PAS MB - Are You Afraid? (2)

Think of the characters we have had as Ipoh city mayors. Ismail Shah Bodin is the most memorable not because of his achievements as mayor but for his son’s role in a violent homicide in 2004. His successors are all utterly forgettable and their names hardly ring a bell: Talaat Husain, Sirajuddin Salleh, Hasan Nawawi and Mohamad Rafiai. The past chief ministers were equally embarrassing. From Ramli Ngah Talib to Tajol Rosli Ghazali, my memories of these UMNO crooks revolve around how each succeeding chief minister renovated the official residence immediately upon asuumption of power....



PAS MB – Are you afraid (2)

I will probably not be back in Ipoh, Perak for another few months. To a great extent, I will be out of touch with the issues people are facing back home. The new Perak state government should be up and running the next time I balik kampung. I do not anticipate any drastic changes, however.

People are still worried and fearful of having a PAS MB. Sometimes I can identify with their concerns, at other times I honestly think it is all unjustified paranoia.

We have a tendency to look back in time and reminisce that the past was better and simpler. It’s all biased selectivity. We take the good old times and compare it to the present, subconsciously forgetting the bitter parts as we worry about the future and all its uncertainties.

I am no expert in the history of Perak and more specifically, Ipoh.

I know that Ipoh was once the cleanest town/city in Malaysia and now it is a settlement with pockets of trash here, there and everywhere. Ipoh was once a vibrant hive of social and economic activities but is now the place to reside after retirement. Maybe I am biased in my observation, but Ipoh does seem to have one nursing home every 5 kilometer radius. It speaks volumes about the pathetic state of our warga emas. Buying property is regarded as investment elsewhere in the country but not in Ipoh, or Perak in general. It is sad in a great sense because Ipoh offers so much to its residents or at least, has a potential of doing so.

It seems convenient to blame the previous state government for the plight that Ipoh is currently in.

Think of the characters we have had as Ipoh city mayors. Ismail Shah Bodin is the most memorable not because of his achievements as mayor but for his son’s role in a violent homicide in 2004. His successors are all utterly forgettable and their names hardly ring a bell: Talaat Husain, Sirajuddin Salleh, Hasan Nawawi and Mohamad Rafiai. The past chief ministers were equally embarrassing. From Ramli Ngah Talib to Tajol Rosli Ghazali, my memories of these UMNO crooks revolve around how each succeeding chief minister renovated the official residence immediately upon asuumption of power.

Managing a city and a state is anything but easy. The UMNO rodents never had the abilities and the credentials to begin with. On top of it all, the UMNO goons were greedy and insatiable. Perak was doomed the moment these shady characters assumed power and has been doomed for many decades for now.

It can’t get any worse.

PAS MB, DAP MB, PKR MB or UMNO Baboon MB – the basic necessities and little luxuries of life for the people will still be in place. Water will still be clean, cleaner than Selangor’s and tastier than Sabah’s. Pork will still be available and more abundant than one can ever consume. Sewage will still flow, with or without Indah Water. The transvestites will not fade away in fear of Islamization – visitors to Ipoh will still be able to catch a glimpse of them. The business of tauge ayam will remain competitive although I personally don’t find it appealing in any way. Pirated DVDs will remain lucrative in Ipoh, and the quality will remain inferior to those in SS2, PJ. 4D numbers and lottery outlets will still be packed with crowds of eternal optimists even if they have never won a single time their entire lives. Expensive Foh San dim sum, kiasu Tesco customers, overrated Ipoh white coffee – these simple indulgences of life will not be hijacked under a teething coalition government.

The previous UMNO administration has proven itself to be a tyrant that does as it pleases.

Let’s hope that the new coalition government is one that listens and cares.

With that, I pledge my full support for Ir. Haji Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin, unless he too turns out to be like the UMNO douchebags.