get complacent

    It will be my own doing
    If I ever stop to believe
    Asking questions finding answers
    Be alert to the every changing scenes

    Yeah you hear my right
    Don't get hooked into sweet coating lines
    You never know the end of the day
    What will be when the sweet melt away?

    I walk with ears listening
    Body relax mind alert
    On the dim lit corridor
    I never know what lies beyond

    Do you?
    In this changing scenes
    Of sweet coating statements
    I say stay alert

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:11 pm

    Nah, if this by-election never be held, nobody knows about kuala sepetang, nobody will care about its existence, the government never even look on the fishing village, and also kuala sangga, they are still using diesel to generate electricity! bn where given 50 years, and pakatan were given 10 months, you compare it yourself

    anyway I'm a citizen from Taiping and always travel to kuala sepetang for the delicious mee udang and curry mee, it was a peaceful village until few days ago where the "sexy girls" army invaded the village and said something about culture of the villagers.
    ~voice

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ahh, let's hope they have forgotten the whole blood on the dagger thing, yeah? And the putty of Semtex on the pretty lady, the cousin whose dagger fixation borders upon political opportunism, and also for letting the other erm, 'minor' parties in BN know that UMNO = BN and not the other way around. Hey, did anyone see where did OTK go with that damn lorry?

    Tun Tan Siew Sin had more respect, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2:26 pm

    Hahahahaaaaaa.....semoga cita cita saudara special bru tercapai......
    Anifah is just a con man of Sabah politician without prinsip ba......
    So special bru is with them together with the Hamidah the snake....oops.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous2:31 pm

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous2:37 pm

    ...mainly for the leaders of the Chinese community leaders.
    ---------------------------------

    Kah kah kah! Mesin judi kuda hidup kembali zaman pemerintahan Najib. Hidup Along! Hidup Taukeh Judi! Hidup Wang Haram!


    lia

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous2:51 pm

    Wat so great having Hanifah (who?) to give speach in Mandarin? She is not in the ballot box.
    Can ISMAIL even converse with the Chinese community without friends of MCA/Gerakan.
    Nizar certainly can...& is most qualified among all.

    TaipingBOY

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous3:24 pm

    Bro, NST will always kow-tow to Singapore because of the special relationship between Kalimullah, Brendan, Hishamudin Aun and the red dot’s leaders. If you read the NST Pg 4 today (April 4, 2009), S’pore PM quote was given prominence. Congrats, Kalimullah Maseerul Hassan.

    Xie xie!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous3:41 pm

    Hallo Bos, I read somewhere about Labuan being blacklisted by OECD at the G20 summit. It reminds us of Finance Minister II Nor Mohd Yakcop and Kalimullah aggressively promoting Labuan as a tax haven centre when Pak Lah came to power in 2004. Any information on them from G20 ah...

    MR COMMISSION

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous3:47 pm

    Salam bro

    Cant agree with you more Bro..the wind of change is coming in Bukit Gantang.....i've been here since 29mac and i can fairly say that PAS is no longer a hegemon...something is happening....Au Revoir PAS and DAP ? - Anak Bukit Gantang

    ReplyDelete
  12. WHAT VOTERS VOTE FOR?

    Do voters vote for parties or personalities?
    Do voters vote for principals or on principles?
    Do voters vote for politicians treated as 'deities'?
    Do voters vote for policies or treats given as 'apples'?

    (C) Samuel Goh Kim Eng - 040409
    http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
    Sat. 4th Apr. 2009.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous4:11 pm

    How nice if more of these PR Aduns/MPs lompat or disappear. Then we can have more fresh elections.

    Then we get to see and learn more about these places.

    Then the PM, Ministers will DEFINITELY visit these places (berkempen)and see for themselves, what life is all about in Malaysia..

    WILL OPEN UP THEIR EYES WIIIIDDDDEEEERRRR!

    Yang masih tak ade letrik
    Yang masih tak ade tali air bersih
    Yang pendapatan sehari RM10..
    OKU/Anak Yatim/ Miskin2 yang masih tinggal dalam reban ayam...

    Go Najib, go and walak all over Malaysia and SEE for yourself the sufferings of others and, PLEASE DO SOMETHING about these!! They really need your assistance...

    They dont need Camrys or Perdana or BMW, only THE BASIC NECESSITIES IN LIFE. Apa susah sangat ker nak bantu orang susah??

    Tongkang.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous5:07 pm

    Rocky,
    Ada good Halal Seafood Restaurant kat situ dak?

    Please recommend, I LOVE seafood.. susah nak dapat yang sedap kat Klang Valley..

    Udang

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous6:36 pm

    mahathir - bersih, cekap, amanah

    lepas itu jadi: kotor, lembek, rasuah;

    freed 24 isa detainees, then semua masuk lokap again;

    pak lah - cemerlang, gemilang, terbilang, jadi malap, pudar, temberang

    najib ??

    hasan lempayung

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous6:40 pm

    PAS akan menang di Bukit Gantang,,,walaupon all chinese will vote BN,,!!!!! coz Melayu akan menghukum UMNO,,kebiadappan mengambil PERAK,,,!!!!

    Dengan kemasukan Mahathir semula kedalam UMNO,,,tidak akan mmenguatkan Barisan,,,malahan Rakyat meluat melihat perangai Mahathir,,!!!!

    Kemasukan semula untuk menghina Abdullah,,,,,begitu kejam dan busok sekali hati Mahathir,,,dendam terhadap Abdullah dan Anwar,,,sanggup untuk menjatukan Anwar,,,!!!!

    Kan MELAYU mudah lupa,,!!!!

    -BODO-

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous8:16 pm

    ALAMAK BEB! BARU SEHARI JADI PM, NAJIB DAH ADA MASALAH! BUKAN MASALAH NEGARA PUN TAPI MASALAH EHEM EHEM ... BINI DIA DAH BIKIN KECOH. PAK LAH TURUN KERANA ANAK MENANTU; NAJIB JANGAN JATUH KERANA BINI DAH LAH!!!!! SELURUH WARGA MEDIA DAH HEBOH BEB....

    PENING LALAT

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous8:22 pm

    it is very foolish to choose a leader simply becos he can converse in many languages. Look at altantuya, knew a few international languages and the outcome is horrible.

    ahgroo

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous8:45 pm

    Rocky,

    Please la...don't spin anymore..I am starting to throw up...you mean to say that UMNO Hamidah is a popular politician? Have you forgotten she was forced to apologise for calling Indians in a derogatory manner in te Perak State Assembly? And because a politician can speak Chinese the people will vote for him? This maybe true 20 years ago but we are in the 21 century in case you have forgotten. And Sabah politician being popular? Maybe to Peninsula's contractors...

    Unnamed???

    ReplyDelete
  20. akhirin10:09 pm

    Anak Malaysia sejati buta undang-undang dan contoh ahli politik menyokong membabi buta. Contoh kerendahan ilmu politik bangsa Melayu. Dan akhirnya Takbir - penyalahgunaan nama Allah

    ReplyDelete
  21. PERLU SANGAT KE KITA AKAN MP YANG BOLEH BERBAHASA CHINA (MANDARIN/CANTONESE/HOKKIEN/HAKKA) YANG KITA TAHU SEMUA NYA NAK BERBAHASA MELAYU ATAU MALAYSIA KERANA NAK MENEGAKKAN BAHASA MALAYSIA NI.... SAMPAI BERARAK.

    SO APAHAL NAK BAHASA CHINA PULAK. PENTING SANGAT KE? MASA NAK MENGUNDI. FOR ALL THOSE CHINESE SPEAKING NO OFFENDS ...

    WA BEY TIOK WOOO..... QANNINEY

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous10:37 pm

    Bila nak pilihan raya terhegeh-hegehlah orang umno jumpa penduduk,bertanya khabar, salam dan sebagainya. bila habis pilihan raya kalau berjumpa nereka ini samada di shopping kompleks atau di kelab2 golf dan dimana2 pun , jangan nak bertegur , senyum pun tidak lepas tu menyombong pulak. sudahlah, bila nak mengundi, barulah buat baik. Bro, suruh mereka ini berubah jadi friendly oriented people dulu.

    AMS

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous10:54 pm

    Kepada Anak Malaysia Sejati,

    Jadi, jika Mahkamah Tinggi meletakkan keputusan yang menyebelahi PR, keputusan mahkamah adalah sah, baik, benar dan betul? Bagaimana jika mahkamah menyebelahi BN? Tentulah mahkamah itu ada unsur-unsur rasuah, tidak benar, tidak bebas, mahkamah kanggaro!...

    Majoriti tiada masalah dengan keputusan mahkamah, jika benar katakan benar, jika salah, katakan salah, jangan pula bila keputusan tidak menyebelahi PR, kamu buat demo! Kamu yang patut lihat diri sendiri.

    -Kiewkiew

    ReplyDelete
  24. Zulkifli11:16 pm

    Bro, i found something interesting regarding the politic scenario in our country.... Hee..check it out...

    http://dropdeaddaj.blogspot.com/2008/10/politik-itu-satu-alam-barzakh-sekular.html

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous11:39 pm

    "Anonymous said...

    it is very foolish to choose a leader simply becos he can converse in many languages. Look at altantuya, knew a few international languages and the outcome is horrible.

    ahgroo

    8:22 PM"


    since when atlatunya is a leader??

    ~chinky chan

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous12:17 am

    Where in Kuala Sepetang can you have a sit-down dinner for 5000 pax at one go? After the nomination, I went in search of the mee udang. I was quite sad to see the dilapidated shophouses in what I surmised must be the centre of the pekan. What have BN been doing all these time? It was like Kemaman 30 years ago. I noticed PAS flags are prominently hanged in this area.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous1:48 am

    BN should pull out those posters and banners which implicated Nizar as 'derhaka' Please UMNOBN show your moral.
    Kita juga minta UMNO buang poster gambar Zambry dengan tulisan MB Perak kerana Mahkamah belum mengesahkan beliau sebagai MB. Tunjukkan taluadan,jangan hina mahkamah.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous9:27 am

    Wah rocky you should try getting a invite by anifah aman to celebrate christmas in london,man let me tell you they this aman bros really know how to throw christmas parties.

    hidup aman

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous10:37 am

    Nah, the Chinese have not forgotten Krishamuddin or his dagger thing nor have the Indians forgotten that it was under the BN that Kugan was branded like an animal and then killed while in the cre and custody of our glorious polis. They may even remember the rubbish about how he died because of water in his lungs! But so what? Promise them enough shit and they will vote UMNO anyway, right

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous8:57 pm

    We should have more kris action, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact i can see that by doing it, the Chinese will become more humble by knowing their place in this country, which is a 3rd class citizen after bumiputera and Indian. Why indian is 2nd class? well, you can find poor malay & poor indian, but you cant find poor Chinese, at the same time, you can see that Indian is more likely to be able to speak BM unlike the Chinese. The Chinese here, they have their own world which no one (bumi & indian) can enter. How to enter? Their school is big and highly guarded, they eat with chopstick which bumi & indian eat with hand, their language is in totally different category unlike the Malay language which borrows alot from sankrit, yeah... they are 3rd class citizen here, their are close to alien in fact.

    -koko

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous11:06 am

    "Anonymous said...

    Nah, the Chinese have not forgotten Krishamuddin or his dagger thing nor have the Indians forgotten that it was under the BN that Kugan was branded like an animal and then killed while in the cre and custody of our glorious polis. They may even remember the rubbish about how he died because of water in his lungs! But so what? Promise them enough shit and they will vote UMNO anyway, right

    10:37 AM"

    what is with the keris waving incident that the chinese felt threatened about huh???the keris is simply symbolic to the malays' cultures, what is wrong with that??..

    r the chinese being racist to the malays here???the malays cant have their keris waving, but the chinese can have their dragon shitty dance, or their weird drunken caligraphy writing, etc, and claim it its part of their native china culture..hey..hey..we r in malaysia for crying out loud..get over it lor, this is not the mainland china la..

    so which part of the keris that they dont like that they whines so much about??why is it so different with the dragon shitty dance, n other stuff that symbolize the chinese culture??is it because the keris other than symbolizing the malays' culture, it also symbolize the malays' ruling power right here in MALAYsia??

    p/s kugan deserved what happened to him, he is a flipping thief and a criminal..better for him to be dead then making the world a miserable place for others who worked hard to earn their living but in the end gets rob or slash by parang by kugan and his criminal friends..

    ~chinky chan

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous4:17 pm

    Wait a minute, did I hear right coming out from Bk Selambau?

    Nane', go get your facts right, your grandpa is still alive to tell you what happened during those years!

    How were they treated before they were being bundled to this beautiful land?

    How they were treated by their Omputih Masters, here?

    Omputih left, most of these estates taken over by OMkuningPek.. How they chased you offf, not even allowed to set a foot inside their gates?

    Omkuning employ amongst you as their Mandors for communication and orderly purposes.. And these OMputihKuning Aney were worse than their original Masters, they even kicked you around if orders not followed..

    Aney... why blame the BNs or UMNO or the Malays? Those were private properties, you were once their properties for many years..

    You come out from these plantations, then shout about being oppressed and discriminated?

    Go and find those real culprits lor.. Stake your claims (USDTrillions) from them, WHY, they dont layan you?

    Jangan tala kat tempat yang salah. Thank god that the BN have pulled you out of those slavery days...

    kiki

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous2:31 pm

    while we talk politics .. astro senyap2 slaughter our local media talents ...PEGAWAI ATASAN DI ASTRO DIKUASAI OLEH WARGA ASING
    1. PENGARAH EXECUTIVE ASTRO – WARGA ASING DARI INDIA
    2. PENGARAH JENAMA DAN PENERBITAN DI ASTRO ENTERNAINMENT – WARGA ASING DARI INDIA
    3. NAIB PRESIDENT, JENAMA DAN PRODUK STRATEJI – WARGA ASING DARI INDIA
    4. KETUA RANGCANGAN MELAYU – WARGA ASING DARI SINGAPURA
    5. KETUA RANCANGAN INDIA – WARGA ASING DARI INDIA
    INI YANG SAYA KETAHUI – YANG LAIN BANYAK LAGI/
    APAKAH ANAK WATAN TIDAK LAYAK MENERAJUI MEDIA TEMPATAN? DI MANAKAH KESETIAAN PENGURUSAN ASTRO KEPADA WARGA MALAYSIA. TAN SRI ANANDA HARUS CAMPUR TANGAN DALAM HAL INI.

    THE current gloomy state of the entertainment industry is understandably distressing and if the recent cessation of Maestro Talent Sdn Bhd is anything to go by, industry players should take preventive measures to save the music industry.

    Two weeks ago, Maestro sang a “sad tune” when news about the closure of the company made headlines.

    Astro Entertainment Sdn Bhd executive director Zainir Aminullah said the move was in line with the company’s strategic commercial and business direction.

    He stressed that Maestro’s conventional business module was deemed irrelevant in coping with the current economic crisis which led to the “sudden” closure.


    Sources, however, revealed that former Maestro staffers are seeking new employment while some have already joined other independent recording labels.

    When Astro Ria’s made-for-TV performing arts academy, Akademi Fantasia 3 champ Mawi heard about the closure, he was reportedly distraught.

    The BIG question in the mind of the 28-year-old was: what will be the fate of his career?

    Mawi and other Maestro acts, such as predecessor Farah of AF2, have been consistent in charting phenomenal success, booking notable portfolios and endorsements as well as carving a name for themselves in the music scene.




    Some 60-odd Astro employees — from the production department, radio networks and corporate communications division — arrived at their respective offices in Bukit Jalil and Seri Kembangan, Selangor only to find their official letters of retrenchment!

    Those affected were escorted out of the premises by the company’s security officials.

    “The manner in which it (the retrenchment exercise) was carried out was rather inhumane. Some of the employees had served the company for more than five years and I thought it was rather insensitive to take action without prior notice of retrenchment,” said a source.

    It was also disheartening to learn that some of the Astro staff who had been laid off had toiled for the company and steered the 13-year-old state-of-the-art pay-TV network into what it is today.

    Most media and industry observers viewed the exercise as “insensitive”.

    Many felt that ample notification should have been issued. If the station subscriber base (it currently stands at 2.6 million subscribers) is anything to go by, it is only safe to say that the company is well... economically sound.

    An insider questioned the purpose of the retrenchment exercise. He felt the company could have taken other measures to sustain it during these trying times.

    “The question is whether it was necessary for the company to opt for retrenchment. When you’re talking about the current economic climate, I suppose that dialogue between the management and employees should have been the way to negotiate,” he said.

    Another source echoed similar sentiments and cited that dialogues would be a crucial tool to deal with this matter, whether it has to do with the economy or the flow of information from the management to its employees.

    “Despite the benefits offered, the sudden retrenchment was too much of a blow to the staff,” said an observer.

    Some sources even brought in a moral dimension into their argument about the retrenchment exercise. They pointed out that while local employees were retrenched their expatriate colleagues were not affected.

    “What’s even more perplexing is the fact that quite a number of expatriates have been retained at the expense of locals.

    “What is the company saying? Are locals incompetent?,” questioned another source, who also stressed that the company lacked professionalism.- anak watan profesional

    As a music observer puts it, all organisations have to deal with the current climate economic situation. But they should be more compassionate, sensitive and have a sense of fairplay.

    IN the latest development, it is learnt that AESB’s talent management arm will be revamped at management level after the Maestro episode.

    Sources say that the revamped division will likely be headed by an IT expert, an expatriate at that!

    ReplyDelete