Last night, I spoke to a friend of mine over the phone.
He sounded depressed about the future of Malaysia. “I don’t see much hope for this country.”
“Don’t worry,” I told him. “A lot can change very quickly in politics.” Deep down, I felt all those years of reformasi struggle – more than two decades worth – couldn’t just disappear overnight.
The coronavirus pandemic has given us some space to reflect on the so-called “Penang Transport Master Plan” – in reality, a developers’ plan to reclaim three islands in the name of providing extravagant transport infrastructure for Penang.
This poem, written some 200 years ago, seems to describe the state of the world even today, especially when we see the commons (ie public land, hills, forests, rivers, coastal waters, islands and other public property that belongs to everyone) being sold for a pittance, privatised, stolen or seized with impunity:
Someone asked me this morning whether I knew the current state of our 222-seat Parliament.
I dislike the backdoor PN government for so many reasons. But whatever its motivation, its decision not to fund the the RM100m Penang cable car project is a blessing in disguise.
Quote of the day: “There is no setiausaha kerja (organising secretary) post and he has no powers whatsoever, only susun meja (arranging tables). Now, Mahathir wants to sack Muhyiddin! You just can’t underestimate Mahathir’s staying power.
So a lot of things going on in Bersatu, which appears split right down the middle. Support for the backdoor Perikatan Nasional government will hinge on how this turmoil within Bersatu plays out.
As night falls on this first day of Raya, I couldn’t let this day pass without wishing you all Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Here’s a song from the heart – “The Night When The Moon Is Surrounded By Stars”, a P Ramlee song.
Blue skies, sparkling aquablue turquoise waters enticing you to wade in… when was the last time you saw the sea and the skies in Penang looking like this?
Belated Easter greetings to all readers in these difficult circumstances. While some of us are privileged to stay at home and reflect and spend some quiet time, others are worried sick about their jobs and loss of incomes.
The good news is that the daily figures seem to be tapering off a little. No new cases in Penang today, and at the national level, the recoveries have exceeded the new cases again.