Slow And Steady Sarawak

Monday's Mimosa

2012-08-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

This plant is called pokok semalu (shy plant)

because it folds up when touched

They grow wild in the plot of grassland

near our house

Christmas " tree " in Borneo Convention Center

2011-12-17T00:10:00.000-08:00

is three storey high ...

Saturday Satire : A brief history of medicine

2011-12-10T00:30:00.001-08:00

I have an earache.

2000 B.C. - Here, eat this root

1000 A.D. - That root is heathen, say this prayer.

1850 A.D. - That prayer is superstition, drink this potion.

1940 A.D. - That potion is snake oil, swallow this pill.

1985 A.D. - That pill is ineffective, take this antibiotic.

2000 A.D. - That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root

Kampua mee

2011-12-08T06:37:00.000-08:00

The noodles ,

thicker and smoother than

normal Hong Kong-style won ton noodles,

were chewy and springy and cooked to perfection

I noticed the fried shallots are very good

– fried just right so you get that sweet onion flavor

without a bitter burnt aftertaste

Thin slices of lean roast pork complete the garnish

The chili sauce is viscous and sweet,

with a bit of vinegary tartness and a light chili bite

Fruits season

2011-11-22T06:27:00.000-08:00

Fruits season for rambutan and durian

Sarawak Skyline

2011-07-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

Don't look up

The Golden Hour

2011-06-08T06:19:00.000-07:00

This is the Golden Hour

Unperturbed by the unbearable heat

2011-06-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

Here is one good natured plant

Photos taken with iphone 4

Sarawak in summer heat

2011-06-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

Look how dry the tree bark looks

Even the Florist Paintbrushes are looking dry

The Hottest Kid is here !

2011-05-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

So they tell me

hmmm ... right !

Charming !

On a less hot news,

Selena Gomez joined her boyfriend Justin Bieber

in Malaysia and

that seems to be all the evidence

that was needed to confirm

that the two are very much in love

Now, I know Selena from the Wizards of Waverly Place

But who is this Justin Bieber ?

So I googled and ... wow...

coming in real 3D to a cinema near you!

Is this another Sci-fi like Back to the Future ?

Maybe not

Here is a photo of Justin with his fans

Sleepless in Sarawak

2011-04-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

Night landscape with the moon over the tree

Dear Boss, I Can't Make It In Today

2011-04-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Life in Sarawak on a Monday

Photo by Stephen Baird

The Captain's Cat

2011-04-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

The Captain's Cat has gone over the wall

and climb on the neighbor's car

Time for the neighbor

to read

" How to Get Cats Off Your Car "

If you are interested, this is the link to his blog :

Captain's Photogallery

Reflection before polling day

2011-04-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

A Veteran of Sarawak politics,

Sim Kwang Yang ( also known as SKY ),

was the first to spearhead a democratic movement

in this part of the world

Beaten often before,

now tired and old,

he reflects on the eve of the polling day :

We have come to the eve of yet another general election for our representatives

in the state assembly in Sarawak

My first brush with electoral politics in Malaysia

happened 33 years ago, in 1978

I was in Kuching for the summer vacation,

a break from my university course in philosophy

I had already enrolled in graduate school,

intending to pursue a PhD in that obscure subject

I read in the newspaper that a group of Kuching people

were trying to set up a new branch

for the DAP ( Democratic Action Party )

I knew nothing about the DAP

and did not know their secretary-general Lim Kit Siang

But I have always been convinced

that democracy is good for the people, in Sarawak or elsewhere

So I walked up to the local contact person and signed up as a member

Not long after that,

a group of local DAP members paid me a visit

and invited me to a meeting

I went to the meeting and was duly elected as secretary of the Kuching branch

Very soon, I was sucked into the maelstrom of their local political activities

In 1979, the assemblyman for Padungan passed away suddenly,

and a state by-election was held soon after

I was nominated as a party candidate in Padungan,

contesting among a field of five

I had to learn the ABCs of party politics quickly,

and I was handicapped by my poor command of Mandarin at the time

In the by-election, the independent candidate won the contest,

and I obtained the second highest number of votes

That gave me great encouragement for the future of politics in Sarawak

During that time, I was already a Landed Immigrant in Canada,

with a scholarship to study in philosophy

I decided to give up my future in Canada,

and started to build my career in politics in my beloved homeland

I worked almost full-time for my party, the DAP

In 1982, I contested again

and won the parliamentary seat for Bandar Kuching for the first time

My involvement in party politics then became total,

when I began work in my position as a member of parliament.

In total, I contested eight times in various elections,

and I won elections for my parliamentary seat three consecutive times

When I retired in 1995,

I was much weakened physically,

by my problems with my health,

and in particular with diabetes

I had to quit from active politics,

and I have retired since that time

My poor health has been my Achilles heel,

especially after I suffered from a stroke early last year

Throughout my political career,

I have heard many of my friends express their fear of politics

They would rather leave the cut and thrust to the professional politicians,

and they often grumble that politics is too dirty for them

My involvement in active politics at the front line,

over almost 20 years, has taught me many things about life in general,

and about politics in particular.

It was very frustrating to work in the negative atmosphere of fear

that is prevalent in our society

This is my chief complaint about my constituents,

because they fear every shadow that moves in the darkness,

when most of the time there was nothing to fear at all

The people were frightening themselves half the time

Looking back 32 years later,

I am glad I participated in active party politics,

though I have nothing to show for it in material terms,

except a pension

I still think that politics need not be dirty

It is as clean as you make it to be

But you have to learn to be critical about yourself,

and adhere to the highest moral standards of public service

From experience,

I have learned that the worst enemy of the politician is his own ego

All politicians must remember to guard against hubris,

and the danger of his or her own pride

I have seen many politicians destroyed

by the greed of their own heart

The best politicians are the humble leaders of the people

All politicians must treasure the sense of humility,

no matter how high they climb

So, we are now on the cusp of yet another state election

Like all elections in the past, there will be winners and there will be losers

After the election, all parties and candidates must conduct post-mortem examinations,

to identify their weaknesses and strengths during the campaign period

It is part of the work of any politician to learn from the mistakes of the past,

and derive strength from their achievements

Win or lose, we are all Sarawakians

We must serve the people first and foremost

Nature is Not running for Re-election

2011-04-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Nature has its representative

Photo by Stephen Baird

BN Baloon

2011-04-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

Like a bird in the sky

Sarawak Election : A Fair and Balanced Perspective

2011-04-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

The sleeping giant awakes

Sarawak is said to be a Sleeping State

In the next 10 days ,

watch this site for

a fair and balanced perspective

The Constituents

The Candidates

The Colors

Sarawak river in a different light

2011-04-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

As the night owl sees it

Kuching Kingfisher

2011-03-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

Kingfishers are a group of brightly colored birds

with short legs and tails,
big heads,

and long powerful beaks

They eat insects,
small vertebrates,

and fish and

are almost always associated with water

They nest in burrows in the ground,

in tree trunks, river banks, or termite mounds

It is said that the seven days

prior to the shortest day of the year in December

is the time to build their nests and

then seven days afterwards to hatch the eggs

This Kingfisher is often seen perching on the high wire

near my house

A Chinese Pond Heron

2011-03-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

This heron readies to pick up a fish

in the Chinese Garden

in Kuching , Sarawak

A red rose in the garden

2011-03-07T02:52:00.000-08:00

Our local road runner

2011-03-07T02:49:00.000-08:00

The White-breated Water hen can outrun the dog

The Great Egret is here once again !

2011-03-07T02:45:00.000-08:00

Photo taken at a creek behind my house

Persistent Periwinkle Presses On

2011-03-05T21:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a plant which came with the weeds

After being weeded out twice,

it has persistently grown back

Color camouflaging

2011-02-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

It is not unusual to go on a nature walk

and not see any animals

How could you when animals are so good

in color camouflaging ?

Can you spot a piper by the creek ?

Photography blog and Art blog

http://hornbill-hornbill.blogspot.com/

and

http://apassiontopaint.blogspot.com/