Safe in Singapore |
- Safe in Singapore
- Pak Kong Nasi Ayam: The unsung chicken rice hero
- Scientific illiteracy at the heart of haram frenzy
- Indonesians split in cut-throat presidential race
- Going gaga over gelato
- 10 things about: Mah Siew Keong, the comeback kid
| Posted: 21 Jun 2014 06:00 PM PDT SINGAPORE, June 22 – Most of my life – since I was six – I have lived in the same public housing flat which sits at the edge of a HDB estate in the north of Singapore. And to get home from the nearest bus stop or MRT, I usually elect to cut through a park and a large carpark that surround the neighborhood stadium. These days, I while away that 10-minute stroll by scrolling through my newsfeed and last week as I found myself reading carefully crafted criticisms of this state – from its influx of foreigners to its state pension systems – I paused when I came across a more gruesome image: Two young girls hanging from a tree. The headline screamed: Gang-raped sisters hung from a tree in India. With that image of those girls in my mind, I remembered that this fearlessness I felt was something extraordinary. For women in every part of the world; from the narrow lanes of the Lower East side to London's lonely suburbs, there is a pervasive sense of fear.
Of course, the recent spate of salacious murder headlines is not lost on me. From legless bodies stuffed in suitcases to mother and daughter stabbings in Ang Mo Kio. Like every other dutiful Singaporean I too can parrot back the refrain: Low crime doesn't mean no crime. But the fact is this is a safe city. And here I am free – to walk, wear what I want, at any time of day or night – to simply be. According to 2013 statistics, Singapore's overall crime rate is 549 per 100,000 residents and the incidence of rape is under three cases per 100,000, compared to over 30 Australia and 20 in Malaysia. While this doesn't account for differences in methodologies and the rate crimes are reported, the basic figures are still telling The city isn't crime-free but the risks are sufficiently low that neither I nor my peers have had to actively fear crime and more particularly, never had to put up with groping, casual harassment or lecherous looks. All the behaviours that normalises and condones the harassment of women. My foreign friends call it the Singapore girl bubble – I am confident in public because I have never been made to feel aware or ashamed that I am female. Recently I meandered along the streets of another Asian capital – focused on the screen of my smartphone as I tried to study a map and my companion pointed out with her mouth slightly agape in awe that I had completely missed the numerous lecherous stares and catcalls that had been directed my way. She, as she demonstrated, walked those very streets daily in a get-up carefully selected to block out the casual and constant barrage of harassment. She always wears sunglasses to prevent men from making eye contact and walks with earphones lodged in her ears to dissuade any attempt at conversation. Of course this isn't the case everywhere but in Bangkok, Paris or LA there are streets you'd do well to avoid. There are also decisions to be made about staying late at a friend's place or shelling out for a costly taxi ride over public transport. To me, that this isn't the case in Singapore is an achievement that cannot be over-appreciated. Of course, I recognise there are nuanced and valid debates on the price of security in Singapore but it's more than just a matter of triumphant government statistics. It's a very real economic advantage and in a deep sense gives Singaporeans a valuable, and rare, human right – true freedom of movement – regardless of gender or the time of day we can move around this city. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist.  |
| Pak Kong Nasi Ayam: The unsung chicken rice hero Posted: 21 Jun 2014 06:00 PM PDT
However, with so many names to pick from (Lou Wong, Onn Kee, Cowan Street and Buntong just to name a few), where does one start to draw the line between good chicken rice and excellent chicken rice? The more renowned bean sprouts chicken stalls listed above are hot picks amongst the tourists – and locals to some extent; more so for their repertoire of poached chicken, bean sprouts and kuey teow (flat rice noodles; also known as sar hor fun to the locals) but not so for their version of chicken rice. Now, the line has blurred a little when we mention chicken rice and bean sprouts chicken in the same breath. And let's not drag kai see hor fun stalls (chicken kuey teow soup) into the mix. That gets even more confusing as some of those noodle stalls also offer sides of blanched bean sprouts and poached chicken with soy sauce.
The chicken is served on top of rice which is usually cooked with the chicken fats collected from the cooking process, plus a few slices of fresh cucumber and a bowl of soup on the side. You have yourself a power-packed meal. Oh, don't forget the garlic chilli sauce too. Of course, these stalls routinely sell other roasted meats like char siew (BBQ caramelised pork), siew yoke (crispy roasted pork), roast duck, and more to meet the demand for variety. Chicken rice can be enjoyed any time of the day; some have it for breakfast, most would enjoy this over lunch (being a relatively fast item which can be conveniently taken away) while others go for chicken rice for dinner or supper as well. A restaurant in the town centre has been passionately staying true to its roots for more than three decades now. Pak Kong Nasi Ayam is still fending off stiff competition from Rasa Sayang Chicken Rice right next door and Lou Wong/Onn Kee just a block away. The secret of their success is really simple; delicious and reasonably-priced food, pleasant workers high on the efficiency scale and a rapid turnover of customers at lunch (Pak Kong only opens for lunch daily). You can browse the dishes available for the day the minute you step foot into the shop, that is if the perpetual line of people patiently waiting for their turn to order for takeaways doesn't intimidate you into making a detour to elsewhere for lunch. If you're dining in, then you can grab a seat; at times you need to share if you're alone or just with a friend. The lady boss will walk over and take your orders, but be prepared to quickly tell her what you want. The safest choice is, of course, the chicken rice (duh!). If you're sharing, then ask for a plate of yin yang aka half portion of roasted chicken paired with another half portion of poached chicken. Succulent cuts of perfectly cooked chicken (no gory sights of bloodied marrows and uncooked flesh; a common issue with subpar bean sprouts chicken places), doused in a dark sauce and generous handful of chopped scallions and julienned carrots complemented by the fluffy and fragrant yellow-tinted steamed rice infused with chicken oil. If health concerns forbid you from ordering that, they of course offer plain white rice as an alternative. Don't stop just yet. The other dishes they offer should not be passed off as fillers, unlike at most chicken rice stalls. They serve quality cuts of char siew too; roasted to a caramelised finish and served with a killer sweetish sauce. Don't look down on their version of sambal petai (stink beans) either; the spicy paste has been given a piquant kick and rivals some of the best versions in town. We complete our feast usually with a serving of greens: the spicy and sour kai choy to be exact. This dish, also unglamorously known as choy geok (remnants of vegetables) is a common sight at chicken rice stalls; maximising the use of "waste" like the spare cuts of chicken and bones which give the stock a flavoursome sweetness paired with fibrous mustard greens, dried chillies and tamarind.
Searching for Pak Kong Nasi Ayam along Theatre Street is relatively easy; dead in the centre of town populated by famous eateries and specialty shops like Aun Kheng Lim Salted Chicken (diagonally across the road), Funny Mountain Soya Bean (a few minutes' walk away), Sin Eng Heong's kaya puffs and Ching Han Guan's meat floss biscuits, as well as the prior mentioned Lou Wong and Onn Kee Bean Sprouts Chicken outlets. Come early for lunch as they open from 11am onwards and operates for a few hours only every day. James Tan loves good food and blogs at Motormouth From Ipoh (www.j2kfm.com) |
| Scientific illiteracy at the heart of haram frenzy Posted: 21 Jun 2014 06:00 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 – "It was as if a pig had fallen into a vat of chocolate," a Malaysian religious officer said at a forum about halal issues on Friday, when expressing his annoyance over the major uproar against Cadbury chocolates recently. Muslim NGOs had declared "jihad" on Cadbury late last month after a leaked preliminary report by the Health Ministry showed that traces of porcine DNA was found in a sample of the chocolates. Further tests by the Malaysian Islamic Religious Department (Jakim) refuted the initial leaked result, and it was business as usual for Cadbury afterwards. But that was after their products were recalled, causing the company to suffer losses. That was after the above threat for jihad, boycott, and plans for a lawsuit against Cadbury for allegedly trying to mislead, betray and weaken Muslims with its "pork-tainted chocolates". Selangor Perkasa chief Abu Bakar Yahya, for example, said that Cadbury put "haram elements" in its food to weaken Muslims. Meanwhile, Perkid president Masridzi Sat said most social ills and apostasy cases in Malaysia could be blamed on Muslims eating non-halal food. While on the surface, these statements might seem laughable, it is important to understand how a lot of Muslims believe that a person's attitude and faith can apparently be affected by what he eats: While a lot of Prophet Muhammad's hadith mentioned avoiding food which is declared haram because of the way it is produced, a lot of Muslims take it to literally to mean consuming meat decreed as haram: Such as pork, carcass, and improperly slaughtered animals. They believe that haram food will turn a Muslim away from his faith, pave the way towards committing sins, and affect his attitude negatively in many ways. Scientifically and physically, this is of course impossible, just as eating fried chicken does not make you behave differently from if you had eaten a fruit salad instead. What is the difference between beef slaughtered the Islamic way and not, in a physical sense? There is none. When you come down to molecular levels, they are both composed of the same sort of material: On average nearly three-quarters of them water, then protein, a little fat, carbohydrates and others. To extend the argument further, any meat, be it a halal chicken or the haram pork, breaks down to similar nutrients when they are digested by our stomachs. Enzymes secreted by the stomach and pancreas will break down protein into amino acids. Enzyme, and bile from liver break down fat into fatty acids and glycerol. While carbohydrates are broken down into sugars: glucose, sucrose, or lactose. When you zoom in, all meat is pretty much the same, and they end up being indistinguishable as soon as they get digested. Most of us learned this in secondary school. Similarly, when one consumes the DNA, it will be broken down into smaller molecules too. What difference is there exactly between consuming porcine DNA compared to bovine DNA?
Despite that, the hysteria induced by the Cadbury finding was akin to some Malays finding out after all these years that the candy bars were actually bacon dipped in chocolates. This is where one more thought experiment can be taken: It is clear that pork is prohibited in Islam, after all it is mentioned in one verse in the Quran (2:173). But is consuming pork the same as consuming its DNA? Chains of DNAs can be found in chromosomes – a structure containing DNA and RNA, among others. Chromosomes, on the other hand, can be found in the nucleus of a cell. And cells, of course, are the building blocks of our tissues. Humans, for example, have around three billion pairs of DNA contained in 46 chromosomes, which carry our genes. And we are made of trillions of cells. It might be hard to imagine it, but my point here is that DNA is very, very, very, very tiny. It is ludicrous to think that your whole life would be ruined by something that tiny, but many people believe it all the same. Because it is very much easier to understand rather than understanding the building blocks of life. To put it into an analogy, even if you are forbidden to eat red velvet cake, are you also not allowed to eat a vanilla cake stained by a drop of red flavouring used to make the former? Frankly, I find it ridiculous that Muslims in this country are being subject to halal scrutiny even at the molecular level. A lot of resources are currently being spent to make sure that food for Muslims are safe even from DNA contamination, even when it is not really prescribed in the holy texts. Therefore the question needs to be asked: Who benefits financially from this? It is also a known fact that the halal industry is booming and we are one of the industry leaders. Some might argue that such strict scrutiny would inadvertently allay the fears of Muslims, to protect them from ever consuming haram food. I would then argue back that these fears were never there in the first place. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Indonesians split in cut-throat presidential race Posted: 21 Jun 2014 06:00 PM PDT JAKARTA, June 22 – Less than three weeks before Indonesians decide on their next leader, the presidential campaign has shifted into high gear as the two candidates battle it out, gloves off and all. For Joko Widodo, this means maintaining his lead over his opponent, who in the past two months has climbed steadily in the popularity polls, by calling attention to the latter's controversial military past. For Prabowo Subianto, this means closing the gap by continuing to sow seeds of doubts in people's minds on Jokowi's capability, integrity and – though not directly – Islamic credentials. Meanwhile, the rest of the country are bearing the brunt of a highly polarised and vicious political race that – by all accounts – has broken friendships, created family frictions and revealed the true nature of many people. Social media, a crucial tool for both camps, has contributed to this polarisation by accelerating the spread of information and disinformation, and broadening the reach of opinions made by ordinary people. More importantly, the election has shown that aside from being a battle of personalities, it is also a reflection of Indonesia being at a crossroad, 16 years after it chose the path of democratisation. Take the second debate between the two candidates last Sunday. The highly exaggerated figures that Prabowo cited to explain the loss of state income from corruption was also embarrassingly denied by the government and the Anti-Corruption Commission the next day. But to the undiscerning audience as well as his die-hard supporters, his articulacy, when compared to Jokowi's rather ponderous and less-than-punchy delivery, won him the debate. Never mind, that the difference in their communication only highlights their contrasting styles of campaigning. Prabowo is used to massive gatherings involving thousands of people at stadium-like venues, where he makes grand entrances and gives rousing addresses. Jokowi, on the other hand, has distinguished himself from typical presidential campaigns by mainly visiting communities and conducting meet-the-people walkabouts. The two candidates sell themselves as populists, but the contrast in their personalities can't be any more glaring. Coming from an underprivileged background, Jokowi was a successful furniture businessman from Solo, Central Java, who was elected its mayor before becoming Jakarta governor. The father of two wears plain cheap shirts, travels by commercial airlines, and reputedly loathes protocol, including noisy motorcades that are so enjoyed by most VIPs. In contrast, Prabowo hails from one of the country's most established families, with father and grandfather being wealthy bankers who served in various positions in the government and a billionaire brother. Educated abroad, he rose through the ranks in the military at an unusually fast rate, being the son-in-law of the late President Suharto. In 1998, he was cashiered from the military for the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists, a move he claimed was ordered by his superiors.
Even in more mature democracies, personality plays a bigger role in a presidential election than substantive experience, achievements and visions. But the appeals of both candidates in this election goes deeper than charisma and likeability. Jokowi represents a new brand of modern leadership that Indonesians are not entirely accustomed to. Supporters are inspired by his integrity, his simplicity, his ability to connect to the ordinary people and his hard-work ethics. His campaign slogan "Indonesia Hebat" (Indonesia Great) has the feel-good quality of Barack Obama's "Hope". His call-to-action message "Revolusi Mental" reminds people that progress will only come if each individual is committed to change his or her mindset for the better. He was named one of the 50 World's Greatest Leaders by Fortune magazine in March alongside Pope Francis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former US President Bill Clinton and Myanmar pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. But to his detractors, he is too provincial, not sophisticated enough to be Indonesia's leader, and a mere proxy of his party. They take issue with his decision to run for president, leaving the Jakarta governor post after only one and a half years (a post he won with, among others, Prabowo's support). The former Army Special Forces commander, on the other hand, awes his supporters with his militaristic style and his fiery speeches. He sets himself apart from other political leaders by suggesting he is the Javanese mythical hidden knight who will "save" Indonesia (mostly from foreigners and neo-liberal capitalists in his speeches – though the hardline factions of his supporters interpret the enemy as the Christians, the Chinese and the minorities like the Shiites). Rhetoric like this strikes fear into Prabowo's opponents, but even more alarming are his supporters' aggressive religious and racial tinged smear campaigns against Jokowi. Though the Jokowi side also has a list of questionable generals and politicians, they are outnumbered by the highly controversial figures, religious hardliners and even thug groups in the Prabowo camp. He has also made known his intention to return to the 1945 Constitution – effectively repealing all post-reform amendments that were designed to create a stronger system of check and balance – and to name Suharto a national hero. Surprisingly, the middle class, which is estimated by the Central Statistics Agency at 56.6 per cent of the population, is split in their support for the two candidates. Director Executive of Indikator Politik Indonesia Burhanuddin Muhtadi attributes their support for Prabowo to emotional reasons, including his fiery characteristic, and the black propaganda against Jokowi. People who think honesty is an indicator of integrity have also gone down from 60 per cent of those sampled in 2013 to 40 per cent, which explained Jokowi's decline, he said. Furthermore, a poll by the Indonesian Survey Institute discovered that about 70 per cent of respondents were unaware of the human rights allegations against Prabowo, or his discharge from the army. Many of these might be first-time voters who some estimate to be about 67 million. Whether they will choose a leader who will usher the country forward, or one who may turn it back on a reverse path of democracy, at least the Indonesian voters are aware that their decision will affect the course of the country's future. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Posted: 21 Jun 2014 06:00 PM PDT
Despite its Italian name, Morelli's Gelato traces its origins to the United Kingdom where Italian immigrant Guiseppe Morelli started his business in 1907 serving gelato, which means ice-cream in Italian. "Those days they'll make ice-cream in the morning by hand, stirring for hours and hours. They all had big muscles from hours of making the ice-cream," recalls Bibi Morelli, the current owner and fifth generation of the Morelli family. Her great-great grandfather would send his sons to sell the homemade ice-cream from the back of their bicycles. "The young boys weren't allowed home until they had sold all the ice-cream." Slowly they progressed to a cart and eventually in 1932, they opened their first cafe in Broadstairs, Kent, England. "That store is still there till today and still serving customers who have been coming to us for all four generations. Many elements of the store have been left intact so it's a very retro historical place." Throughout the years, the brand expanded around the United Kingdom. In November 2003, Bibi's father Marino Morelli opened their landmark ice-cream parlour in the iconic food halls of Harrods. Later this year, Morelli's Gelato will be moving out from Harrods to their own space in London. "We have been in Harrods for 10 years but we thought it's time to move on and actually get our own store," explains Bibi. The new place will have their full range of sundaes and drinks. These include their coffee and ice-cream combinations like affogattos and the thick Italian hot chocolate. I started off in banking law and I never thought I'd go into the ice-cream business. Then my father said he was going to retire. I was so upset as that meant the end of the ice-cream. So I quit my job and decided to take Morelli's Gelato internationally." Her push for the global expansion started in 2006 with an initial focus on the Middle East. Now Morelli's Gelato is located at Doha, Dubai, Kuwait and Bahrain.
In Malaysia, the Morelli's Gelato franchise is brought over by the Naza Group. It joins their other dining concepts like Bubba Gump and Japanese casual dining Gyukaku. Naza Group's director Nur Nadia SM Nasimuddin fell in love with Morelli's when she was studying in England. "It is very sentimental for me. It used to be my treat after my exams. When I heard they were expanding overseas, I was like we have got to bring it in." Her family including her brothers were a little sceptical about the brand at first since they had not heard about it. Nadia reassured them that they would love the gelato. "After I brought it in, now they're all thanking me. Now they are addicted, they make excuses to have lunch here, so they can visit." Morelli's Gelato prides itself for churning their gelato daily on site to ensure its freshness. "Our gelato is made fresh, every single day, at the store. It can't get any fresher," says Bibi. Starting from as early as 7am, the gelatiere (Italian for ice-cream chefs) churn small batches of the gelato at the kiosk to keep it fresh. The soft vanilla ice-cream is their base flavour and made from a 107-year-old recipe. Unlike the typical gelato formula that uses cream, Morelli's Gelato prefers to use fresh pasteurised milk sourced locally. "When ice-cream is cream based, you have a higher percentage of fats. The fat coats the tongue so to some extent it dulls the flavour of the product. In our gelato, you take a mouthful and the flavour is much more intense because of the lower percentage of fats," explains Bibi. For the multiple flavours, high quality ingredients sourced from all over the world are added to the base flavour. "All the ingredients are selected. The hazelnut is from Piemonte and the pistachio from Bronte, Sicily," explains Morelli's Gelato Head of Product & Marketing Gino Soldan. These ingredients sourced from the best producers makes the difference in the taste of Morelli's Gelato. For instance, the pistachio is cultivated at Bronte, a small area near Mount Etna, an active volcano. The pistachio harvested every two years with its intense flavour is regarded as the best in the world. "As the soil is unique, it gives a particular flavour to the nuts," says Gino who has been making gelato for the past 23 years. Each spoonful of the naturally coloured green pistachio gelato has a dense nutty taste, which can be simply addictive. Even their caramel flavour is unique. "It's not the usual burnt sugar but it's caramel dulce de leche as it has condensed milk inside. Bibi is half Venezuelan, hence we gave a touch of Latin America to an Italian product," explains Gino. In Kuala Lumpur, according to Nadia, their best-selling flavour is Nutella that combines chocolate and hazelnut. "Whatever you do all over the world, the best selling is always something with chocolate," says Bibi. Local tastes are also incorporated in the gelato offerings. "We have all these nice local fruits, so we should embrace them," says Nadia. For the launch, they had jackfruit and longan gelato, designed by Gino. "One of the advantages of having production on site is we're adaptable and flexible," explains Bibi. According to Naza Group Head of F&B division Simon Varughese, customisation of the gelato flavours is possible. All the interested party needs to do is request via their Facebook page. The requested flavour will be processed by their head office who will work out a recipe before it's introduced. This March, the Kuala Lumpur kiosk introduced a customer's request for salted caramel & macadamia fudge as a special flavour of the day. Another fun aspect of Morelli's is their sumptuous sundaes piled high with goodies. "From being in the United Kingdom for so many generations, there's an Anglo-American approach to presenting gelato so it's just not a scoop on a cone but these beautiful sundaes that we serve in Venetian glassware. And obviously all the toppings make it a fun experience," says Bibi. Each piece of the beautiful Murano glasses is also unique and handblown by Venetian craftsmen.
Eating gelato is all about fun, hence their slogan "awake the child within", which was coined by Bibi. The idea stemmed from her previous career as a banking lawyer in Milan where she used to negotiate million dollar deals with banking lawyers and businessmen. She would see them eating their ice-cream on their lunch breaks, looking like kids in their suits. "Everybody when they have a cone in their hand and they're walking along eating their cone, that moment takes you back to your childhood." According to Simon, the response has been good and they get an average of 280 customers per day. They have also been getting positive feedback from their customers. "I've also been getting feedback from the mall who say that everyone comes here because of the gelato," says Nadia. For the set-up, the Naza Group invested about RM850,000 to bring in the equipment, coolers and even the kiosk's specially designed tables and chairs. In future, expansion is definitely on the cards. Nadia advises that they are in the midst of searching for another site, possibly in the Golden Triangle. "Morelli's Gelato is premium ice-cream and I would not want to benchmark it against others like Baskin Robbins which you can open anywhere. It has to be somewhere premium so location is key for us." She also does not rule out other areas like 1 Utama, Kota Damansara and Sunway, where there is high spending power. In addition to opening more kiosks and possibly a cafe in the future, Simon also advises that they will be rolling out their ice-cream cart business sometime in the middle of July. These portable carts are perfect to serve gelato at weddings or catered events. Morelli's Gelato, Lot GK9, Ground Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre, Jalan Maarof, Kuala Lumpur. Tel:03-22820455. Open daily: 10am to 10pm. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Morellis-Gelato-Malaysia |
| 10 things about: Mah Siew Keong, the comeback kid Posted: 21 Jun 2014 06:00 PM PDT
Mah, 53, started his political journey almost 20 years ago when he was elected Pasir Bedamar assemblyman in Teluk Intan, Perak, in 1995, the first time Barisan Nasional (BN) won the state seat. For Mah, who was Teluk Intan MP for two terms from 1999, contesting the Teluk Intan by-election was a must despite failing twice before, so that he would not be a "lame duck" president, leading Gerakan without the "legitimacy of the rakyat." Here, Mah talks about the future of Gerakan and race-based politics, why he does not want his three children to enter politics, and how the role of an MP should grow beyond resolving local constituency issues. In his own words: I've been away from Parliament for seven years...During my time, everything was done manually. Now I can see a laptop permanently based on the table. There's a lot of changes... It's good to be back. My favourite food is mee rebus and chee cheong fun. When I say make Teluk Intan a place for tourists, I was being serious. I've tried chee cheong fun and mee rebus in KL and other places. Sorry lah, you lose to Teluk Intan, and Teluk Intan is half the price. We may be 80 per cent Chinese members, but we're very multi-racial in our outlook. Gerakan has got two Muslim leaders: deputy speaker Syed Razak and vice-president Dr Asharuddin. We have Ketua Pemudas who are Muslim, and both state Ketua Pemuda and Ketua Wanita who are Muslims. Parti Gerakan when we have discussions, we take longer. We need consensus. Sometimes, this may be seen as not being ultra enough... some people see certain political parties as being very firm in certain issues, but you see, we have to take into account...we also have a number of Indians among our leaders, like Kohilan, our vice-president, Jayanthi, sec-gen of Wanita, Param, our unity head. We have to take into account all this when we actually make any decision, when we decide to make any statement, to reflect the multi-racial outlook of our leaders. I think that reflects the country. That's why sometimes Gerakan doesn't get on the front page… only extreme views get front page. To me it is a real possibility, although it hasn't happened yet, that in the near future, Gerakan will be led by a Malay or Indian. It's a big possibility. Race doesn't count as a factor. We're not yet a perfect model for a multi-racial party, but we're trying to reach there. We still have a lot of complaints that we're too Chinese. Even sometimes, certain non-Chinese Gerakan leaders, they feel hurt, but it's only a small sector with certain remarks made... We have to focus on various issues, other than just Chinese issues. There are also Indian education issues, Indian estate issues, and certain kampungs where there is still a lack of facilities in terms of Internet access, as compared to urban areas. We're having dialogues with Malay NGOs, Indian NGOs, Chinese NGOs. When I was Ketua Pemuda Gerakan 10 years ago, I suggested joining BN as one multi-racial party and some BN components insulted me, saying that I'm not a practical person and saying no way. But when I brought it up last year, many BN leaders said it's a viable idea. But it needs time, it needs effort and political will. But it's a doable thing. And I think that after 2020, which is our Vision 2020, the direction will be towards a multi-racial Barisan Nasional. I think that local councils should actually think of ways to upgrade their services… and then MPs will have more time to concentrate on national issues. I can tell you that if there is a fire or a flood and if the MP does not get back to the kawasan on that day, whether there's Parliament or not, there will be an uproar. So, in a sense, this is still seen as a role – a caring MP. But I think we should also focus more on national issues. The one thing I learned in politics is that for a lot of things which are urgent, a lot of decisions and comments are made in the spur of the moment, which I think is not necessarily good. So now, I tend to position my mind to make comments and decisions for the medium- and long-term, which I think benefits the country more. I think that maybe we're giving in too much to pressure groups of the moment… I think there's not even one lobby group that says good things about the TPPA. Everybody attacks the TPPA. But after hearing out everything, I still think the TPPA is good for the country. My stand is still that we should proceed with the TPPA because we cannot be left out… Of course there are people who say that medicine prices will be higher, but we can make exemptions to make sure our SMIs are protected. Of course there are people who say the TPPA doesn't give the government the right to avoid negotiated contracts; it must all be transparent, there's no leeway for the agency. But to me, there's no need for leeway, we give it to the most competitive and the most open tender. That's what we're fighting for… I thought that's what everybody wants. I would like to have been a lawyer. For my children, I will not stop them if they want to be politicians. But I have to tell them, it's a tough life. Definitely nothing glamorous about it. And it's not something I'd encourage them to go into. You must be ready for it. Politics is a long struggle. If you believe in a cause, it's a long struggle. Do not think that you can change the country overnight, five years or even 10 years. It's a long struggle. I have been here 20 years. From my Pemuda days, we fought against the ISA. Last two years ago, the Pemuda Gerakan went to the palace and did a demonstration against the ISA. Only recently, the ISA was abolished. |
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