M A C V A Y S I A

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-29

Jordan — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:59:59 +0000

DNA tests show Hitler probably descended from Jews & Africans http://tinyurl.com/37kv6gj How ya like yer purity now, Adolf? #
Support Malaysia Wave, add a #twibbon to your avatar now! - http://twb.ly/aaD5hg #
Fire tornado? Oh my http://bit.ly/c0Z9Fg #
I think this is how Canada’s PM feels about the entire country: http://bit.ly/dzkhKM #
Heading to Muar for the weekend. With the drive ahead of me I’m almost beginning to rethink my no-coffee rule. #
Another buka puasa in Muar, then driving back to Kajang. #
I’m taking care of the kids till Raya. Hoo boy it’s going to be a hectic week. #
Mmmmmm nasi ambeng for buka puasa mmmmmmmm…. #

It’s a Small World After All

Jordan — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:27:16 +0000

A couple of months ago I tagged along with Leen while she met with a potential supplier for her clinic (which, God willing, she’ll be opening in early October). I didn’t really want to be there, but there I was, watching the supplier pull shiny metal instruments of torture out of his briefcase. He was a really nice guy, actually, very friendly. We made small talk and when we got to the inevitable where are you from? stuff he said, “Oh, I know someone from Nova Scotia. One of my teachers at UPM. She’s from Cape Breton.”

My jaw dropped.

“She lives right here in Kajang.”

My jaw dropped even lower, narrowly missing the sharp dental implements scattered atop the table.

Next time we met up with the supplier, we called his former teacher. Her name’s Karen. “Oh,” she said, “you’re from Sydney? That’s where I’m from. What’s your last name? MacVay? I’m sure I knew MacVays. What’s your father’s name?”

Who’s your father? is a standard question among Cape Bretoners. Well guess what? She actually knows my father! Turns out they grew up in the same neighbourhood. She left a long time ago, though. She married a Malay guy she met at university (who passed away last year), then moved to Malaysia. She’s been here for 40 years, and spent most of that time teaching at UPM. She taught in English at first, but when the government switched language policies she found herself having to teach in Malay. Needless to say, she’s quite fluent now.

One evening a couple of weeks ago Leen and I (and the boys) had dinner at Karen’s place. It was a Malaysian buka puasa, Cape Breton style. Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, apple crumble, brownies…and great conversation, all of it taking place in the kitchen. Just like home.

It was great to hear her speaking Malay with Leen. I think one of these times I’ll have to get video of me and Karen having a conversation in Malay. Now that would be cool.

Me & the boys with Karen & her daughter Nadira.

We had a great time getting to know Karen, as well as her daughter Nadira (who’s a student at Cape Breton University), and also her son’s wife Becky. I’m sure we’ll be seeing them again and getting to know them better. After all, Karen’s place is only about four kilometres away from ours! And to think, when I was a baby, I lived just a few houses away from Karen’s family.

It’s still hard to believe that not only is there someone else from home who married a Malay and moved to Malaysia and speaks Malay and has half-Cape Bretoner/half-Malay kids, but she lives five or ten minutes from me. Yes, it’s a small world after all!

Going With His Gut

Jordan — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:15:12 +0000

We’re turning off our street when Al asks where we’re going. Leen tells him we’re going to pick up a dental chair (which will be her back-up chair) and take it to her clinic. Al cheers.

Al: Yay! We’re going to Mommy’s teeth clinic!

Me: You know, I think he’s going to be a dentist when he grows up.

Leen: No, he has other plans. He told me a few minutes ago. Ask him.

Me: Hey buddy, do you want to be a dentist like Mommy?

Al: No.

Me: Really? Then what do you want to be?

Al: A stomach doctor.

Me: Really? Why?

Al: Because it’s cool. (Points to his teddy bear) Look, he’s pooping!

Ah, kids. They want what they want.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-22

Jordan — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:59:59 +0000

What a difference a kasrah makes http://bit.ly/dkNkAY #
Al’s cousin gave him his old gameboy. We thought he was just randomly pressing buttons but he really plays it. They learn so fast. #
Sad. Even sadder that some people I know think the Israelis are the good guys. http://bit.ly/cMZgVO #
Most Canadians have detectable amounts of BPA in their bodies. http://bit.ly/aeoMq9 Yikes, probably the same or worse in Malaysia. #
Someone should tell UPM this has been done already. Or maybe I’m thinking of a different Facebook quiz. http://bit.ly/anx4wy #
LOL! Comedy at its finest. RT @TriciaYeoh Macc lawyer now implies that Teoh strangled himself. #
Didn’t think I ate that much for supper but holy crap am I ever stuffed. And sleepy. #
I’ve never known a pickier eater than Al. Need to find a solution to this. #
I was an extremely picky eater when I was a kid. Al’s worse. This must be karma. #
Wow dental chairs are heavy. Even after taking it apart it was heavy. #
Okay, flying cockroaches are just so wrong. #

Chronicles of Duncan MacLeod: The Boys at the Plant

Jordan — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:19:45 +0000

Duncan MacLeod’s first job was delivering groceries on his bicycle, when he was twelve years old. When he was fifteen his uncle, Claude Powell, got him a job as a bricklayer at the steel plant. He disliked bricklaying work, though, and quit in 1945. He went to work as a milkman, but in 1947, less than a year after getting married to 16-year-old Mary Theresa Martell (daughter of Wallace Abraham Martell and Mary Jessie MacDougall), he went back to the steel plant. Working at the plant wasn’t great, but it sure beat being a milkman. In 1962 he went to work in the plant’s rail mill, where he would stay until his retirement 29 years later.

Some of his best stories are the ones about his many years ‘on the plant’. Most of the stories about his time there aren’t really stories at all, just short anecdotes, conversations, one-liners.

There was the time Duncan and some of the other guys were shovelling snow. When the words came out of their mouths, he said, they would freeze and drop to the ground. He and the others would pick them up and put them in their pockets, and thaw them out in the warm hut later so they could hear what they’d said.

There was the Polish guy they called John Boy, who said, “Half the fellas driving cars these days are women.”

There was one of Duncan’s bosses, who was married for 21 years without having any children. Then he changed milkmen and his wife had a baby. The baby was born when he was at work. When he called the hospital he asked, “Is it a boy? No? Is it a girl then?”

Another guy from the plant got married and the morning after the wedding he made his wife a delicious breakfast. She said, “It’s beautiful!”

“Yes,” he said, “and that’s how I want you to do it from now on.”

Then there was Hector MacMullin. The guys at the mill used to feed the stray cats that would hang around. Someone wanted to leave food for the weekend; to make sure there was enough, they left two bowls, one for each day. Hector MacMullin asked, “What if they eat Sunday’s food first?” So Duncan wrote Saturday on one bowl and Sunday on the other, and that satisfied Hector.

Duncan had several black coworkers as well, including a supervisor twice his size who was sick of his wisecracks and decided one night to give him a proper beating. What happened next surprised everyone. But that’s a story for another day.

***

Chronicles of Duncan MacLeod is a series of posts on my MacLeod ancestors. Some are based on my research but most are stories told to me by my grandfather, Duncan MacLeod. Here are the other posts in the series:

The Swans of Eigg
The Gardener’s Crossing
The Kilt
Crooked-Neck MacLean
One Eye, Two Guns, Three Tunes & Twenty-five Cents
Hold Fast
Up Over the Mountain
Black Bears & Blueberries
The House Down the Road
The Blind Man’s Biscuits
Down by the Brook
The Still
The Dummy
Duncan’s War Effort
Trouble Brewing

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-15

Jordan — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:59:59 +0000

I think I caught something from the babysitter. Oh shut up, it’s a sniffle. #
A bit under the weather. Should go to a clinic for meds but I’m off to our clinic to deal with contractors. WoO0oO0O00oo #
I think I’ll bring a chair with me so I can zone out while the contractors are measuring walls/windows/etc. #
There’s one room I’ll renovate myself: my own office. Can see it now. Desk, bookshelves. Maps on the walls. #
Contractor admiring my 5 o’clock shadow: ‘U shd grow a full beard.’ He has maybe a dozen long hairs clinging desperately to his chin. #
Reading Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha at a little table in a little corner of a little Malay restaurant & trying not to roar my arse off. #
Saw a man chucking an empty cardboard box off a bridge. Hey, I’ve done stuff like that too! Ah, to be five again. #
Thinking about my little office again. Books and maps! How exciting is that? I can see it now… #
Putting ‘Pass out with a clumsy fall & a heavy, disturbing thud’ on my to-do list for today. Maybe after I hang out the clothes. #
There’s a good comment from the Foreign Spouse Support Group on my post abt Michael Chong’s ‘Don’t marry foreign women’ http://bit.ly/9AntVg #
Took Aaron for his 5-month shot today. He screamed but as soon as he looked up & saw his big brother he smiled. Glad I brought Al along. #
You know it must be hard to get current, reliable info from the Immigration Dept when the UN wants to know abt a certain visa & they ask me. #
Some images from the Book of Kells, ca. 800 http://bit.ly/aAYknG (via NS_Archives) #
Khadr Lawyer Collapses during trial http://huff.to/dkRMKF #
Aaaaand it’s migraine time kiddies. #
Normally I’d hate having a caffeine withdrawal headache, but it sure beats a migraine. #
Sometimes I think my local 7-Eleven only stocks oral rehydration solution for me. I go in there & clean them out every Ramadhan. #
Finally over the flu + migraine (I hope) AND finally got the caffeine monkey off my back (I hope!) so my Ramadhan starts tomorrow. #

Chong Gets it Wrong

Jordan — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:25:32 +0000

Yesterday there was an article in the Sun that had me shaking my head. It quoted Michael Chong, head of the MCA’s Public Services and Complaints Department, as saying that “Malaysian men should not marry foreign women if they can help it.” He was referring to cases in which mail-order brides from China, Vietnam and some other countries ran off to their home countries, sometimes taking their Malaysian children with them. Okay, fine, maybe there have been several cases in which that happened. But how do they stack up against the number of foreign-born wives who don’t do such things? I’ll bet the former would turn out to be a very, very small minority, which makes statements like the following way out of line:

“Don’t take a foreign wife. There are many pretty, talented and intelligent Malaysian women to choose from,” he added.

He’s right that there are lots of great Malaysian women. I married one. But overall his statements come off sounding as bad as what Rais Yatim said not long ago about marrying foreigners. I would expect such things from Rais, who makes no secret of his contempt for all things he thinks are foreign. I find Chong’s remarks disappointing, though. He usually fights for the underdog and seems to have helped a lot of people. If only he could give better advice.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-08

Jordan — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:59:59 +0000

I’m reading some Stephen King when Al knocks on the bathroom door: ‘Daddy? You peeing, or pooping, or just hanging out in there?’ #
Okay, what just flew into my eye? #
I’ve found something better than Leen’s kek batik: Leen’s kek batik with peanut butter on it. Mmmmmm…. #
In case that last update seems a bit naughty to non-Malaysians, I swear it’s just about food. #
The guards who were ‘trying’ so hard to shut it off were probably just waiting for the money shot. http://bit.ly/ccC5Wf #
The opening sequence of Bert & Ernie’s Great Adventures probably isn’t doing much to dispel rumours Bert & Ernie are gay. #
got the keys to the clinic today. Next step: renovating! #
At the clinic measuring walls, windows, etc. Soon this big empty space will look very different! #
Two guys who discover they were switched at birth find an awesome solution. http://bit.ly/bAmYbn #
You’ll find no better proof that book publishers are desperate these days: http://bit.ly/b14yFG #
Reading about Omar Khadr always makes me sad. The Canadian govt should be ashamed. Makes me really wish I could still vote. #
Aaron’s babysitter just called to say she just realized she’s been accidentally giving him Al’s milk since early July. WHAT. THE. FUCK. #
On an Irish fiction kick for some reason. Recently finished Colm Toibin’s ‘Brooklyn’; just bought Roddy Doyle’s ‘Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha’. #
I have no idea why some of my blog posts appear in a smaller font size, with a strange little icon like a price tag on the left. Odd. #
Ah, the price tag icon IS for tags, duh. Maybe the problem is when I add a lot of tags. Dunno. #
Ok, nope. Other posts with lots of tags don’t get screwed up. Strange. #
Turned out to be a problem with the way Wordpress handles a tag called ‘links’. Or at least how the Satorii theme handles it. #
Hey fellas, check out @GoodMenProject. Pretty impressive from the few articles I’ve read at their site so far. #
In a few years kids in Malacca will be told ‘We’re divorcing because we married too young. But at least we didn’t dump you in a toilet!’ #
Not surprised Google Wave’s being scrapped. It tried to be too many things that users already had. #
Just got spammed from someone called ‘Mr MLM Dude’ because I said I hate Herbalife. I should mention now that I HATE ALL MLM IT’S ALL A SCAM #
What a bunch of filthy animals. And I’m not talking about the ‘thieves’. http://bit.ly/cdymxF #
Meeting more potential contractors today. Can already visualize the clinic’s interior. Getting excited. #
Hard to believe it’s been 10 years since I last drank alcohol. #
Wow, this Anis Shivani is quite the bitter literature snob ain’t he? http://huff.to/bBYrTl #
“Grab life by the crack & lick the crap out of it!” Ah, the wisdom of Barney from How I Met Your Mother. #

Malaysian PR: Sufficient Support for Foreign Husbands?

Jordan — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 06:09:30 +0000

There’s another article on the plight of foreign spouses at The Nut Graph today. Just love The Nut Graph. This article highlights the difficulties faced by foreign spouses in Malaysia, like the previous article, but delves a little deeper into the issue. The mysterious Foreign Spouses’ Support Group, which none of the many foreign spouses I know have ever heard of or had any contact with, is highlighted as well; two of its heads, Bina Ramanand and Asha Lim, are interviewed for the article. Bina has also recently appeared in The Star and The Sun as a representative of the FSSG, with similar statements to the ones she and Asha make in this Nut Graph interview.

A quote from Bina gives a hint, perhaps, as to why none of us have linked up with them:

Our support group consists largely of wives. I think many foreign husbands find the wait too long and uncertain and it is easier to take their families and leave.

Foreign spouses should get together as a broad group to lobby for change, and I know this is what Bina and Asha are aiming for as well. Still, it seems a very large chunk of foreign spouses, namely foreign husbands, are mostly left out. I’m not slagging these ladies for that omission, but it’s a fact that most of the foreign spouses I know are men; most of the Malaysians I know who are married to foreigners are women. It would be interesting to see some hard numbers on this, but only the government has those and probably won’t be sharing them with us anytime soon. Suffice it to say that I suspect foreign husbands currently make up the majority of foreign spouses who don’t have PR status in Malaysia.

One option is to start up a support group for foreign husbands (I feel that’s what this blog is anyway, in some ways), since the foreign wives seem to be covered (relatively anyway). Foreign spouses should definitely be united as a broad group, but the fact is that the Malaysian government treats foreign husbands and wives differently. Such has been the case for years, and is still the case now, which can be seen in the fact that the Spouse Programme has finally been split into two separate programs. Foreign husbands and wives have much in common, but each group also has its own unique set of issues to deal with.

First, though, I think I’ll try getting in touch with the FSSG and see if getting more foreign husbands and their Malaysian wives to join would help our cause. Forming a separate group for foreign husbands would be Plan B. Actually it would be more accurate to call it a support group for Malaysian women and their foreign husbands. Because let’s face it, the real issue here isn’t just discrimination against foreign men but discrimination against Malaysian women. That’s one thing that makes the plight of Malaysian women and their foreign husbands doubly frustrating.

For some perspective, here are my most recent posts (from earliest to latest) regarding immigration and the quest for Permanent Resident status in Malaysia:

Like a (Visa) Virgin, Approved for the Very First (or 17th) Time
Light at the End of the Tunnel?
Malaysian PR: Some McVay Guy’s Thoughts (and Mine)
Malaysian PR: Another Hopeful Sign
Malaysian PR: The Catch
Malaysian PR: A Brief Update
Malaysian PR: Another Brief Update
Malaysian PR: Rumblings, Grumblings & Jumblings

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-01

Jordan — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:59:59 +0000

Promised Land: Natasha Fatah on the pull (& push) of ‘home’: http://bit.ly/9fFPPe #
Heading to the Malaysiakini offices this afternoon for a video interview about conversion to Islam. Should be interesting. #
Video interview with Malaysiakini was ok but I kept losing my train of thought. Damn you ADD. Hoping whoever edits will be kind. #
If this goes to trial they should probably strike anyone who’s seen Star Wars from the jury list. http://bit.ly/a2IQix #
Sex abstinence programmes for schoolchildren are like saying ‘Don’t think about elephants.’ @netraKL @elviza #
The Legacy of Dalilah Tamrin http://bit.ly/bwXMHE (Someone’s eyes got a bit wet when he listened to the song but I’m not sayin’ who..) #
Poll says Canadians would back a burka ban (but barely) http://bit.ly/9oBnWI #
Fellow Nova-Scotian-but-moved-to-Malaysia-long-ago (& former colleague of mine) Douglas Larke now has a blog: http://bit.ly/dcLnGH #
Fish heads, fish heads, roly-poly fish heads. Fish heads, fish heads, eat them up, yum! #
The story abt Jho Low and his ‘millionaire by 20′ thing in today’s Star would’ve impressed me more if he hadn’t already been a rich kid. #
Lots of aedes mosquitoes around our place the last couple of days. Some ppl think mosquitoes don’t go this high (18th flr). Wrong. They do. #
RT @netraKL http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/07/27/islam-without-veil.html #
Thought that stupid fluff piece abt Jho Low would be the worst thing in the Star today, then read abt the rapist school bus driver. WTF?! #
Babysitter’s kid had her weekly fever today. Last week I had Aaron Thurs & Fri; so far this week just Thurs. Let’s see what tomorrow brings. #
Last week I had Aaron at home on Thurs, both boys on Fri. This week: exactly the same. It’s like Groundhog Day. #
Wow these boys of mine really like Coldplay. #
Looking at pics of Al when he was Aaron’s age. Al thought they were all pics of his little brother. Can’t blame him for being fooled. #
The bad news: I’m getting a migraine. The good news: I’ve survived another day at home with the boys. I shall focus on the good news. #
Dinner, drugs, bed. Lindsay Lohan’s to-do list? No, just me with a migraine after spending the day with the boys. #
If this were a perfect world, cleaning, cooking & spending a few hours at the computer drinking coffee would make my migraine go away. If. #
Bought loads of office supplies for the clinic at a sale at the Pelikan warehouse today. Leen said can even use some of it on patients hehe. #
Haha I agree! RT @juanajaafar Karate Kid 3 should be called Kung Fu Kid 1 #
So what will they call the sequel to the new Karate Kid movie? Ong Bak 4? #
They should have called the new Karate Kid movie Kung Fu Hustle. Taken, you say? So was Karate Kid. #
I bet they’re kicking themselves that they didn’t call the new Karate Kid movie Gymkata instead. #
Hah! No kidding! RT @AdviceToWriters “Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the internet.” Anonymous #
One thing I hate about Msia is that it’s too hot to do stuff outdoors, and the only indoor places to go are malls. What to do on a Sunday? #
If Malaysia got a few degrees cooler the economy would collapse, because the malls wouldn’t be packed. #
Watching a rerun of Bones & wishing they’d stop referring to a berimbau as ‘a little flute’. #
Too hot to do anything outside + we need groceries = looks like our big Sunday outing will be Tesco. Woo. #
Al can make his little brother laugh like no one else can. Now we’re all cracking up. I swear Al’s going to be the class clown. #
Mmmm Leen buat kek batik. #
Al comes to me & says “Daddy, I draw a picture with sunshine, birds & you.” Hard not to melt there. #
Then he draws his mommy into the picture and gives her massive breasts. #
Note to Malaysian protesters: Next time, bring cow heads instead of candles. For some reason, the police deem the latter more of a threat. #