August 2018

I was back in KL for 10 days to help your mom deal with the aftermath of house renovation. i spent most days unpacking boxes and boxes of books and other stuff; cleaning and re-organizing. On my second last day, i sorted out a stack of photo albums and went through some old pictures. i saw the ones where you were playing with your brother when he was 2 or 3 years old. The photos reminded me of how much i miss you. We all do.

GE May 9 2018

It's been over a week since Malaysia held its 14th general elections on Wed. May 9, 2018. The results turned out to be a positive surprise with the Opposition coalition forming the new government. This time around, the voter turnout was over 80% with overseas Malaysians making an effort to head back to vote. I flew back to KL while your mom made a last minute decision to go back to Penang to vote. Needless to say, you would have done the same thing. Even now, most of us are still caught up in the euphoria of the election results as this is the first time in 60 years that Barisan Nasional had lost an election.The new government has made a few promises including reducing corruption and restore the rule of law. The question now is whether the changes being made will have a good lasting impact on Malaysian society and the economy. 

new year's eve

i had just came back from KL, spending abit of time with your mom, brother, Yileen (Chean Shen's girlfriend) and Kaya (their super cute puppy). i was also glad that i met up with my erhu teacher Yee Sim whom i've not seen for two years; he's like a younger brother that i never had; good bloke. i believe you've met him when he came to the house to give me erhu lessons. Well, another year has gone but i will always miss you; new year's eve in particular. you would always come over for dinner with Saw Hong or Li Huey and then drive out to see fireworks. i would be asleep when you come back; those were the days i cherish so much!

15 Sep 2017

It was your birthday two weeks ago; i thought about you. I couldn't believe you would have been 42 years old. Time may heal the wound but not the pain of losing you. I have recurring dreams of you coming home but i was robbed of those moments of joy in a flash of a second, waking up to confront the reality of you gone. I miss you.

looking up

Things are starting to look good for your mom. First, she got a contract to conduct training in organisation and development for a company in Penang. This was quickly followed by a job offer from a well known legal firm in KL. All of us are so happy for her,as we know the job will keep her busy and in good spirits. As for me, the first six months of the year have kept me super busy at work but there were times when work stress got the better of me, so much so that i was tempted to quit.
But i realize that i would be worse off without working, so i just have to suck it in and learn to cope better with the stress at work. More than anything else, i'm very happy for your mom, and i know you would be too.

CNY 2017

Chinese New Year 2017 is very special. We had our reunion dinner in Penang with uncle Boo Eng and family, and Pheng and family. On the first day of CNY, I did my usual rounds; visited my biological mother (when you were around, you always dropped me off at her place) who is in a very bad shape, bed ridden and has to be fed through the tube. i was abit shaken when i saw her in that condition. Next stop was uncle Boo Eng's place, then uncle Teik Ee. Got to meet everyone at uncle Teik Ee's place. Your cousin, uncle Teik Ee's youngest son Wen Koay, is a budding entrepreneur doing web designing and other IT-related work. Uncle Teik Ee is very proud of him, so are we. Wish you were here.

December 2016

Last night, i dreamed that you came home and told everyone that you didn't die. i was so happy and relieved that i wanted to hug you to see if you were really alive. As i rushed forward, i woke up and the reality sank in.
i will always remember how you would call me to tell me that you were coming over to spend New Year's eve with me. We would have dinner with your friends and you would head out to see the fireworks.
I really, really miss you.

Kaya

This posting was overdue. i remembered your birthday; you would have been 41 years old on Sept 15, last Thursday. Your mom was tearing up when she went through your photographs; guess what happened? Kaya, your brother's puppy, jumped up from his slumber and sat on your mom's lap as if to comfort her. She is so adorable and lovable; wish you could see her. 

April

I was back in KL on Friday, April 22. That evening, your cousins Pheng and Cheng, and I went to Pantai Hospital to see your mom who is recovering from a knee surgery. She was in good spirits and was discharged the following day. I thought your mom was lucky to have your brother's new girl friend Yileen playing nurse to her for 2 weeks. Yileen is a lovely girl and reminded me of you. She's friendly, cheerful, down to earth and smart. You would have liked her too. 

2015

As the year 2015 comes to a close, I ask myself what have I achieved?
At work, I believe I have done well, taking on more responsibilities and my funds have stayed in the top quartile. Besides, I couldn't have asked for a more talented and hard working team; the team spirit is also amzazing.
My personal life is also good; i've made some effort to be more sociable; i've trained hard in the gym and i have put in effort to see our family more often. I've renovated the kitchen and install an oven; your mom has been happily baking. She also travels to Penang frequently to help Chean Shen set up his flat.
All in all, a good year. I still miss you.

A milestone

Happy Birthday! I have some good news for you. Your brother has found a job - after a year of job hunting; so you can imagine how happy your mom and I were. I wish you were here to share our joy.
I miss you.

Bersih 4

As I was watched Bersih 4 on Malaysiakini's live feed, i thought of you. For sure, you would join your mom and Chean Shen who are among the thousands of Malaysians demanding a clean and competent government. I won't go into details except to say that the corruption scandals involving the prime minister and the falling ringgit triggered a mass protest. Wish you here!

April 2015

I want to share with you some good things that happened in April. My work contract was extended for another year; means a lot to me as i'm really enjoying my job as a portfolio manager and managing a team. It took me a long time to find a team which gells and jumps at every opportunity to have lunch together. I made it a tradition to take my team out for lunch every quarter but looks like our team lunches are getting more frequent. In March, apart from our quarterly lunch, we had a treat from a member of the team who got promoted. In April, my team took me out for my birthday followed by similar treats from a former staff and most unexpectedly, from Ah Fook. He and his wife invited Raj and myself over to his new place for a nice home cooked meal followed by a lovely cake for dessert. Last but not least, I had a great time with your mom, Pheng, Cheng and Ah tiau, though we dearly miss you and kor kor. 

CNY 2015

I was back in Penang on the first day of Chinese New Year. This year, I was accompanied by your mon and Raj. As usual, uncle Boo Eng picked us up and headed to his place. We stayed for a while before Teng Lye dropped me off at my mother's place. I had invited Raj to visit my biological family; my mother, at 95, looks quite healthy except that she cannot recognize or remember me at all. I had a good time taking photographs of family members, all of whom I see once a year. About 2pm, Teng Lye picked us up and headed to uncle Teik Ee's house where we met up with almost everyone in the family. Khim's eldest daughter Chin Chin is in form 6, doing well in school and aiming to do medicine at university.Uncle Teik Ee's youngest son, Wen Koay (who called himself milo juak) is a smart cookie, designing web applications at the age of 19. CNY is not cny without a game of mahjong. Raj (with some help from me) played with aunty Girlie and aunty Ah Eng's sister, and emerged the winner (you can say `beginner's luck' played a big part). By the time, we got back to KL, it was past midnight and we were all exhausted. We had dinner with Pheng, Cheng, Bobby, Lisa, Xian Wei and Ah tiau at TGIF; food not so great but it's the company that counts. Cheng is recovering from dengue, while everyone else seemed subdued (we sure miss kor kor). Bobby and family headed back to Shanghai on Sunday while Raj and I returned to Singapore.

Farewell to your kor kor

Your kor kor passed away on Tuesday, 27 January; her funeral was yesterday Sat. 31. Uncle Boo Eng and children, aunty Ah Eng and Wen Koay were here. Pheng and the rest of the family are taking her ashes to Penang today; so that she can rest close to you.

this day

Nine years ago this day, you left us in a hurry. My favorite photograph of you is on my dressing table; where you wore a white shirt and blue jeans on a sitting pose with a smile and a twinkle in your eye waving your finger as if saying `i told you so'; your smile is so infectious. 

April 2014

i was in KL on 17 April afternoon when i heard about Karpal Singh's death in an accident. i couldn't beleive what i heard until i've read the news online many times over. Karpal Singh's death was untimely as he prepared himself for another round of court battles, first on sedition charges; and second, representing Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy charges. We may speculate on the inevitable outcome of these court cases but Karpal Singh was never ever going to give up easily. Fighting for justice has always been his mantra. We have lost a truly remarkable and incorruptible leader who stood up for ordinary Malaysians. Farewell Karpal Singh.

A new year... I find it hard to believe that it's been eight years since you left us. It seemed only like yesterday that you were in my house having dinner, sharing a joke and teasing Li Huey and Saw Hong. Each year brings new hopes and challenges; how i wish i could share them with you. I miss you. aunty choo2

Happy Birthday!

GE May 2013

Malaysia's general elections on Sunday May 5, 2013 were a let-down in some ways, but hope for change lingers on. The ruling party BN won despite overwhelming support for the opposition coalition as reflected in the popular vote of 47.38% versus 50.87% for the latter in the nationwide polls. Naturally this raised a lot of questions on how BN won. Everyone has an opinion although critics would obviously accused the BN of using dirty tactics. But what is more interesting than ever is the emerging voter trend in this election. There seems to be a clear divide between urban, middle class and rural voters. Young, middle class and urban voters voted for change which showed in the swing in votes against the BN in the popular states. In most urban areas, the opposition parties won by a bigger majority. We don't know yet how the government is going to respond to this trend but all said and done, we did have a good time with family and friends sharing our hopes and aspirations for a better future.