DianaTan.net

Chua Jui Meng
Jul 18, 09 5:44pm

There has been much speculation recently in the media as what my
next move in politics would be. Today I make one of the most important
decisions of my life, to leave the MCA and to join PKR. A few days ago, I resigned as chairman of MCA Bakri division, a post I have held for 23 years, freeing me to undertake a fresh struggle for the realisation of my vision for reforms. These are contained in the manifestos I wrote during the MCA presidential elections of 2005 and 2008.

Today I announce that I am resigning as a member of MCA. Now I announce I am joining PKR. Today I am persuaded that I am standing on the right side of history at a defining and critical moment of our nation’s history. What has compelled me to do so? The 2008 general elections witnessed the passionate desire of 52 percent of Peninsular Malaysians for change. This astounding voting power gave birth for the first time to a two-party system. As a result, we have seen a hitherto unseen phenomena of Umno leaders saying “if we do not change, the people will change the government”. Out of this desperation, Malaysians see the Umno-led government making some movement towards appeasing the
people. That is the fruit of people’s power.

Two-party system undermined by Umno

Today we see this nascent two-party system under threat, the unrelenting harassment by the Umno-led government to divide and destroy the two-party system, the hard-earned gains of last year’s general election. We see the abuse of power in the use of the federal
institutions to harass, persecute and prosecute the leaders of the opposition, institutions that were supposed to protect the rights of the citizens of Malaysia . The tragic death of 30-year-old Teo Beng Hock is the consequence of one such institution going overboard in its action.

The seizure of power in Perak, the wooing of PAS by Umno to form a unity government based on race and religion, the farcical persecution and prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim once again for sodomy despite the reports of two hospitals – one from Hospital Kuala Lumpur – to the contrary, all these are indicative of a pattern of attempts to topple this precious two-party system.

It seeks to remove the people’s new-found choice to choose between two political fronts. If this conspiracy succeeds Umno will continue to be the dominant political party going back to its old ways unfettered. It is in
these times of trouble and crisis for PKR and Pakatan Rakyat that has precipitated my decision to join them. It is in these difficult circumstances that I want to contribute in humility to the preservation of this two-party system. My hope is that ordinary Malaysians will stand up and be counted in the struggle to protect, preserve and promote the
growth of this system. Count me in.

There are other reasons why I am joining PKR. I see in Anwar a kindred spirit seeking for change, for deep and genuine reforms. I know also that multiracial political parties caring for all races is the way forward. I know that I am leaving the comfort and security of my present life for a road less travelled, a tough and rough road and that ahead of me awaits hardships. I am prepared for this last hurrah of my life. May God bless our endeavours, our struggle.
CHANGE!

Chua Jui Meng
Former MCA vice-president and former health minister

My second sister who is lecturing English in a Hong Kong affiliated university in Suchou, China, is coming back for 1 month holidays today. She will arrive at the Penang Airport at about 7pm and my youngest sister will fetch her from the airport and both of them will head to Ayam Mas for dinner. She loves Ayam Mas which is now located near Krystal Point in Bayan Lepas. Yesterday she called up to see if I can wear XXL silk blouse with Chinese embroidery of shocking pink colour. I love the embroidery done by Chinese people and they are simply beautiful. I am looking forward to her return.

I was in KL for 3 days 2 nights for business. We started out on Wednesday and came back on Saturday evening reaching Penang at night. We made a wasted trip to Negeri Sembilan when my colleague forgot to reconfirm the date and time before setting forth and my enquiry client changed his mind giving excuses of not being able to meet up with us when we had reached there. Wasted time and petrol when we could have met up with other more geniune clients in Bangsar. My colleague’s nephew who is now working in KL on a temporary basis treated us Sushi King with his girlfriend who happens to be on a 2 months attachment to a law firm.

I just finished changing the layout of the company website for a new fresher look and feel and uploaded to the world wide web. We have to keep up with competition as there is a new company set up in September last year to compete with us. And this is non other than our own Malay worker who betrayed our trust, pinching our clients directly while under our employment and copied our very own rubberized system and call it his own. He had the cheek to tell our clients that our product is bad so that people will buy from him. Instead of working for us, he did his own thing while claiming daily wages from us all this time. Such people don’t deserve to prosper using other people’s discovery and research product.

CM Lim Guan Eng announced 7th July as a public holiday to celebrate Penang’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Well…from next year onwards…Not today, ok? Incidentally, July is also my birthday month and yesterday, treated my family to Chinese dinner in Foong Wei Restaurant. When I went there at 6:30pm, we were the first customers to arrive and then waiting for my parents to come in another car. I chose this place as the food is cheap yet delicious. After 7pm, more people walk in filling up several tables when we were already halfway eating. There was excess food which we ‘tar pau’ back (pack back). And today, I had it for lunch, so my mum does not have to drive out to buy food home. Also got a long distance call from my second sister lecturing in Suchou, China to wish me Happy Birthday. Time flies and one year has passed by so briefly – and I am one year older now. Hiaaks!

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, also known as Ice Age 3 , is a 2009 3-D computer animated film. It is the third installment of the Ice Age series. Ellie (Queen Latifah) and Manny (Ray Romano) are expecting their first child, and Manny is obsessed with making life perfect and safe for the family. At the same time, Diego (Denis Leary) finds himself unable to catch a gazelle he has been stalking and decides to leave the herd, believing that he is losing his predatory nature as a tiger. Sid (John Leguizamo) grows jealous of Manny and Ellie and “adopts” three apparently abandoned eggs that he finds in an icy underground cavern. Manny tells him to put them back, but Sid instead looks after the eggs, which hatch into baby Tyrannosaurus the next morning.

Although Sid tries his best to raise the three dinosaurs, their rambunctious behavior scares away all the other animals’ young and ruins a playground Manny built for Ellie’s baby. The mother dinosaur soon returns and carries both Sid and her youth underground, with Diego in pursuit. Manny, Ellie, Crash, and Eddie (Seann William Scott, Josh Peck) follow as well and discover that the icy cavern leads to a vast jungle populated by dinosaurs thought to be extinct. Here, an Ankylosaurus threatens the herd despite Diego’s efforts to fend it off; they are saved from a further crowd of angry reptiles by a one-eyed, slightly crazed weasel named Buckminster, or Buck (Simon Pegg).

Buck has been living in this jungle for some time and chasing Rudy (a white Baryonyx), intending to avenge the eye he lost to it. He agrees to lead the herd through the jungle’s perils to Lava Falls, where “Momma” has taken Sid and her babies. In the meantime, Sid and Momma try to outdo each other in feeding the offspring; he loses this contest, but is soon welcomed into the family regardless. The next day, however, Rudy attacks the family and Sid is knocked onto a loose rock slab that is floating on a river of lava and about to plummet over the falls.

As the herd moves toward Lava Falls, Ellie goes into labor and a Guanlong pack strikes, causing a rockslide that separates her from Manny and Diego. Manny doubles back to protect her and Diego fends off further attacks, while Buck takes Crash and Eddie ahead to rescue Sid. Just as the sloth goes over the falls, the trio swoops in on a commandeered pterosaur and saves his life. While reaching Ellie, Manny hears a voice, indicating that a baby girl has been born. Manny decides to name the baby Ellie after Ellie herself, but Ellie names the baby Peaches after the fruit (the codeword they had chosen for Ellie to use if she went into labor during the trip). Sid is saddened at the fact that he never had a chance to say goodbye to “his” children as he is reunited with the announcment that Peaches had been born.

Before they can exit the jungle, Rudy attacks at full force; Buck helps the others ensnare him briefly, but he escapes and resumes his onslaught. The herd is saved by the timely arrival of Momma, who charges at Rudy and knocks him off a cliff. As she and her children wish Sid well, Buck – now without a purpose in life since Rudy is gone – decides to join the herd and live on the surface. However, a distant roar tells him that Rudy is still alive; he changes his mind and sends the herd home, blocking off the path to the underground jungle at the same time so that no one else can go down there. Manny and Ellie welcome Peaches into their frozen world and admit that Sid did a good job looking after Momma’s children. Diego decides to remain with the herd, while Buck stays where he wants to be: underground, matching wits with Rudy.

The battle for Earth has ended but the battle for the universe has just begun. After returning to Cybertron, Starscream assumes command of the Decepticons, and has decided to return to Earth with force. The Autobots believing that peace was possible finds out that Megatron’s dead body has been stolen from the US Military by Skorpinox and revives him using his own spark. Now Megatron is back seeking revenge and with Starscream and more Decepticon reinforcements on the way, the Autobots with reinforcements of their own, may have more to deal with then meets the eye.