Free As A BIRD

Free as a bird ... no social distancing required

..unlike these gentlemen .. all keeping to 1 meter distance all because the Movement Control Order (MCO) due to the virus Covid19

..it's kept clubs shuttered 

 ........businesses closed and streets practically empty ...

....and eateries with only takeaway food purchases ..absolutely no sitting down to spread the virus

When will the old days return .....

Ipoh Councilors: 30 April Termination Of Service

The Councilors with then Mayor Datuk Ahmad Suaidi (extreme right) in August 2019 

Tomorrow 30 April will be the last day for our Ipoh Councilors. They received their termination notices earlier this month.

Their term of office was to be from 1 August 2019 till 31 July 2021 but due to the change of government, presumably, it has ended prematurely.

Two  young councilors that I followed and found to be helpful was Jacky Ngo / Bercham and Wong Kar Keat / Canning.

Councilor Jacky Ngo

Councilor Ngo because as he seemed to be able to clear ‘illegal dumpsites’ regularly. I noticed that since before Chinese New Year the ‘illegal rubbish dumps’ at street corners was being cleared regularly ie once a forth night or sometimes 1x a week.

Previously it would be cleared ‘very irregularly’ meaning it would be piled high with garbage before it gets removed. Now long past CNY the ‘regular’ clearance is still being practiced.

Ngo. Instrumental in clearing 'illegal dump sites' regularly

All residents love a clean neighborhood so the regular clearance was much appreciated. What Ngo had done shows that MBI is unable to find a solution to manage the illegal dumpsites even after years of ‘talking and trying’.

Councilor Wong Kar Keat

For Canning councilor Wong Kar Keat a word of thanks as he assisted with getting the contractor, Puncak Emas Infra, to clear a heavily silted drain which had overflowed into residents gardens when there was a flood in Taman Canning early in the month of April.

I had complained several times in 2019 that the said drain was ‘overgrown with weeds’ but to no avail. When it was cleared in early April the silt from the drain would fill up a small lorry.

The overgrown drain (l) before .. and (r) after 

... heavily silted 

..would fill a small lorry

What Wong had done showed the lackadaisical work done by earlier contractor/s or perhaps MBI over the years.

Let’s hope the new Mayor will take note of this service failure and to .. MBI Buck-up please.

JAG

Covid 19, MCO, Rainstorms & Police Permits ..

Open roof and Clear blue sky 

Yesterday my contractor could not secure a 'Police Permit' to carry out repairs to a large portion of a blown-out roof. Well today was the same ...No Permit given. 

What's the solution ....gather as much buckets to collect the rainwater .... and cover as much of furniture as possible ..

Buckets for 'rain-water' 

When and If the contractor does get the permit i hope there will be a hardware shop that is available to supply the material needed.

Consolation for today .... as we saw the second day this week the new Covid 19 cases was in double digits.

JAG

Teen Princess - A Showcase Of Perak's Beautiful Princesses

Ipoh's beautiful Teen Princess. 1987 Winner Hazlina

The Teen Princess beauty pageant was an annual event that used to be held in Ipoh. 

I had never attended any of its events so when I received a photograph recently I was intrigued simply because the girls were in their teens and were beautiful. And that made it interesting enough to look for more information.

Organized annually by the YMCA Ipoh the Teen Princess competition was open to teenagers aged between thirteen and nineteen which is how it got its name. Contestants were judged on their intelligence and beauty.

Contestants of the 1st event held at St John Ambulance Hall in 1967

The first event was held at the St Johns Ambulance Hall in 1967 but subsequent events were held at the Ipoh Town Hall. It was teetotaller dance and used to have full house attendance. Sadly it was discontinued after 1993.

It was a pity for all the winners as well as the runners-up looked equally stunning. It was interesting too as the contestants were multiracial reflecting an interesting testimony of the mix of the community in earlier days in Ipoh. 

1990 Teen Princess Winner Cynthia Teh

1989 Winner Lorna Ulum

Healthy participation. Thirty contestants of the 1988 Teen Princess

1986 Teen Princess Winner Fiona De Souza.

Contestants of the 1986 pageant

1982. Winner Michele Chai 

1979 (l-r) Barbara Angeline Sta Maria, Winner Clare Looi and  Eunice Choo

1977 Winner Chen Moi Ling

Those were such interesting days in earlier times and am glad to be able to document that time.

JAG

Covid19-Day29-Malaysia: Flattening The Curve

This KKM graph till 14 April shows the 'Flattening of the Curve' of this Covid19. 

The 15 April figures showed promising data. Nationally it was 85 infections (double digit iso triple digits) while Perak state reflected ZERO new infections for  the day.

Something to look forward to and hopefully an early end to the Movement Control Order.

JAG

Pangkor Island In The Mid 80's (3). Indian Fishermen

That night’s sleep in the huts was sound with the ebbing of gentle waves lulling me to sleep. 

I remembered it was slightly after 7am when I was awakened by the ‘chugging’ of a boat nearby. That was followed by the voices of men talking but in Tamil.

I got out of the hut and was greeted by a group of Indian fishermen, a little further from the huts, pulling in their net on the beach. I grabbed my camera and took the shots.

They brought in a school of fish mostly white pomfret / ikan bawal puteh which made 80% of their catch.

I asked to buy one of the fish and chose one that was sizeable enough for two which I paid Rm15 for. I asked the canteen operator to prepare the dish later

Over the years I don’t recall seeing Indian fishermen ever again from Perak all the way to Langkawi.

My 'long time ago' weekend in Pangkor Island.

JAG

Pangkor Island In The Mid Eighties (2) Sam Khoo's Huts@Pasir Bogak

This was Pasir Bogak in the mid 80's .. peaceful with a fine white sandy beach. Utter tranquility

This was where i stayed this weekend. 'Sam Khoo's A-Huts'. Sparse but it had the basics and relatively clean...with an open air canteen.

The canteen had stoves for hire 

House rules and menu on one blackboard. 

The 'A-Hut'

Drying  Ikan Bilis / Anchovy's on the beach of Pasir Bogak

Pangkor Island In The Mid Eighty's (1) Pangkor Village

Pangkor Village in the mid 80's ... 

Pangkor island was to all us Perakian the closest  place to go for a weekend getaway and that relaxing swim in the sea. Obviously there was Teluk Batik but that was more for a day trip at the beach.

The drive to Lumut would take about 2 hours then and another half hour to forty five minutes to Pangkor village.

In the 80's they used a ferry that had wooden benches, no-glass windows only a canvas outside to shelter from the rain and absolutely no air-condition

That was in the eighties before the North-South highway was completed or even the Penang bridge so Pangkor for a weekend getaway was a very feasible idea.

Pangkor in the eighties was a far cry from what it has be come today, a duty free island and i want to show how far it has changed.

...a fishing village and their warehouses 

A view of the fishing village from inland with Lumut in the background

Fishing boat. Note the 'wooden boxes' ..which have been replaced with plastic containers in later years

 

A sneak peek of the townsfolk and 

..their homes...though this was mostly a Chinese neighborhood

On the way to Pasir Bogak. Shots taken along the way .... a vegetable patch 

...'petrol station' .....

..dead but 'artistic' trees 

These are sorely missing now   ..  the Coconut Trees'

Honda 70's ruled the roads

..and the bicycle 

On the way home....Pangkor village at low tide   

Fishing apparatus neatly stacked in the warehouse

My lasting memory of Pangkor Village ....during low tide