15/3/11 MY BARIO FRIEND'S JOKE...

Last Friday 25th March, 2011, I was in Marudi, a town up river of Miri. By boat, it takes about three hours to reach there. Journey by winding and muddy road will be about two hours, and if it rain heavily, definitely we'll need to just sleep on the way, and wait until the road is a bit dry. By the small MASwing plane, it is just a 20 minutes flight. Since I landed at about 5.00 pm, with the nice cool breeze, upon check-in I took a stroll to the town. It only took me merely 30 minutes to have a good feeling of Marudi lives.

(2) About 7.00 pm, I remembered a friend, whom came from Bario and now doing great business in Miri. I sent him a SMS telling him I was there in Marudi. Let share our SMS bombardment!

(i) Me: "Brother, I'm here in Marudi. How's life? Quiet sometimes have not heard from you. Got chance to walk into DUN this time?" This friend of mine, has and is politically active person and have been doing lots of good deeds. He was ambitious since his student days in Jalan Pantai Baru, KL. We then always talked about our Sarawak rural disparity as compared to those that we seen in Peninsula Malaysia.

(ii)Him: "Well brother, I have been thinking about it. But unfortunately, my name never appear. Anywhere, this time, we (his Party) have to give way to others (another Party)to represent BN...." Both my friend and me were interested in politic. His interest sustained, while mine, I need to sit back since I have a responsibility that I must served first.

(iii) Me: Jokingly I said to him "Well I believe I know why your name is not in the list. In fact your name was on the list. Only you for your area, no secod choice, but, I believe our friend (refering to our friend whom is already one of State DUN member) blancoed your name, and replaced it with others..." In 1980s, about five of us used to stayed in PJ/21. We used to play guitar and sing together. He has that Rod Steward voice. Once we are tired, we would rushed to the nearby Cinema and get the RM0.50 ticket and served ourselves to the movie.

(iv) Him: "I suppose so brother. Now since I know who is the guy who always sabotaged me, this time if I meet him I'll tell him off. Tak guna punya kawan!....hahahhaha"

(v) Him: "Hey brother, since you are in Marudi, I want to tell you that the town has always been nostalgic to us, the Orang Ulus. In those days, after hard travelling down from Bario, as small boys with our hard working parents....once we reached Marudi, we felt, as if we have come to another world. It is just like visiting New York. Apa lagi lepas itu dapat makan cendol. The cold cendol taste great. Feel like in heaven..." In those day, only in town such as Marudi have ice to make cold cendol. Surely for kids, cold cendol especially in hot day, surely taste great. A gift from heaven probably.

(vi) Him: "And, after our Primary Education in Bario, we will be schooled in Marudi for our Lower and Middle Secondary Education. As an Orang Ulu, to be schooled in town, was really something....and it was also our dream to take the Taukey Daugther as our girlfriend...but, unfortunately, the Taukey always have different thought about us!......hahaha" At least, as a disadvantage rural boys, in those day, they still have Big Dream!

(vii) Me: "Brother, it seem you have lost your heart to one of the Taukey Daughter...and mind you, in those day, Marudi was your heaven, but if you could come down here and be as me, held in this small stuffy 'hotel' room, surely you will be thinking of Hell not Heaven!..."

(viii) Me: "Anywhere, brother let walk into Parliment in 2016, since by then we should be much wiser, with all the better wisdom...." A thinking, a dream, since our name not listed in the current running!

(ix) Him: "Sure brother, if I can't walk into parliment in 2016 by myself...then I help to carry your bag there....hahah" At least our comradeship is enriching despite age is catching fast.

(x) Me: "Hahhha brother, the bag must be filled with paracetamol (Panadol)....I give you a call once I reach Miri tomorrow. Take care brother!..."

(xi) Him: "Sure, but I'm leaving for KL today...see you next time. Take care". In fact later I wonder, he might be seeing Najib to 'reinsert' his name in the list. A thought for an ambitious friend.

(3) That's life. When we were small, we dreamt. Dreaming makes us moving forward. Failure of achieving one dreaming doesn't stop us form dreaming another dream. At least live move on dreaming.....

Kuching
31 March., 2011