but why?

It was with utter disgust when I read that just last week, the Parliament had passed a bill to amend the Election Offences Act 1954.

(a) Section 11(c) which had required any print materials to have the names and addresses of its printer and publisher is DELETED IN FULL;

(b) Section 14 1(a) is replaced with a clause which allows the Election Commission (EC) to appoint time slots to determine when polling agents or counting agents of a candidate may be present. Therefore the time when an agent of a candidate is allowed into the polling station is no longer fixed and is now left to the discretion of the EC to decide. They are free to remove agents from polling station at will;

(c) Section 26 1(e) which allowed for checking of the identity of any person entering a polling centre is DELETED IN FULL; and

(d) Section 26A subsection (2) and (3) are DELETED IN FULL. This means that all channels of election observation are sealed off as it now does not allow election candidates and staff to observe the registration of voters during polling day. There will be no more Barung Observers who were previously the only non-EC people able to look at the IC of the voter and pick up discrepancies.

(Source: http://bersih.org/?p=4744)

What just happened here?

It's like all this campaigning for free and fair elections had fell on deaf ears, and we are now worse off than before. Clearly, the last minute move by BN and EC to push the amendments through sought to make the election process less transparent and easier to manipulate. Clearly, they are also saying to us, "So, what can you do about this, huh?"

I'm all for Bersih 3.0. I'm ready to don my yellow shirt and march with the masses. I'm ready to suffer whatever consequences for partaking in this rally. Most of all, I'm ready for change.

But why is Bersih so adamant on Dataran Merdeka? Why is Bersih refusing to negotiate? The government has offered four other venues to hold the rally. Stadium Merdeka would be a good choice if you're aiming for historical significance and symbolism. Wasn't that the chosen venue last year before the government went back on their promise? You know they will find a way to screw things up so why not just play by their rules for a while?

What's going to happen on Saturday is anyone's guess but I would imagine the government and police would come down hard on Bersih, and they would justify it by saying Bersih did not cooperate. The circumstances surrounding this Bersih 3.0 march and last year's Bersih 2.0 march is different; last year, the government played us for fools. I just feel that if all the chaos, tear-gassing, manhandling and arrests can be avoided this round, why not. Let's not lose focus here.

Are we now fighting for free and fair elections, or fighting to occupy Dataran Merdeka? I'm in two minds over going for the march...

Hanoi 2012: my favourite shops in hanoi

Nagu

From the first moment I laid my eyes on them, the teddy bears in ao dai (Vietnamese traditional costume) and the cutest non la (conical hat), I was hooked. They were beautifully handmade and so came at a price an el cheapo backpacker wouldn't splurge on. But I love them so. Now that I'm less cheap and have evolved into super shopping queen, I bought two teddies! One for each time I was being a cheapo.



Nagu sells good quality gift items such as said teddy bears, passport holders, tissue wallets, bags, etc, mostly made in linen or silk. They also have a small collection of children wear and household accessories (think coasters, not plates) upstairs. I was told they're all handmade so the workmanship is really fine. There's an unmistakable kawaii vibe from the store and its products. For example, a cute Mario mushroom on one of its coasters! This can only mean one thing: the designer is Japanese; an expat living in HCMC to be precise.

Address: 20 Nha Tho. It's just around the corner from St. Joseph's Cathedral.


Tan My

Almost everything in Tan My can be found in the many souvenir shops along Hang Gai. But with just one touch the difference is apparent. The material of the accessories bags, napkins, placemats, etc, is soft and thick, not papery. Like Nagu, the embroidery is fine and neat but I can't be sure whether it's hand sown or machine sown... I forgot to ask.



Nevertheless, if you're looking for gifts that last, this is the place. You'll be paying more, like double more, but you won't regret it.

Address: 66 Hang Gai & 16 Hang Trong.

sex 901

The BF thought he would be convicted, because by not becoming a witness and defending himself when given a chance to, he is basically denying his rights to be heard. He strongly felt that it can be viewed as an admission of guilt, because lying in the Court is an offence.

I thought he would be convicted, no matter what he say or do not say. The very basis for the case itself is flawed and for allowing the sham case to go on for so long in the Court is a mockery to the justice system. So why bother to say your peace if you know justice will not be served?


(Source: The Malaysian Insider)

Well, surprisingly we were both proved wrong. We do not think he would survive this, but I'm satisfied with the verdict. I would like to think it's a step in the right direction, where the justice system is concerned in Malaysia, but I can't discount the fact that it was a sham case to begin with. Also, no sooner than when the verdict was out, the Gahmen released a statement that the verdict shows that Malaysia has an independent judiciary and that the Gahmen does not influence the Court's decision. That statement's kinda unnecessary and sorta defensive, don't you think?

Babe In Total Control of Herself (or Him?)

Yesterday, the conversation between The BF and I evolved into an interesting topic.

It started when I shared with him the conversation between me and a gf. She was going OMG OMG I have big big news, coz she just heard that a common friend is getting married next year. My antenna had already picked it up a couple months back and I was as surprised as she, then.

You must be thinking it doesn't sound like we're surprised in a good way. Well, getting married is a happy thing and not uncommon (some would say a wee bit overdue) amongst people of my age range, and we are genuinely happy for him. Honestly genuinely. But this dude, at the point when he proposed to his gf, has probably only been going out with her for a year and half max, based on my best estimate. We wondered how well they really know each other to make this kind of commitment and what possessed him to propose and her to accept! We also thought she's a little bit of a control freak...

The BF got interested at the mention of control freak, and asked why we made such a comment. I guess it's hard to pinpoint at a glaring display of control freak-ness by dude's gf but since we both independently formed that opinion, it must be true somewhat, no? OK.... maybe control freak is too strong a description, but she is kinda controlling-ish.

Anyway, The BF then told me that over lunch a couple of days back, his colleague Cindy asked him whether his gf is a control freak. Apparently he paused for a bit and in a voice not entirely convincing said "I don't think so...", to which Cindy laughed in his face. According to her, he's totally pwned and didn't know it, haha. "Is that how it works?" he asked, wearing the expression of a confused puppy dog.

Honestly, I don't know if I'm the kind of person Cindy said I am. At most, I will admit to being slightly manipulative (obviously in a good, angelic, harmless way) but definitely not a control freak. Do let me clarify a bit on the manipulative bit: I believe you can convince people to do things for you if you know what to say and how to say it. All women know that, and some men too. It's very much people management so, I probably shouldn't call myself manipulative, coz that sounds so sinister.

Whereas men, on the other hand, are prone to displaying control freak tendencies. I can almost hear a collective cry of protest but it's trueeee. Let's face it, men are born bossy and some developed very fixed opinions on things too. How many times have you got the "it's either my way or the highway" from men? The BF (yes you, I know you're reading this), as awesome as he is, is not an exception. Suffice to say he couldn't muster any retort when I gave him examples of his mild controlling-ness, hehe.

I think it's fair to say most of us, if not all, do have an inherent controlling trait. The only difference is how much control you want to have. And since no man is an island, that has to be balanced with how much control your partner or people around you will take. As long as we can strike a good balance, I'm pretty certain there will be peace on Earth...

Oh, and Merry Xmas!

watch and eat

I went for a cooking demo today and learned that it's actually very easy to make cake pops. It's soooo easy you wouldn't believe it. I can throw such awesome parties now!

I also learned how to fillet a whole salmon fish. Not that there's any need for me to fillet a whole salmon (or buy one in the first place) but I once watched an episode of Masterchef where the contestants had to fillet a salmon fish and some of them did it rather hideously. I guess the knowledge would come in handy should I want to fillet any fish. It should work the same way, right?

Anyhoo, the salmon fillets were used to make gravlax, like the ones they sell in Ikea. The instructor also taught us how to make bouncy poached prawns. It's in the ice ice water baby. No wonder mine always turn out slightly mushy.

Here comes my favourite, mince pies! I was thinking of making some for an xmas party next week but I thought it's kinda complicated-ish... so I chickened out. It's definitely not as easy as cake pops but not as hard as I thought.

This is Chef Bernard Lee in action. He's funny and because of that the class is pretty interactive.

Of course, we get to eat everything after that and have seconds AND thirds. Much fun!