Priced Out aka Improving One's Lot

Is my community one of the most kesian of communities in this country?

Is that the reason why the phrase “improving the lot of the Malays” keep cropping up every now and then; the latest being the UDA – Penang State Government – Kampung Tanjung Tokong, urm, initiative?

Read: “It would entail relocating about 1,200 families from their village houses into flats built in high-rises as compensation. UDA hailed the initiative as improving the lot of the Malays so that they are not left behind.” (My emphasis)

My briefest of stay in Penang with my uncle did not allow me much of exploring the of the island state; Kampung Tanjung Tokong included.

It is said to be an original Malay fishing settlement all those years ago pre Francis Lights’ taking over of Penang from Kedah and turning it into a thriving port.

And because of that, the powers that be decided for Kampung Tanjung Tokong to be accorded the status “heritage”.

Umm, for 250 years of being what? Excuse me for being blur on the history of Kampung Tanjung Tokong, which I promise to look up if I am so keen and have the time to indulge in something which I have little interest in.

Anyway, I am digressing here and back we are to the “improving the lot of Malays” bit.

Supposedly one way of doing so is by cramming families into flats of between 800 to 850 square feet from wherever it is that they were staying in previously.

…

Really crude generalization at work here.

There’s no doubt that most of us would have had the, urmm, luxury of staying at these modern - housing development players driven - interpretation of the human habitat.

Mine was the Teratai Mewah (ahem) Apartments in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.

Nasty, nasty traffic, crappy lifts, express out-the-window garbage deliveries, scant consolation of a shared playground, longhouse styled layout, birds’ eye view of your neighbour’s flat, deplorable maintenance… Quite the place we had.

Sure there are plus points; …… a roof on my head (nope sorry, that’s my upper neighbor’s floor actually), close knit community (if we had enough time to knit about, that is), security (yeah, right).

(But flats are sure heaven sent for the starting-out-in-life singles. Affordable entry point, often easy access to public transit points, plenty of makan places, solace of being stranger amongst strangers…)

Improving of one’s lot in life, eh?

Perhaps the newer flats are super spanky: after all, it really has been quite a while since I’ve been in one after I left Teratai Mewah and Kuala Lumpur for Ipoh and a landed property (initially rented then bought) in one of its suburbs.

Finally, my family had its own breathing space and what an improvement it was.

Often the excuse is that land is scarce and hence you have to build upwards to be able to accommodate the burgeoning population as cities, towns and suburban areas expand through the years.

Maybe so, but couldn’t we have planned our development better? After all, the country is only 54 years old and we could have well learnt from the experience of others which had threaded the same path before.

Authorities often would decry the supposed unreasonable demands from those involved in similar, urm, relocation exercise.

It is but only natural to want to be able to stay close to the land, feet on the ground as you stand outside your home – no matter how humble an abode - to watch the time pass by and to not feel trapped in a concrete enclosure with a single exit.

The writer of the above mentioned article asked: “Is not decimating such a physical legacy in the form of the village, which inherently contains old Malay values – cultural, architectural, communal – an antithesis to improving the lot of the Malays?”

A perfectly valid point.

In fact, we can travel down south to another heritage-status filled state in Malacca to see some of these ideals in action.

Of course, these are views of the romantics and the idealists; not the realists who understand that the new value in life is in denominations of Ringgits and Sens.

Especially in the Pearl of the Orient where a 850 sq feet flat can cost a whopping RM300,000 per unit. How much is that in monthly installment, I wonder? Perhaps this is the improvement in lot spoken of.

A plot of land can house a single family. Or it can accommodate a whole lot more with some economical equations thrown in.

Pardon the fully intended use of words.

Mytholitically Speaking

"I know there is a perigi (well) Hang Tuah in Malacca but it was built by the local people and they go there at night to ask for numbers …"

It is good to know that someone so respected in the world of the Malaysian academia have a wicked sense of humour.

(What? It is seditious of the good Professor to sully the grave of the great Hang Tuah by saying so? Really, ahh?)

So then, should mythos and facts mix it up in our good old Malaysian (ahem) history?

Nope, but I do think that most myths are basically exaggerated facts so much so the tales become way too tall to totally tell.

One fact which I can tell is this: all these myths help make, urm, “history” the more pleasurable (the less tedious?) to learn.

Give the children (and adults too) some credit in that they will be able to discern which are facts and which are not.

There is of course the danger in driving through myths as facts to promote a certain agenda: but Churchill (Winston) was partially right when he said:”History is written by the victors.”

Partially because the human tenacity has often also seen scripts by the so-called losers filter out to the world, eventually.

Anyway, back to Hang Tuah.

The version that’s etched forever in my mind and memory is unfortunately P Ramlee’s and not the Hikayat due to the former being the more easily digestible form.

Political intrigue, love romance, comradeship, treason, an anti hero, fight scenes… and all within a mere one half hour of doing nothing.

Now, what is there not to like about P Ramlee’s Hang Tuah?

Just don’t forget to open the window to chuck out any so supposed factual facts.

The now immortalized words in PRamlee’s version of “Akukah yang bersalah atau Jebatkah yang bersalah?" though says a whole lot about the reason why the legend of Hang Tuah existed for so long though.

So, did Hang Tuah exist? Probably.

What of his exploits? Probably exaggerated.

PS: Posting's no relation to pix below.

Chombee Days

Upon returning home from England, I stayed with my uncle for some time in a place called Bukit Chombee in Penang. It used to house the Malayan Teachers’ College where my uncle worked in as a Lab technician.

His house was a nice, colonial (gasp!*) style bungalow atop a small hill overlooking the Straits of Penang. Very quaint place. Part brick and mortar and part wood, the house is rectangular in shape and had a long open air portion which links the stairs to the two other rooms and a huge bathroom right at the end; all of which is in the first floor of the two-storey house.

Sure do have some nice memories of the place especially a hair raising one where I answered a “Salam” uttered when there was no one around. Shudder!!!

Google the name today and you’ll get not much. I think in its place is the Minden Heights or something.

The word Minden is also familiar which I think refers to the portion where you drive in from the main road into MTC. It has been years since I visited the place ever since my uncle moved backed to Alor Setar.

Any developer worth his ilk in gold would surely salivate at the prospect of gaining hold of the location in fact. Ready infrastructure, green landscaping with serene cul-de-sac for open concept luxury bungalows, scenic views and, best yet, the right location for some good sales to be garnered.

Not so sure if this was exactly what happened to Bukit Chombee. This is something I need to get back to my uncle for more information.

The rush for good, prime location is not however something restricted to the Penang property market, but also that in the Klang Valley and to a lesser extent, Johor Bahru. Developers just continue building and building even when the strip of land is barely bigger than a kangkang King Kong (heh…always wanted to write that one!)

Alas, all this building seems to however target the rich and mighty. Scan through any advertisement of the three location these days and I dare say none is the so-termed “mampu milik” category.

I believe the pricing range of this to be in the +/-RM300K in the Klang Valley and Penang. Can’t get any landed properties at this range though so you have to settle for a high rise. Plenty of these in both areas, but at such price, they would be further away from the city centre.

Bukit Chombee. Fans of P Ramlee will recall the name to be the character played by the classically beautiful Zaiton in Ibu Mertuaku.

And just like the film, the name is now history.

PS:* Can I use this word nowadays with all the polemics about whether or not Tanah Melayu was a British colony? Sigh... Nasty Polemics when there are far serious things to discuss and focus on.

Legsy Palate

“If collected at late maturation stages, the truffles will likely carry eggs and larvae — adding proteins and aroma to the truffle.”

The article by Nicholas Wade in NYT really did have a load of “new discoveries … reveal(ing) more than you really wanted to know”. (My emphasis, TQVM!)

Just like the sushi-lover horror story floating in the internet gravepine which has since put me off the Japanese delicacy forever.

Anyway, I have never tasted the so-called fungi named truffle especially due to the Pacific Ocean-trench deepness of the pocket that partakes in its consumption would require.

It is one of those delicacies – foie gras being another example – which seemed far too bourgeoisie in palate to dream and/or salivate about.

Just last night I (re) read the delightful short story by (Sir) Jeffrey Archer on Bob and Fiona – the two main characters in “The Wisdom of Solomon”.

In an early description of the lady with 30 inches of legs and a diet perfected on lettuce leaves and water, Archer wrote:

“… she read the wine list from the bottom upwards, ordered caviar as a starter and asked, with a sweet smile, for her pasta to be covered in truffles.”

Truffles and caviar; seemed to go hand in hand the two.

Both non too subtle hints of the fine dining, jet setting. luxury-filled lifestyle of the rich, the famous and all their hangers-on.

I wonder if Fiona would still want truffles had she read the article before the “get-to-know-my-best-mate” dinner.

A twist perhaps - the kind you don’t however usually find in Archer’s tales - would be her asking to have the more exotic kinds instead.

Those preferring to be visually sated with this warped sense of the foodie macabre can tune in to Andrew Zimmern’s Bizzare Food on Astro’s Discovery Travel and Living for some good retching views.

Then again, who am I kidding? Just like vegetarians might eye meat eaters with disdain, some people do seem to see creepy crawlies perfectly suited as protein sources.

I digress. To each their own, eh?

Anyway, The Sun has been running a few articles about another set of new discoveries; the archaeological kind in Lembah Bujang.

The latest being a sun-dial like construction, aged around 1,900 years old. Add this to the jetties and iron smelting workshops found earlier at the same site.

Deciphering the historical context of these discovery would be wonderful to tell us more about how it was all those years ago.

Wonder whatever happened to that civilization? A local version of the fabled Atlantis, maybe?

Again, for the visually incline look forward to Sam Worthington’s “Clash of the Titans”.

It doesn’t feature Atlantis but it does have the CGI-steroid’up new Kraken wreaking havoc and tearing cities asunder.

Kraken Smash Puny Mortals!

The Old "Puny" Kraken

Junctions

Melaka is planning a replica of the famed flagship of Admiral Cheng Ho’s Treasure fleet.

I think this would be her second historical vessels replica after the Portuguese Man O War “Frol De La Mar” which is also its maritime museum.

Ironic that the state chose its first Western colonial master’s vessel to be replicated, but since it’s a done deal, let’s just leave it at that.

Back to Cheng Ho's flagship, I wonder if it would be something along the following lines:

“The first Treasure Fleet consisted of 62 ships; four were huge wood boats, some of the largest ever built in history. They were approximately 400 feet (122 meters) long and 160 feet (50 meters) wide. The four were the flagships of the fleet of 62 ships assembled at Nanjing along the Yangtze (Chang) River.

Included in the fleet were 339-foot (103-meter) long horse ships that carried nothing but horses, water ships that carried fresh water for the crew, troop transports, supply ships, and war ships for offensive and defensive needs.

The ships were filled with thousands of tons of Chinese goods to trade with others during the voyage. In the fall of 1405 the fleet was ready to embark with 27,800 men.”

Those reading about Cheng Ho’s many journeys – Malacca provided a more viable stepping stone in his trip to India apparently – will also know there are views that the vessels' sizes are somewhat exaggerated.

Alas, without any clear historical references, we will not know for sure the most accurate version.

A reading of Cheng Ho’s many, many benevolence to the once-great empire that is Malacca, I would push for the most realistically exaggerated version to be adopted.

Cheng Ho’s first visit to Malacca is during the (Malay?) Sultanate years of infancy, and this stop over - which probably helped Malacca thrive further as a trading port of call – was followed with a few other stops before his death in 1433.

Most of the historical text and accounts I read put Cheng Ho as one of the pioneers in spreading Islam in the region as well.

So unlike the more barbaric Westerners; who came, saw and conquered – the Portuguese in 1511, the Dutch in 1641 and the Brits in 1824.

Anyway, back to Malacca’s plan for the Treasure fleet replica.

A question should be asked: What will it represent, really?

Frol De La Mar arguably represented the end of the once-grand Malacca Sultanate; the dark chapter in its history and a pivotal juncture in the country’s own historical growth.

(It was somewhat poetic justice that the ship which played a role in the annexation of Malacca was shipwrecked in November 1512 together with its cache of treasure plunder from the state.)

Who knows how the country might have turned out if Malacca had managed to repulse the twelve hundred odd Portuguese marauders lead by one Alfonso de Albuquerque?

The mind boggles on all the possible permutations available if we were to explore all these “What ifs”.

So, what does Cheng Ho’s Treasure fleet flagship represent for Malacca?

What are we telling the world with this particular replica?

In fact, what are we telling our own people?

History is so damn interesting.

Siapakah yang benar? Jebatkah benar?

Atapun akukah yang benar?

PS: Arguably the most famous of the Sultanate's "history". A quote (and scene with the ever demure Zaiton) from P Ramlee's Hang Tuah.

Historical Histrionics

“According to legend, Genghis Khan lies buried somewhere beneath the dusty steppe of Northeastern Mongolia, entombed in a spot so secretive that anyone who made the mistake of encountering his funeral procession was executed on the spot.

Once he was below ground, his men brought in horses to trample evidence of his grave, and just to be absolutely sure he would never be found, they diverted a river to flow over their leader’s final resting place.”

I am no authority with regards one of the more well known Asian historical figure, and whatever “knowledge” I have of Genghis Khan is basically from Robert Shea’s (Shike – Last of the Zinja) portrayal of his grandson (?) Kublai Khan.

Shea’s Mongolian conqueror was depicted as someone respected by both his enemies as well as his ally, bright and highly articulate, but with a deadly ruthlessness in his quest of expanding his empire to the point of it being an obsession.

Before Shike came along, my image of the Mongolian conquerors (Kublai and Genghis) was that of Ming the Merciless from the campy science fiction series of Flash Gordon in the late 1970s.


It’s an image that’s particularly transfixing in the mind as to how Mongolians supposedly look like.

There is another television character which also play homage to this typical stereotyping, one I remember only by his oft quoted “Amazingg…”, most probably from the 1960’s Get Smart series about a bumbling spy.

The name of the character with the droopy, noodle moustache escapes me.

The modern interpretation of the great conqueror is far less stereotypical however as seen in Sergei Bodrov’s film Mongol (2007) where ironically, Japanese actor Asano Tadanobu played the lead figure.


Irony in that the land of the Rising Sun proved the most recalcitrant of annexations for Kublai with two failed attempts that “shattered the myth of Mongol invincibility throughout Asia” (The Mongol Conquerors), the second of which was depicted in Shea’s Shike in great, albeit purely fictional, detail.

The world’s history has been made that much richer from these strong, driven characters, but little has been paid to those whose lives were affected by the actions of these great men (and women).

This is exactly where the realm where fiction thrives.

Combining accepted facts with fiction, good writers are able to weave totally believable tales of characters living during such tumultuous times, and in so doing breathing some measure of reality and drama into dull, staid, historical facts.

Incidentally the first two para of this posting is from a Bernama news flash of students from the University of California’s (San Diego) Center for Interdisciplinary Science in Art, Architecture and Archaeology using advanced visualisation technologies to locate the tomb of the late Genghis.

Apparently researchers have tried in vain to locate the tomb’s site since 1990, so these students are raring for another go at it, and this time, technology is hoped to provide the breakthrough.

Dr. Albert Yu-Min Lin, an affiliated researcher of the Center, tells us why: “But as great a man he was, there are few clues and no factual evidence about Genghis Khan’s burial, which is why we need to start using technology to solve this mystery.”

If only I had foreseen all those years ago historians having this much fun.

Historical Baggage

The headline: 'Make history compulsory subject in primary schools'

The sentence that piqued my interest was this one: Abdullah also suggested making history a more exciting subject for students.

History not exciting enough? My, my …

It has been a while since I read a History textbook, but my recollections is that they do veer on the side of being dry and, most might say, unexciting.

However..

Two World Wars costing millions in lost lives and the birth of a most horrific weapon of mass destruction, Empires born, bloomed, crushed and forgotten, birthing of major religions, cult-like personalities, mythical tales of bravery and sacrifice etcetera etcetera, history should be anything but unexciting.

It is an undeniable fact that from within the mass of “dry facts” birthed a good number of thought provoking, let’s say, by-products (for want of a better word).

Take the Malaysian history, for example.

It may not be as old as that of the world’s – our version of an “Empire” was only born in the 15th century – but the has had its fair share of tumultuous events, future-defining moments, bravery and dramatic sacrifices.

We have played to death the saga of Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat(from (Hikayat Hang Tuah), figures steeped in myth but born from our chequered history in the Malacca Sultanate (1402 – 1511)

I cannot remember which version of Hang Tuah I read all those years ago but a particular segment that remained in my mind is the part where the two friends had to have their climatic duel on trays (dulang) to avoid the many spears being poked into the floor by hose witnessing the battle (was it at an istana?)

The tale of Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat was a tragedy for me. A friendship torn asunder by scheming politicos and an absolute Ruler whose ideals were far less than perfect.

Elsewhere and elsewhen, the novel by Leon Marcus Uris (1924 – 2003) Mila 18 takes us to the atrocities committed on Polish Jews in spining a tale of gallantry of its hero, former army officer Andrei Androfski, in the face of overwhelming odds and set in World War II (1939 – 1945).

The novel written in 1961 played out like a long-drawn movie and was extremely heavy reading material for someone barely in his teen back then.

A scene I can still recall is where the one of the main character – a Christopher De Monti – reluctantly parts company with his lover, a Deborah Bronksi who is incidentally Andrei’s sister and the wife of a Paul Bronski, a Jewish who hates being one, just pages before all hell broke loose with the invasion of Poland by the Germans.

Going further back in time is another novel – a two parter, the first of which I cannot trace its whereabouts – by Robert Joseph Shea (1933 - 1994) entitled Shike which centers on the love journey of its main characters Jebu, a Zinja (don’t ask) monk and Shima Taniko, a noble princess, amidst warring fued between Japanese Warlords, and in the second volume – a Mongolian invasion of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Facts and fictions intertwined seamless in all three that takes leaves from moments in the world’s history burnished into the memorable tales that they are.

All three are also steep in commentaries – some subtle, most not – of events, cultures, human frailties, allegiance, love, friendship – things that makes life what it is.

In fact, there are many, many more examples.

Unexciting?

Perhaps the facts are stuck in the textbooks and had ventured no further.

Feeble factual fallacies

Merdeka Thoughts...

Next Sunday we will be 51.

Sadly this year’s celebration of a nation’s birthing seems more like than of an ordinary mortal in that the older they get, the less it becomes an occasion to celebrate.

It does not really take a genius to know the reasons for such a lukewarm pre-Merdeka run up, what’s with the global economy in the doldrums and our own situation of far too much muck politicking.

Perhaps it’s for the better.

Lest we forget, the nation’s birthday is supposed to be a day to reconnect with the core essential of the nation and the bedrock upon which it is built on.

From what I heard, it was a somewhat crass politico-pontification the last time around at the National level Merdeka celebration. I didn’t get to witness it as I was assigned to cover the State level celebration in Ipoh.

It’s really a pity if such an important day for the nation did become fodder for self aggrandization of perceived worth vis-à-vis the architect of our independence from the British all those years ago.

Being a junior reporter means that I have never been able to take my own family to witness these Merdeka celebrations as I always find myself working the said day.

I’m wondering if I should do so this time around since I am outside of the industry and now with off-days that is the same as millions others.

It would be good to instill some measure of patriotism, of love, and perhaps some interests in the nation’s history so that they would – as did their father before life’s progress made free time a luxury – develop a love for history.

Except that I do not trust those charged with scripting the days proceeding of keeping the scared trust of not misrepresenting historical facts; something which I witnessed during my coverage of the State celebration last year.

It left me cold to hear lies presented as fact I shall not divulge here as to save face.

Suffice to say it gave credit where none is due with nary a mentioned of the worthy parties, even if the latter later turned rouge where the country’s history was concerned.

I hoped that it was just something cooked up to suit the parade, but it still left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Interviews with the participants revealed that what I had read years ago and accepted, as facts were indeed facts even to them. I did not bother to confront them with the statements of the MC seeing that how they, too, were just third parties in the matter.

Perhaps there is a bigger picture here I am clearly missing.

One thing I am clear of is this: Merdeka is not solely for rejoicing the past but also to remind us of past follies that would hamper our future.

We are history, our children, their children, and their children’s children are not.

Merdeka is all about them. Not us.