Ipoh & Kinta

Hor Hee Mee @Old Town

2012-01-13T05:32:00.000-08:00

Its been raining intermittently every day while the days have been mostly cloudy... so much so i felt like something hot, steamy and soupy..... for a light dinner....like Hor Hee Meen!!!.even asked them to make the barley hot for me.....

,,,thats the shop....sure you've heard of it...Li Heng Fatt at 14 Jalan Panglima, Old Town...

...thats Hor Hee...lots of fish balls plus they have that yee wah (thinks thats how you say it), a fish ball with a flap around it....we added extra liew....otherwise sure to get hungry by 11pm...

....take your pick...

...really clean place..

...worth every bite....a satisfying meal after a rainy day.....

cheers!

kk

'1000 words'... Breakfast

2011-12-03T19:45:00.000-08:00

On an auspicious occasion a small gesture can make a very profound statement.

Cheers!

kk

Oktoberfest in Ipoh???

2011-10-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

On a cool night in Ipoh whats one to do after a hard days work..but..head on down to Frens Corner towards the Kinta river bank at the end of Jalan Tun Sambantan after Maybank.;;(picture below of Frens Corner..just open air corner with tents.. the tall building at the back is Maybank / Wisma U-Meng) Actually Frens Corner takes up the back portion of the Chinese Tin Miners Club building.

...interestingly that night there were these "Tiger Ladies" in Oktoberfest uniforms...Apparently only Tiger has done this promotion...and its nice..Oktoberfest with local Fraulines...an interesting gimmick..but that's not all....the cost of the beer is RM12 only..."while stocks last"...can't complain can we???

....a little spirit with the usual variety of cuisine...

..nice open air environment...its a nice way to enjoy the night...

....btw...saw this on the wall going to u-no-ware...which incidentally was clean enough...

cheers!

kk

St Patricks..Ipoh...Aye its all right!!!

2011-10-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

..this is the place.. St Patricks..along Cowan Street...an old building...restored

....glad there are entrepreneurs that have an eye for this kind of architecture...wonders ???..how they manage to make it blend in with the enviroment...and to think early this year it was used for selling economy rice????...

..the interior is nice...obviously i love the long bar...ales always taste better drunk standing up..they've got the usual spread of beers..though i love the Guiness draught...

..they do serve food .. but its never enough somehow...wonder why???

..pouring out the guiness draught...this bar tender was good...gives a good head too.

...apparently its popular during the happy hour....

..yum yum...goodness on tap.....

....and just imagine this wasn't even Oktoberfest yet!!!

...didn't i say the bar was long....

..check it out ....and Cheers!

kk

Jumping Nangka Mastura (its a jack-fruit)

2011-09-28T20:45:00.001-07:00

Saw this truck with these gigantic Jack-Fruit recently. There were 2 trucks along Bercham main road and the fruit was being on sale to passing motorists.

...the fruits were humongous..easily 3 times the size of a normal jack-fruit...and its called Nangka Mastura...geez thats a swell sounding name for a rotund looking fruit ..the price for a whole fruit (not separated) is RM4/kg.

...while the price of the fruit, separated and packed is RM10/kg. How was the taste ..well to me, not a great fan of the fruit, it tasted like the real thing.

....the 3 Malay youth selling these fruit said they were from Taiping and drove to Negeri Sembilan to purchase the fruit. The've been doing this for several years now.

..i tell ya my country has so much of surprises...there is literally something interesting around so many corners!!

cheers

kk

The South West Monsoon hits town?

2011-09-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

Imagine..just 2 weeks ago or more the weather was always hot, dry and worst of all...hazy...some mornings you'd wake up in the morning and see an orange sun ball ..then at 3pm in the afternoon it looked like it was going to rain but it was the haze blocking out the clear blue sky..yep the haze caused by our Indonesian neighbors...oh well..not much i can do about that except ..well write about it...

anyways i'm glad the monsoon is here...should be the south-west ...this time of the year...now its clear blue skies...cleaner nostrils and though it rains most evenings getting around with a good umbrella (except if there's a low and strong wind) is quite enjoyable..

..by the way that green lung at the bottom of the picture...well enjoy it while you can...seems its supposed to be turned into a convention centre...3 stories high, seating for 2,500 pax with hotel and suites attached and will have 445 car parks. Regarding objections to get rid of the green space ..well its now stated the garden will be relocated to the roof top of the convention centre!
Sup..sup..sooi lor!!!semua boleh. Date of completion is anticipated to take 18 months. Work is schedule to start in November 2011. Heard the cost would be RM37 million with the funds being allocated from the state government

cheers!

kk

OMPH Ipoh Feastday 2011

2011-06-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

OMPH Church Feastday..held on 25 June this year....

...3000+ devotees of Our Lady...

..this years float bearers....

...float bearers....

...flower children....

....the main cast..............??..

..communion....

...the crowning of Our Lady

...the start of the procession......

...the procession going round the neighborhood....

...the consecration of families...8408 names this year...

...the annual servers photograph...without fail!!!

..Happy Feastday all!!!

cheers

kk.

53rd MSSM Championship/ Opening Ceremony

2011-05-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

The opening ceremony of the 53rd MSSM Championship was ...well to say it in one word..."AWESOME"...

...that would be a suitable word to describe the estimated 30,000 strong crowd seated on the stands that evening ..they almost filled the stadium (click on the photo below to enlarge)

...it was officially opened by the Deputy Prime Minster.....

..the stands were filled by all these young people...they were so wonderfully boisterous...

...what a lovely sight...everyone was doing something for the event

..even before the start they were performing the "wave" and cheering...

..then the Perak mascot the was on the track.......

...every state had its own mascot.....

..part of the Perak contingent.....

...all the contingents on the field... a lovely sight...

...wish the speakers had been turned down for the Negara-ku...it would have been better to have heard the raw youth voices singing the national anthem

...even this pair of Moths on the track descended to catch some of the action....

...then the stadium lights were dimmed and these children carrying 1 Malaysia lanterns paraded onto the track......with the youth in the stands lighting up their own torches (i think that must have been it) giving the stadium a red glow... a nice aura....

...next came the torch bearers ...

...they were made up of "former Perak sports personalities"...Josephine Mary (from Tarcisian Convent) Samson Vellabooy (ASC Ipoh), Loo Kum Zee (SMJK Sam Tet), Fauziah Razak (SMJK Gunung Rapat) ....was told that ex-coach Tang Choo Mong (SMJK Jalan Pasir Puteh)was the one who led the team...

..."the 1 Malaysia Unity Light"......united as 1.

...the fireworks started when the flame was lighted up...

...a fabulous display....

...I Pledge........let the games begin.
it was a nice night.if you weren't there "YOU MISSED A GOOD THING"!!

....buses waiting for their passengers....hopefully it will be better organised on Tuesday for the closing ceremony.....

cheers!

kk

53rd MSSM Championship/ 2: Day 1.

2011-05-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

This was the 1st day of the MSSM track & field championships....time 8am+..todays events started at 7am..the weather was cool and the sun was finding its way into the stdium...you could say it was a Milo morning.....

...the first event was ongoing...the 10Km walk....

...all the fficials were at their stations....

...and i mean all the "officials"......

...'time waits for no-one'.....

...this is the chief!!!

...never to young to start...the under12's being briefed on the long jump event....

...the 10Km walk...this guy (below)...Muhamad Syahfi...won the 1st gold for the State of Perak...

...hi-tech and old-tech...getting ready to ring the bell......

...the end of the walk......s t r e t c h ....

......and the events keep rolling on..........

..hop, skip and iump?????

...guess there is no 1 way to fall......

...the 100M hurdles.....

...light years ahead!!!

...ouch....falling is never easy...

the score at the end of the day....Perak is 4th...

...next the opening ceremony

cheers!

kk

53rd Malaysian School Sports Meet / MSSM in Ipoh.

2011-05-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

Wow!! what a month...i haven't posted my Azlan Shah Hockey photos and right off comes the annual track and field Malaysian School Sports meet..the 53rd .....

..and its being held at the Perak Stadium....

all 15 states are attending...15???.yes that includes the federal territories of KL and Labuan...

...it starts tomorrow morning...20th may 2011 at 7am..heard the first event is the long distance or something...not sure really...this evening preparations were still going on ....

over 1100 athletes are here...not sure if it includes the officials...and they are staying at the hotels ...Fair Park, Paragon at Simee, Excelsior,Hill City, Sri Malaysia......did i say wow earlier...anyway i'm beginning to enjoy sports photography...its lively....

...shows alot of energy...

...and full of focus and concentration......

...like below.....

.................hits the ground and off onto the next hurdle.

..wish i could do that...the official opening is on 20 May.. Friday night at 8pm...it ends on the 24th...check it out....

cheers!

kk

Mothers Day & Chicken Schnitzel...2011...

2011-05-17T04:42:00.000-07:00

Most families take mum out for mothers day...this year junior decided he would cook at home for mum...turned out pretty good....Chicken schnitzel..went to the market with him to pick out 4 chicken breast..parsley, brinjals, tomatoes and capsicum..
..the chicken breast...sliced thinly..3 cm thick..then tenderise...

...dunk it into some flour...drown it in egg yolk...

..pick it up..rinse off the yolk and then roll it in the mixture of parsley, bread crumbs and basel...all ground together

...and get it ready for frying...

..with little oil and slowly...

..made for a nice, healthy white meat meal...by the way the sauce over it was from the bottle with the usual home mix of ???....overall it took around an hour all in, start to finish...the tomatoes are raw but the binjals were grilled with butter...

not bad....we are a family of three and 4 breasts are a bit too much...but it went well for the next days sandwich lunch...

cheers!

kk

Happy Easter 2011...........

2011-04-23T20:18:00.001-07:00

...He is Risen......Halleluia, halleluia......let us all Rejoice......

..Glory to God on high and peace on earth......

..we were with Him on Holy Thursday......

..at the Garden of Gethsemane.......

...and on the 3rd day when he arose there was a new light......

...Alleluia, alleluia he is risen

...the Sacrament of Confirmation

..........offertory by the Newly Baptised

...'wake up from the slumber and sleep no more'

....cheers to one and all...

kk

A Match Box Trail...

2011-04-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

...back in the 80's there were many restaurants and coffee houses...and each printed their own match boxes .....that was thee "fad" then

..and like most establishments then ...they didn't last....except for a very few...that stood the test of the economic downturn...like Public restaurant...though then it was known as Fung Lum!!!!

nice restaurants like Kok Kee along Hugh Low Street, this is the Mansion next to Restaurant Hee Lai Ton currently...its front is a furniture shop Seri Kota ....lovely building..

..then also this coffee house 'Green Fern' located where Shuttle 8 Pub??? is right now....next to Hee lai Ton restaurant.....

..the Mikado Hotel with its roof top Coffee House, Black Jack....currently it should be the Ritz Garden Hotel....

...below was a bungalow restaurant along Jalan Datoh, somewhere opposite the Kg paloh mosque. nice food then, though it did not catch on well....

..Odeon Theatre had a coffee house???....i wasn't aware of this though

...Jade Garden Coffee House and Restaurant at Taman DR Seenivasagam...i think i remember this though i can't recall patronizing the place...interesting...would have been romantic wouldn't it???

..this place, LaTrix.... was informed, it was NICE,..it was a few doors from the FMS...seemed it belonged to a senior official of the Municipality ...was told it also had a band....

..French Hotel...with its Peacock Coffee Lounge..nice place ...located next to Lido Theatre...used to be run by a Eurasian family...
...then the action moved on to Ipoh Gardens.....used to take my meals at this this place Tally Ho...now its a "7/11"....apparently it had a branch at Pasir Puteh also...

..this place' Loggers, at Fair Park was nice and had a band..or was that its neighbor down the block???..can't recall the name...

...however i do remember these places better...most of them had by then sprouted up at the new area then ie Ipoh Garden South

...but as in this Pub biznez...nothing lasts...but it was nice seeing Ipoh grow...while kicking back at a cozy counter somewhere!!!

cheers!

kk

P. Ramlee period movie... ???

2011-04-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

Saw these chaps on bicycles along Tambun Road going from Sunway towards Tambun Town....they looked like from a P Ramlee scene ... possibly Tiga Lapok ( i think thats what it was titled??) ...anyway they broke the monotony of the afternoon drive....
( they stopped for a drink at Tambun town..opposite Ah Sai's pomeloe shop)

..they were an interesting sight...bikes looked cleaned and the rims polished....not to mention pressed suit, white shirt and polished shoes...give away??

...and cycling in straight file....

...anyways followed them till they turned into the 23rd Royal Malay Regiment camp ...just down the road .....

..ragging???...should very well be so...it was a nice break .

cheers!

kk

Happy New Year 2011......

2011-01-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

Hi all, just jumped in to wish everyone a Happy New Year.....i tell ya i've been neglecting this blog so regularly i now miss it.....but i've been moving around so much...i have gained a new perspective about life around me....just by mixing and mingling and capturing scenes and situations in the surrounding states on my digi....

I started my 2011 New Year in Penang at this joint below.....new and old...western and eastern...standing at the kerb i literally watched the world go by....

..i am beginning to like Penang...

but then...i also like Langkawi's Cenang beach....but Langkawi's got some major "shabby issues" it needs to look into seriously....

...then there is Pangkor......great for bicycle fitness excercises......

and of course my home town ....like these thundering drummers during the last Lantern Fest in front of the Town Hall....

life's been a blast....

cheers!

kk

Heritage Archietecture....of Perak

2010-11-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

..interesting photography exhibition...just the heritage buildings around Perak..

...churches...interesting...as these look like a scene from an English countryside....

....most are well maintained...but...

...these motifs (is this the right description) found on top of Chinese temples....detailed and fascinating ...if only i could view them from below...

...mosques....the contrast in designs is so interesting.....

..and these mansions....

...commercial houses......(below was this design started by Eu Tong Sen?)

...town houses.............

.... a local mansion of the time....

...workers quarters?

...ahhh...the royal touch......

..then we have these grand looking structures.....chinese school....

...and in the 60's....but now are these are an eyesore ?...

....so unlike these beautiful structures.....almost a century on they have become landmarks depicting a time when building an opulent structure was a proud statement to say "I have arrived"

....almost a century on even painters find it charming...........

...and if you want to experience charm check out Garden Villa itself....the exhibition hall ...

..the place was designed with windows all around....seems that Eu Tong Sen (the son of Eu Kong the founder of Eu Yan Sang) used it to view his horses racing.....seems the area which is chauteau park was the area where the rich miners (could be wrong but i do recall hearing the name Chung Thye Pin as one of those horse owners) used to race their horses.

...anyways when you compare the beauty of Garden Villa against the backdrop of the flats next to it, it is a wide contrast.....beauty vs funtionality perhaps?

But arranging all these photographs together does reflect one message...there was alot of outside influence...its all around us...but isn't that what history and heritage is about......guess we won't be able to run away from our past...even if we changed all the road names around town!!!

cheers!

kk

Kinta Nature Park......Batu Gajah

2010-09-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

This is the Kinta Nature Park...located at Batu Gajah. A disused mining pond with an island...where thousands of egret and heron have nested but which might become extinct if the state government takes its time to gazette the place as a nature park.

...the island...the island...where the birds nest...should be several generations by now.....

...a scene around 630pm in the evening....birds coming home...alot of cackling going on at this time ... because someone else has taken my sleeping spot.....

check out this place.....its possible the birds might up and leave....wouldn't it be super if this place were gazetted (like yesterday) so our kids and grand kids can enjoy this in our back yard????

kk

My Kampung

2010-09-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

I didn't take this photo. It was sent to me. Undoubtedly the best sunset photo i have seen.

cheers!

kk

The 19th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (4) / Malaysia (2) bt China (1)

2010-05-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

...the date was May 13...a Thursday...it was raining and i got to the stadium after the 2nd half...just in time to see Malaysia put their 2nd goal into the China post......i had a camera in 1 hand and a brolly in the other...somehow???... i did get a shot...though split seconds later...sorry!!

....and as is usual ...the local crowd cheered in glee....despite the rain....

...the game ended about 10 minutes later...and team manager George Koshy.went around shaking hands with the boys...and patting them on the back....as i was moving around taking shots i asked Koshy how did the boys perform....interestingly he replied that 'although they were tired from the previous day playing with India they did well....but you could see they did not chase the ball as often'....whoa i totally did not expect a reply...

...the field after the game ...and where was everyone....

...well there is this thing the teams do after a game ie ..."warm down".....the China team as below...

...and our Malaysian team....

...this looked interesting....rolling the foot soles on a hockey ball...hockey reflexology meh!!

..the pep talk....first ... coach Stephen..."you played your game and maintained the tempo throughout....."

....then manager Koshy....." consistency is important for the game...."

.....as i was walking out....this group of boys were watching the teams warm down...from what i heard there were good words said about the Malaysian team....and i thought only football had a good following....how wrong could i be....

cheers!!!

kk

The 19th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (3) / Malaysia (5) bt India (2)

2010-05-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 12 May 2010....

...the night Malaysia beat India 5 to 1... undoubtedly the best score ever Malaysia did against India ..whether in OR out of the country...interestingly enough the game started out ..ordinarily...

...the score at the 1st half was 1 nil in Malaysia's favour....

...the excitement started in the 2nd half ...at the 39th minute Malaysia scored its second goal...that caught the crowd by surprise and they were ecstatic....(click on the photo below to enlarge the ball going into the goal)

...but when the the Malaysian Team scored a 3rd goal three minutes later (click on photo below to enlarge ) the crowd went ballistic....hands in the air, claps in the aisles and ......

...anticipation of MORE to come ... from throughout the stands ......

...no one was disappointed .....

....as the night ended with a goal haul of 5 (for Malaysia) against 2 (for India) the congratulationsw had begun....

...everyone was happy ...great sportsmanship all round....

....even HRH Sultan Azlan Shan wanted to congratulate the team......

...and even take one for the memorable album......

anyway i was proud of ...my (ahem2) .... Team Malaysia.......that night ....

.....Team India......

even though it was not the final...it was a great game...and i want to share the night with you.

all the very best & cheers...

kk

The 19th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (2) / teams Australia & Pakistan

2010-05-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 12 May 2010.... Australia vs Pakistan

Score....Draw.....Australia (5) ...Pakistan (5)

..Team Australia...Kookaburras

...Team Pakistan............

cheers!

kk

The 19th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (1) / teams China & Egypt

2010-05-15T01:59:00.000-07:00

..Wednesday 12 May 2010.... China vs Egypt

..China (5) beat Egypt (1) ....(ouch!!!)

.....the China Team

...Team Egypt....

cheers!

kk

Market Colours....

2010-04-18T04:42:00.000-07:00

Was at Tesco Mart this morning.....the wide variety of vegetables there all stored neatly and orderly enabled me to view the veggies in their full spectrum of colour...what a refreshing break.

Qing Meng....

2010-04-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

Qing Meng....as usual started early in the morning..by 715am we were at the site....whole families were already there...always feels like a carnival...

...but of course they were here to clean their ancestors' graves...

...though help is available for a fee...

..when cleaning is done ...the families like have a party.....complete with fire crackers and all....

...even though it is a cemetery ...the view is nice....

cheers!

kk

Easter 2010...Play that script again

2010-04-11T08:22:00.001-07:00

Attended Easter Mass on April 3rd last week. I quite like Easter.The promise of eternal life, resurrection...from darkness to light...most fascinating.......there was almost 50 newly baptised this year...the celebrations started from outside the church for the blessing of the fire...
(click on photos to enlarge)

...the lighting of the Paschal candle.......a New Light......

...which was then brought into the Church.....

..the church is still in darkness....the light of Christ is then passed to the congrregation

...the Easter candle is placed at the sanctuary ....

...the congregation enters the church...to a new light

...the Elect step up...to be baptised....

...Parish Priest, Fr Phillip Lai, blesses the Baptism Water.....

...it is time for the congregation to renew their Baptism vows...an alter server lights his candle from the Baptism candle...and shares it with the rest of the servers to light their candles ...

..who then share the fire with the congregation....

...the Sacrament of Baptism.....

...after which the newly Baptised are "Presented the Light".....

...the children are anointed......

...while the rest partake of the 'Sacrament of Confirmation'.....

....the mass usually lasts for close to 3 hours... somehow i am never bored...is it reliving history as told through the Bible or is it keeping the faith? .....

cheers!

kk

Langkawi Holiday 09 (1)

2009-12-29T08:50:00.000-08:00

Went to Langkawi this holiday...mainly to see LIMA ( the Langkawi Internatinal Maritime and Aerospace exhibition...

..left early on Dec 2 for the Kuala Kedah jetty...stopped for breakfast at Old Town, Juru for a basic Malaysian breakfast....

The next day Dec 3 managed to catch the air show in the morning..went to the fence area opposite the airport...outside of the airport is this padi field ( click on photo to enlarge) ..with buffaloes in the mud..and scenic coconut trees in the background...while jets screamed overhead....

..outside the fencing...watching the show.....thank above that the hawker stalls were around cause the sun was a scorcher!!

..this was the first time i came here so i was impressed....F16...an Indian plane???( i think)

..the lovely apache....and ??? ( not sure)

...this huge F111 and below ... i think its a Sukhoi???

The show was most enjoyable ...

had to pan real fast to catch most of the shots......

.... loved the show... after the show went to check out the sea vessels...that was a let down though...

cheers!

kk

Merry Christmas 2009.....

2009-12-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

Today is Christmas Eve..so well wishes are in order...bring on the cheer!!!with carols...and merry making...( click on the photo to enlarge)

..lets decorate our homes and attend mid-night mass to welcome in the Lord and Saviour....

...let us greet one and all despite our differences..hey...lets make jolly even if its for one day...

...even if you are from Sarawak...we are still one big family....

...whether you are a Santa or Santarina.......

or even a cute and mobile Christmas Tree.....

MERRY CHRISTMAS all....and
CHEERS!

kk

JUSCO members sale...Dec 09

2009-12-23T18:24:00.000-08:00

Went to the Jusco Members Sale last night at the last minute...time 9pm...

Everyone had full trolleys ...

...and hands too....

It was thee sale ....70% and ...

...some 50% + 20% ....

...of course there were the usual 'husband' casualties.....

then when you are done ...when you want to claim your redemption coupons....you have to take the snake line below...!!! (starts from right to left...)

is doing this a bargain....you go figure!!!
cheers!...and merry christmas...

kk

Wan Ton Mee ...... at your door step!!

2009-12-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

This guys mobile Wan Ton Min stall is called Choon Seng Fatt...

I used to buy his noodles when i lived in Ipoh Gardens back then ...i heard the familiar sound of his motor bike one morning when i went to visit an old neighbour. Needless to say i had to try his noodles again ...

which i hadn't had for over 20 years...No doubt he has 'prospered' in his own way ...

..nevertheless his noodles were still great...though i think it is alot better now than then??..??

His portions haven't changed...and his price...well it was very competitive...

good value..great taste...could i ask for more....cheers!

HOLIDAY REGISTRATIONS

2009-11-28T22:47:00.000-08:00

It’s the school schoolidays again.

The majority of Ipoh Children work out station because there is a severe lack of good paying jobs here. During weekend public holidays and school holidays they usually return home with the whole family in tow to visit parents and grandparents which commonly results in packed coffee shops and their favorite eateries.

That was the scenario yesterday Saturday Nov 28 outside of Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant. Located along Jalan Leong Sin Nam it is one of several Dim Sum outlets on this road which is popular with breakfast Ipohites

Knowing about this regular scenario the DAP team (Uncle Lim, legal speaker Siva, YB Kula. Thomas, Mee Meng and more) set up their voter registration kiosk immediately outside Foh San restaurant.

The response to this exercise was good with many young faces lining up and filling up registration forms.

Perak, explained YB Kula has 1.3million eligible voters. Of this number close to 500,000 are not registered despite the Election Commission having spent RM100 million on a registration exercise.Interesting data which the DAP are apparently putting to good use early to attract voter sentiment.

DAP's goal is to tap all the eligible voters though they are targeting the youthful voters who have so far been providing support for the party. This is part of DAP's aggressive 'voter-registration-technique' a DAP in-house competition to register 10,000 voters by February 2010. The competition, constituency vs constituency, is focusing on the constituencies in the Kinta Valley. Whether or not these voters actually cast their votes in the next election is a dual guess.However if they do exercise their right "well the option is there ready and waiting"
Somehow when the DAP does something an example being this voter registration exercise, well even that feels like a holiday!!!!All the best guys and ....

cheers!

FREE: Heritage Maps of Old Town Ipoh

2009-11-27T06:03:00.000-08:00

I have got to hand it to the Kinta Heritage Society group. Those chaps have published a Heritage Map of Old Town and are giving it out FREE!!.

They have left their maps at Hotels and the Railway Station. I was told that when they gave the maps to the State Tourism Office, the tourism office asked for more copies to take down to Singapore, if not mistaken, on November 8.

The free map outlines the heritage trail around Old Town starting from the Railway Station to the Kinta River and borders between St Michaels Institution and Hugh Low Street Bridge.

The map has write ups of the popular heritage buildings, concubine lane and such.

Below, Concubine Lane, past, present and ???Future??

What a commendable effort by this NGO group. It certainly puts the state tourism office in a spot. But then again they probably are used to it by now.

Now if only KTM, our railway authority would add more coaches coming to Ipoh during this holiday season KL-ites could take the train to Ipoh Station and tour around Old Town, devour the delicious foods before taking the evening train back to KL.And by-the-way, KTM.....can you improve your ticket sales system...just to buy a ticket takes like forever especially during the peak season!!!

cheers!

.. Lat...... the original 1 Malaysia.

2009-08-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

i happened to pick up the NST today and saw Dato' Lats cartoon. Great piece. His one drawing beats my 1 dozen photos. Whats more while there is so much gloom from the haze and h1n1 his drawing made me laugh. Imagine h1n1 moving so much faster than an F1 or Air Force 1. That makes h1n1 the No 1 for now. I tell you this Lat cracks me up. And yes..i've got most of his books. Prefer the earlier ones though.

By the way Lat was was born in Kota Baru( Perak) and studied at Batu Gajah and Anderson Ipoh. So that makes him a product of Ipoh and Kinta. He should be almost 50 by now. AND HE SPEAKS ENGLISH. Its so good he doesn't need to write pages. His one page says a hundred words. Whats the issue??. Well if he can speak jolly good english when he was taught 40 years ago (back then)...then..why on earth can't the later Malaysians speak good english too (imagine Professor Higgins from the play 'My Fair Fady' speaking). Anyway i know the reason. Its due to Wonky management. hahahaha.
cheers!

kk

Ipoh Indoor Hockey

2009-08-05T02:11:00.000-07:00

If you are free check out the Asian Hockey Federation Indoor Hockey Tourneament at Indera Mulia Stadium. It started on Monday 3 August and lasts till this Sunday 9 August. I wasn't interested in this sport earlier but each game lasts an hour hence my attention span was kept interested.....??? This is the 2nd indoor hockey tournament held in Ipoh. Only 5 countries are participating this round. Malaysia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Thailand and includes the mens and womens teams. India pulled out at the last moment. Seems they are going to be penalised for their last minute decision.
Below ...i caught a few games on the first day on Monday morning between Thailand and Uzbekistan (womens)

..the Thai team....

..the Uzbek team...

...click on the photo to enlarge and check out the game times. Unfortunately most of the games are run during office hours. But its free. So if you have the time check it out. Fast action and besides the stadium is air conditioned.

cheers!

kk

Rights & Priveleges Committee - locked out - AGAIN!

2009-07-30T02:42:00.000-07:00

The members of the Rights & Privileges Committee were again locked out at the State Secretariat gate on July 30 at 10am.

The first time they were locked out was on Monday July 27 when the committee wanted to meet to investigate the complaint received from Pokok Asam Assemblyman Yee Seu Kai regarding the appointment of Datuk R Ganesan as the "new speaker" during the controversial May 7 Assembly sitting and allowing the police into the State Assembly.
Being locked out the committee adjourned to a hotel to convene their meeting. After hearing the testimonials from 3 witnesses the committee found Datuk Ganesan guilty of contempt of the house and recommended a 6 month jail term for him in the next sitting.
(below pics L : the committee members / R: Complainant Yee and Tommy Thomas)

The whole world, with the exception of BN (obviously), knows that the appointments on May 7 are illegal because the resolutions were passed before the Raja Muda declared the sitting open.

Anyways this was the scene before 10am on Thursday July 30. Police having breakfast at the malay shop near our State Democracy Tree.

Police bikers standing in the shade opposite the gate entrance.

10am. The committee members taking a group photograph before proceeding to the gate.The group had decided to have their committee hearing inside the state building but it of course did not materialise.

..the now famous "shut gate"that regularly refuses to allow the elected representatives of Perakians from entering...

...the now infamous Supt Glenn Anthony (far right: he's been promoted) on duty ......
.. to ensure "our elected representatives " are kept out of their "house"

..the poor fella, chief asst to the state secretary named Shamsuzaman again had to be the bearer of bad news. His boss, state secretary Dato Dr Abdul Rahman creates the problem but he sends his assistant to 'explain' his 'nonsense'

YB Chang Min Kai cheeky as ever. He was planning to sneak in when the motorcyclists were being let out.

Our elected representatives showing off their house badges. However they were not allowed in even to have coffee at their cafeteria.

Thats the 'hero', the state secretary Abdul Rahman (below left of photo) who has been giving instructions not to allow the committee through the gate. Always breaking all the rules. Anyway notice the photo below whereby everyone is wearing a songkok the dress code on May 7 when royalty was present. Now notice the chap without the songkok in the centre. Thats the 'pirate speaker' Ganesan looking on from the sidelines,( remember he wasn't elected), during the "assembly within an assembly" waiting to be called. Everyone, reporters included, must follow the dress code tapi untuk Ganesan dia "tidak apa lah' and Abdul Rahman doesn't mind.

Points to note: The Raja Muda had not yet entered the hall to officiate the new assembly and would not do so for another 2 hours. But within that time Ganesan had been appointed the 'new speaker'. There was so much of 'crap' taking place on that day and this is just one more of it. Ganesan had no right to be in the assembly in the first place. The assembly had to convene first and only then could he be invited to enter before his appointment could take place.
Najib should be ashamed of his Perak BN boys for breaking every rule in the book. In fact he should be slapped on the wrist for allowing the Raja Muda and Raja Puan Besar (she's from the Main Convent you know) to have to be put through this 'circus'. .......May 7 ...1 CRAP day.

kk

OMPH Parish Feastday. June 27 2009

2009-07-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

Below are some snapshots taken during the OMPH Parish feastday held recently. This years theme was "Mary: Mother for All." The main celebrants this years were Fr's Phillip Lai, Patrick Masang and Peter Wee .(click on the photos to enlarge)

..in attendance as always..the flower girls....

..at the start....

..the choir.....

...it was a nice evening ..it did threaten to rain ..but didn't..which was great as it kept the temperature lovely.....

..the crowning queen and assistants.......

.. a portion of the congregation during the procession around the neighbourhood....

...benediction.....

... the servers annual feastday group photograph....

..until next year...

kk

OMPH Feastday 2009.....begins on June 19.

2009-06-16T03:04:00.000-07:00

Its that time again to " Make Her Known"...yep!...its the OMPH Parish Feastday 2009. The theme this year is " Mary, Mother for All". The celebrations will begin this Friday June 19 at 740pm with Novena prayers. (please enlarge the poster below for the schedule)

Coincidentally on the walls of the church are paintings of Mother Mary which have been there for several years now. I was told it was painted by a young parishoner while waiting for his results.

It depicts the image of Mother Mary, probably as seen through the the eyes of an individual's culture, nationality and perhaps the time in history when ones belief in Her was realised.

All of the images reflect the same theme, that of a baby appearing comfortable and secure in the arms of its mother... irrespective of its background... a "Mother for All"

cheers!

kk

Sign Up - Perakeans Voice your Conscience - with 1 million signatures.

2009-05-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

Pakatan Wanita has launched a signature campaign to collect 1 million signatures calling to dissolve the Perak State Assembly.

They have titled their campaign as " Suara Hati Rakyat Perak" and are targeting for 1 million signatures by 1 week from today. After which they will submit a memo with the the signatures to Sultan Azlan Shah.

To help jump start their campaign i have taken the initiative and posted their "Signature Form" below. Whoever is reading this can now print this form (A4 size), collect the signatures and then present it to your nearest DAP, Keadilan or PAS service centres ( they are the Pakatan Rakyat ...remember)

Don't think twice. Just Do It. This is the best way for the rakyat to express their desires. Hopefully the campaign will way exceed the million target.

The campaign is the idea of Ampang MP Hjh Zuraidah 2 days ago.

Yep.. she was detained outside the Perak building on May 7

This afternoon she held the launch at Keadilan's Hulu Kinta Service Centre in Tanjung Rambutan, Ipoh ( pls click to enlarge photo)

... together with Wanita PAS's Norlida and Wanita DAP from B. Mertajam, Chong Eng.

..as with all PR functions the atmosphere was multi racial, casual and easy going

..the heavy rain too didn't dampen the mood...

..even this 'garang' speaker Chan Ming Kai who 'contributed' his part during the "assembly" on May 7 could bring laughter to the gathering.

So all you readers...please sign up for a better tomorrow...for 1Perak.....

cheers!

kk

Heard on Chandan Hill ... (2)

2009-05-03T15:38:00.001-07:00

..."as the head of state at state level and head of the country at national level , the ruler plays a role in upholding stability and justice, and strengthening solidarity and unity"

..."the presence of the ruler helps in enhancing the effectiveness of the check and balance mechanism, thus strengthening the institutions of the legislature, executive and judiciary that have been created in the country, lifting the level of public confidence in the system of government and system of nationhood based on democratic practices, and the doctrine of division of power"

.....Raja Nazrin, during the pledge of loyalty, Special Investiture Silver Jubilee Celebration, Feb 3 2009

Village Chiefs Protest their Termination

2009-05-02T21:47:00.001-07:00

Didn't i say that Zambry's team couldn't do anything right. This time they dismissed all 817 'Ketua Kampung' or Village Chiefs throughout the state without giving any reason why.It was effective April 16. Well these ketua's know their rights. They were ELECTED not APPOINTED and they have appointment letters from the state government that is valid for 2 years from August 2008 till July 2010.

They held a gathering last week at the Jelapang community hall and guess who was the speaker...yep...AGS10...Nizar.....actually i was surprised they got the hall knowing that these 'public' places are off limits to the PR team.....

..all the 817 chiefs attended...full attendance...imagine how cheesed off they must be...and these are grass root quality voters.....i don't think they cared which political party they were affiliated to this time...they knew their democratic right...they were elected by the community ...and they had a right to the position... furthermore no justifiable explanations were given for their termination...but then that is the usual BN work ethic..shove it....

..a nice view huh!!! a full house......

..i think this time BN has gone a tad too far....cos these chiefs are planning to sue Zambry's team and ignore his termination letter...they've even got a 6 point proposal....

..which ( see the hands in the air) has been unanimously agreed by all present.

...see below....its ALL HANDS UP....(btw the chiefs are shouting 'SETUJU')....it looks like solidarity against the BN to me....

..i'll say it again..they can't do anything right....."in trying to justify its validity" Zambry and his gang" keep on tripping over themselves"...it would be easier if they just called for fresh elections....

sheesh!!

kk

The May 7 Agenda.......

2009-05-01T05:03:00.000-07:00

I received a copy of the agenda for the May 7 Perak State Legislative Assembly....there is only 1 item and that is to terminate the current speaker and appoint a new speaker.

...thats the BN strategy...remove the obstacle...then have a free hand to do as they please with total disregard to the wishes of the Perak rakyat. But that is next Thursday.
Other "drastic" actions taken ahead include.....
1) ..security...the state secretary has taken 'security' measures to "lock down" the state secretariat building (again- second time in 3 mths) from May 6-11 whereby members of the public are not allowed entry for the duration of the assembly.
2)..media coverage is restricted to only 13 media providers...all online news portals (other than tv3, rtm and bernama) and a host of other publications local and international are barred. Uncle Lim has called this 'media restriction' a Fred Flintstone, stone-age mentality. An appropriate description. Whatever happened to all that talk of transparency..."without fear of consequences"(najib april 09) blah3....What on earth are these BN chaps so secretive about.....seems that nothing Zambry does goes down well with us Perakeans any more.

kk

Residents don't like 'frog'

2009-04-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

Anonymous forwarded me this advertorial page from the Sin Chew daily today. It has 600 names of voters who do not want the 'frog' Hee anymore. They are requesting her to resign and vacate her post. Now that she has hopped-hopped...they want her to also hop out of their constituency....

..and to prove they mean business they took out a RM5,000 ( so i'm told) ad just to do so.Well thats passion for you.These voters know what they want and she ain't it.
Lagi satu!!!.....by-election please.

kk

M Indira Gandhi...Return my baby!!!

2009-04-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Below is a photograph of K Pathmanathan...the husband of M Indira Gandhi..who converted to Islam and also their 3 children without the knowledge of his wife Indira Gandhi. He then took the three children away from their mother 1 month ago. The Ipoh High Court on Friday April 24 instructed Pathmanathan to immediately return the 3 children to their mother

However he only handed over the elder 2 children. 1 year old Prasana is still in his cutody and neither the Police or Jakim officials know of his whereabouts nor the child. Indira Gandhi with help from the DAP team came out with these posters of the hubby and their daughter.

Its a long shot but no harm done if i post the poster on my blog. Anybody seeing this hubby with his baby please call the numbers on the poster.(click on the photo to enlarge)
thks all.

kk

OMPH Family Carnival '09

2009-04-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

It was my parish Family Carnival....the opening ceremony was held with the accompaniment of

..the St Michaels School Band...lively piece today.....

..Father Lai and Father Eugene........

..as always there were stalls n stalls of good food, the indian community stall was great...anyway these were some of my 'tar pau's'

..this year we had an 'animal farm', dogs, horses, calf, goats..really nice...the families loved it..especially the dog show.....

..pony rides....

... but there was alot of youth activities....a traditional malay dance danced to the tempo of an quick step Irish melody( i think so) ...most refreshing....

..this young group doing a mime to the tune of Josh Grobin's "You Raise Me Up"

...'i am strong'...apparently the audience knew the words too..

...'you raise me uppppp'......

...this young lady too knew the words......

...the youth from the rangers camp....

..their costumes were really nice....

...but the surprise of the day were these Filipino families...from nowhere..they made their presence felt...and it was wonderful of them to share their culture .....

..their children put on a splendid performance.....

...each performance originated from a different village...

..it was a great family outing...somehow this year i managed to capture the family atmosphere..
i stole a shot of this family photo...mainly because these three sisters were holding hands....how lovely...

...well until next year, from me 'Mei Mei' (below) and me ' Appico' (above)....

cheers!!!!....please watch this video danced to a song by Akon before leaving...

Heard on Chandan Hill

2009-04-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

..."the fence surrounding the palace has never prevented my father from seeing the reality occurring in the state".....Raja Nazrin, during the pledge of loyalty, Special Investiture Silver Jubilee Celebration, Feb 3 2009

GOPENG HAS A MUSEUM....

2009-04-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

Two years ago i 'discovered' Gopeng when i chanced to see these friezes on the upper beams of these shop houses.

That was the first time i noticed the road Jalan Eu Kong. When i was preparing to blog about it ( April 12 2007) I "DISCOVERED" again that the chinese medical shops chain Eu Yan Sang originated from Gopeng and Eu Kong was its founder.

Yesterday a shop on that road had turned their family home into a museum. The Yaw family had lived at No 28 Jalan Eu Kong since before the 1900's ....is that cool or not!!..Now they have turned their downstairs into a museum ...below..photographs line the downstairs walls and help guide the visitor through the history of Gopeng.....

..while their living area is upstairs....below a view of the back yard...cozy huh!!!nice town house...

..they've come out with a 1 sheet map for a Heritage Walk...it is good....

.... the back page has the details of the landmarks..comprehensive enough to give you an insight ....

..the walk...Masjid Jamek..just 2 blocks down the road from the museum but you have to go through a lane to see it..built by Mandailing shopkeepers (??Mandailings?? they came from Sumatra...)

..cut across the road and you will come to these houses " Kamung Rawa" built for the Orang Rawa mining workers. Orang Rawa????..from the book Kinta Valley...'the Orang Rawa were Malay .. who were very efficient dulang miners..." Malay dulang washers...interesting huh!!

...an old Police Station??note the vents on top of the roof tiles...

..Hup Teik Soy Sauce factory....just across the road

..the chinese clan houses (l) altar at the Hainanese Association and (r) the front of the Hseng Lung Hakka Association

...go across the main trunk road, Jalan Besar, looking west and note a slight hill..they call this place "Changkat"..it was the original site for Gopengs civic quarter..because of the presence of tin they mined the area ...now there is a disused mining pond in its place...nice area though shabbily kept...definitely something that can be improved upon....

..from that spot i looked back towards town and High Street..
..later when i got back to the museum i saw this photograph..Gopeng Hill View...was it from where i was standing earlier...

..the photographs on the wall are a "must view" for all visitors... it gives you an insight to life in those times. More importantly how rich the quality of life was then..the communities of Mandailing, Rawa, Hainanese, Hakka, Malay, Orang Asli & Semai, the English...
..the temple then ....

...and now, its still standing..( i took the photo below & and posted it in black and white. another interesting point...they took good photographs those days....)

..a theatre....(Panggung Wayang Gopeng)... note the date....the design resembles the one still standing in Chemor...was it by the same architect???

..chinese village house...i still recall seeing these houses in Menglembu up till the late 80's opposite the market area...only they had zinc roofs then..with elderly inhabitants as the children had all migrated to USA and other greener pastures due to the fallen tin prices....

...a "dulang pass"....at the turn of the last century...British administrative efficiency..no doubt..

.. a map of Gopeng in 1874...how did they do it....the detail... no google...yet

...so all you readers...check out this museum at No 28 Jalan Eu Kong...its a treasure...support it by buying their maps...take a short walk around this town..probably take 2 hours tops...and bring your family and friends there for years to come just to make sure our next generation have a connection to their roots.

cheers!

kk

Artilce 72, Clause (1).....

2009-04-19T01:15:00.000-07:00

...of the Federal Constitution states that " The validity of any proceedings in the Legislative Assembly of any State shall not be questioned in any court"... the entire Rakyat can read and understand this... yet the courts are still giving my beloved Perak state a hard time...

...a year ago we went to the Polls..we selected the leaders we wanted...

...this "Band of Brothers" ...we want them to run our state...

...not these 'Back Street Boys....????'.....

..bring Democracy Back...Fresh Elections now!!!!

kk

April 3..Bkt Gantang ..impressions (1)..alot of Police

2009-04-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

I stayed the night at Taiping...the nights rain provided for a cool nights rest...a drive through the Lake Gardens next morning was a delightful sight...a mist was floating on the lake...very picturesque...
( please click on the photos to enlarge)

..what i had wanted to capture was the heavy presence of Police personel..it impressed on me that there was 'TENT CITY ' of police when i turned towards Simpang...the Tent City was at the traffic lights junction in front of "Dewan Changkat Jering"

..you couldn't miss them .. their trucks were all over the place...

..and there were a row of these fast motorbikes....thats the camp in the background-Subten 14 Changkat Jering...i saw in a blog that the rental of tents during the KT by-election cost the taxpayer over a million ringgits...ouch!!

..about a kilometer further headed towards Taiping there is another'TENT CITY' ..more trucks
.. more intimidation...but its for our own good though!....

..saw alot of Police bikes on the road leading towards Taman Kaya...outside a "budget hotel"

..must be pretty cramped inside.. i saw these pair of boots outside the accomodations with the sock on top..possibly for airing.....

..if their logistics presence is not enough they've even got Pondok Tents in the kampung areas.. this one below was at peaceful and laid back Trong.....

..Is this strong police presence necessary??

kk

April 2.. Evening drive to Bkt Gantang....

2009-04-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

I got an sms that Anwar was having a ceramah at Trong...so after work i took a drive to Bukit Gantang..actually i had no idea where Trong was...i saw this BN 'Markaz' (thats another new word i've learnt recently) to ask for directions and also inquire if there was any BN ceramahs for the night...' ceramah BN tak ada malam ini'

..Trong was on the road from Changkat Jering to Sitiawan...it was pouring on the way there...the road was dark and i could hardly see the road...when i crawled into town i saw this friendly sign...PAS...yes a PAS center...how 1 year has changed our perception of PAS...there were more surprises inside....

..the members were non malay and were mainly indian....and the supporters were from Selangor....seems some had joined in 2007 but the majority joined last year......for the indian members they switched due to their disappointment with MIC....

..the PAS Markas in Trong was just 1km down the road...it was still raining..surprise2 ..there were police outriders there...i wonder why??..should be to direct traffic as the road was narrow...lorries were still passing by at this hour...

..the ceramah area was small..in order to reach the rakyat the ceramahs were being held at these 'markaz' places...the time was @840pm..it was due to start at 8..the speaker, Dr Shafie from Bangi got on the way...most of the crowd then was huddled under the bits of shelter available ...

and the small shed...

..the 2nd speaker an ADUN from Kuala Langat...good speaker...he got the crowds attention..

the crowd was coming in now...the rain had slowed a little....

..everyone was taking their 'positions'...

..typical PAS style...ladies in the surau with the family.....i like this atmosphere...this is the way Malaysian life is.....

..Anwar arrives..he was delayed due to an accident at the 'tunnel'..7 cars involved....

..the crowd of listeners and media rush to the front..the crowd at the back shouts 'duduk,duduk' to the front..which is obeyed..it is always like this...PAS ceramahs are generally peaceful gatherings .....

..unnoticed by me the crowd had grown....it had been raining and now that it had slowed the crowd swelled..this is a kampung but the mix is multi-racial...i'd put the numbers around 300-400....

..Anwar is going on about the Malacca Sultanate and comparing Nizar as the modern day Tun Perak...when he introduces the "Panglima of Selangor"...Selangor MB Khalid had just arrived.....

..the rain has almost stopped by now...i don't need the umbrella ..the crowd has grown...

...and standing outside on the road...to listen....the police are nowhere to be seen now...lorries are still passing by...

..across the road is a BN Markaz...there was no ceramah that night but someone was on the mike talking loudly and disturbing the speech by Anwar..i walked in and noticed a group of BN "samsengs" harassing a photographer...an elderly person..who took photographs of their empty hall with 1 guy reading from a paper and making 'noise'...these "samsengs" threatened the 'photographer' to delete his photos...heard them asking him if he was a "wartawan/ reporter".. trust the BN chaps to feel threatened ...characteristics of a loser...he deleted the shots and walked out.. anyway i took a shot of those 'BN samsengs" when i left...the arrogance of those 'samsengs' asking a photographer to delete his photographs...

lets hope BN loses big time here and elsewhere...i witnessed their arrogance..even if their leaders can change ( which i doubt) it will be another generation before their 'napoleons' do so!!!!

kk

How to judge a judge...a talk by N.H.Chan

2009-03-31T02:49:00.000-07:00

I received this in the mail. It was the talk that was presented by retired Judge NH Chan. It was held at the Perak Bar office sometime in mid March. Lovely topic' How to judge the judge'...
Apparently a copy of the talk, 7 pages, was handed to those present. It was interesting reading related to Ipoh High Court judicial commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim's handling of the case whereby MB Zambry applied for a declaration that Speaker Sivakumar's suspending him and his executive council as unconstitutional and unlawful. Chan stated that "anyone who can read knows the application by Zambry cannot be sustained" and he refers to Article 72, Clause (1)...check it out on page 7 , which states ..." The validity of any proceedings in the Legislative Assembly of any state shall not be questioned in any court"..he goes on to add.."Any reasonably competent judge or layman who can read can dispose of the matter in a few minutes...Why must there be a delay for something as simple as this". If you read his notes....it simply implies that Najibs gang is taking us for a ride....wasting time trying to hang on to a position that was 'grabbed illegally'....while the economy is eroding the State of Perak does not have a chief minister to make concrete decision for a better tomorrow.....It was interesting reading. I don't dare to summarise the talk( i might take it out of context) so i have posted the 7 pages here for your individual reading pleasure.

page 1, 2 & 3

page 4 , 5 & 6

page 7

Having read his notes I think I have had enough of this BN government. Judicial commissioner Ridwan has since recused himself from this case on March 24. Hopefully BN will lose the '2 bukits and 1 batang' elections next week so they will get the message of what the rakyat think of their shenanigans .Many thanks to 'anonymous' for forwarding the material.

kk

Dinner Ceramah (2) Late Night Taiping Snack

2009-03-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

( after the dinner ceramah....)
It was getting late..and time to head back to Ipoh..Speaker V.Sivakumar was on the mike...i was looking for a coffee shop for a cup of coffee before hitting the highway.......i saw this rather crowded place..it was the market...so late but alive...customers sipping cuppas and snacking away...open air and quaint..this was it..

..good old local coffee..."you want coffee kau kau or normal".. i took a normal ..with some yee tan...the coffee cost RM1.

...this place was nice...laid back...would be super if they had wifi...

.. the stall selling the coffee also sold packet nasi lemak and kaya on toast....and customers were coming in for tar pau (take away)

..i finished and walked around..there was this economy rice stall with a full menu...so late at night...

..but customers were still coming in..

..i saw customers ordering plates of chee cheong fun and char koay tiow.. i ordered a plate of koay tiow.. with a hot barley drink...no regrets....

..not a bad place this...

options galore..only in Taiping...an american food chain serving Kentucky style fried chicken next to a 100 years old market built during a colonial time serving a mixed local cuisine..i couldn't ask for more.....

cheers!

kk

Nizar's Dinner Ceramah at Taiping.....March 27 2009

2009-03-27T23:27:00.000-07:00

It was a clear Friday evening in Ipoh..the skies appeared a non threating blue..so i took a drive to Taiping...Nizar and the Pakatan gang were having a dinner ceramah there...at Restaurant Soon Lee on Jalan Lim Swee Aun...the dinner was at 7..i got there by 745...and it was packed...
..inside...

..and outside...projectors were placed all around.....

..including the empty lot next to the restaurant....

the cousins had already arrived together with the 2 Siva's, Sivakumar and Sivanesan.....awaiting the arrival of the 'MB yang SAH!!'....

..he arrived at 835pm.....

..Nizar is very popular with the chinese...the next few photos will show you so...i don't need words to explain why...which is the reason i drove up from Ipoh...to see for my self...

..my apologies if the photos are blurred...

..inside the dining hall......

...(pls click on photos to enlarge)..the whole hall stood up to greet this man

...as the team goes on stage

....the hall is filled with excitement........

....i am actually seeing smiles of JOY....something i never see at the BN ceramahs....

..as the meal starts Sivanesan takes to the mike....a bit of light hearted humour...the MB celup and his 'excos ta'ada gaji sekarang......Zambry should sell 'nasi lemak'

..the next speaker was Nga Kor Meng...and he spoke in mandarin, hokkien, malay and a sprinkling of english...the crowds love this guy!!the outside crowd now had grown....

..Uncle KS Lim arrived at 925pm....another round of standing ovations.....

..Nizar goes on stage......

...'BN is preventing him from meeting the rakyat..he asks the business community to canvass for votes by requesting their customers to vote for PAS...

...lets make Bukit Gantang a symbol of democracy for the whole country come April 7...his requests had always been responded with a positive and thunderous response....when it was time to leave it was another round of warm wishes....

i came and saw...looks like the chinese community is in favour of the PR team...
...Now i have to check out a BN ceramah in this area....i'll be back.

kk

The evening of February 5, 2009... locked out but still carrying on....

2009-02-06T05:52:00.000-08:00

I received these photographs from 'anonymous' around 4.30pm yesterday.It was the the rear entrance of the State Secretariat.

.....below..the rear entrance..

..the front gate of the building...wow...PR government was asked to resign at lunch and by 4pm the police are at their offices...that was fast....

... i passed by Nizar's residence before 5pm...PAS's Unit Amal was at the gate..

...at the stadium where a rally was to held that night...police had blocked all the entrances ..

well that was that... but then i read on Malaysia Today after dinner the gathering was changed to MB's residence..so off i went over there.....the scene at Tambun Road...outside of Nizar's gate...cars were parked alongside the road

....as i walked towards the residence i saw young non malay couples, holding hands, probably after dinner walking towards the gate. I was going for a ceramah. Theirs looked like an exciting date..hahaha..inside the residence...unit Amal personel on duty

the crowd in the grounds of the residence...as with other PR ceramahs..the audience is always muhibbah.....it makes meaning of that slogan..Truly Asia.....

..on the cobblestone area...it was free seating...

..the scene outside the walls of the residence....along Brewster Road..Sam Tet School is in the background...the crowd was growing.....Unit Amal had to go out to keep the traffic moving....it may have been very crowded but it was 'orderly'..all things considered.....

..State executive councillors mingling with their constituents ...

...MP for batu gajah......

..the hall within the grounds of the residence...it was packed inside...the rakyat listening intently from the garden.....it had rained heavily earlier...the weather at night was lovely.....

..inside...it was a full house..as usual the PAS guys had the best seats......they are always early....

..i couldn't get to the front ..so these shots of the speakers was the best i could do...

...Tian Chua...great speech... "BN is threatened by us because we fight for the oppressed..." ...thunderous applause follows...

..memo being passed around...everyone just read it and handed it to the person next to them...telling the next person...recycle...Propoganda on the ground...it was crowded but nobody stepped on the posters....unlike the photograph of Najib i saw on Malaysia Insider...is there a message here????

...petition..signature campaign.....everyone was signing up....

..i left before the end....after cousin Nga Kor Meng's speech....i spoke to the traffic policeman at the centre divider...he mentioned alot of the rakyat were from outstation based on the non-Perak number plates....he was impressed by the solidarity....i told him that the inside was like a happy muhibbah party....

..i walked towards the Casuarina Hotel and the UMNO building...the road was closed...and was 'HEAVILY' fortified by FRU and Police personel....all the way till the flyover intersection with Tiger Lane and Gopeng Road.

..below ..UMNO office..Police were also stationed at the adjoining roads eg Thomson Road...ahemmmm...am I missing something here...there is only the UMNO office and Istana Kinta here...from what i just saw at Nizar's residence...was all this heavy presence necessary...

...as i was driving home via Tiger Lane i saw the MBI workers hanging the white and blue lights for Tuanku's jubilee celebrations....how sad...just last Sunday i took a drive to photograph the royal town...and on Monday I drove there to take some sunset shots of the mosque...as Tuanku was having his Tahlil prayers then.....

..this afternoon there was a demonstration here... tear gas was fired into the mosque....what a sad turn of events within the same week....all because the rakyat were not granted what they had democratically voted for......as i read earlier..."how can the minority rule the majority"!!!!!!

kk

Today 5 February 2009 .....on a bright day why is the lights so dim....

2009-02-04T22:51:00.000-08:00

I just read this from Bernama.......

No Dissolution, MB Asked To Resign
IPOH, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- The Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah has not consented to dissolution of State Assembly and asked Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin to resign as Menteri Besar of Perak and if he failed to do so, the post is considered vacant....

"Perak BN has now 31 YBs -- 29 Umno Malays, and 2 Chinese, if you look at the typical BN politics from its race-based perspective ( from screenshots)

Well back to the miserable old days of invisible councillors and assemblymen, non transparent dealings and empty talking politicians......i don't get it...we VOTED in a new government...but now BN comes in again but by the back door.....don't they get the picture...we don't want them...aren't they man enough to use the front door...the democratic way...we had them for 50 years...the result was they let my hometown and state fall apart....they couldn't even take out my rubbish nor sweep my drains....and turned Ipoh into an old folks home......all of a sudden the landscape looks very dim..

sigh!!!

HRH Sultan Azlan Shah's Jubillee Celebrations

2009-02-01T07:02:00.000-08:00

The posters of Tuanku's jubuillee celebration are all around town. 25 years already. How time flies. I like our Royal family. Especially more so since Raja Nazrin has been sharing his thoughts over the last six months.

The culverts along the roads have been given a new coat.

..the roads resurfaced for a more comfortable ride....

and even this hotel was made ready in time for the celebrations....all this in Ipoh.....i read that the Sultan of Brunei would be attending.....

.. i took a 'makan angin" drive to the royal town earlier...lovely place ...clean and nice....(below) at the Ubudiah Mosque......

.. i guess that Bukit Chandan is like this all the time...neat and clean...wish this could be the same for Ipoh...

..then a drive around the Istana grounds....the palace looks magnificent....

.. the main entrance?...lovely bright flowers planted in the ground..

..at the edge of the car park is this jetty that looks out to the Perak River....

...fishing on the river....i don't fish.. but this looks relaxing....

.. more of the Perak River....taken on the road below the Rest House....

.. taken from the entrance to the rest house...i have just discovered what makes the malay kampung scene so soothing...it is the shady areas underneath the huge raintrees everywhere ...

..would be nice to go into the palace to photograph the functions happening over the next 2 weeks though...heard that the security will be tight...so thats that!...

gotta run..

Happy Jubilee Tuanku...

kk

Long Chinese New year Weekend

2009-01-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

Its great when a festival falls on a Monday. Then you have the luxury to space out your schedule..like...chill out on Friday evening...the guys literally did a crawl...karaoke first...then checked out this new place at the corner of Greenhill drive and Anderson Road..called Summer Paradise.....

..it looked like a nice place butttt....it kinda lacked the ...moo..ood..i dunno...

..it did have a games room...though we weren't in the mood for that too....

..nice area...close too to the about to be opened ( this week) Tower Regency Hotel...in time for the Sultan of Perak's Silver Jubilee celebrations....

nope...the party hadn't reached this side of town yet...(below)..view from Cowan Street..Summer Paradise on the left, Tower Regency on the right and Regal Lodge Hotel at centre background..

..unlike Ipoh Garden East...where i had to make 2 rounds before i got an empty slot....

..thanks to these guys who were about to finish their deliveries.....it was already 10...

..the parallel road...cars were everywhere...took a peek into 'Devil'...

it was full.............

..we eventually ended up at "Houz"just a few doors away ...its been awhile since i heard this band play...and i was in the mood for some rock n roll..i wasn't disappointed....the house was full, the crowd rowdy and the band loud...

..besides they served Kilkenny by the pint......

..this group below was from U-Mobile...good attitude..work hard..party harder...

..next morning..i picked up some flowers....

...got some of this stuff...

..then tidy house, wash car before the dinner...

the following morning (chor yat) ...viewed some traditional culture while taking my dog out for his morning walk....

..then eat and watch movies....

though i seem to be eating more veggie foodie this year...below...sang choy topped with turnip/mungkuang and 'loh sung' ingredients....it was so refreshing....

yep, a festival falling on a Monday has its benefits... Kung Hei Fatt Choy.

Mooooo

kk

Yau Tet Shin Market to be rebuilt.

2009-01-13T01:37:00.000-08:00

YB Nga Kor Ming and Mayor Roshidi announced that they were planning to rebuild the Yau Tet Shin market on the same site where it stood before. The market ( as below) was built in 1961 but was demolished 30+ years later as it was structually unsound.
Towkay Yau Tet Shin was a Hakka miner who initially built 300 shophouses on the east bank of the Kinta River which subsequently became known as new town. The land was originally owned by the Panglima Kinta whom Towkay Yau purchased it from.

The mayor is now holding a public forum on January 14 2009 to hear the views of the rakyat on how the design should be. Wonderful, they are actually soliciting the views of the community.

Apparently a descendant of Yau Tet Shin had approached the Mayor to rebuild the building in memory of Towkay Yau. The Mayor had agreed as he felt it would be a heritage value to do so.
I actually find it hard to believe that city hall could be this creative. But I guess the changes we voted in last year are beginning to be felt.Lets just wait and see.

cheers!

kk

CNY 2009

2009-01-11T01:16:00.000-08:00

..well folks.its time for me to say good bye!! ...and make way for Ozzie.....
that's Ozzie..an Ox..
Ozzie couldn't wait for the lunar new year to start...he's already begun to "loh-loh..loh that dish"

...this was followed by 'korn cheen har har har'...we were at Pusing Public Seafood Restaurant you see....

..a bit more hoy see....

..for an ox he sure was quiet ...i was hoping for a charge..well time will tell..
ciao!!

kk