Hari Raya Open House

Sunday saw our first experience of a Raya open house.

Hari Raya is an annual Muslim holiday that falls at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the daylight hours for one month. It is traditional for many to open their home's to an array of guests and we were lucky enough to be invited by a work colleague to their festivities in Kenny Hill, Kuala Lumpur.

Kenny Hills is a beautiful residential neighbourhood in bush clad hills, close to central KL and the house was palatial with spectacular panoramic views of the city. When invited to a Malaysians home, one never goes hungry and this day was no exception. A fabulous lunch was provided including a dish called Arisa. Wikipedia has this to say about it:

Arisa - A unique chicken dish that is very rare nowadays, and is normally served to the royalties and social elites of Johor at formal functions and celebrations.

Apparently, between 4 and 5 hours of continuous elbow grease is required in the making of arisa. Unfortunately it is so rare that I could not find any decent pictures online to accompany this entry. It can be served with honey and/or chilli and has a soft, mushy texture. Lina and I both enjoyed it, however, it has a very rich flavour making it difficult to eat too much. However by the time we had arrived at this dish selection, there had been a vast quantity of food gone before it, so perhaps that was the real culprit.

The other noteworthy food event was my attempt at self service of a noodle dish, whose accompaniment should have been the fish sauce......with a dab of chilli if so desired. The fish sauce was unbenoweth to me at this time, and I assumed (never assume, a wise man told me....it makes an ass etc etc) the chilli was the main sauce. You can guess the rest. Given the salubrious setting, I made a valient attempt to eat this firebrand dish without blowing my top. Clearly I needed some fluids to drown the embers in my mouth. Luckily, Grandmother's delicious homemade kopi ice (ice coffee) was at hand. In KL, it is difficult to find this beverage not overly sweetened (to generalise, KLites have a very sweet tooth), but this was just right.

Many thanks to Zain Amri Ayeob and his wife Izreen Abdullah for their generous hospitality.

Terima Kasih.

Book Review - The Miracle - The Epic Story of Asia's Quest for Wealth by Michael Schuman

The story of Asia’s economic growth is multi faceted, and could never be fully told in one book. Perhaps that is why I was disappointed with this work by TIME business journalist, Michael Schuman. Schuman’s main focus is the political and economic personalities of the post war era including Park Chung Hee of South Korea, Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Malaysia’s own Mahithir Mohamad. Doubtless these figures have been hugely influential in the change that has taken place within a generation, and as a biography it fulfils its task adequately. But by focussing on the many personalities, it spreads itself too thin for the 359 pages and does not explore to any satisfying degree (except in the introduction) what the title suggests – evidence for and against the range of theories that explain why this phenomenon has occurred.

For as Schuman points out, economic success has not been fortuitous. Case in point Africa, whose wealth, or lack of it, was comparable to Asia 60 years ago and has since remained stagnant. Or even some Asian economies such as the Philippines, who lag behind their neighbours.

The story of a nation’s economic success or failure cannot be explained by numbers and academic theories alone and I suggest that is why Schuman has followed the human element in his story. However some of the theories do have a fascinating human ingredient. For example, one school of thought argues that there is something special about the Asians themselves. A wonderfully controversial subject, but unfortunately only warrants two paragraphs.

This is a well written introductory work on the rise of the Asian economies, however for those seeking something that offers more then superficial, disappointment awaits.

36 years to get Citizenship of your own country!! - Sort it out Malaysia!!

From 'The Star' newspaper, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


36-year wait for citizenship is over for 64-year-old
By LESTER KONG
PUTRAJAYA: It was a 36-year wait and when the moment finally came, Leong Chwee Chun simply could not contain herself.
Tears flowed freely as Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein stamped the 64-year-old’s citizenship application and handed it over to her.
She showed her gratitude by giving the minister a warm hug.

Citizen Leong: An overjoyed Leong Chwee Chun, 64, hugging Hishammuddin after getting her citizenship yesterday. She had waited 36 years for her papers.

“Manyak terima-kasih, Datuk (Many thanks, Datuk),” she uttered to Hishammuddin, who patted and encouraged her for her patience.
Leong said she had been waiting for her citizenship since she was 28.
“My father burnt and threw away all my documents when the Japanese invaded Malaysia. But he never brought me to register and I had no blue IC,” she said.

Does'nt she look great!!

Lina was photographed by a colleague whilst attending a buka puasa (nightly fast breaking meal during Ramadan) feed at Chillis restaurant in KL.

Love those dimples

Sunday Session

A Sunday session has always been one of my favourite alcoholic pastimes.

They are a rare and generally far from satisfying experience in New Zealand where Sunday still remains a day to recover from the Saturday night, and by mid day start preparing oneself for the working week. Perhaps it is the kiwi Protestant/Calvinist hangover. Sundays are'nt for fun. And afterall, there is too much on the telly and it would be a shame to miss out. Best stay at home. Hence the ghost town atmosphere even in New Zealand's largest city.

So my first introduction to how delightful a messy Sunday could be was my wonderfully debauched experience as a Kiwi on his OE (overseas experience), living in London, with a million other antipodeans, and making the occasional trek to Kings Cross, and 'The Church'. The Church was similar to the real thing in several respects, for example the attendees were all united in a common devotion to seek a certain edification. A high if you will. The difference was the means by which we attained such states of enlightenment. The previous years of Sunday self denial only enhanced the experience.

Fast forward over a decade to another Sunday. In Kuala Lumpur. Prego restaurant is attached to the Westin Hotel in the 'Golden Triangle' district of central KL. Every Sunday they offer a Buffet 'all you can eat' with free bubbly, with an incredibly attractive price tag considering the extortionist price of booze in this town. There was certainly no drunken debauchery this time but we certainly got our fill of what was on offer, and unlike my Sunday sessions last century, I needed an afternoon nap that became an early evening nap.

A highly recommended treat for people who like to spoil themselves.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/dining/index.html?propertyID=1443

New Laptop

Hi my name is Jono and I am technophobic.

A misleading term perhaps, because I do not fear technology, nor do I loath it. Quite the contrary I love how much better and easier it can make life.

And yet,despite all this, I am frequently guilty of gross procrastination when it comes to the acquisition of computers. Lina has been hounding me for months, if not years to replace our decrepid and virus infested dinosaur Acer computer that we bought all those years ago. She (the computer, not Lina) was a trusty and anxious-to-please device in her day, but 4 years old in tech years is a good innings so we had to have her liquidated.

This example of procrastination in my life has been one of the easiest to reason in my head. My noble, lonely stand against Bill Gates and the like who turn the want into a need. I never needed a computer with the 2 Duo processor P8700 (2.53GHz). Had no desire for the 4GB memory. And as for the disk drive with a 320GB capacity and Blue tooth capability. Overrated. Afterall, they sent men to the moon using computers that make the Commodore 64 look like 'Deep Thought' .

Until now.

I've sold out, I admit, and have become the victim of shameless technology marketing. 'They' made me do it.

I write this post from the salubrious and infinitely stylish keyboard of our recent purchase. A Sony Vaio laptop computer (with the above specs incidently). And as is a usual for a procrastinator like myself, my feelings include many things but most noteably...........why the f*&k did'nt I do that before!!