Prayers for Safe Return

There are monsters amongst us and all it takes for them to pounce is a split second lapse of concentration.

My heartfelt prayers go to the parents of missing 5-year old Nurul Nadirah Abdullah in their time of grief.

Amin to her being safe return, and soon.

Yes; at such a vulnerable young age she shouldn’t have been out running errands of older children and adults, but it is far easier for us who’re not hit by such tragic and painful events to utter judgmental statements.

Only recently I had a similar momentary lapse which could have easily turned tragic.

In a rush from afternoon (religious) school pickup and returning home, I had stopped at a Hypermarket near my house to buy a much needed fluorescent bulb.

My two girls wanted to follow and a quick and sharp “No” turned to “Okay, but no shopping” when they sulked.

Both in tow, I went to a DIY store and quickly grabbed a unit before proceeding to the cashier to test and pay for the items but the testing took a while as the girl manning the cash register poked about.

Minutes later, money and item were exchanged and off we went to my (then-pregnant) wife waiting at the Hypermarket car park.

An initially-curious-turned-harrowing conversation ensued as we were sauntering down the escalator.

“Abah, Adik mistook someone of calling out to her just now,” said the sister to a grimaced protest from her younger sibling.

I was immediately all ears: “What?”

“She thought a man was calling out to her just now. Turned out his friend was near us.”

My mind was a mixed of zipping thoughts as I stuttered a quick succession of questions: Who was it, when and what happened.

A male staff of the store. During testing and she was nearly walking over to the man the split second of realizing that it wasn’t her at all that he was motioning to.

Right there I developed a cold sweat and a heavy feeling of guilt enveloped me.

Fortunately the incident was genuine. Fortunately the store was sparse with shoppers. Well lit and open. Fortunately nothing untoward had occurred.

Had it been one of those slicks, devious and thoroughly evil monsters masquerading as fellow men and women, though …

I sushed my mind from such thoughts but they didn’t go away. Not for a long, long while.

Later, I got a good tongue lashing from my wife. We all did.

My youngest in forgetting the constant reminder to not respond to strangers’ beckoning. Her sister for not being more protective of her sibling.

And, ME for being the neglecting adult in the midst of children innocent.

Yes; be wary of the monsters walking amongst us.

BUT they depend entirely on us slipping.

A few seconds. That’s all they need.

Pawns, Surely

His muscles strained but move he dared not
Propping a hefty wall crumbling on shoulders ached
A mixture of caked blood and stinky sweat so hot
Legs ramrod in vain support of knees gone brittle

Just beyond an earshot he hears the stammer of people yakking
Of taking steps, on sparking initiatives, in writing hurtful missive
He would love to pry this man of desperate positioning
If only he could, a hiatus from a violent act so aggressive

He grimaced in pain as his aggressor stomped harder
Each jump on the boulder accompanied by a guttural laughter
Uncaring that there is a person beneath of similar feature
Much less important that he is no more a distant brother

His tears no longer flow this man tortured
As he eyed figures, small, huddled together
One male, the other female, siblings that much clear
Their mom, nowhere seen, having been torn asunder

He holds on still, accepting an ending fated so sure
While neighbors oblivious to all but their interests continues their chatter

The wall shudders
As mortar crumbles...

Peeving Nincompoops

“… does not involve the EPF providing loans to buyers…buyers should apply directly to the ministry…”

“…. a special purpose vehicle of the Federal Territories Foundation (SPV FT Foundation) to provide loans and the terms were being finalized …“

“…. an initial facility of RM300 million with any further loans to be granted at the discretion of the EPF investment panel..”

“…ownership of the houses shall remain with SPV FT Foundation… secured as all housing units will be charged or assigned by SPV FT Foundation to EPF with security cover of at least twice the loan amount…”

“…We understand that SPV FT Foundation will only select participants with good track records..”

“…Kuala Lumpur City Hall would buy back the houses to secure the cash flow required for the repayment of the loan in the event of non-payment…”

Ooohh… I am feeling a billion percent secured and relieved with the above “explanation” from the EPF on plans (was it RNC’s, I wonder?) to hand out, opps, to, urm, help out the unqualified to get funds to buy housing units.

See, even as I write the above sentence I am glowing with an immense sense of security.

Let’s see the points again:
EPF not giving out direct loans: We knew that. Impossible to administer and could well be illegal anyway.

An SPV is involved: okay… and provided with initial facility of RM300m : ahh… money from where? The EPF.

Definitely NOT direct there.

Ownership of homes with SPV, assigned and charged to the EPF and is secured by KL City Hall.

So, SPV gets to administer – ie. pick out who gets what, hand out the money, get the administrative fees for doing so, yada yada bla bla, but risk is borne by City Hall (Let’s not forget EPF, the INDIRECT provider of the so-called loans, shall we?)

And get this: SPV will select participants with good track records.

Hmm… Wonder how they will do this when the pool is basically from a group unqualified to take loans in the first place and as such without much of a thing called credit report.

There will be future drawdown possible with satisfactory conduct: And if not? What happens? SPV pays back the RM300 million?

Or EPF gets to sell homes of the poor (oh so cruel of the EPF, sob sob boo hoo) to gain back whatever is given out by the SPV.

Oh. Wait. No, KL City Hall will pay double for the house, isn’t it?

Is that so? If City Hall is so flushed with money, why can’t they undertake such a Murni scheme?

I forget that there is every chance that I will be helping put roofing over the poor, and the homeless.

Only thing is that I know that most of these homes are rented out at rentals way above what their poor downtrodden owners are paying in installments.

Sometimes for multiple units summore. More the pity, eh?

Let’s not forget also the alleged politicians’ list for such homes.

Charity starts at home. Let not bleeping use someone else’s home to do so, can we?

The thing that irks me the most about this scheme is that - just like everything else these days - no matter how loud we protest, the train continues.

A gravy train that is surely going dry up sooner or later.


PS: Watch out for the 10% mandatory health insurance too. Us middle class sure are getting pummeled left, right, centre, above and below with this current bunch.