Oranges in the Sea, Coconuts on the Streets - Chap Goh Meh and Thaipusam in Malaysia

"Please... send me a good man, a handsome man, a wealthy man but even-tempered... not fat...
...nice skin... good family background... no busy-body mother..."

"I cannot imagine the state Penang must be in!" Mused Heche about her home island of Penang. "Oranges in the sea yesterday, and coconuts on the streets today!"

"Whatever do you mean?" I inquired.

"Well, yesterday was Chap Goh Meh, and today is Thaipusam, isn't it?"

Ah yes, she is right. I forgot.

Such is the condition of my country, Malaysia, with a majority of Malays, and a very sizable population of Chinese, Indians and other colourful assortments, that we are blessed (a former Prime Minister rather says we are cursed) by many public holidays. In total we have 14 national holidays (including Eid ul Fitri and Chinese New Year which is both celebrated over 2 days). At state level there are additional holidays spread more or less evenly amongst the states through out the year, almost 30 in all, I reckon.

Chap Goh Meh (or Chap Goh Mei, some would call it) is celebrated on the 15th night of the Chinese New Year here in Malaysia. In the old conservative days, it was the only time when single young women of marriageable age was permitted out of their homes, to be dressed in beautiful clothes and stroll up and down the street, but still under the fierce and keen eyes of their aunties. Young men would stand close by, watching the rarely seen maidens parade in their best costumes. The women would also visit the temples, asking for a heavenly matched husband and the beginning of a good and prosperous year. Another tradition also saw these girls throw oranges into a lake on the belief that the man who picked up their orange would inevitably be their future husbands. In Malaysia sometimes a lake is not conveniently available, so they make good with rivers, streams and even the sea, as in Penang. In order to identify your particular orange, nowadays some girls write their cellphone numbers or email addresses on their oranges. Ah, love makes fools of all of us.

Heche texted me late last night that the coconut breaking symbolises the breaking
of one's ego, revealing the purity within, the banishing of obstacles in life
to a begin a clearer and brighter future.

That was last night. Today (being Tuesday, 7th February) marks the Hindu Thaipusam (a national holiday), and we shall see a mass throng of devout Hindus in temples all over the country coming to worship, pray for good things, carry Kavadis in a procession to the temples (See picture below) and throw coconuts on the streets. Of all temples, none shall be as festive and crowded with the Hindu faithful (and curious tourists) as the Batu Caves temple complex not far from my house. Each year at least a million strong is expected.

Kavadis are carried normally as part of a solemn religious vow by the individual.
This guy must have asked God for something really spectacular.

This is my country. Full of varying ethnicity and religion. I am not much for the commonly bandied term of an 'Islamic country' but I  reckon the freedom and recognition of religious rights and festivities of non-Muslims makes my country Islamic indeed - In a very real and poignant way which is beyond the understanding of religious extremists. 

Religion does make people extremist and intolerant. It is people who make religion extreme and intolerant. I am ever thankful to God that in Malaysia we have enough people who actually make their respective religion tolerant and beautiful. And look at the plus side... we have lots of holidays!

Have a wonderful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

I will vote for the Orange Party. It is a Fruit and it is Good for You!

I Vote

The air is heady in Malaysia for the General Election. As long as I am in the country, I have not missed my chance to vote since I became eligible at the age of 21. The incumbent government has not announced the GE yet, but rumours suggest late March. We shall see...

I Cancel Myself Out

At heart, I think you may tag me as a Socialist-Libertarian-Capitalist. Perhaps the political tags kinda cancels each other out, which is funny. If I was a Sufi, I would be pleased with such an outcome. Sufis should stay out of politics. In fact I strongly abhor the use of God and religion in politics.  

The Choices

Politics in Malaysia is generally based on coalitions between Barisan Nasional (the National Front consisting of UMNO (the Malays party), MIC (the Indians party), MCA (the Chinese Party) (PPP and Gerakan, who are ostensibly non-racial but predominantly Indian and Chinese) against Pakatan Rakyat (People's Coalition consisting of PAS (the Islamist Party), DAP (again, ostensibly non-racial but predominantly Chinese) and PKR (non-racial but largely Malay). This is only in Peninsular (west) Malaysia. In East Malaysia, consisting of Sabah and Sarawak, there are even more political parties, mostly representing the Malays, Chinese and the Indigenous races of the states. There are not many Indians in East Malaysia.

My Choice

I would vote for the coalition that does its best to stand out of my way, and says or does the least stupid things. Based on my understanding of human nature, I am really not entitled to expect anymore than that.

The Orange Party

If no one can meet my criteria, I will probably draw an orange on the ballot paper and write that I shall vote for an orange. Or any fruit really. It is likely to do less harm.  

This is MY political candidate. It does not want to change the world. It does not
want to dominate or change the way I live or think. It just sits there, you know... being an orange.
And if you get tired of it, you can eat it. You cannot say the same think for a human candidate.

Have a good day, sunshine. God bless.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way.

Wandering through Brickfields looking for bangles and a second-hand soul

We paid a visit to the neighbourhood of Brickfields a couple of days back to buy bangles for Heche. It is officially the 'Little India' of my city, although another area known as Sentul could have easily captured that accolade. The government has been busy tidying up the place, and now at the entrance sits a giant fountain with statuesque colourful peacocks. Brickfields is predominantly Indian because the main railway station was nearby, and the locality hosted many of the railway workers' quarters, a large part of whom were Indians. A hint of its history is the headquarters of the Railwaymen's Union of Malaya (old name for Malaysia, before entry of Sabah and Sarawak in 1963) which is still situated here, amidst the many, many Indian dresses, accessories shops and food outlets.

After meandering through the busy evening crowd, we settled at a big eatery, where I ordered ghee thosai, a thin pancake made of lightly fermented rice flour drowning in ghee which is a clarified semi-fluid butter. The thosai appeared disappointingly dry, but then I noticed the moist golden centre, literally floating in a pool of ghee. It tasted as wonderful as it was unhealthy. The resident beggar approached us for pennies, the donation of which he used to purchase a cigarette from the cashier. He took a seat not far from us and took a drag of smoke and nicotine, with his eyes closed and his hands clasped together as if in blissful prayer and gratitude. The Indian restaurant also served Chinese vegetarian food, with emphasis that it did not contain any onion or garlic. I am informed later that both are a no-no because they are an aphrodisiac.

While waiting for the thosai, Heche was leafing through this fortnightly edition of The Malaysian Soul Trader (our country's top second-hand soul resale magazine) when she came across an advertisement. She showed me...

I mused and said to her, "Hmm... I think you ought to look for a better bargain. This soul looks like it needs a helluva lot of work to get it road worthy." 

Have a beautiful and soulful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Silence on a Sabbath - All about sarcasm, hard-boiled eggs, coconuts, kittens and moving on

Extra service. I found this uber-nifty sign during the Malaysia Day bazaar last September 16. It now hangs on the wall behind me in my office. Every time a client comes to me with some corporate work, I point to the sign and asked whether he would be interested. Funnily enough, no one has been keen to 'purchase' my sarcasm. I wonder why...

Boiled eggs. I accompanied my dad for lunch. For starters he had Malaysia's quintessential hard-boiled eggs. We normally have it with white pepper and soya ketchup. I don't advise you having too many though, it would have the side-effect of stopping you from doing your business.

We love our coconuts. Malays and Indians are very big on coconuts in our cooking. It goes into our main dishes a well as our drinks and deserts. That is why we are a little on the err... stout side, compared to the Thais and Indonesians who uses less coconut. One of the Malay's most famous dishes is the Nasi Lemak (literally fatty rice). You cook the rice in santan (coconut milk) with a couple sprigs of the pandan leaf. We have this for breakfast. Of course it isn't very healthy. No truly delicious food is!

Father of the Kitten. A friendly stray dropped by my table asking for scraps, but there aren't any. She however allowed me to stroke her head and tickle her chin. I love cats. Especially friendly ones. Cats always remind me of Abu Hurairah, a Companion of the Prophet, and the esteemed narrator of many traditions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. As a child, he had a cat which he dotted on, hence the name Abu Hurairah (Father of the Kitten), He was born in what is now Yemen, and his actual name was 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr Al-azdi. He died in 681 at the sprightly age of 78.

Death on a Sabbath. Early this morning my Mak Ndak called me. She is my late mum's elder living sister. She said that she cannot come to my house today because she is with my Mak Teh, who is the wife of my late Pak Teh, my mum's elder brother (Get it?). Anyway, Mak Teh was extremely unwell, she said. Not half an hour after that, Mak Ndak called me again and said "Mak Teh dah tak de" (Mak Teh is no more). The mosque was right in front of the house, so the body was washed in the religious rite of Islam, and then they waited until the afternoon Zuhur prayers, to perform the sembahyang jenazah (prayer for the deceased) together with the rest of the congregation. Mak Teh is to be buried later in the afternoon at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery, the last resting place of her late husband, as well as my mum's. Together in life, together in death. The sky was overcast and the weather cool, and tomorrow is the Muslim festival of Eidul Adha. I think she has been granted an auspicious day to be called back to her Most Compassionate and Most Merciful Creator. I was not so close to her, but I would still miss Mak Teh. She always smiled when she greeted me. The quiet kindly sort, you know... 

2. Oh Tired Vessel

Oh tired vessel,

Oh beautiful soul,

Your journey has ended,

Your travels are complete

In its wavering purpose

Across an uncertain sea,

For certainty is only with me,

Hope is only with me,

And your homecoming,

Your final harbour,

Your sweet repose,

Is my promise.

Smile, beautiful soul,

And endure but for a little while more.

For nothing will you ever want

When your homecoming is with the One,

For who else shall be waiting for you

Behind the mortal door?

wa min Allah at-taufiq.