Cabut.

A day after May 5, after the General Election, I am off on the jet plane for Sumatera. Not sure whether I will be celebrating victory in Pekanbaru or leaving Anwar Ibrahim or Hadi Awang as PM back home. I had made a pledge that I will go bald if BN capture Selangor but I will postpone the balding towards the end of the month.

Back in Malaysia on 10 May and on 25 May, I am off again to Eastern Europe and Middle East. Target destination is the former Constantinople, presently Istanbul. After cruising the Phosphorus Sea and enjoying the sweetness of the Turkish delight, lead a delegation on spiritual journey to the Middle East, Holy Land of Mecca and Medina. Here I will go bald to fulfill my obligatory pledge immaterial whether BN capture Selangor or otherwise. I will stop over in Doha Qatar on the way back on 09 June.

The plan to visit Sumatera with my cousin was made months ago with the budget Airline and we are lucky we just manage to scrape through the General Election. Main places of attraction in our agenda will be Bukittinggi, Tasik Malinjau and Padang. I want to see the birthplace of HAMKA the famous author of “Tenggelam nya Kapal Van de Wijck”, the first Malay Novel I read way back in 1962.

Tasik Malinjau.

The first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, visited the area in early June 1948. A pantun he wrote about the lake reads:

Jangan dimakan arai pinang,
Kalau tidak dengan sirih hijau.
Jangan datang ke Ranah Minang,
Kalau tidak singgah ke Maninjau.

Do not eat arai nut,
If not with a green betel.
Do not come to Minang lands,
If you do not stop at Maninjau.

Istanbul will be my second visit and the Holy Land, my second pilgrimage this year. I did not actually plan for this trip, rather it was designated to me and mere foolish to reject. If ever Malaysia remains status quo or even better coming out from the General Election, I will kneel in front of the Kaabah with alhamdullillah as my prayers had been answered when I went there last February 2013. Under whatever circumstances I still kneel for the well being of Malaysia and prosperity for all Malaysians. Not to forget to be summon again to the Holy Land in the month of Ramadan, mid July 2013.

I pray and seek (doa) to Almighty Allah for the blessing of good health to enjoy the scenic beauty of Almighty’s creation and the blessing of taqwa on performing the forthcoming umrah.      

Talking about 05 May General Election – my former BOSS, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim the incumbent Menteri Besar is contesting in N 46 Port Klang. In 2008 the seat won by Badrul of PKR with 4000+ majority but cabut to UMNO soon after. Badrul unexpectedly won due to protest vote then. Late Dato Zakaria nominated his own daughter in law to contest for BN in Port Klang and that angered all UMNO supporters. The scenario then was different and Khalid failed to perform pre consultation with the Penghulu of Port Klang who had been a residence since 1977. The Penghulu has mastered all nook and corners of Port Klang, not to mention even the back lanes. Back lane? Yes.....the short cuts. Don't get me wrong.

The joke was, Badrul was sound asleep at home during the vote counting GE 12 and somebody got to summon him to Dewan Hamzah Klang to declare him a Winner. In 2008 General Election, you put a Monkey contesting under Pakatan Rakyat and the Monkey will win. This time around, I give Khalid the slightest chance to win in Port Klang as the present BN Contester is local, was born and bred in Port Klang constituency – Dato Nazaruddin Zain. In Port Klang there is a kampong name after his late father – Kampong Mat Zain. Moreover, Khalid had made several promises but never fulfilled and still remain adamant about solving the water crisis.

Whatever transpired out of 05 May 2013, on 06 May 2013 I am going to “cabut” to Sumatera. Let me enjoy the dengdeng and the dodol nangka from Bengkalis. My only hope, whoever loses, please do not take to the street. Pakatan Rakyat had a record of Bersih 3. Behave yourselves, will you? There is always another next five (5) years.