Life Of A Typical Malay - September 1999

Wednesday 1/9/1999

I managed to drag myself out of the bed after only 2 hours of sleep today. That was a great achievement. Actually I promised to see En Mahadi at 9-00 am, and I only went to bed at 6-30 am, after Subuh.

Sped off to Port Klang and I was about 5 mins late, En Mahadi was already there waiting for me, drove him to Klang and together we went to see his lawyer friend to have the some documents validated and stamped.

Had a lengthy chat over roti canai & teh tarik at one stall in Pandamaran. Left for Sirim at about 12-00 and gave the documents to Azizan. Spent another half an hour at the cafeteria with him, usual stuff. He asked me if I was still interested in doing some small construction projects. I said no, but Mie and Kamal might be interested and he asked me to get in touch with them.

Kamal was at Meda's office, so was En Ngah, my former lecturer. They were not busy, just chatting away. Mostly about doing business, the 3 of them have their own companies, some are active but some are dormant. I was so surprised to hear Kamal managed to get projects worth millions of ringgits. Problem is, he's not an active partner, he gets the jobs but someone else's running it. Busy, he said. What with his full-time lecturing job at ITM.

He even persuaded me to to teach on a part-time basis at ITM (Faculty of Building, Architecture & Surveying) again next semester. I used to lecture there, many years ago, latest was about 2 years ago. Just for fun, really. 4 of the lecturers there are my friends, Kamal, Lan Fendi, Rosman and Wan Lah. Even my former lecturers still in constant touch, Puan Mariam, En Ezani, En Bakaque, En Amin, to name a few. I might take up the offer, if time permits.

Teaching at ITM is great fun, easy and not that demanding. But teaching as a profession is a big no-no, I will only do it on a part-time basis, not full-time. I have other things to do of course.

Went home to have a quick nap but instead wasted 2 hours in bed just staring at the ceiling. I was tired and and sleepy but couln't bring myself to sleep, maybe I was too tired. Or too sleepy.

To Section 10 for lunch, at 3-30 pm (?). Stopped at the State Mosque for Asar, my god, Mager was there. Spent the next 2 hours chatting with him, we last met about 4 years ago.

Reached KL a bit early, did some shopping at Lot 10. Bought a shirt, a pair of jeans and some other "small" stuff...*LOL*...I still don't get it, why is price of shirt is much more higher than price of a pair of jeans/pants? Maybe since jeans can last long, people tend to buy more shirts. That must be the reason.

It was frustrating to see people making money and yet I just sat there doing nothing. Apart from observing people of course. Oh, I did make some money tonight but it was plain sailing, I liquidated my 2 cotton positions, after holding them for a month or so. That 2 new traders made lots of money. So far. They just started this week and their funds have almost doubled. The way they enter market scares me, 2, 4 lots at once. Be careful boys....

Thursday 2/9/1999

I did not even log on to the 'net when I got home this morning. Went straight to bed, Mie called at 10-00 am and by 10-30 am I was already at PKNS Complex waiting for him.

It was nice to see him again, had breakfast with him at Dunkin Donut.

Then to Sirim to see Azizan but he was not in. We saw En Zul and quickly ran out of the building, not because of anything. Just that I was wearing sandals and Mie was in T-shirt, not at all appropriately attired. Chatted with a few guys there instead, it was "heartening" to know they still remember us, even the tea lady and the cleaners.

En Zul saw us apparently, he invited us to his room . We chatted for an hour or so, me and En Zul, Mie did not say much. En Zul seemed to know a lot about commodity trading, he was very interested to know more but he was kind of busy to attend a meeting.

It's 7-00 pm now and I'm off to PJ, to HSBC. I won't be coming to the office tonight, market looks to sag again today.

I will be online though, on stand-by, hope nothing drastic will happen tonight. Or else I will have to dash to the office....

11-45 pm - just got home from PJ, stopped for dinner at Section 9, been calling Hamli every 10 mins or so, asking for quotes ....

Friday 3/9/1999

Funny, I spent the whole day trying desperately calling hotels/resorts in Kuantan/Cherating. I called not less than 20, most of them were fully-booked. Tomorrow being 1st Saturday of the month and next week is school holidays. No wonder. I was not that woried because there are lots of cheap hotels in town, just that I want to stay in resort-like hotel, not cell-like small accomodation.

I managed to contact Swiss Garden Resort, located about 30 mins drive from Cherating, there were a few rooms available but only for Sunday 5th and Monday 6th. I quickly confirmed my reservation. Now, where am I going to sleep tomorrow night? Heck.

The rest of the evening was spent online, oh, I don't think I'll be able to get connected to the internet the next few days. I know some hotels have internet access but the charge will be exhorbitant for sure.

I know I can survive without internet for a few days, but I'm bringing my laptop along, just in case....

Market was teribbly dull and boring, probably because of long weekend ahead in the US. Werner was around for half and hour or so, it's now confirmed that Zul's taking over his account. He's leaving for Kuching tomorrow, be back at the end of the month.

Left the office at 1-30 am, didn't drive that fast, I did about 80 to 90 km/hr all the way. Stopped somewhere in Temerloh for about 15 mins for nasi lauk ikan patin.

Saturday 4/9/1999

Reached Kuantan at 6-30 am. Totally kaput. Said my Subuh at the State Mosque, then drove to Telok Chempedak. Parked my car somewhere near the beach, locked it and slept.

Woke up at 10-30 am wondering where I was. I confidently walked to Hyatt Regency, the room rate almost made me back off but I just needed somewhere decent to stay. So I checked in immediately.

Tried to have a quick nap but Ariffin's phone call woke me up. Had a nice long hot bath, I almost fell asleep. Had lunch at one of the many stalls along the beach, then went strolling for a few hours.

No, there was no message in a bottle....*LOL*...

Obviously, the council (Majlis Perbandaran Kuantan) need to do a massive beach clean up, especially along the beach bordering the hotels.

It rained heavily in the evening, spent the time watching CNN, went to the Business Center to check the availabality of internet facility but the charge was high, far too high, RM 20 per hour. They only charge RM 2 per hour in Shah Alam.

Tried to connect my system to the 'net a few times, had to dial KL for connection.

Nadzmi called and asked me to wait for him at the lobby, we went out to the town for dinner, the 3 restaurants at the hotel were fully booked.

On the way out, I saw that infamous Tan Sri Muhammad Md Taib, the former Chief Minister of Selangor.

Yeah, that guy who carried RM 2.4 Million in cash while holidaying in Australia. And got caught. The guy who amassed millions and millions of money and stashed it overseas. The guy who has properties all over the world. He owns a few ranches and islands in the Pacific. The guy who almost paid RM 5.00 Million to kidnappers who were later gunned down. They even killed one of the kidnappers' companion. A pregnant woman.

Sad thing is, he was acquitted of all charges.

What a cruel world I live in.

He was with his family and a few [beep] lickers.

Sunday 5/9/1999
O uch, I woke up at 11-00 am, I set my handphone alarm at 6-30 am, obviously it did not go off. Or maybe it did. Yeah, it did I guess. But I was so tired, I did not hear anything.

I spent less than half an hour on the 'net last night and this morning but the cost shown on my hotel bill was so high I just coudn't believe my eyes. RM 150-00, about RM 5-00 per minute, that was high. Bloody high. Just because Hyatt is a 6-star hotel, does it mean everything has to be multiplied with 6 ?

It was easy to locate Swiss Garden Hotel, about 15 mins drive from Telok Chempedak. "Look for one massive building on your left, about 15 kms from Kuantan.", answered the operator when I called to confirm my stay. The hotel looks ok, I don't see that many VIPs and lazy expatriates around.

Drove to Pantai Cherating, about 35 km away. What a beautiful sight, miles and miles of fine sandy beaches. Had fun jet-skiing for almost 2 hours, the sea was a bit rough I didn't go too far. Went back to the hotel dead tired, took a quick nap, watched CNN and stuff. Took a nice walk along the beach before Maghrib, seriously thinking of extending my stay. No, I have to stick to my plan of leaving Tuesday morning. Thought of having dinner somewhere near the hotel but I ended up driving to Cherating Beach again. The place was really happening, lots of Europeans and Americans, real travellers.

Was there until midnight, after walking down the beach talking to Dollah on the phone. He was away in Perlis last Thursday and Friday and that was the reason why my calls were not answered.

I think I'll wake up late again tomorrow, it's 1-30 am now and I can't bring myself to sleep. Maybe I'll just watch CNN....

Monday 6/9/1999
The family staying next door were making so much noise, re-arranging beds and furniture I presumed. Last night I left the balcony door opened before going to bed, just to get some fresh air. So basically I had only 2 hours of sleep, read some magazines while waiting for breakfast.

Nicked someone else's The Star on my way to the car park to get my sneakers. It was so tempting, hanging there on the door knob. Well, it's free anyway. The hotel ran out of that newspaper and they gave me The Sun instead.

Went to the beach - jogging, walking and swimming. I just walked, walked and walked. I ended up at one small fishing village, wanted to go to the other side of the beach but the stream was a bit muddy. So I hired a small fishing boat and followed the fishermen. It was fun, but my attempt at conversing in local accent failed miserably.

After a quick nap at the hotel, I went out again. To Batu Hitam Beach for lunch. Then to Bukit Pelindung Forest Reserve, followed the trail up to the other side of Telok Chempedak Beach. Telok ChempedakApparently Mahathir is in town for a 2-day working visit = fishing trip; fishing for votes and sympathy. Woder if he will shed his crocodile tears again this time around.

That explained why so many polices and VIPs near Hyatt where he's staying. Not to mention expensive big cars with fancy registration numbers.

Trekking my way back was not that easy, I fell a few times. I thought the monkeys laughed at me....*LOL*... gawd..I hate having monkeys on my page...*LOL*...

There was this guy who looked lost but suspicious. He said he was hungry, no money to buy food, no place to spend the night blah blah blah. His stories touched my heart and I gave him RM 20-00, asking him to buy foods and go look for jobs. I even offered him to stay at the hotel.

"My room has extra bed. I'll take care of everything" I told him.

Lucky (ooooppsss...*LOL*...) he did not accept my offer. How could I just invite someone I hardly know to stay with me? He could be someone dangerous. Well, I was just trying to help him. No harm in helping people. Besides, he did not look that dangerous. He did however ask if I could give him a lift to KL tomorrow.

"Jobs are easy to come by in KL. Unlike here"

But first I'll be going to Raub to see my parents. I will only leave for KL in the evening because I will head straight to the office.

If you don't mind me following you to your hometown. And once you reach KL, just drop me anywhere, I'll be fine.

OK then, it's a deal. Call me tomorrow morning, I will be leaving about 10-00 am.

Spent the evening on the beach again, had dinner at the hotel restaurant, too lazy to go out. Then played table tennis with a few Singaporeans, I lost all but one set. Then had drinks at the bar, that Filipino quartet sang pretty well.


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