The Peoples' Hero

The original Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Damansara in Kampung Baru Damansara, Petaling Jaya is expected to be re-opened on 5 Jan 2009, albeit with a new name SJKC Chung Hwa, for the intake of 2009 new students. The school was closed by the authorities since 2 Jan 2001 claiming over-crowding and the school's location near the SPRINT Highway which cause traffic problems . The authorities then built a new school 4km away at Tropicana to replace the new school.

The closing down of the school invited strong protests from the local residents, Dong Jiao Zong, NGO's, political parties and many others. They objected to the arguments that the school is not conducive to function as a school and for the safety of the school children.

It is such an unintelligent argument to close a school. If the argument is valid, many schools in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Ipoh and Penang would had been closed down due to proximity to highways, main roads, flyovers, monorails and LRT tracks. Some of these schools has been around for a long time and produced many society and corporate leaders.

After a long and hard fought eight years the school re-opening will be warmly welcome by the people especially the people of Kampung Baru Damansara that had struggled and supported the cause all these years.

You guys are the peoples' hero. Bravo and congratullations! - Loka

As the clock ticks 1:30pm

The time was minutes before 1:30pm on 11 Dec 1993. It was a Saturday. People were having a good rest at their respective home sweet home after a week of hard work to pay off all the bills. Families were having a home cook lunch, kids were having fun with their parents, youngsters listening to the latest music and the some was playing some board games or tendering to their little balcony gardens.

It has been raining for for the past 10 days, so it was better choice to stay home.

The location was at the Highland Towers, Hulu Klang, District of Gombak, Selangor. The three apartment blocks 1, 2 and 3 were built on the hilly area which provides a picturesque view of the Kuala Lumpur city.

At about 1:30pm on that fateful day, Block 1 of Highland Towers collapsed. By the time the rescue operation was called off, 48 persons were already found dead.

There is no more laughter with joy. The whole area was swept with sadness and the cries of those who lost their love ones and belongings in a short moment when nature showed its might.

After 15 years the site holds memory only to those who mourn their loss until nature decides to teach mankind a lesson via the nearby Bukit Antarabangsa.

It was another weekend but the residents at Bukit Antarabangsa were sound asleep this time. A landslide that flattened 14 bungalows and claimed 4 lives so far is another lesson from mother nature.

But will mankind, human greed and the powers-that-be will ever learn to respect and fear the real power of nature? - Loka

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Beyond Kuala Terengganu by-election

The coming by-election in January 17 next year for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary will not only a test for the selected candidates but also for other interested parties and individual politicians.

The contest is expected to be a direct fight between Umno/BN against PAS/PR although independent candidates cannot be written off as a spoiler. The late Razali Ismail of Umno won the seat with a slim majority in the last election and do not expect a big majority for the winner this time around. Historically this seat has been changing hands between Umno and Pas with slim majorities.

The anointed PM-to-be Najib Razak will be hard-up to retain this seat as a moral booster for him to take over from Abdullah Badawi in coming March. Following tradition, Najib is expected to lead the BN campaign and he cannot risked being slewed by PR in this by-election as happened in Permatang Pauh. It will be some sort of a vote of confidence for Najib if BN wins but if Pas grabbed the seat, it can be taken as a cue that the people are having doubts about his leadership.

Umno as a party will be pressurized to take this seat. Since 308 general election, this embattled party has been whacked by it's component and opposition parties on various contentious issues. If it lose this seat it will add more misery to it's already wounded image as the dominant party of BN. To ensure this did not happens, the party will be pulling out all it's tricks under it's sleeves and playing to the gallery of Malay majority voters.

Politicians aiming for posts in the March Umno election who can spare their internal party campaigning hours will be trooping to Kuala Terengganu to make their presence felt and many won't be suprised if words coming from their mouth are to boost their standing in the eyes of Umno delegates rather than fishing for voters of the constituency. Do not be alarmed if there arises many copycats of the infamous Ahmad Ismail as in the Permatang Pauh by-election. The aim is to score political points for themselves, not for Umno or BN.

The Bandar state seat within Kuala Terengganu is the only seat held by MCA as most Chinese voters are concentrated in this urban area. This will be the primary area which MCA will set up their operation center. Basing on the slim majority in previous Kuala Terengganu contests, the Chinese votes will be crucial for both sides of the political divide. Can MCA deliver the Chinese votes under the new leadership of Ong Tee Keat? This will be Tee Keat's first foray in a by-election since elected MCA president and he need to prove his leadership not only via his linguistic style but to deliver the Chinese votes to Umno.

On the other hand, Tee Keat most probably will not be actively campaigning in KT but dispatch his trusted ally Wong Foon Meng to lead the MCA campaign. Although Foon Meng is not considered a heavyweight, to the surprised of many he was picked by Tee Keat to be MCA's secretary general after the party's election. As the third in line of the party hierachy and also a KT local boy who was also a former state exco, Foon Meng is expected to be given the mandate to lead MCA's campaign in KT. It will be an opportunity for him to justified to some of his comrades who is still doubtful of his capability that he qualifies to be the secretary general and also chairman of the MCA Selangor state committee.

As for PAS, the main challenge will be on the shoulder of it's president Hadi Awang who is based in Terengganu. He lost Terengganu to Umno in 2004 after winning it in 1999 and was it's Menteri Besar. Then Pas Terengganu performed lack-lustrely in 2008 when Pakatan Rakyat took four states while retaining Kelantan. Hadi Awang have to redeem his pride and stature not only in the eyes of his comrades in Pas but also his counterparts in Pakatan Rakyat.

It is very obvious that Hadi Awang presence in PR are not significant, most of the time Pas face in PR are represented by it's deputy president Nasharuddin Isa or some other second liners. It will Hadi's fight for his national political standing especially in the opposition front which is dominated by Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang.

With 11 days of campaigning and impact to the stakeholders, do expect the monsoon season in the east coast state to be more ferocious than usual. - Loka

Magic formula for unity

What's the magic formula,
for unity in a diverse society?


The caveman wants all to ignite fire using only rock,
The fisherman demands all to eat only fish
and a farmer wants all to consume only greens.
A religious preacher preaches that his faith is the only way,
The nationalist says all must uses only the same language.
A communist wants all to read the Red book.

A fast food owner says eating burgers is the food to unity.
A white insists all to be the same color.
A sportsman muscles his way to ensure all citizens involved in sports.
A movie director wants all to act according to his directive.
A musician wants all to dance to his tune.
A beggar wants all to wear only loin and tattered clothes.

and a political animal will say anything under the sky as long as he achieves his ambition!- Loka