Happy and Blessed New Year.

My uncle Stephen froom Sydney visited us on Boxing Day and stayed with us for a few days. They left and on the morning of the 31st, heading to Canberra for a night with my cousin Ruth before heading back to Sydney.

While they were here, we had lots of meals, conversations and reminiscing together. It was great fun. On Sunday 28th, we went to David and Charmayne’s in Camberwell after church. So there were my uncle Stephen, auntie Paddy and Caleb from Sydney, an auntie (Swee Har), uncle (Shu), David and Charmayne, and Tress, Kiddo and I. We had a barbie there and the food and drinks flowed all day, and we only left a bit after 9pm. It was fantastic. We talked about my father, my grandma, my grandfather, my great grandmother, and almost everyone else in the family.

We continued doing this the night before they left Melbourne. After a dinner at All People’s they came to our home and over coffee we chatted some more.

New Year’s Eve was at Jason and Mel’s – yet another late night. There were about 30 people there and we didnt leave till almost 2am.

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This morning as I attempted to do some work, the slow connection with the office network drive meant I surfed the web a bit. Malaysiakini is of course my favourite haunt.

I just picked up this story about the Malaysian police dousing boiling water on a detainee. The story is reproduced below. What rubbish from the Malaysian police. They are a cowardly and stupid bunch. I dont know what can be done to stem this source of grief for all Malaysians. The Malaysian police is one of the worst source of pains for Malaysians. If only they (the police) would wise up and realise they cannot go on this way.

Malaysians have voiced loud and clear on what they thought of the ruling BN government, in March 2008. Perhaps it is time they did the same against the police. They are a disgrace.

The Malaysiakini story is as follows:

 

We are drawing to the close of the year. Before too long in 2009, Malaysia is due to have a new PM. I understand this would be in March 2009. I sincerely hope the person currently waiting in the wings, would not become the Prime Minister of Malaysia. A Prime Murderer he may be, but a Prime Minister he must not become.

A person seeking such a high office must not only be clean, he must also be seen to be clean. There must be no question whatsoever about his mores. When a person has as much baggage as Najib Razak, when there are questions galore about his involvement with murder thus making him a man with blood on his hands, it is incumbent on him to satisfy the public and dispel all questions. He must show clean hands. Not just for the murder of the woman, but also the stealing of public funds. In addition to murder, there have been too many specific accusations against him, that he stole public funds by elevating defense spending to enrich himself. He has never provided satisfactory rebuttals which would stand up in the court of public opinion.

Najib Razak is still tainted with the blood of Altantuya Shaaribuu. Razak Baginda may have – albeit strangely – declared that Najib wasn’t at all involved in the murder of Altantuya, but the whole episode stinks to high heavens. The conduct of the Attorney General’s office and the police screams injustice, corruption and blatant disregard to due process let alone justice.

Bala has now disappeared. Rumour has it he is now in hiding in India, after his family was detained by the police the day after the statutory declaration (reproduced below) hit the internet.  He was offered money and sanctuary in India and he took it. Who wouldn’t?

If Najib Razak becomes Prime Minister, Malaysians will be beset with the stigma of a country which embodies lawlessness. He would be a walking reminder for all Malaysians that Malaysia is a country where the police, Attorney General’s office and courts are useless puppets who protects the rich and powerful and the PM actually can get away with murder. That would be a tragic turn for Malaysia. Malaysians don’t deserve that. Malaysian deserve a lot better than Najib Razak.

The following is the full 16-page statutory declaration sign by Abdul Razak Baginda’s private investigor P Balasubramaniam on July 1.
 

I, Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal … do solemly and sincerely declare as follows:

1.                             I have been a police officer with the Royal Malaysian Police Force, having joined as a constable in 1981 attached to the police field force. I was then promoted to the rank of lance corporal and finally resigned from the police force in 1998 when I was with the Special Branch.

2.                             I have been working as a freelance private investigator since I left the police force.

3.                             Sometime in June or July 2006, I was employed by Abdul Razak Baginda for a period of 10 days to look after him at his office at the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang between the hours of 8am to 5pm each working day as apparently he was experiencing disturbances from a third party.

4.                             I resigned from this job after 2½ days as I was not receiving any proper instructions.

5.                             I was however re-employed by Abdul Razak Baginda on the Oct 5, 2006 as he had apparently received a harassing phone call from a Chinese man calling himself ASP Tan who had threatened him to pay his debts. I later found out this gentleman was in fact a private investigator called Ang who was employed by a Mongolian woman called Altantuya Shaaribuu.

6.                             Abdul Razak Baginda was concerned that a person by the name of Altantuya Shaaribuu, a Mongolian woman, was behind this threat and that she would be arriving in Malaysia very soon to try and contact him.

7.                             Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that he was concerned by this as he had been advised that Altantuya Shaaribuu had been given some powers by a Mongolian ‘bomoh’ and that he could never look her in the face because of this.

8.                             When I enquired as to who this Mongolian woman was, Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that she was a friend of his who had been introduced to him by a VIP and who asked him to look after her financially.

9.                             I advised him to lodge a police report concerning the threatening phone call he had received from the Chinese man known as ASP Tan but he refused to do so as he informed me there were some high-profile people involved.

10.                        Abdul Razak Baginda further told me that Altantuya Shaaribuu was a great liar and good in convincing people. She was supposed to have been very demanding financially and that he had even financed a property for her in Mongolia.

11.                        Abdul Razak Baginda then let me listen to some voice messages on his handphone asking him to pay what was due otherwise he would be harmed and his daughter harassed.

12.                        I was therefore supposed to protect his daughter Rowena as well.

13.                        On Oct 9, 2006 I received a phone call from Abdul Razak Baginda at about 9.30am informing me that Altantuya was in his office and he wanted me there immediately. As I was in the midst of a surveillance, I sent my assistant Suras to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office and I followed a little later. Suras managed to control the situation and had persuaded Altantuya and her two friends to leave the premises. However Altantuya left a note written on some Hotel Malaya notepaper, in English, asking Abdul Razak Baginda to call her on her handphone (number given) and wrote down her room number as well.

14.                        Altantuya had introduced herself to Suras as ‘Aminah’ and had informed Suras she was there to see her boyfriend Abdul Razak Baginda.

15.                        These three Mongolian girls however returned to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office at the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang again, the next day at about 12 noon. They did not enter the building but again informed Suras that they wanted to meet Aminah’s boyfriend, Abdul Razak Baginda.

16.                        On Oct 11, 2006, Aminah returned to Abdul Razak Baginda’s office on her own and gave me a note to pass to him, which I did. Abdul Razak Baginda showed me the note which basically asked him to call her urgently.

17.                        I suggested to Abdul Razak Baginda that perhaps it may be wise to arrange for Aminah to be arrested if she harassed him further, but he declined as he felt she would have to return to Mongolia as soon as her cash ran out.

18.                        In the meantime, I had arranged for Suras to perform surveillance on Hotel Malaya to monitor the movements of these three Mongolian girls, but they recognised him. Apparently they become friends with Suras after that and he ended up spending a few nights in their hotel room.

19.                        When Abdul Razak Baginda discovered Suras was becoming close to Aminah he asked me to pull him out from Hotel Malaya.

20.                        On the Oct 14, 2006, Aminah turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house in Damansara Heights when I was not there. Abdul Razak Baginda called me on my handphone to inform me of this so I rushed back to his house. As I arrived, I noticed Aminah outside the front gates shouting “Razak, bastard, come out from the house”. I tried to calm her down but couldn’t, so I called the police who arrived in two patrol cars. I explained the situation to the police, who took her away to the Brickfields police station.

21.                        I followed the patrol cars to Brickfields police station in a taxi. I called Abdul Razak Baginda and his lawyer Dirren to lodge a police report but they refused.

22.                        When I was at the Brickfields police station, Aminah’s own private investigator, one Mr Ang arrived and we had a discussion. I was told to deliver a demand to Abdul Razak Baginda for US$500,000 and three tickets to Mongolia, apparently as commission owed to Aminah from a deal in Paris.

23.                        As Aminah had calmed down at this stage, a policewoman at the Brickfields police station advised me to leave and settle the matter amicably.

24.                        I duly informed Abdul Razak Baginda of the demands Aminah had made and told him I was disappointed that no one wanted to back me up in lodging a police report. We had a long discussion about the situation when I expressed a desire to pull out of this assignment.

25.                        During this discussion and in an attempt to persuade me to continue my employment with him, Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that:

1)                      He had been introduced to Aminah by Najib Razak at a diamond exhibition in Singapore.

2)                      Najib Razak informed Abdul Razak Baginda that he had a sexual relationship with Aminah and that she was susceptible to anal intercourse.

3)                      Najib Razak wanted Abdul Razak Baginda to look after Aminah as he did not want her to harass him since he was now the deputy prime minister.

4)                      Najib Razak, Abdul Razak Baginda and Aminah had all been together at a dinner in Paris.

5)                      Aminah wanted money from him as she felt she was entitled to a US$500,000 commission on a submarine deal she assisted with in Paris.

26.                        On Oct 19, 2006, I arrived at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house in Damansara Heights to begin my night duty. I had parked my car outside as usual. I saw a yellow Proton Perdana taxi pass by with three ladies inside, one of whom was Aminah. The taxi did a U-turn and stopped in front of the house where these ladies rolled down the window and wished me ‘Happy Deepavali’. The taxi then left.

27.                        About 20 minutes later the taxi returned with only Aminah in it. She got out of the taxi and walked towards me and started talking to me. I sent an SMS to Abdul Razak Baginda informing him “Aminah was here”.  I received an SMS from Razak instructing me “to delay her until my man comes”.

28.                        Whist I was talking to Aminah, she informed me of the following:

1)                      That she met Abdul Razak Baginda in Singapore with Najib Razak.

2)                      That she had also met Abdul Razak Baginda and Najib Razak at a dinner in Paris.

3)                      That she was promised a sum of US$500,000.00 as commission for assisting in a submarine deal in Paris.

4)                      That Abdul Razak Baginda had bought her a house in Mongolia but her brother had refinanced it and she needed money to redeem it.

5)                      That her mother was ill and she needed money to pay for her treatment.

6)                      That Abdul Razak Baginda had married her in Korea as her mother is Korean whilst her father was a Mongolian/Chinese mix.

7)                      That if I wouldn’t allow her to see Abdul Razak Baginda, would I be able to arrange for her to see Najib Razak.

29.                        After talking to Aminah for about 15 minutes, a red Proton Aeroback arrived with a woman and two men. I now know the woman to be lance corporal Rohaniza and the men, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azahar. They were all in plainclothes. Azilah walked towards me while the other two stayed in the car.

30.                        Azilah asked me whether the woman was Aminah and I said “Yes”. He then walked off and made a few calls on his handphone. After 10 minutes another vehicle, a blue Proton Saga, driven by a Malay man, passed by slowly. The drivers window had been wound down and the driver was looking at us.

31.                        Azilah then informed me they would be taking Aminah away. I informed Aminah they were arresting her. The other two persons then got out of the red Proton and exchanged seats so that lance corporal Rohaniza and Aminah were in the back while the two men were in the front. They drove off and that is the last I ever saw of Aminah.

32.                        Abdul Razak Baginda was not at home when all this occurred.

33.                        After Oct 19, 2006, I continued to work for Abdul Razak Baginda at his house in Damansara Heights from 7pm to 8am the next morning, as he had been receiving threatening text messages from a woman called ‘Amy’ who was apparently ‘Aminah’s’ cousin in Mongolia.

34.                        On the night of Oct 20, 2006, both of Aminah’s girlfriends turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house enquiring where Aminah was. I informed them she had been arrested the night before.

35.                        A couple of nights later, these two Mongolian girls, Mr Ang and another Mongolian girl called ‘Amy’ turned up at Abdul Razak Baginda’s house looking for Aminah as they appeared to be convinced she was being held in the house.

36.                        A commotion began so I called the police who arrived shortly thereafter in a patrol car.  Another patrol car arrived a short while later in which was the investigating officer from the Dang Wangi police station who was in charge of the missing persons report lodged by one of the Mongolians girls, I believe was Amy.

37.                        I called Abdul Razak Baginda who was at home to inform him of the events taking place at his front gate. He then called DSP Musa Safri and called me back informing me that Musa Safri would be calling handphone and I was to pass the phone to the inspector from Dang Wangi police station.

38.                        I then received a call on my handphone from Musa Safri and duly handed the phone to the Dang Wangi inspector. The conversation lasted 3-4 minutes after which he told the girls to disperse and to go to see him the next day.

39.                        On or about Oct 24, 2006, Abdul Razak Baginda instructed me to accompany him to the Brickfields police station as he had been advised to lodge a police report about the harassment he was receiving from these Mongolian girls.

40.                        Before this, Amy had sent me an SMS informing me she was going to Thailand to lodge a report with the Mongolian consulate there regarding Aminah’s disappearance. Apparently she had sent the same SMS to Abdul Razak Baginda. This is why he told me he had been advised to lodge a police report.

41.                        Abdul Razak Baginda informed me that DPS Musa Safri had introduced him to one DSP Idris, the head of the criminal division, Brickfields police station, and that Idris had referred him to ASP Tonny.

42.                        When Abdul Razak Baginda had lodged his police report at Brickfields police station, in front of ASP Tonny, he was asked to make a statement but he refused as he said he was leaving for overseas. He did however promise to prepare a statement and hand ASP Tonny a thumbdrive. I know that this was not done as ASP Tonny told me.

43.                        However ASP Tonny asked me the next day to provide my statement instead and so I did.

44.                        I stopped working for Abdul Razak Baginda on Oct 26, 2006 as this was the day he left for Hong Kong on his own.

45.                        In mid-November 2006, I received a phone call from ASP Tonny from the IPK Jalan Hang Tuah asking me to see him regarding Aminah’s case. When I arrived there I was immediately arrested under Section 506 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation.

46.                        I was then placed in the lock up and remanded for five days. On the third day, I was released on police bail.

47.                        At the end of November 2006, the D9 department of the IPK sent a detective to my house to escort me to the IPK Jalan Hang Tuah. When I arrived, I was told I was being arrested under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder. I was put in the lock up and remanded for seven days.

48.                        I was transported to Bukit Aman where I was interrogated and questioned about an SMS I had received from Abdul Razak Baginda on Oct 19, 2006 which read “delay her until my man arrives”. They had apparently retrieved this message from Abdul Razak Baginda’s handphone.

49.                        They then proceeded to record my statement from 8.30 am to 6pm everyday for seven consecutive days. I told them all I knew including everything Abdul Razak Baginda and Aminah had told me about their relationships with Najib Razak but when I came to sign my statement, these details had been left out.

50.                        I have given evidence in the trial of Azilah, Sirul and Abdul Razak Baginda at the Shah Alam High Court. The prosecutor did not ask me any questions in respect of Aminah’s relationship with Najib Razak or of the phone call I received from DSP Musa Safri, whom I believe was the ADC for Najib Razak and/or his wife.

51.                        On the day Abdul Razak Baginda was arrested, I was with him at his lawyers office at 6.30am. Abdul Razak Baginda informed us that he had sent Najib Razak an SMS the evening before as he refused to believe he was to be arrested, but had not received a response.

52.                        Shortly thereafter, at about 7.30am, Abdul Razak Baginda received an SMS from Najib Razak and showed, this message to both myself and his lawyer. This message read as follows: “ I am seeing IGP at 11am today …  matter will be solved … be cool”.

53.                        I have been made to understand that Abdul Razak Baginda was arrested the same morning at his office in the Bangunan Getah Asli, Jalan Ampang.

54.                        The purpose of this Statutory declaration is to:

1)                      State my disappointment at the standard of investigations conducted by the authorities into the circumstances surrounding the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu.

2)                      Bring to the notice of the relevant authorities the strong possibility that there are individuals other than the three accused who must have played a role in the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu.

3)                      Persuade the relevant authorities to reopen their investigations into this case immediately so that any fresh evidence may be presented to the court prior to submissions at the end of the prosecutions case.

4)                      Emphasise the fact that having been a member of the Royal Malaysian Police Force for 17 years, I am absolutely certain no police officer would shoot someone in the head and blow up their body without receiving specific instructions from their superiors first.

5)                      Express my concern that should the defence not be called in the said murder trial, the accused, Azilah and Sirul will not have to swear on oath and testify as to the instructions they received and from whom they were given.

55.                        And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declaration Act 1960.
 
Balasubramaniam a/l Perumal
July 1, 2008

 

It was still chilly this morning, for a summer. We woke up to an 11 deg but bright and sunny morning. It was gorgeous. It promised to hit 30 deg so it should be a great day.

Tress and I woke up and went about getting ready for the day. We have a Christmas Sunday service after which there is lunch so I had to prepare the food. I decided to bake some chicken pieces, marinated with plenty of herbs and red wine. I threw in plenty of tomatoes for flavour. I also made a salad, for those who want to cool off from the warmer conditions.

TT Quah spoke again, and it was a short and focused message. Some 12-15 visitors were there and hopefully the message meant something to them. We got back close to 2pm.

When we got home, I went straight to my work. I have had a torrid time, with heaps of work all wanting turnaround before the holidays start. I have several meetings tomorrow, one of which require extensive review of a couple of documents. I have just spent the last 3 hours working on them so I feel a bit better now.

The Chiangs and the Chews are coming for dinner a short while later, and I will have to go and cook (again – yay!) soon.

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I just heard a church member swapped her car with another member. She had some visitors from Malaysia and she borrowed a 7 seater from this member. She drove that borrowed 7 seater all the way to Gold Coast, and would be returning there again! What a woman. I wouldnt have even thought of it. I mean, the insurance is one and the wear and tear is another. I simply think this is such a huge ask from a friend. She seemed to think her luxury car was a compensation for the lender but apart from the fact that the Odyssey is a pretty decent car as well, the fact that she had a Merc suggests she could well afford to hire a 7 seater. That she refuses to is true to form. What a woman.  I’d “lari kuat kuat”…

2 weeks into the summer and it is now about 11 deg. It rained all day yesterday. In fact it started on Friday afternoon. The rain is obviously great but where’s the stinking hot weather? It is actually quite good and while the general overcast conditions is unexpected, the rain and cool condition have been quite good. A bit of sun would be great however…

We were at a mate’s house again last night, spending some time with an old mutual friend whose son has finished Uni and would be celebrating with a graduation ceremony later this week. Tress brought a fish curry dish (assam) which was great. My mate whipped up a pretty decent char koay teow and it was quite a hit. The little delicate cubes of pork crackling fat was decadent but sensational.

Alex my mate often quotes this statement – where 2 or 3 are gathered, there will be trouble. He was quoting George Verwer, the vivacious founder and leader of Operations Mobilisation.

I met him a couple of times – he was (and remains) an infectiously focused and driven person. Both times I met him he had this jacket on, which is as gaudy as anything I have ever seen but it was a jacket which left such a lasting impression so that years later, I could still recall the key messages of bringing the gospel to all corners of the earth. That jacket had a world map on it. In fact it looked like the whole jacket was made out of a big world map.

Where there is people there will be trouble. The other Alex I like is Ferguson. He once said Dennis Wise – that prickly one time Chelsea man (pre-Abramovich days) – could start a fight in a room all by himself. In the gospel according to Sir Alex Ferguson where 1 is present, there will be trouble. That is an even more damning view of man than the view of George Verwer.

I didn’t think George was referring to the inherently bad nature of man so much as providing a context for understanding conflict and how to resolve it. To him, conflict is not to be seen as an abnormal part of a relationship. The opposite is true – ie conflict follows wherever men choose to embark on anything together.

I don’t think by the way, that Sir Alex cares too much about the philosophy of conflict either – he was just talking about Dennis Wise, and possibly explaining why a United player may have had an argy bargy with that little prickly twit.

Thankfully most of us are no where near as volatile as Dennis the Unwise. Even then, we aren’t far from conflicts.

Conflicts however, can often be avoided. Communication is often a key. If parties had communicated well, effectively and in a timely manner, many issues can be resolved without escalation into conflict mode. If only we take the trouble to communicate properly.

We were at a dinner party at a mate’s place last night. One of the conversations relate to special government facilities for children with special needs. Apparently there are now concerns that only citizens would continue to enjoy these benefits. Obviously a number of those who were there last who arent citizens, now thought it may be a good idea to go for citizenship. Who knows – with the difficult economic environment, more and more benefits may be curtailed and be extended only to citizens. 

I have long said to my friends and relatives – if we choose to live in Australia and reap the benefits that come with it, it is only right we become citizens of Australia. I cannot understand why many continue to hang on to their Malaysian (or other country) citizenship. What has Malaysia done for us? We worked hard and contributed only to be told we were not welcomed andto be systematically marginalised and discriminated against. 

Sure, there are discriminations in Australia. Lots of it. It is not however, a systematically rolled out thing. In fact it is illegal. Decisions are deliberated and documented to ensure no elements of discrimination based on elements like race, ethnicity, gender or religious beliefs are present. On the face of it, everyone is given a fair go. It provides facilities to all, including special facilities for children with special needs. This country gives a lot to its residents, in spite of what many think. It’s only right we show more gratitude and commitment. Going for citizenship is a natural first step.

Remembering Dad

 

The whole of last week, I was wondering what my late father was thinking about in his final days. 30 Nov came and went. Many times this past Sunday morning while in church I played back in my mind, how I received a telephone call from Jean, my brother’s wife, that morning.

 

It is now 2 years since my father died.

 

I recently received an email from an uncle. He was the first to the scene, after my mother called. God knows how weak I am. He spared me the spectre of my mother’s grief, which my uncle recalled in his email. I would have been severely and adversely affected by being there. Instead, I was wrestling with my own demons here in Melbourne. The weeks following were some of the darkest in my life. I often wondered however, how my mother is coping. I thought my battles in those weeks are probably child’s play compared to what my mother must have gone through. I hope she finds peace and joy constantly, somehow.

 

 

 

Summer – Silly Season

 

Last Saturday night we went to someone’s home for a dinner party. It was a break-up dinner for the cell group in that home. We got invited anyway and enjoyed the company.

 

The silly season has started. Break-up dinners and parties will take place for another weekend or so. Soon all systems come to a grinding halt. Church programs whittle down to minimum levels. Bulletins stop being printed. Cell groups and kids church stop.

 

At home, local TV stations pull their usual programs and put on re-runs of B-grade stuff. The only saving grace – for me at least – is the cricket. Channel 9’s “summer of cricket” is like a constant background thing right through summer. The commentaries from icons like Richie Benaud and Ian Chappell together with other commentators like Ian Healy, Michael Slater, Tony Greig and Bill Something (Crawford?) would drone on while we battle to keep cool. Occasionally one turns towards the TV set at the heightened cries of “Got him” or “beautiful cover drive”. For me however, on a Saturday afternoon in summer, I’d love few things more than having a cold one in my hand while watching the likes of Brett Lee charging in at an Englishman or South African batsman trying to take out his stumps.

 

Maybe the Australian summer means holidays and staying out at the beach till late so nobody bothers with anything else. Maybe it is just too hot to bother. Whatever the reason, many things shut down. In the next few weeks, more and more families will pack up and leave for their holidays. Some go away for a couple of weeks, some a couple of months. It is all very disruptive. It’s the silly season.

Honesty and candour mark a mature relationship. I’m grateful for at least a couple of relationships where these characteristics have become apparent. There is however, an older relationship which I find it difficult test if it has lost that level of maturity.

On Saturday morning, we woke up at our usual 7-nish time. It was a bit of a waste because Melbourne was true to form and turned the time of year on its head. One week out before summer, the temperature dipped to single digit the night before and stayed that way for most of the day. It rained heavily too.

After getting my hazelnut coffee beans ground and percolated and pouring in a whipped steamy hot soy milk, I settled down to a leisurely quiet time. When that was done I started on some Board minutes for the church board. Closer to 8, I went to my barber. I didn’t want to waste time on a day with so much to do so I thought I’d get in just as he was opening and avoid any waiting.

After the haircut I stopped at the dry cleaners before going home to finish up the minutes and getting them printed. Tress had helped with the final edits and we both then drove to Box Hill to pick up my new pair of glasses.

I couldn’t put it off any longer and had to own up to my need for bifocals. Thankfully, technology has long erased the embarrassment that comes with obvious bifocals and multifocal lenses mean this phase of one’s ageing process is better hidden. We picked up my glasses, went back home and picked kiddo up and headed to Mulgrave.

A former partner of the Malaysian law firm I was in was in town for a short holiday. We had teed up a brunch to catch up. They (he and his wife) were living in Mulgrave, just a stone throw from the Hawks’ home. We caught up and talked about current Malaysian issues, including of course, the state and practice of law. Unexpectedly, the yum-cha at the New Royal Garden was a little disappointing this time around. The warmer and more cheerful service which was in abundance when we went there for dinner recently was manifestly absent.

After brunch we dropped my former partner off at the Glen where he was to meet someone. We wandered around for a bit and I then dropped Tress and Kiddo at the Century Walk. Tress and won a couple of movie tickets at work and they decided how Jimmy was going to find a quantum of solace. Apparently he is now closer to Bourne than Bond. I however, had to head off for the Board.

So while Tress and Kiddo toughed it out in the cinema, I attended a Board meeting in church. That went on till just after 4pm. Just as I was driving out of the church parking lot Tress sent me a text message. I called and said to meet at the bottle shop on the pretext that I needed to pick up a bottle for the pizza dinner at Simon and Margaret’s later that night.

We got home just after 5pm and I caught about half an hour of the Test match with our antipodeans neighbours. It has been a disaster of a match from the batting perspective. The 4 innings had a high score of 254 and NZ couldn’t get past 200 in both its innings. M Clark and Katich top scored in respective innings but relative newcomer speedster Johnson won MOTM. It wasn’t a memorable match by any means however so when it was time to head off for the final matter of the day, I was not unhappy to go.

Simon and Margaret live near Chadstone and many have raged on about the pizza joint just up the road from their home. We’d talked about it for a few months now and the previous Sunday, Simon said he was going to plan something. The email came late on in the week but we were more than happy to accept. I brought along a bottle (Pitchfork 2005 cab merlot, I think) and Tress also brought a little prezzie for Margaret – a baking dish Margaret had talked about buying some time ago.

The pizzas were great, as were the soup (pumpkin), salad and desert (poached pear with strawberry sauce and Venetian ice-cream. The best bit however, was the conversations which took place. The Chews were there and among the 3 couples, we talked well into the night, leaving close to 12.30am.

We had a break-up lunch, again at New Royal Garden the next day. The friend from Kew again drove and so we had to drive him home after. When we left his home it was just before 4 so we had to head back to Burwood in a hurry, to pick up my dry cleaning.  At lunch, Tress had taken a call to go over to another home for dinner, so after the dry cleaner’s we headed off to pick up some groceries to cook something.

So between reaching home at about 5pm and leaving again at 6.45pm, I cooked a couple of dishes, made the chicken for lunch the next day and basically put off the idea that the weekend was for some rest. I was using up the last few hours of a weekend cooking for a dinner I didn’t feel like going to.

At dinner however, we talked and in as much as I had been reluctant to be there, these were good mates of ours so I enjoyed the conversations. They, like the ones the night before, were honest, open, and were driven by our desire for everyone else to get on better with their respective lives.

Each of those conversations which took place on Saturday and Sunday nights emanated from someone who have been wrestling with some issues. We all knew of those issues and although we (Tress and I) didn’t always have the details, we always knew that the main characters have been carrying those matters on their weary shoulders for a long time. We freely dispensed our views for we were with good friends but we also shared their weights and have been wanting to do various things to help them alleviate the burdens. The candour, honesty and sincerity made for a very fulfilling exchange and though of course we didn’t solve anything, I sincerely hope the sessions provided the affected persons with an outlet which hopefully facilitated a fresh and renewed charge to deal with those matters.

On the other hand, I feel I wasn’t able to engage my mate from my previous firm on the same level. We have not worked together or for almost 5 years now. I have also had minimal contact with him the past 2-3 years, so it was only natural I guess, that we couldn’t connect the same way. I hope however, that he does okay. He looked tired (don’t all working lawyers, huh?). Work no doubt places a lot of weight on one’s mind. On the other hand, not having a vocation or any work to wake up to places a different sort of stress on a person. Seeking the sweet spot of balance is a perpetual endeavour.

A mate of mine is financially very well off. He has amassed a little fortune from Malaysia and has little or no need to do any work. Yet, every time we see him he doesn’t look fulfilled. He looks a little restless even. Maybe it has to do with his constant complaints about someone in Malaysia who owes him a large sum of money. I think however that it is his sense of not having a vocation which has caused his restlessness. He appears to find it hard to settle on a peaceful equilibrium. Compare that with another friend of ours, who is not as well off. He and his wife both work hard, have 3 children who are at ages most damaging to parents’ kitty and have only settled on a purchasing a home recently. They appear however, to be more at peace and happier. I attribute to that to work. A man is meant to work. Someone who consistently doesn’t wake up to a pre-determined set of activities and tasks soon lose a certain personal bearing, which leads to all sorts of consequences.

Anyway, this piece is more about communications and relationships and how openness and maturity lead to such immense meaning and satisfaction.

Blood at work

I recently went to the blood bank. It was the second time. The first time was a bit unnerving. The second time was just as bad, especially since they said I couldn’t donate this time, due to a low haemoglobin count. In any case, somehow knowing what to expect doesn’t seem to do any good in this instance. The experience didn’t seem to help.

There has been some wrestling going on between heads of departments in my workplace. I guess it was a bit of sword waving. No blood letting – yet. The company recently entered into a major agreement with a biggish entity and this agreement represents a significant investment with significant returns.

However, another biggish client who is an ordinary course of business client hasn’t been too happy with this new relationship. This client is about to absorb this other entity and has recently spoken to the company’s main contact person about reviewing that relationship. Potential conflicts of interests galore on the surface. In reality interests may be consistently aligned across the board, at least for the short term. Contractually however, the company is obligated in ways which require client communication to be managed in a different way.

So what does the Legal department do in a situation like this? Pretty easy answer, but the consequences and the implications are complex. If not handled properly, it could mean dire consequences, including loss of jobs. It wouldn’t be just a consequence of shutting down a section of operations but also that the major agreement was entered into in the face of adverse numbers or factors. It wouldn’t be pretty.

The whole thing is a bit political. Characters seeking to look after number 1 will act in ways which aren’t wise from the corporate perspective. The numbers which are immediately available aren’t the only numbers involved and a conflicted person would either not see, refuse to see or refuse to be affected by them. It is often difficult to deal with such characters. It often ends in blood letting. No matter how often one goes through it, one never gets used to it. It doesn’t become easier. It’s a bit like a visit to the blood bank.

Royal Trinity

 

A cousin flew in from Perth on business mid week. We caught up, together with another cousin and his parents, over dinner at the New Royal Garden restaurant. The somewhat hefty bill was hijacked by the Western Australian relative. I love WA hospitality. I had thought that as “hosts”, I’d pick up the tab. It was great to have family catch up this way.

An ex partner (of the legal practice) is in town for a short holiday. I caught up with him and his wife for drinks on Monday night and will be seeing them again for brunch on Saturday. I have booked the New Royal Garden for that.

This Sunday, the home group I belong to wants to hold a break-up meal. New Royal Garden is a favourite restaurant of a member in that group. So guess where we will be going?

Three visits to the same restaurant in one week suggests the restaurant must be really good or we don’t know many other places. New Royal Garden restaurant is on the south-west corner of Blackburn Road and High Street Road, in Mount Waverley. It is probably the closest Chinese restaurant to us which serves decent food. In fact it is quite good. A couple of joints nearer our home are to be avoided as much as possible. The “Treasure” on Springvale is pretty good but it is also rather more expensive.

Kiddo’s Saturday class is at the Mount Waverley Secondary College. As it turned out therefore, that restaurant is also a convenient one when we need to drop her off her for class. 3 strikes in a week.

 

Time flown by – Muir 04

 

This time 4 years ago, I had just signed a lease for our first home in Melbourne. I remember looking at the house and thought it would suit, given its proximity to the Mount Waverley Primary School. We had decided on that school for kiddo and had enrolled her for Year 6 when we settled into that home.

18 Muir Street, Mount Waverley was an old house. It was however clean and well maintained. The kitchen was recently renovated and it was bright and very clean. It had a few disadvantages. The carpet was gaudy (but clean), the over was electric (including the burners) and it did not have any storage – no garage or shed. Other than that it was perfect for us.

It had 3 bedrooms. The one in the front was very big. The middle one was average sized and the one right at the back was probably an add-on. It had newer carpet and had a tiny ensuite. That became the master bedroom. Kiddo decided (via pictures I sent via the internet) she wanted the front room. We converted the dining room into a study and the family meals area became our dining.

With the lease secured, I had gone about purchasing necessities. I spent several days assembling beds, tables and shelves and got appliances installed. In total I spent something like 3 weeks full-on doing up the place, after which I packed up and went back to Malaysia to get Tress and kiddo. Time has really flown by.

 

 

This weekend Tress and I drove out to Kew on Friday night, Saturday noon and today again around 3pm. Friday night a friend of ours who should be behind the sterring wheel ( he has a disability) somehow drove himself to our home. I drove him back later that night in his car, and Tress followed with our Nissan.

Yesterday noon, after dropping kiddo off for her class, we decided to kill the 1 hour by driving to Hawthorn for my boss’ auction sale of her home.

Today, the friend who drove to our home on Friday night needed a ride again after church. We went for lunch with him and a couple of other families, after which we drove him home. We took the opportunity to visit Ikea in Richmond after that.

Somehow I think we’d continue the Kew drives for a while yet. No worries.