HARKING BACK TO THE CHRISTMAS OF YORE

Christmas is finally upon us.

The season and not the day itself, I mean. Sometime in June, I remarked to a friend that Christmas was taking a mighty long time to come this year.

But, lo and behind, it is here and the days will pass by soon enough before Dec 25 dawns and church bells ring.Christmas has always held a unique allure for me because I grew up beside the Zion Lutheran Cathedral (church only then) in Brickfields with a myriad activities on its premises from the beginning of Advent (the first Sunday of the Christmas season) until Christmas Day service at the church.

There was no way I could have missed any of the happening at church as my late father, Rev D. Moses, was a leader of the church and expected his family to fully participate in the Christmas programme.

This meant taking part in the annual Sunday School pageant, the carols from my teenage years onwards and the numerous services that filled the four Sundays until Christmas Day.

Then, there were the preparations at home. We, the four children (and I am quite sure our parents too), had a whale of a time as the Moses family did what was necessary to get ready for the greatest day of the year.

It was really a season of joy more than a one-day happening as we eagerly lived every day from Advent with the joy that only kids can derive from anticipating a day of food and fun.

It would begin sometime early in December when the lorry from F and N and another company whose names skips my mind screeched to a halt at the kerb. The salsmen would soon knock on the doors of Christian families to find out how many crates of aerated water we needed.

The crates would be stacked out back beside the kitchen with a warning from our parents not to touch the coloured drinks which were meant for visitors to our home.

And there were scores of visitors who would wander over from church on Christmas day or the legion of relatives and friends who would stop by before or after the festival.Our house was a must stop for the many who knew my parents.

We kids would invite our friends over on the sly for a quick drink or two.My mother and a house help would also start preparing sweetmeats and savoury Tamil cakes from the first week of December.

The murukku, achi murukku, candy, kothu urundai (sweet balls of gram), nei urundai (ghee balls) would be placed in large biscuit tins and deposited in the store room.But our hands would soon find their way into the repositories for goodies with the attendant scolding and threats from my mother following suit.

The Big Sister fruit cake would be stached in a cupboard under lock and key and away from our hands looking for something to nibble at tea time.Where has this brand gone?

It used to have large cherries that would make a little boy's day and smaller but sizeable raisins which used to taste great after lunch or dinner. The carolling sessions, usually over three days, must get honorable mention here. They usually degenerated into eating binges in between rounds of singing Christmas carols from home to home.

By the end of the day, the younger members of the carol party would be almost sick with all manner of food and drink taken in excess while one or two of the older ones would have to sent home in taxi's in various stages of inebriation.

And soon the big day would arrive and we would go to church in our Christmas best. Today, much has gone out of the Christmas I used to know and love.

We work until a few days before D-day and then try to catch a little rest over the holidays with a couple of church services in between.

So, here's to preparing for Christmas.

Enjoy.

Cheaper consumer goods through cooperatives?

Prices of consumer goods have skyrocketted of late with the average wage earner at odds on how to make ends meet. The fall in petrol prices have not had a noticeable effect on other prices across the board. In true Malaysian tradition, the purveyors of essentials conveniently forget, or are made to forget, that petrol is cheaper. To be fair, they are also complaining of hikes in other prices which also have an effect on their pricing.

It is a vicious cycle. Take for example, the humble roti canai that almost all Malaysians love "banjir" (flooded) with dhall and sambal. When petrol prices went up, the cost of the breakfast favourite also went up because the chap who supplied gas to the restaurant also upped his charges as did the host of others who played a role in keeping the eatery going .

The restauranteer also has to pay higher prices for his clothes. his food, his entertainment. The list goes on.

When the petrol price went down quite a bit recently, roti canai prices slipped by 10 sen or so. And have you seen the roti canai of late? Two bites and its gone. One has to order three roti canai for a hearty breakfast.

So where does that leave us? The situation appears to be worsening with no end in sight to spiralling prices - of everything.
I think we are forgetting a valuable resource that has almost become an institution in Malaysia that can help find some comfort for the average Malaysian whose wallet has been hit hard.

I am talking of the co-operatives that exist in almost all sectors. I believe the time has come for them to spring into action in terms of selling dry and "wet' consumers items - and cut out the midleman who for the record has my sympathies. But being the resilient lot that they are, I am sure they can find alternative sources of income by being middlemen in areas that do not touch our stomachs.

There was a time when some co-operatives had shops in company premises or in rented space outside selling, among others, rice, oil, and canned goods. These were almost regular shops which staff frequented after working hours or during their tea and lunch breaks.

But those were the halycon days before the economic crunch hit the country when people were more worried about convenience than prices. But today, price is the bottomline in purchases for most, with perhaps the exception being the well-heeled who don't have to count their ringgit every time they go grocery shopping.

I believe the time has come for co-operatives to go back to helping members facing the shrinking ringgit by buying in bulk from wholesalers and selling them at less-than-market prices to members.

We may save a few ringgit a week but they will definitely total a tidy sum over the months. This is where membership in co-operatives can help the ordinary Malaysian wage-earner.

In India, there is a different system that works on almost the same principle.
The government sells "rationed' goods, among others, like oil, rice, wheat flour, dhall and milk at lower prices to all households. All one has to do is get a ration card from the municipal authorities.

No one is shy about getting the rationed goods as they translate into smaller grocery budgets at the end of the month.

We need to rethink our options, especially where our stomachs are concerned, at a time when the average pay packet does not go as far as it did.

Food for thought?

Hello Malaysia. Here I come!

Hello! I never thought this day would ever arrive. One minute I was blissfully living my life with the daily joy, among others, of reading blogs when a colleague asked if I would like to blog. I said "yes" before I thought it through. But on hindsight, it was the right decision. I want to share my thoughts with my fellow Malaysians and the world for what its worth. Hopefully, some good will come out of it. I am following what an old friend of mine, Zainon Ahmad, said and and the tail end of it goes something like this: "I tell the truth as much I can and the old older I get, the more I am able to tell the truth." A truism from an older scribe who is as genuine as they come. I will be writing about contemporary affairs without a special accent on any specific issue. If there is any one area (no pun intended) that I may dwell one, it is Brickfields, a place very close to my heart. I wrote a book about it called "Brickfields: A Place, A Time, A Memory' last year which told all about my acquaintance with the place. I like to talk about the good old days when times were good, even without the luxuries that we enjoy today. It was a simple time of carefree days with nary a thought for what the next day would bring. I yearn for those days when life was less complicated and people truly cared for each other. I want Malaysia to regain its footing, economically, politically and socially and to shine again as a nation. I believe we can do this - but it has to be done together. This is the simple truth that we have to accept. I promise to be balanced in my views for the good of all. If I do offend anyone, it will be done inadvertently. I offer my humble apologies in advance to those who may frown in future after a dose of balan's-ced views. Ciao!
Labels: Hello Malaysia. Here I come.

A death thousands of kilometres away and its implications for Malaysians

I have a sad story to tell Malaysians today of how a family is going through untold misery after the head of the house died abroad on Sunday in a drowning tragedy. The predicament before the family of Bishop Julius Danaraj Paul of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia may have been faced before by other Malaysians.

My heart goes out to all of them and in this instance, to the family of Bishop Paul. The head of the church died six days ago and his family has yet to see his face. The problem, as it were, is the tedious process that families like his have to go through to get the remains back.

While it is no one's fault really as there are mandatory procedures to be followed in the country where the person died and in the home country of the deceased, the effect on the immediate family, and in this case the entire church too, is immense.

It has been terribly difficult for Alice Santha Paul, the wife of Bishop Julius, and their children Surenthran, Naventhran, who live here, and Lalitha who works in Australia. After nearly a week of waiting for the body of her husband, she left on a flight to Guatemala City on Friday night with Naventhran to be with her beloved and accompany his remains back here.

We are told that it may take up to 10 days for Bishop Julius' body to be repatriated from the Latin-American nation, certainly a period of pain for the immediate family, relatives, friends and in this case members of the Malaysian Christian community where Bishop Julius was a well-known figure.

Alice will come back with her husband's remains after a very long flight there and back. I shudder to think of the ordeal that awaits the families of others who may have the misfortune of dying abroad.In this case, the delay in terms of local documentation in a Third World country was compounded by the fact that we do not have a mission in Guatemala.

All arrangements to repatriate the body had to be channelled through the Malaysian embassy in Mexico City which is doing its best to expedite the process. But still, there is only so much they can do from a distance. And so, Alice - with a heart already broken by the sad demise of her husband - had to take a 36-hour flight to see his face.

Ah, the unbelievable love of a wife.

I wonder if there is a standard operating procedure at Wisma Putra that can be made available to Malaysians whose relatives or friends die abroad so that the entire process of repatriation can be expedited?

I have heard horror stories being told of how it took 12 days to repatriate a body from China and almost the same number of days to do so in the case of Australia. Surely, something can be done to hasten the process, and in so doing, ease the pain of the bereaved family.

I have to qualify this statement as I certainly understand the complexities of cases involving a criminal element or any other factor outside the pale of a "normal' (for want of a better word) death abroad. Yet, we live in the 21st century and have the benefit of excellent diplomatic ties with most nations.

This should logically translate into a well-oiled process of repatriating bodies.Granted that Guatemala is half a world away with the attendant problem of an inordinate period of time to fly back, the internal process of documentation and approvals can surely be hastened.

And so the sad story continues to unfold. We dont know for sure as to when the body of Bishop Paul will arrive in Kuala Lumpur and when the funeral will be held.

The church remains in a state of uncertainty although Bishop Paul, for reasons best known to him, called for the election of his successor on Nov 1 this year despite having a good two years to complete his term.

I will keep Malaysians posted of developments in this case.Meanwhile, do give me your views on how best families of people who die abroad can be spared the torture of days of uncertainity until their remains are received here.





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