It’s been fun and all, this semester break. But as everything else in this temporal world, all things that began must have an ending. Undeniably, this month was the month I travelled the most: commuting between Betong and Kuching no less than 4 times to and fro. The distance for a one-way trip is about 400km or 4 hours, give and take. You do the maths. Like past holidays, no two are ever the same.
Ever since the Linggam case, the Judiciary in Malaysia has been shoved under the public’s scrutiny. Some will point out the demise of the Malaysian Courts System began in the 80s under then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Why the fuss? Because the Courts are the last bastion and platform for justice and appeal for the people and the final stronghold against the many political and personal agenda of politicians. Where one is wronged, she ought to be able to expect justice being dispense when she approaches the Bench. But with the development and exposure, she can expect her case to loose anytime its against the Government or a big corporation… (Urm… 
Why am I talking like a socialist?! I’m Tory!)
However, as a independent and sovereign federation of states, we have another institution where her dignity, honour, position, function and position is being compromised by petty bickering, ignorance, arrogance, politicking, self-interests and immaturity of those privileged to be part of: Parlimen (Parliament) and the various Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Legislative Assemblies).
Finally got my hands on a copy of J.K. Rawling’s final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Borrowed from the Perpustakaan Majlis Daerah Betong/MDB (Betong District Council’s Library) last Tuesday. Completed reading it by noon the next day.
Oh, c’mon! Hard to let down a good book! Because of that, I didn’t exactly sleep that night. lol
The book is a great read, no doubt. Many angles here and there from where you can approach and discuss. What attracted my attention, dear friend, was Dumbledore’s take on leadership position.
O.K. It wasn’t really in the beginning. It began with my [fortunate] loss during the last campus elections. I came in third place after Zawani and Rafeizi. Somewhere after, an ‘new’ idea hit me which shook my understanding on leadership to the very core. This understanding replaced the previous philosophy I once had.
Back then, I would attach position with leadership. It doesn’t have to be a public office like a premiership of a country or chairmanship of a company. In fact, a goal in the past was to have hold the office of Deputy Chief Minister sometime in the decades to come. Yes, decades. The benchmark and inspiration of that goal is the present incumbent, YB Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr. Alfred Jabu ak. Numpang. Heck, back in high school, I even aspired to stand for either Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly in either Betong or Mukah. My maternal and paternal hometown respectively.
While in Universiti Teknologi MARA Kedah, I contested for a seat on the Malinja Residential College Representative Committee (Jawatankuasa Perwakilan Kolej Malinja) and succeeded. Came in 10th place out of 18. Was surprised by the results. The 15 candidates who received the highest votes would win. It’s a single constituency sort of arrangement. There aren’t any wards. A few months after, I was vying to contest in the Students’ Representative Council Elections representing my programme, the Pre-Degree in Law (PI005). Take note that prior to that year, we elected two representatives before a policy change which disqualified our programme. In 2006, when I did get to Shah Alam, I stood again in the 2007 campus elections. The rest was history - as I lost.
For once, I was content on being a student who held no office whatsoever. Living the life of a has-been isn’t bad. It’s like being liberated from confinements of commitments and duties.
Since I got my hand on a copy of Rich Dad Poor Dad back in 2000, I have had a keen eye on businesses and entrepeneurship. Making money became an interest. Before I continue, you better pause and digest that last sentence first. I said “making money became my interest”. As opposed to “earning money”. While I did harbour the political ambitions back then together with this love of enterprise, as I reflect on it, it would be hard to make money while leading the country/state. As long as the money is meant for me, that is.
I still as keen on giving back to society and my race. Urm… My race prior to 12/2007. 
Last December, my race was changed from Iban to Melanau when I updated my MyKad. Save the typical ‘Toyad’ look, I’m anything but Melanau. lol…
I began embracing the prospect of being a businessperson first before politicians. After all, I reasoned, there is no room for politics in business, but politics would welcome business anytime.
Albus Dumbledore described it the best. He knew that power might get to him, so he refused all offers to become Minister of Magic. While being over-qualified, he choose to remain as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
This is one philosophy I now share with the fictional great wizard.
For now, I can say that my focus is more towards business and commerce. After all, if the money was raised privately and legally, I can opt to spend it as I like. To donate it to any charity without fear of collapsing to lobbyists. To travel the world anytime from anywhere on any airline. So long as I comply with the law, I can do as I like. So can you.
I’m typing this entry at 9.41 am while tuning into Bernama TV and, later, CNN, BBC and CNBC. The big buzz now, apparently, is the announcement of the petrol price increase made by the Government last Wednesday. I’m personally appalled by this group of people who seem to capitalise from this rise.
Let’s do a reality check, shall we? Before a certain Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance was sacked in 1997, the price of oil was less than US$30 per barrel. Today, it’s passing the US$130 per barrel mark. Heck, there are predictions the price will march onto US$200 per barrel!
The Federal Government’s move is not populist one, as we can anticipate. But when global market dictates the prices of commodities traded internationally, there’s little thing that a nation’s government can do. Sure, as a country with it’s own oil and gas reserves, we can ban export of oil. If we’re going to do that, I hope that we could ban the export of oil and gas from the states producing them, i.e. Sarawak, Sabah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
The equilibrium, if you may, is a rather complex one. Certain quarters were insisting that the Government use the profits of PETRONAS, the National Petroleum Company linked to the Government, to subsidise the rising cost of gas. On the surface, it sounds like a sound idea. But throw in the number of employees, the rising cost of oil and gas exploration, the development programmes of this company etc. etc., will the idea be viable? Yes, if you want to see major retrenchment and a possible bankruptcy filed by the national oil and gas company. The then Minister of Finance could not offer the States of Sarawak, Sabah, Terengganu and Kelantan an increament in royalties rightfully entitled to that states then, now he’s promising the world? Good God!
Yes, the rising price of fuel and gas will take its toll on the lower income group. I’ve been saying this over and over again orally, the group to be under the spotlight should be on the poor. Those in the middle income and higher would be able to absorb the costs. But right now, the Government is seeing the backlash in policies which damages the mental of the populace. Namely, the subsidies and protectionist policies and its generics.
Again, the group which promotes demonstrations and offer nothing but criticisms and condemnations disgust me. While they proudly call themselves the Opposition and walk as if they are the next government, they offer nothing new to this country at the Federal Level. What they will do, I anticipate, is that they will initiate populist policies while under the same breath do away with the Barisan Nasional’s policies and intiatives. After that, it wouldn’t surprise me if they introduce similar policies but with a new and different packaging. Take the Internal Security Act, for example. Many members across the floor (pardon my Parliamentary Language… No, these words aren’t employed by the Parliament of Malaysia. I look up to the Parliament of the United Kingdom when it comes to decorum, order, dignity, honour etc.)… Any way, the members across the floor calls for its abolishment. Strangely, none from Pakatan Rakyat talks of repealling Article 149 and 150 which allows the passage of the ISA, nor do they talk of revoking the Proclamation of Emergency. These two components are the roots of the ISA, Sedation Act and all preventive measures laws. It seems that they do not like the leaf which grows but they want the roots.
My economic understanding is guided by the supply-side school. Demand for fuel and gas are increasing but the supplies are deminishing. Meaning, the humankind needs an alternative to gas anf fuel, IMHO, thus the Government needs to encourage, if not compel, for study and R&D going in this direction. We need to increase the supply to meet the demands.
The Student Body of Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia/UiTM Malaysia (Translated: MARA University of Technology) can now check their results at the Student Portal <Link>. Though officially, the results would only be available on 9 June 2008. Whether it’s relief, anger, frustration, disappointment, joy or an emotionless reaction, it’s good to know how we fared in the last semester.
Result for 4th Semester
As much as I would like to say I passed all eight subjects, sadly it is not so. From the website, my results are:
1. BEL470 - Literature in English - B+ - LU;
2. HPD221 - Public Speaking II - L - LU;
3. LAW504 - Land Law I - D+ - F2;
4. LAW555 - Criminal Law II - B - LU;
5. LAW556 - Administration of Trust - C - LU;
6. LAW557 - Legal Research and Methodology - A- - LU;
7. LAW558 - Mooting - C - LU; and
8. LAW572 - Cyber Law - B- - LU.
Yup… I’m repeating Land Law I… again… Oikh~
Personal Assessment
Once again, it’s that time where I assess the strength and weaknesses of the semester followed by a fresh plan for execution. But for certain, in the long run, the likelihood of my pursuing the LL.B. (Hons.) programme is diminishing.
From what I can gather from the results - except for Land Law - the answering strategy seems to work. We march on with the other classes and continue the Land Law I classes in the coming semester. This is the last chance to pass and the Land Law II in the next semester in one clean sweep.
The Over-Arching Picture
Earlier I mentioned that I might not be pursuing the UiTM LL.B. (Hons) programme. However, my plans for further education would not stop at graduation withthe Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons). Applying the principles of Henry Ford, I prefer to create the job opportunities and surround myself with people who are passionate of the area. After all, creating jobs means entering business.
At the current stage, it is 5 months since I registered a sole proprietorship with the Malaysian Companies Commission (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia/SSM). Since then, my writing career has started moving and progressing. In fact, I’m sure I can get this proprietorship profitable by year’s end. 
The platform is being set. I have erased the E mindset and entered the S mindset. It’s time to move from the Left to the Right landing in B. If you’re wondering, “what on earth is this guy talking about?” I was using the ESBI figure in mind. For more information on what ESBI is, I recommend reading Rich Dad’s Cash flow Quadrantby Robert T. Kiyosaki.
Engraved in my head is the Master of Arts in Communication Management offered by Kolej Damansara Utama <Link>. Why would I want to pursue my Master’s Degree in this field? This 15- to 18- months long programme is intended to increase the rates I charge. That’s all.
By the way, Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich is one classic you cannot do without! Amazing! I bought my copy at the Times bookstore in Riverside Majestic, Kuching. Based on precedent, (read: Adam Khoo, Author of Master Your Mind, Design Your Destiny and I am Gifter) I challenged myself to achieve a net worthof €1.24million and cash flow of €10,000 per month by October 13, 2010.
Conclusion
The course of action now is to come up with a plan for my final year and then act on it, balance my academic and my professional life (Corporate Writer, ahem… ahem…), and start capitalising on opportunities to generate positive cash flow.
Gawai 2008 would be a memorable one for me. Why? Around the season, I managed to throw away the “wall flower” mentality and behaviour during these gatherings. Helping out where I can as ‘co-host’ and relative was fun. More importantly, despite how much I would like to deny it - I’m getting to know more family members closer and getting in touch with my Iban roots. I guess the realisation comes after taking my heritage for granted for all so long.
Miring, or offerings/sacrifices, are usually made and prepared for important functions and celebrations by the Iban community. You can be certain that some sort of miring will be done before the Gawai Dayak, or the Dayak New Year cum Harvest Festival. This ceremony varies in degree of elaboration - the more grand the festivities are organised, the more elaborate and bigger the miring may be. The size of the household or longhouse, too, comes to play. The traditional purpose of the miring is to offer sacrifices and offerings to the Gods and souls of past. Back then, appeasing the various Gods and spirits as well as the departed was necessary to ensure the undertaking flow smoothly. This practice, however, began to loose out on the modern Ibans.
This Gawai, I had the opportunity to learn a bit of the ceremony on two occassions: once in Betong followed by in Kuching. The number and size of offerings differ based on the factors I wrote before engaging in theological debate. When I say size, it means the number of offering per plate. What do I mean by number of offering per plate? It’s indicated by the portion on one plate. The portion comes odd numbers of three, five, seven or nine. Three being the smallest and nine being the greatest. Whether it’s three, five, seven or nine, you need to know what the offerings was intended for and why. The preparations and conditions for each size differ as well. So far, I have tried my hands on the piring 5, or offerings of 5. The number of the offerings, on the other hand, depends on the size of the household or longshouse and the venue. Geographical and historical factors also comes into the picture here. The Dewan Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan, or Stephen Kalong Ningkan Hall, in Betong as an example is located in the Tanah Antu Gerasi or the Giant Spirit’s Land. Thus at least one should be made for this spirit.
Preparing the Miring
On May 16 and 30, in Betong where I witness the preparation and in Kuching where I tried it out myself, there were similarities. The preparation was led by an elder or a manang (Iban Shaman) and participated by some people on a mat. A rooster was nearby. The participants of the ceremony sat around the ‘ingredients’ of the miring. This ‘reciepe of success’ (as I’d call it) are:
On the plate, five slices of pinang preceed all the ingredients. This is followed by five torn sirih leaves with chalk spread over them. Then, tobacco and five rolls of cigerette leaves as I’d like to call it were added before five portions of each pulut were added to the offering. Before five slices of bananas, you add plain rice and half a ketupat. You continue with five slices of hard boiled egg - with the yellow. An uncle joked, “add the yellow, the spirits aren’t afraid of cholesterol”. One spoonful of salt, sagun and some cooking oil were added before we sprinkled some letup. To top it all off were some yellow uncooked rice. Worth mentioning that the yellow rices and uncooked rice were white before kunyit or turmeric were used to colour them. And voila, c’est receipe de le miring!
Before the ingredients were kept on the plate, the elder waived the rooster over the ingredients seven times before chanting the prayer, or called miaw in Iban. Sounds like a cat’s purr? Thought so initially. After the number of offerings were done, the elder then waved the rooster over the final products again. The ceremony indoors was led by my uncle, as shown in the picture below. In the picture, was taken by yours truly before we prepared the offerings.
And there you have it: the miring ceremony of the Sea Dayaks.
Wishing the Dayak across the globe a Selamat Hari Gawai Dayak, Gayu guru gerai nyamai!!
In this month of May, the number one historical event which shaped Malaysian history happened in 13 May 1969. Racial tensions were so high in West Malaysia, among the Malays, Chinese and Indians, that on that day, innocent and pure blood were shed. A Proclamation of Emergency was pronunced, and is still in effect to today. Instead of being governed by the Cabinet held accountable by an elected Parliament, Malaysia was placed under the administration of the National Action Council under the late Tun Abdul Razak. This Council adviced the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong on the promulgation of Emergency Ordinances and other functions thrusted upon the Crown by Articles 149 and 150 of the Federal Constitution. In fact, these two Articles continue to cast their shadow today. Just so you know, the Proclamation of Emergency can only be revoked by either Parliament or the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong (see Johnson Tan). It cannot end for lapse of time, the Supreme Court then ruled. As off today, the earlier emergencies were never revoked.
In the wake of Malaysia’s river of blood, the National Action Council sought to identify the causes of the tensions and came up with several solutions. The solutions were, namely, the National Pillars (Rukun Negara) and the New Economic Policy (Dasar Ekonomi Baru/DEB) among others. It seems that in today’s political scenario, the Rukun Negara is the least favourite.
What were the causes of the racial tensions? Should we re-examine history and current affairs, nationally and globally, why do racial tensions happen? First and foremost, the reason which stares in our faces is the high level of ignorance we have towards another group. The next reason is the refusal or ignorance to accept a national identity, what is common to Malaysians in our context. Let’s not forget the class-competition and distribution of wealth.
Some ‘experts’ and groups claim and cry that racial tensions are caused because of the “younger generation’s ingrateful behaviour towards contributions of past leaders and for being carried away by progress”. I’m no expert, but I say that the religious and racial tensions are caused by the people who see evil and corruption everywhere but within. Some Malaysians still have the 1957 mentality - good God, it’s not even the 1963 mentality! - and continue to sow the seeds of hatred among the young. Instead of finding and applying new formula which would ensure continuity of this country, this class of society prefers to hold to the 1957 idea that “we own this land, you ought to be grateful we gave you citizenship”.
As we continue to move forward, Malaysia cannot afford to stand on the shoulders of any one race. In fact, since 1957, no race can claim exclusively that they are the reason Malaysia is where she is now: not the Malays neither the Chinese, not the natives of East Malaysia or the ‘immigrants’. 51 years on for Malaya and 45 years on for Malaysia, we are where we are because of our cooperation. Times have changed, being in the past means walking in the reverse.
As for government initiatives, I urge the Government to take measures which would bring all of us forward, not the “one step forward, two steps back” approach we see today. To the media, be more responsible and ethical in presenting news. Keep your opinions in the “Opinions” section, not the ‘News’ section. Politicians, you adapt to today’s silent majority and behave - otherwise say bye-bye to your seats. As a part of Generation Y, I’m offended by the term Pakatan Tsunami. The changes seen in March 8 wasn’t caused by any parties: it was caused by the new generation who are fed-up and tired of nonsesical and historical rhetorics and tactics.
As I conclude this entry, let us remember that the Rukun Negara was formulate for Malaysians. Not for PAS or Semangat 49 or UMNO or just for one exclusive segment of society. Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan, Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara, Keluhuran Perlembagaan, Kedaulatan Undang-Undang and Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan should be in every Malaysian’s soul and mind - irrespective of age, gender, race, religion and creed.
