My Dad, Our Hero.

5th day of May 2013 marks a very important day of the Malaysian history. At least to me and my family.

Dad was contesting for the parliamentary seat for the constituency of Sandakan for the 1st time. It is not easy to want to be a politician. Let alone being one. But Dad has always had a thing for wanting to make a change for the betterment of the society. I'm not saying this because he's my dad, but honestly, I am proud for what he is doing; I am proud for his undying energy to help the weak and his courage to voice out for the aggrieved; and I am proud of him for not giving up hope to our near hopeless country under the governance of our current government. 

Before Dad decided to contest for the parliamentary seat, he's been active in all sorts of public related activities. He was the counselor for our Sandakan Municipal Council, attending to all sorts of complaints from the public. He is the Secretary General of the Sandakan Chinese Chambers of Commerce. He is one of the directors of the school board for a few schools. He is the chairman of the Anti Coal Powered Plant Action Committee. 

There was a period of time when our small town of Sandakan was under the threat of the emplacement of a huge coal powered plant project by the government. It is a known fact or common sense (emphasis added on the word common sense) that coal endangers the lives of our people and our future generation and its usage should be kept at the minimum possible. I guess our government is evidently lacking of common sense, needless to say. For the sake of the people of Sandakan, Dad led a team and fought against this project till it was scraped off. I'm pretty sure his face had been appearing pretty often in our local papers then. XD

Our small town of Sandakan has been (and still is) under the threat of electricity shortage for decades and Dad has been questioning SESB and fighting for sufficient power supply for as long as I can remember. I know, because I have been helping Dad on the letters and press statements on this issue. 

Our small town of Sandakan has been (and still is) under the threat of the flooding of illegal immigrants and a victim of Project IC (where illegal immigrants are given citizenship by the government in return for their "loyalty") for decades. DO YOU KNOW that a fake identity card can be processed in just a few minutes? The livelihood of the people of Sandakan is at stake with all these "aliens" around. Because of these aliens, we can't have a clean election. Because of these aliens, we can't have a fair election. Because all these aliens were bought with money. OUR hard earned money. Not the government's, but ours. Where do you think the government gets the money to buy these aliens for their votes? Tax payers' money! That's how the opposition lost again in this round of election. It was too dirty. Our government was too corrupted. 

All these problems in just a small town of mine are exhausting and draining. Especially when you can't seem to see any improvement or hope under the governance of our current government. I would probably choose to let it be or run away, if you ask me.. But not Dad. He has been fighting and is still fighting. AND not to mention he still has a job to sustain which includes running around to get projects for his business. Sometimes I wonder.. where does Dad get all the energy from? One job is already stressful enough!

When Dad joined Democratic Action Party (DAP) and started to be more and more active in politics, his partners in his business decided that he (my dad) was too vocal on the wrongdoings of the government and were concerned that the business will be affected (because the projects are mostly sourced from the government and Dad's whackings on the government without hesitation have of course panicked them). And So, Dad was asked to leave the company.

Dad asked all of us (the family) whether if it's ok that he leaves the company and continues to be in politics fighting for the rights of the people. We all said YES. That's the right thing to do. And he left the company and started afresh on his own, looking for projects on his own (well, he still has a family to feed) and still is passionately active in politics.

5th of May 2013 - The day that caused the family to tremble. The day that caused all Malaysians to tremble, in fact. The battle against the evil and heart-wrenching governance. Me, my brother, my sister, my good friends and fellow DAP members were the polling agents on duty in Sandakan. I think it was the 1st time for most of us to be polling agents. It was NOT as easy as you thought it would be, trust me. There were many irregularities by the BN agents reported, there were many vans and minibuses sending aliens to vote spotted but it's not an easy task to apprehend them. I was the polling agent for the postal votes division. I, myself, heard the BN agent right next to me talking on the phone and I quote "No, don't send too many of them in 1 car, it's too obvious. Break them down and send them in batches." It's an obvious implication that he was referring to the aliens!! But alas, what can we do? The battle was intense. The polling ended at 5pm and the counting commenced thereafter. I tried not to blink during the counting in order to avoid any miscalculation. I tried not to let my eyes leave the ballot boxes in order to avoid any chances of the ballot boxes being replaced. I requested for the mouths of the ballot boxes to be sealed prior to the counting of the ballot papers. I stood next to the door and opened it from time to time to check on them when we were asked by the staff to leave the room after the segregation of the postal votes in order for them to prepare for the counting process. I tried to make sure there were no irregularities under my purview..

At 11.35pm, the counting board showed Dad won by a majority of 1,088 votes. It was a victory for Dad, a victory for us, a victory for DAP and a victory for those who voted for him! Emotions spurred (my brother couldn't contain his tears, yup) and it was a night to be remembered.

My dad. He is our hero; our fighter; our pillar of strength. I pray to God to continue to hold him up and and to give him the strength to fight against all evils in his pursuit towards a much much more challenging journey ahead.

That's my dad. Gaya-nya :D

The main counting hall where bags of ballot boxes were carried in

Dad with our Adun contestants, Mr George Hiew and Mr Frankie Poon and members

Me, Dad, bro and sis - the victory hug

The signboard which determined the results

Dap supporters during the nomination day

With Mr Karpal Singh

With Superman

Oops, bro was caught in tears in the local newspaper

Me, the seconder for Dad during the nomination day

Dad caught in camera during the Bersih rally - I printscreen this image from YouTube

Dad in one of his many talks

Dad and DAP's victory reported in the local newspaper

To those who voted for and supported Dad and DAP all this while, we thank you sincerely and please keep supporting us because it is because of you all, Dad and DAP are still fighting. For a better country and a better nation.

Chinese New Year back home

Dak. Daaak.. Daaaaak dung chianggg.. dung chiang..

That's the sound I'd miss to hear post Chinese New Year 'coz I only get to hear it during CNY. Yup, that's the sound of the lion dance. This is one dance that I loved watching. Hmmm.. don't ask me why, must be the great feeling of reminiscing my childhood memories.. My dad used to bring me and my brother and sisters to "chase" lion dances when we were little i.e. we hopped from home to home to watch the lion dances. Aahh.. I love Chinese New Year; the time of reunions; the time of family gatherings; the time of sharings; the time of fellowship; the time of love.

This year, there's no exception. I've been living away from home for more than 10 years but I haven't missed; not even one Chinese New Year with my family. I'm blessed.

The reunion dinner Mummy cooked for 20 pax! (yup, we helped of course :>)

Celebrating Grandma's 80th birthday! We love you Poh!!

Beni is missing from the pics b'coz she's grounded at her home in KK due to her pregnancy heehee

Me and mama

We love angpows!!

Okay, that's Beni & Luther. Siblings reunite via smartphones! Weeeeee p/s: Beni, you will never be left out!

Me with my best pals, Angie, Mabel and Stella ^0^

The mandatory group picture with my lovely hometown friends :>

And some compilations of the lion dances that danced at our home during open house. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ^.^

Hello Perth

A much anticipated trip with The Family. I thought our yearly family trip would come to a halt after my elder sis, Beni got married 2 years ago.

A much much anticipated trip to one of the countries that I've been yearning to land my feet on - Australia. And the first stop, Perth it is.

My baby sister, Vivian is continuing her 3rd year studies in Murdoch University and just like the nickname she's been carrying since birth, she's a "baby" to The Family. Hence, The Family very much felt obliged to fly to Perth and get her settled down together. This time, the new addition to The Family, my brother-in-law, Luther was not excluded =)

It was summer in Perth so there's a lot of sun. For the record, I don't mind the sun as long as it's not Malaysia's sun. Talking about double standards XD

We rented a 7 seater van at Perth airport for Aus$65 a day. Dad was the driver from the airport to Murdoch University with the help of the GPS in Luther's smartphone but he was later banned from driving. We were lucky that we didn't knock over a kangaroo :P Luther took over the driving and Bernie was the coordinator/map reader. Both of them are indeed a team. Credits must be given to them.

(Day 1) 

Ok, so it's a 10 days trip (minus the time in mid-air), technically it's just a 9 days trip so we must make full use of our time there. That's the spirit. 

Murdoch University
1st thing to do - of course to check Vivian into her dorm. Murdoch campus is vaaaaast! It's some sort like our Malaysia's UM; only it has more trees and the air felt so much cleaner and fresher. One faculty is situated pretty far from the other so if you do not own a car, owning a bicycle is a pretty good idea. Gosh, I missed uni times. I'd wish to travel back in time and re-live them all over again!

Perth City

Such a pleasant city with not too many cars on the road (if you live in KL long enough, you would understand what I mean by that) so driving for the first time in Perth city (with GPS of course) would definitely not intimidate you. I haven't come across a rude or reckless driver in Perth just yet. A clean and lovey city with friendly people, what more can we ask?

The Bell Tower

The goofy family

For 1st timers in Perth, DO NOT (notice the caps) eat at Old Shanghai - a food court in the heart of the city. We were hungry and we saw a food court selling Asian food. Alrighty yeah! Turned out, it was a huge disappointment and the price for the meal was toaadally outrageous (plus, we were still in the "converting-to-RM-mode" so it's a double ouch for us).

We checked in Good Earth Hotel at 3 p.m. A room for 5 people costs around Aus$200/night. Surprisingly, the rates for weekdays differ from weekends. They're cheaper during weekends...hmmm  *scratch head*

Northbridge

China town is a must to visit. I believe we (Malaysians) will definitely look for China Town in every country that we visited. LOL. Loads of Chinese restaurants here. A walk to the Northbridge Piazza is also a must. There's a giant outdoor LED screen with countless beanie chairs awaiting us to lie down while enjoying the show. Woot!

outdoor movie? hell yeah!

(Day 2)

Fremantle

A market lover like me will definitely love Fremantle or what the locals called as "Freo" (That's what Vivian learnt including how to speak in Aussie slang during her orientation at Murdoch Uni. LOL!). Know what's a wife-beater? No? Okay, google it please before you embarrass yourself :P A variety of fresh food, confectionaries, clothings, collectible items, etc etc can be found here.

fresh fruits at freo!

street performance

We had lunch at Cicerello's, the famous must eat Fish & Chips eatery. I'm not really a fan of fried stuff but the fish was really fresh. Thumbs up!

Fremantle prison

Alright, a visit to the really touristy place - the Fremantle Prison. We didn't buy the tickets to tour the inside of the prison, just snapping a few pictures outside and that's it.

Luther testing the tripod

Us trying to be goofy

And us trying to be funny

Swan Valley

A drive up to Swan Valley, a vineyards-filled region. Well, we were spoilt for choices! We had no idea which vineyard to visit so we just swerve into one, the name which we thought interestingly cute - Ugly Duckling. I bought one of its "Vintage Summer Duck" white wine. *grin*

a lovely vineyard

ready?

Jump!!

drinking at broad daylight? Bad example! :P

(Day 3) 

Caversham Wildlife Park

Ooh kangaroos and koalas are my must see animals! (Hey, it's my 1st time to Australia ookay!) Well, I did a pretty good up close and personal time with the kangas and koalas. I still don't get the koalas though. They sleep most of the time and when they are not sleeping, they are only eating. 

There were so many restrictions in meeting the koalas. "You can only gently stroke their fur with the back of your hand." "Do not touch the eucalyptus leaves as you will contaminate the leaves and the koalas will die from eating them." "The koalas can only be stroked for "n" times and they have to rest for "n" minutes/hours before they can be stroked again." At one point of time I felt like blurting out "Geeeezzzz!" But oklah, despite that, I still find them cute =)

We are trying to blend in with the Park..

Beni and I

okay, I'm stroking you with the back of my hands. I follow the rules!

We thought we had to buy the kanga feed but it's FOC =)

one itchy kanga

The Family

quite an interestingly scary owl isn't it?

and another interesting species which stand with 1 leg

and that's us trying to imitate the one-leg standing owl

squeeze squeeze, care for some fresh milk?

fur off, you handsomely furry sheep!

kinda pity looking, no? apparently, after a sheep's fur is removed, its body will release some type of oil called lanolin to protect its delicate skin

Kings Park and Botanic Garden

Awww..I love Kings Park! There's a lookout point to have a good view of Perth. Such a lovely park to do the lying-on-the-grass-and-chill thing. One luxury that we definitely can't enjoy in Malaysia. 
 

Dont'cha wish to lie down on the grass and watch the sky?

a view of Perth city

yup, The Family has chosen to feel Aussie's grass

and neither am I excluded. With my best buddy, Jenni who drove out from her home to meet me. Of course lah, I'm the VIP!

(Day 4) 

Capel town, Busselton Jetty, Margaret River

It's time to check out and leave the city for some outskirt adventures. Throughout the journey down south to Margaret River, we saw rows of cosy cutsy one storey high homes. Dad kept saying the homes seemed so low and he wondered if he could touch the ceiling if he stayed in one of those homes! LOL. And he also kept saying it should be nice to stay in one of those homes. I bet he doesn't mind retiring to Perth :D

Busselton Jetty

smileee

yippie yippie yeah!

Pa and Ma decided to do a "Titanic pose" Haha!

these 2 monkeys decided to do a wrestling pose. Don't ask me why +_+"

Beni and Luther decided to do a jumping pose. Nice jump!

and me.. err.. posing with my butt?

such a lovely beach

We made our way to Ellensbrook Cottages (our stay for 2 nights). At 1st glance of the kinda isolated, overly-quiet area (dried grasses and isolated cottages hidden behind trees), I bet all of us did wonder to ourselves "Are we really staying here?" but of course no one said anything because the itinerary was planned with love and heart by our Vivian and it was her 1st time doing it so.... 
But to our surprise, that feeling was totally thrown out of the window when we entered the cottage. [I should constantly remind myself to never judge a book by its cover ;P] It was clean, comfortable and cosy. A home fully equipped for a comfortable stay.
 

That's our cottage!

Ellens is the name

one of the cosy bedrooms

our welcome treat - still warm!

warm bread with butter and jam, delishh

There's also a barbeque pit outside the cottage. Well, we thought at least there's something to do during the night. We drove to Margarat River town and bought loads of food to barbeque the night away. 

It was great, hanging out with The Family, preparing food, chitchatting, eating, chilling.. The night passed by real fast. I realised that it's perfectly normal to sleep early in Perth. My brother climbed onto his bed around 10-ish. LOL! Must be due to the fatigue. It's a chilly night so I had a good good sleep. We settled our dad with some TVB series to watch over the laptop. Hahaha.. Well, he's an old man so he can't sleep that early.

BBQ time!

Nightfall..

planning the roadtrip

Jacuzzi away? Can.. but 1 session of Jacuzzi will leave you without hot water for at least half an hour

(Day 5) 
Margarat River, Mammoth Cave, Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, Augusta, Ferguson Valley

The next day of course continued with a visit to one of the wineries. Again, this Leeuwin Estate Winery that we visited, we just happened to choose it. A tour to the winery cost around Aus$20+/person. The tour included a brief walk to the factory (where you see huge steel tanks) and an explanation of the wine-making process. I think the tour could be better..

We bought a few bottles of the Shiraz and Chardonnay. Remember this: Always insist for your receipts after your purchase!! I didn't and we were charged for an extra bottle. And we couldn't return to the winery due to constraint of time. Argh! Remember this too: Don't drink before you make any purchases. It makes you lose guard.

A visit to the winery

Okay, that's the poser beside me

Some physical activity - hiked into Mammoth cave

and out of the cave

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

breathtaking view from the lighthouse

Vivian and Skunky are afraid of heights hence they were sticking to the wall instead of facing the lovely scenery

blue blue horizon

(Day 6) 
Canal Rocks, Wellington National Park, Honeymoon Pool

Canal Rocks

Some climbing to do!

Freestyle pic yo!

a stop made at Wellington National Park. The water was awesomely cool and refreshing!!

A stop made at Hamelin Bay

The remains of the jetty at Hamelin Bay due to a fire :(

Gnomesville at Ferguson Valley - feel free to drop your gnomes here!

(Day 7) 
Cottlesloe Beach, AQWA (The Aquarium of Western Australia), Mandurah

Cottlesloe Beach.. One of the beaches that I fell in love to!

loveeeeely

wind surfing, parachuting, sailing, you name it

check 'em out!

Just couldn't get enough of the view

a visit to the Aquarium of Western Australia

some intimate time with the starfishes!

Hey there, Mr Shark!

GIGANTIC stingray!

I don't think Beni finds anything funny..

Another lovely park near Millpoint Road, South Perth

Clear blue sky

a view of Perth City

It's time to get back to Perth and it's time to say goodbye. Sigh.. we have to leave with a heavy heart. Mainly because we will be going back without Vivian. Gosh, we are all suckers with goodbye. Control your tears people (and that includes me)!

But I'm sure Vivian will have a great time in Perth. Study hard and play hard, my Bi!!! I'll be back to visit you soon!