cakap cakap...we will not go back to stay in KL again.

Do not worry too much about the material things. Have enough for a comfortable life. Enough to eat well, a decent roof over your head and the things that makes life pleasant should all be sought after but with moderation. A year ago when money was tight the daily newspaper was something I would never thought of having. Spending Aud@1.20 on one was just not a smart thing to do when your daily lunch and dinner revolves around how you could cook Maggi Mee on a daily basis to make it palatable - with eggs, with prawns, with meat, with salami and always...with plenty of tomato sauce and fried onion sprinkled on top! 

Today things are better because we have learn to adjust and prioritize our needs….and though it is more expensive to live in Melbourne than in Adelaide, we manage.

You can get all the news on the Net but it is still good to flick through the daily papers to read what is happening in the world today. So while I had gone for many years without thinking of the daily newspapers in Adelaide today I have slowly got back into the habit of wanting one – not everyday but two or three times a week. And the weekend edition is a must!

As I settle into this new life I find that the self requires more. Yesterday I and my good wife took an early morning walk around the neighborhood and perchance stumbled upon a garage sale. We stopped and looked…my wife taking the opportunity to sit down for a rest on one of the chairs put up for sale. The people were friendly and tea was offered with the usual chit chat that was a little bit inquiring and a little bit of sharing. We left with two books by Richard Branson on Richard Branson:

·      Business Stripped Bare

·      Losing my Virginity  

And another book: “How the mighty fall and why some companies never give in” by Jim Collins. All the books were in good to new condition. We also had to get a set of DVD’s comprising the work of four Directors - Anton Corbijn, Jaonathan Glazer, Mark Romanaek and Stephane Sednaoui all for my son Zack (we know he would know who they were – I don’t!) and a scarf for my wife (which they insisted we take gratis because we have bought so many things!) and all that for a grand total of Aud$10! And they, the seller and we the purchaser departed as friends because they the seller sold what they no longer needed for a good price and we the purchaser got more than a good bargain….and the friendly banter between us was a good start to a Saturday.

We had no need for those things that we bought and we could have done without them but there are more to life than just sustenance….but the wonder if it all is this. The good times we had had while we were living in Bangsar meant grocery shopping at BSC and than invariably Lunch at Basil in Bangsar Village (me with Pineapple Fried Rice and my wife with her Kueh Teow). By the time we get back to Bangsar Permai we would have spent close to Ringgit $300 to $400. How times have changed…but for the better!

We still miss Bangsar. We miss the daily call to prayers from the Bangsar mosque, the daily ringing of Bells from the magnificent Siva temple nearby, the morning markets at Lucky Gardens where the Chinese hold sway and that eclectic mix of people that makes Bangsar what it is today.

But we will not go back to live in KL again. I want KL to be a place of good memories and of time spent among people where race, religion and your political affiliations are not what matters. It matters today and it will continue to matter in as long as we have the  politics in our country in the hands of one dominant political entity – as it had been for the last 55 years. As anon had said and I quote here:

“It is of no real consequence of what Anwar had been up to, nor what he is going to be. The real relevant point for Malaysians' well being is the creation of a two-party system in this country so that no single party would dare to be dictatorial, arrogant and corrupt in an unfettered manner. We as voters would be holding the trump cards to decide who would be given the mandate to rule, comes every GE.”      

So let us do the right thing in the 13^th general election.  A two party system that will ensure that politicians monitor themselves (it takes thief to catch a thief!) and we will have the final say in their right to govern us. And Amen to that!