Pada hari yang dijanjikan itu, aku dan S memakai pakaian korporat terbaik kami. Tali leher yang selalunya hanya dibawa ke pejabat tetapi tidak dipakai aku cuba padankan dengan kemeja ku yang ada. Koordinasi warna merah tali leher itu aku padankan dengan baju biru kegemaranku.
S tak payah disuruh. Dia memang hebat jika bergaya. Rambutnya telah di blow di salon rambut yang memang sentiasa dikunjunginya. Baju suit kelabu yang dipakainya menampakkan susuk tubuhnya tetapi cukup untuk memberinya imej korporat. Skirt yang dipakainya jatuh cukup-cukup mencecah lututnya.
Kami tiba ke pejabat dan cuba menyelesaikan kerja-kerja yang ada. Oleh kerana perniagaan kami yang masih baru, pejabat kami yang luasnya hanya 500 kaki persegi tu tidak mempunyai pekerja lagi. Kami melakukan semua kerja dengan sendiri. Kerja yang ada pun hanyalah beberapa fail yang tidak memerlukan perhatian pada hari itu. Kami pun sebenarnya lebih berdebar menanti panggilan telefon dari YB.
Pada pukul 11 pagi YB menelefon handphone S dan bertanya di mana kami akan makan tengahari. Apabila S mengingatkan YB tentang temujanji hari itu, YB terus berkata yang dia telah pun menempah bilik di restoran Cina di Hotel Sheraton Subang Jaya dan meminta kami datang pada pukul 1pm.
Kami sampai awal pada pukul 12.30pm. Kereta kancil ku aku letak jauh sedikit, setelah menurunkan S di lobi hotel itu, bagi mengelakkan dari membayar caj letak kereta hotel. Jimat aku RM5-00. Apabila kami naik ke restoran Cina itu pada pukul 1pm, kelibat YB masih tidak kelihatan. Setelah jam menunjukkan 1.15pm YB menelefon S bertanya di mana kami.
Rupa-rupanya YB telah berada di situ sejak pukul 12pm berbincang sesuatu dengan orang yang ingin diperkenalkan kepada kami itu.
Aku masih ingat lagi bagaimana pertemuan itu berlangsung.
Kami diminta memperkenalkan diri kepada Dato' A. Dia nampak segak dengan kemeja putih dan bertali leher biru muda. Dia nampak masih muda dan menghias dirinya dengan pelbagai barang berjenama seperti jam Tag Haeur dan memakai cermin mata yang berjenama Prada yang jelas dibingkainya. Asli atau tidak aku tidak dapat pastikan tetapi dia memang pandai menggayakannya.
Apabila kami masuk mereka sedang bercakap Jawa sesama mereka dan memerhatikan kami mengambil tempat duduk. YB memperkenalkan kami kepadanya. Dia menghulurkan tangannya untuk bersalam dengan tangan S yang digenggamnya erat. Tangan aku hanya disambut dengan hujung tangannya saja.
"Korang ni boleh ke buat kerja ni?", adalah pertanyaan awal yang diujarnya setelah kami menghulurkan kad kami masing-masing. Apabila kami meminta kadnya, dia enggan memberinya dan terus bertanya soalan itu.
"Kami memang masih baru tetapi sebelum ini kami dah banyak buat bermacam-macam kes semasa bekerja dengan orang lain. Insyaallah kalau diberi kerja, kami takkan kecewakan Dato'" aku menerangkan dengan panjang lebar.
Dipandangnya aku dan dia terus bangun dari kerusinya "Ok lah, nanti kau hantar je company profile kau dan nanti aku decide. YB, saya terpaksa pergi dulu. Bil ni boleh lah dibayar oleh peguam-peguam muda ni. Sesekali belanja YB apa salahnya. Bukan senang nak duduk dengan orang-orang macam kita ni kan?"
YB tersenyum, menyambut huluran tangan Dato' A. Dia hanya mengangkat kening kepada aku dan S sebelum beredar.
"So, amacam? Aku tau korang ingat dia tu nampak sombong, tapi dia tu developer besar tu. Boss kawan baik dia. Aku ni pun kadang-kadang tak dilayannya. Tapi aku tau lah nanti macamana nak bagi dia laju sikit. Korang jangan silap buat kerja dah" YB memberi amaran.
"Ada duit nak bayar ni?" YB bertanya setelah kami habis makan. "Takpe lah. Aku tau korang ni masih baru. Nanti dah ada fail, korang belanja aku pulak" YB membayar semua makanan di atas meja itu dan kami mengucapkan terima kasih sebelum beredar.
"Lepas satu bahana" aku berkata dalam perjalanan pulang. "Nasib baik ada YB" aku lihat S senyum seperti dia pulak yang membayar tadi.
Dalam perjalanan balik itu kami berbincang tentang Dato' A dan tindakan kami seterusnya...
October 30, 2008
Sold Soul (a fiction of epic proportion) continues...
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)
After following my uncle to a few places, mostly to southern Thailand and a hill resort up north, I was given the chance to handle a few cases for him. Although these cases were not the normal sale and purchase agreements that I was hoping to get, I was thankful just the same. The cases required me to go to court, defending my uncle from debt collector. He was the type who wouldn't pay anything if he thought he could get out of paying for it.
After following my uncle to a few places, mostly to southern Thailand and a hill resort up north, I was given the chance to handle a few cases for him. Although these cases were not the normal sale and purchase agreements that I was hoping to get, I was thankful just the same. The cases required me to go to court, defending my uncle from debt collector. He was the type who wouldn't pay anything if he thought he could get out of paying for it.
One day, his sister called me to ask me to handle a new case. I had never dealt with the sister before. I was intrigued to say the least. From what I knew, the sister was the one who handled the family's investments. The property company was only 50% owned by my uncle but the sister handled all the other investments which they owned 100% of. I heard that they have a few factories and a hospital. The hospital, coincidently was in a building in front of my office building. I have met my uncle there a few times.
When I went to meet her, there was a man with her. The sister introduced me to Dr. K. She explained that Dr. K is the chief surgeon of their hospital. She then went on to tell me about their plan of expanding their medical business in the Klang Valley which was then non-existence to become a medical franchise. The medical franchise would have a pioneer clinic in Petaling Jaya and then would expand little by little in other part of the Klang Valley.
I was unimpressed at first as I thought they were only looking for me to be a panel of a bunch of lawyers who will be on call if and when any legal advices were needed. When I was just entering the business community of lawyers, being appointed as one of the panel of lawyers of a company made me thinking that I would be receiving files like an avalance. When I was told that being appointed as a panel lawyer does not guarantee me files, and I have to work my charm on the people who distributed the file, I realised the long hard work that waits ahead. So, it was the same when the sister told me her intention of meeting me.
She asked me to go to PJ and meet a man with Dr. K. It seems that the clinic was already in existence and renovated. Their target operational date was 2 months away.
We were told to go and meet the CEO of the franchise clinic company. He was currently based in the PJ clinic and as I don't have that many appointments to attend to, the next day I was already driving to it.
I didn't prepare myself for anything when I went there. I drove my Proton and using the map drawn on a piece of paper to guide me there, I arrived for the appointment at aound 5pm. As I always loved the idea of killing 2 birds with 1 stone, I had also set a date with one of the girls I was dating. The girl who was a junior in my university and I would stop by later at where she was living in the university town to have dinner with her. I just hoped that she would not go out with her boyfriend if I was late.
I arrived at the place which was a an bungalow painted in yellow. It was just beside the LDP highway and was visible
I was told to wait for a while and saw a few people running around doing so many things. There was a delivery van delivering a machine which looked like a photocopier machine, a guy who couldn't be more than twenty going in and out of the clinic and several girls wearing nurse's uniforms. I waited for nearly 1 hour and at 5pm the guy came to where I was sitting and intorduced himself.
"Hi! I am N, let's get somthing to eat. Do you eat Chinese?", he said and then a Chinese lady came out of a room and said "Hi, you must be the lawyer. I am the wife. Let's go. You will like this place"
That was how I met Mr. and Mrs. N.
October 29, 2008
Pak Lah and Ambiga taking potshots (updated)
As a member of some sub-committee in Bar Council and Selangor Bar Committee, I was invited for the officiation of Lawasia just now, 29.10.08, at KL Convention Centre. Lawasia is like a coalition of Bar Associations around Asia-Pacific region up until Brazil. Its current outgoing President is the former Malaysian Bar Council President, Mr. Mah Weng Kwai. It seems that Malaysia had hosted Lawasia Conference twice before in 1968 and 1998. Our turn seems to come every 20 years.There were 4 speeches after a percussion group (I think they were the HAND, quite good!) hammered the eardrums of the newly installed Chief Justice, Tan Sri Zaki and the new President Court of Appeal. Their investiture was today in front of DYMM Agung and how much you shouted or blogged about them being UMNO cronies or how much lawyers hated them, it wouldn't matter. They are in...
Anyway, the highlights of the speeches were when Dato' Ambiga let rips about ISA in front of the international delegates and press. She was even praised by the MC, who herself is a lawyer, on "telling it as it is". How apt...Then Pak Lah, our beloved PM, had to do something about the parting shot by Ambiga.
He suddenly said in his speech that the Bar Council is taking the initiative to amend the Legal Profession Act 1974, to let foreign lawyers to practice in Malaysia. Yeah, right!
I am one of the sub-committee on this matter which is still under negotiation with various government agencies and under a gag order and now he says that its already agreed upon and told the whole world about it. Ambiga was exchanging glances with Christopher Leong, who was also in the thick of things on the foreign lawyers matter, when this was announced.
So, there you have it. Politics at the highest level. Oh, you want to know what Pak Lah has to say about ISA? Using some holy scripture quotes from Quran in which he has a duty to the people to ensure justice is for all.
Go figure!
P/S - I have pictures of the event but I want to post this first then upload the pics later
October 28, 2008
Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang YB (sebuah novel Malaysia) Episod 8
Selepas pertemuan pertama aku dengan YB di restoran Jepun itu, kami tidak bertemu dengan YB selama beberapa lama. Dia ada beberapa kali ditelefon oleh S dan dia menjanjikan beberapa pertemuan akan diatur dengan beberapa orang.
Hari raya tahun itu datang. Kami memutuskan untuk mengadakan satu jamuan hari raya dan menjemput YB datang. Dia menjemput pula kami untuk datang ke majlis jamuan hari raya di kediamannya di Shah Alam. Walaupun kawasan YB berada di luar Shah Alam, dia selalu mengadakan jamuan hari rayanya di situ kerana terdapat seorang caterer yang amat digemarinya berpengkalan di Shah Alam.
Jamuan yang diadakan amat meriah dengan pelbagai hidangan termasuk seekor unta. Anak-anak yatim dibawa untuk menerima sumbangan dari YB. Tetamu-tetamu dari kawasannya dibawa datang dengan bas-bas yang disewa khas. Terdapat persembahan nasyid dan nyanyian karaoke setelah hari semakin lewat.
Wartawan dipanggil untuk menemuramah dirinya tentang portfolio yang dipegangnya pada masa itu. Artis-artis yang dikenalinya hadir untuk bermesra dengan orang kenamaan yang hadir. Isteri-isteri orang kenamaan memerhatikan suami masing-masing untuk memastikan tiada yang terjatuh hati.
Aku yang selalu mengikuti berita politik dan mengenali muka-muka ahli politik negara tidak lekang dari memandang ke meja orang kenamaan dari tempat duduk aku yang jauh ke belakang. S yang berada dengan ku sibuk pula memerhatikan artis-artis yang hadir. Kami bertukar-tukar maklumat tentang siapa yang kami lihat. S pula tidak perasan mata-mata liar yang memerhatikannya. Aku pula bangga dengan gula-gula mata disebelah ku yang bukan milikku.
Aku yang masih bujang pada masa itu kemudiannya menceritakan pengalaman itu kepada teman wanita ku. Dia yang kemudiannya menjadi isteriku pada awalnya amat kagum dengan cerita-cerita yang aku bawa selepas aku bertemu YB. Sekarang tidak lagi. Malahan, dia menyampah mendengar cerita-cerita YB. Terutamanya apabila dia telah tahu tentang perangai YB sebenarnya.
Minggu berikutnya, pada satu Sabtu, beberapa hari selepas tarikh sebenar bulan Syawal tamat, kami mengadakan pula jamuan raya kami. Kami yang telah menjemput YB berharap yang dia akan hadir dan bertemu dengan anakguam, rakan-rakan dan keluarga kami. Kalau pun tidak lama, mungkin sekejap, sekadar menjamah satu dua juadah.
Jamuan kami diadakan dari pukul 1.00 tengahari sehingga 4 petang dan jemputan kami hanyalah mereka yang biasa kami temui. Ibu bapa aku dan S datang untuk melihat anak-anak mereka cuba menjadi peguam muda yang berniaga. Kawan-kawan kami datang kerana makanan percuma yang dihidangkan. Kami pula berharap YB akan datang untuk menyerikan majlis hari raya kami itu.
Majlis kami sebenarnya adalah acara makan-makan sahaja tanpa sebarang upacara. Apabila kami menjemput YB, kami telah memberitahu sedemikian dan oleh kerana itu dia sanggup hadir, katanya. Apabila aku semakin kenal dengannga, barulah aku faham yang dia memang tidak suka menunjukkan kemesraan dengan sesiapa pun. Dia akan mengelak untuk bertemu dengan aku sekiranya pertemuan itu akan melihatkan keakraban kami.
Apabila dia tahu majlis kami akan hanya dipenuhi dengan kawan-kawan kami, dia berjanji akan menghadirkan diri. Pada pukul 4 petang kami menerima panggilannya dan dia memberitahu yang dia baru sahaja dalam perjalanan. Pada masa itu, hanya tinggal seorang kawan aku dan dia pun sudah bersiap-siap untuk pulang.
YB tiba 45 minit kemudian, kami menyambutnya dan menemani dia makan. Dia memberi komen tentang kedudukan pejabat kami yang agak kecil dan berada di kawasan yang terkenal dengan kesesakan lalu lintas. Kami membalas balik yang kami hanya mampu untuk berpindah ke kawasan baru dan ke pejabat yang lebih luas sekiranya dia dapat membantu kami.
Melihat kesungguhan kami, YB terus menelefon seseorang dan bertanya orang yang bercakap dengannya itu samada YB boleh bertemu dengannya pada minggu depan. Orang itu memberi jawapan dan setelah tamat perbualan mereka, YB memandang aku dan S, dan terus berkata
"Minggu depan, kau berdua pastikan yang hari Selasa kamu tidak ada apa-apa temujanji. Nanti aku telefon kau di mana kita akan berjumpa dan aku nak bawak kau jumpa seseorang".
"Siapa YB?", tanya S.
"Kau datang je lah nanti. Pakai cantik-cantik. Dia tu bukan boleh nampak perempuan cantik", YB bermisteri.
Aku dan S saling berpandangan. Masing-masing berharap kali ini YB akan menunaikan janjinya dan memperkenalkan kami kepada seorang yang berbaloi kami temui.
Hari raya tahun itu datang. Kami memutuskan untuk mengadakan satu jamuan hari raya dan menjemput YB datang. Dia menjemput pula kami untuk datang ke majlis jamuan hari raya di kediamannya di Shah Alam. Walaupun kawasan YB berada di luar Shah Alam, dia selalu mengadakan jamuan hari rayanya di situ kerana terdapat seorang caterer yang amat digemarinya berpengkalan di Shah Alam.
Jamuan yang diadakan amat meriah dengan pelbagai hidangan termasuk seekor unta. Anak-anak yatim dibawa untuk menerima sumbangan dari YB. Tetamu-tetamu dari kawasannya dibawa datang dengan bas-bas yang disewa khas. Terdapat persembahan nasyid dan nyanyian karaoke setelah hari semakin lewat.
Wartawan dipanggil untuk menemuramah dirinya tentang portfolio yang dipegangnya pada masa itu. Artis-artis yang dikenalinya hadir untuk bermesra dengan orang kenamaan yang hadir. Isteri-isteri orang kenamaan memerhatikan suami masing-masing untuk memastikan tiada yang terjatuh hati.
Aku yang selalu mengikuti berita politik dan mengenali muka-muka ahli politik negara tidak lekang dari memandang ke meja orang kenamaan dari tempat duduk aku yang jauh ke belakang. S yang berada dengan ku sibuk pula memerhatikan artis-artis yang hadir. Kami bertukar-tukar maklumat tentang siapa yang kami lihat. S pula tidak perasan mata-mata liar yang memerhatikannya. Aku pula bangga dengan gula-gula mata disebelah ku yang bukan milikku.
Aku yang masih bujang pada masa itu kemudiannya menceritakan pengalaman itu kepada teman wanita ku. Dia yang kemudiannya menjadi isteriku pada awalnya amat kagum dengan cerita-cerita yang aku bawa selepas aku bertemu YB. Sekarang tidak lagi. Malahan, dia menyampah mendengar cerita-cerita YB. Terutamanya apabila dia telah tahu tentang perangai YB sebenarnya.
Minggu berikutnya, pada satu Sabtu, beberapa hari selepas tarikh sebenar bulan Syawal tamat, kami mengadakan pula jamuan raya kami. Kami yang telah menjemput YB berharap yang dia akan hadir dan bertemu dengan anakguam, rakan-rakan dan keluarga kami. Kalau pun tidak lama, mungkin sekejap, sekadar menjamah satu dua juadah.
Jamuan kami diadakan dari pukul 1.00 tengahari sehingga 4 petang dan jemputan kami hanyalah mereka yang biasa kami temui. Ibu bapa aku dan S datang untuk melihat anak-anak mereka cuba menjadi peguam muda yang berniaga. Kawan-kawan kami datang kerana makanan percuma yang dihidangkan. Kami pula berharap YB akan datang untuk menyerikan majlis hari raya kami itu.
Majlis kami sebenarnya adalah acara makan-makan sahaja tanpa sebarang upacara. Apabila kami menjemput YB, kami telah memberitahu sedemikian dan oleh kerana itu dia sanggup hadir, katanya. Apabila aku semakin kenal dengannga, barulah aku faham yang dia memang tidak suka menunjukkan kemesraan dengan sesiapa pun. Dia akan mengelak untuk bertemu dengan aku sekiranya pertemuan itu akan melihatkan keakraban kami.
Apabila dia tahu majlis kami akan hanya dipenuhi dengan kawan-kawan kami, dia berjanji akan menghadirkan diri. Pada pukul 4 petang kami menerima panggilannya dan dia memberitahu yang dia baru sahaja dalam perjalanan. Pada masa itu, hanya tinggal seorang kawan aku dan dia pun sudah bersiap-siap untuk pulang.
YB tiba 45 minit kemudian, kami menyambutnya dan menemani dia makan. Dia memberi komen tentang kedudukan pejabat kami yang agak kecil dan berada di kawasan yang terkenal dengan kesesakan lalu lintas. Kami membalas balik yang kami hanya mampu untuk berpindah ke kawasan baru dan ke pejabat yang lebih luas sekiranya dia dapat membantu kami.
Melihat kesungguhan kami, YB terus menelefon seseorang dan bertanya orang yang bercakap dengannya itu samada YB boleh bertemu dengannya pada minggu depan. Orang itu memberi jawapan dan setelah tamat perbualan mereka, YB memandang aku dan S, dan terus berkata
"Minggu depan, kau berdua pastikan yang hari Selasa kamu tidak ada apa-apa temujanji. Nanti aku telefon kau di mana kita akan berjumpa dan aku nak bawak kau jumpa seseorang".
"Siapa YB?", tanya S.
"Kau datang je lah nanti. Pakai cantik-cantik. Dia tu bukan boleh nampak perempuan cantik", YB bermisteri.
Aku dan S saling berpandangan. Masing-masing berharap kali ini YB akan menunaikan janjinya dan memperkenalkan kami kepada seorang yang berbaloi kami temui.
October 27, 2008
Sold soul (a fiction of epic proportions)
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)
While in Seremban, I had a very different kind of social life.
I was living with my parents. I would always be back at their house the latest by 5.30pm before going off again just a kilometer away for a game of either tennis or football. I would then have drinks with my friends and would spend my nights indoors, rarely venturing out for anything.
Within this phase of my life, I proved myself to be quite popular among the other young lawyers, especially the male. Most of them were older than me by at least 2 to 4 years old but before me, there were no one who wanted to lead the way for impromptu fun.
The tennis game or football that we played was at one of the sport centre near my parent's house. Sometimes, we went for breakfast and lunch around town. We hang around the lawyer's association room which was near the courthouse, which was to be the meeting area for the association and a place where lawyer could sit to wait for their case to go on. We attended a few weddings, went for movies and joined all the events that the lawyer's association held like the Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Hari Raya do.
When we got news one day that a golf club at the suburb of Seremban offered cheap membership fee, we decided to pick up golf. I was always entrusted to negotiate rates and when I managed to ensure we only had to pay RM200-00 for a membership and a fee of RM50-00 for weekday golfing, they agreed to follow my lead and joined.
While in Seremban, I had a very different kind of social life.
I was living with my parents. I would always be back at their house the latest by 5.30pm before going off again just a kilometer away for a game of either tennis or football. I would then have drinks with my friends and would spend my nights indoors, rarely venturing out for anything.
Within this phase of my life, I proved myself to be quite popular among the other young lawyers, especially the male. Most of them were older than me by at least 2 to 4 years old but before me, there were no one who wanted to lead the way for impromptu fun.
The tennis game or football that we played was at one of the sport centre near my parent's house. Sometimes, we went for breakfast and lunch around town. We hang around the lawyer's association room which was near the courthouse, which was to be the meeting area for the association and a place where lawyer could sit to wait for their case to go on. We attended a few weddings, went for movies and joined all the events that the lawyer's association held like the Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Hari Raya do.
When we got news one day that a golf club at the suburb of Seremban offered cheap membership fee, we decided to pick up golf. I was always entrusted to negotiate rates and when I managed to ensure we only had to pay RM200-00 for a membership and a fee of RM50-00 for weekday golfing, they agreed to follow my lead and joined.
On the business side, I was also busy pursuing one of my relative who was a developer. He was connected to me as he is the husband of my father's cousin.
He was doing quite well then and had a development just in the outskirt of Seremban. When I met him, he did promised to try to put me in as one of the lawyers who would handle some of his sale launch. As I was trying to get close to him, I followed him on a few of his big bike trips to a few places up north.
As his company was full with his relatives, which include his brothers and sisters, they also have their own big bikes given by him. All were BMW touring bikes. I never finished taking up my license for any motorcycle above 2000 c.c. and as I still wanted to follow them around, I was given the task of carrying all their overnight bags in my car. I didn't care as long as I could get close to him.
We had a few trips to Thailand where my uncle's wife followed with a convoy of 5 other cars. They were mostly luxury cars and four-wheel drives. I was the only Proton in the pack. Trying to make sure I was not left behind was quite a task as we used the PLUS highway to reach out destinations. I was always the last car to arrive at check-points and they would have arrived half an hour before.
Most trips were with his wife but there were a few others where his wife would be left behind. When this happened, the wife would call him, me and a few others in the group to ensure that his husband never strayed.
That was quite a tall order as my uncle had this to say about the girls who were always in tow.
"I never bring anyone with me if I was going to sleep alone at night"
Wise word from a rich man...
October 26, 2008
Hari-hari terakhir seorang YB (sebuah novel Malaysia) Episod 7
"Ok. Kalau kau dah bersedia, aku nak kena cerita sikit tentang pilihanraya kali ini" kata-kata YB membawa aku semula ke dunia kini.
"Kali ni kau bukan kena jaga aku saja. Kami dah dapat arahan dari Badan Perhubungan tahun ni setiap bahagian kena lantik seorang peguam sahaja" dia memulakan 'briefing'nya.
"Tahun 2004, masa kau first time jadi peguam aku tu, kau kena buat dengan peguam-peguam lain kan? Yang parti kaum Cina bawak peguam dia, yang parti kaum India, bawak peguam dia, parti kita, dua peguam. This time, tak. Kau sorang aje"
Ditenungnya mata aku dalam-dalam sebelum dia bertanya "Ok tak?"
Aku tahu YB bukannya merendah-rendahkan aku dengan soalan ini. Dia telah mengenali aku sejak aku masih baru membuka firma ku di Kuala Lumpur. Dia telah melihat aku dari memakai kereta Kancil ditaja oleh ibu bapa ku ke kereta Mercedes yang aku beli hasil dari kejayaan firma aku. Setengah dari kejayaan firma ku juga boleh dikatakan hasil dari pertolongan YB. Anaknya sekarang hampir telah tamat mentelaah di fakulti undang-undang di sebuah universiti tempatan dan menunggu masa sahaja untuk menyertai firma ku. Firma ku juga terkenal dengan kebolehan mengendali ratusan fail perumahan dalam satu-satu masa. Berbeza dengan tugas mengawasi penfailan kertas pencalonan pilihanraya dan memantau perjalanannya.
Bagi aku, aku memang telah bersedia. Sejak pilihanraya telah diumumkan akan berlangsung dalam tahun 2008 itu, sejak awal tahun lagi telah ku beli semua akta-akta terbaru berkaitan dengan pilihanraya. Apa-apa undang-undang kecil oleh Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya telah aku teliti dan ikuti segala perkembangannya. Aku telah pun mengarahkan peguam muda yang bekerja dengan aku untuk menelaah apa sahaja yang berkenaan dengan pilihanraya.
"Ok je YB. YB pun tahu yang saya telah bersedia untuk jadi peguam YB. Kalau kena jaga wakil rakyat... ops, sori. Bakal wakil rakyat lain", aku berseloroh sikit, cuba mengurangkan keseriusan pertemuan itu. "Kalau ada wakil rakyat lain pun, saya boleh handle. Takde masalah. Insyaallah..", aku masukkan sikit caveat emptor macam seorang ahli politik.
"Kali ni nampaknya semua peguam di pejabat saya kena bekerja lah. S pun nampaknya kena ikut sekali", naik sedikit keningnya apabila mendengar nama S disebut.
Itu yang selalunya disalah tafsir oleh rakan-rakan dan peguam-peguam lain. Kebanyakan dari mereka menganggap aku seorang yang ingin berkecimpung dengan politik. Apa tidaknya, hampir setiap kali aku sedang duduk dengan mereka, jika telefon bimbit aku berbunyi, jika ianya YB, pasti aku akan meninggalkan mereka tergesa-gesa. Malahan, isteri aku hinggakan ibu bapa ku pernah ditinggalkan kerana aku diminta bertemu dengan YB.
Pernah, aku bergegas balik ke Kuala Lumpur dari Pulau Pinang, dengan isteri dan ibu bapanya berada di dalam kereta apabila YB memanggil aku berjumpa dengannya. Yang membuat isteri aku marah adalah kerana ia berlaku masa hari raya baru masuk ke hari ketiga.
Namun, prinsip aku mudah.
"Kali ni kau bukan kena jaga aku saja. Kami dah dapat arahan dari Badan Perhubungan tahun ni setiap bahagian kena lantik seorang peguam sahaja" dia memulakan 'briefing'nya.
"Tahun 2004, masa kau first time jadi peguam aku tu, kau kena buat dengan peguam-peguam lain kan? Yang parti kaum Cina bawak peguam dia, yang parti kaum India, bawak peguam dia, parti kita, dua peguam. This time, tak. Kau sorang aje"
Ditenungnya mata aku dalam-dalam sebelum dia bertanya "Ok tak?"
Aku tahu YB bukannya merendah-rendahkan aku dengan soalan ini. Dia telah mengenali aku sejak aku masih baru membuka firma ku di Kuala Lumpur. Dia telah melihat aku dari memakai kereta Kancil ditaja oleh ibu bapa ku ke kereta Mercedes yang aku beli hasil dari kejayaan firma aku. Setengah dari kejayaan firma ku juga boleh dikatakan hasil dari pertolongan YB. Anaknya sekarang hampir telah tamat mentelaah di fakulti undang-undang di sebuah universiti tempatan dan menunggu masa sahaja untuk menyertai firma ku. Firma ku juga terkenal dengan kebolehan mengendali ratusan fail perumahan dalam satu-satu masa. Berbeza dengan tugas mengawasi penfailan kertas pencalonan pilihanraya dan memantau perjalanannya.
Bagi aku, aku memang telah bersedia. Sejak pilihanraya telah diumumkan akan berlangsung dalam tahun 2008 itu, sejak awal tahun lagi telah ku beli semua akta-akta terbaru berkaitan dengan pilihanraya. Apa-apa undang-undang kecil oleh Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya telah aku teliti dan ikuti segala perkembangannya. Aku telah pun mengarahkan peguam muda yang bekerja dengan aku untuk menelaah apa sahaja yang berkenaan dengan pilihanraya.
"Ok je YB. YB pun tahu yang saya telah bersedia untuk jadi peguam YB. Kalau kena jaga wakil rakyat... ops, sori. Bakal wakil rakyat lain", aku berseloroh sikit, cuba mengurangkan keseriusan pertemuan itu. "Kalau ada wakil rakyat lain pun, saya boleh handle. Takde masalah. Insyaallah..", aku masukkan sikit caveat emptor macam seorang ahli politik.
"Kali ni nampaknya semua peguam di pejabat saya kena bekerja lah. S pun nampaknya kena ikut sekali", naik sedikit keningnya apabila mendengar nama S disebut.
Itu yang selalunya disalah tafsir oleh rakan-rakan dan peguam-peguam lain. Kebanyakan dari mereka menganggap aku seorang yang ingin berkecimpung dengan politik. Apa tidaknya, hampir setiap kali aku sedang duduk dengan mereka, jika telefon bimbit aku berbunyi, jika ianya YB, pasti aku akan meninggalkan mereka tergesa-gesa. Malahan, isteri aku hinggakan ibu bapa ku pernah ditinggalkan kerana aku diminta bertemu dengan YB.
Pernah, aku bergegas balik ke Kuala Lumpur dari Pulau Pinang, dengan isteri dan ibu bapanya berada di dalam kereta apabila YB memanggil aku berjumpa dengannya. Yang membuat isteri aku marah adalah kerana ia berlaku masa hari raya baru masuk ke hari ketiga.
Namun, prinsip aku mudah.
YB adalah hanya seorang anakguam dan aku adalah seorang peguam. Segala wang ringgit yang aku telah diamanahkan untuk dijaga dan segala perkongsian keuntungan antara dia dan firma aku, adalah berdasarkan hubungan ini.
Tidak lebih dan tidak kurang...
Tidak lebih dan tidak kurang...
October 25, 2008
Sold Soul (fiction of epic proportions) continues...
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)I entered into practice as a young upstart in a small legal firm in Seremban. I was given a room with a small table and a high chair. There were two other staffs in the 600 square feet room and they respected my partner more than me.
The firm informed the Bar Council on my status as a partner of the firm and I was officially a partner but the name of the signboard only had my partner's name. It was okay as he was the founder of the firm and I came in later. It would also be harder to explain to all those that we applied for panelship to explain the change in such a short period that the firm was form.
I thought I now could go around town and people would fell head over heel trying to give me cases. I thought all I have to do was go to the office, sit around and the cases would come to me.
I was so excited that I had a heart to heart talk with a few of my friends and even my mother about whether I was moving to fast in the world by taking a partnership stake with someone. They thought I was just checking whether I was doing the right thing by just winging it and started to manage a business without learning about law properly. They actually encouraged me as most of my friends were working with other people.
What they did not know was deep down I was so excited at my prospect that I thought in no time I would be driving a big car and having things that people rarely achieved in such a young age. This was in 1998 when Malaysia was coming back from a recession and young entrepreneurs are non-existence.
How wrong was I. How so very wrong.
That was when I was forced through a baptism of fire. My partner approached me two weeks after I was installed as a partner and told me that I need to contribute to the monthly expenditure as I would also be using the staff, the office with its electricity and other overhead. I was a bit put-off but he explained that this was what sharing a partnership really means.
I only had one file then and it was introduced by a relative of mine. As our modus operandi in opening a file was just a payment of RM500-00, I had squandered all of the money to celebrate on my status as a partner upon receiving it from the client. I asked for a few days from my partner and had a discussion with my parents. My parents agreed to give me an allowance of RM1,000-00 until I manage to stand on my own two feet.
So much for all of their sons not needing them anymore.
Actually, I had to thanks my parent quite a lot. I was living in their house. I was given the full usage of their second car. I still had the supplementary credit card given to me when I was a student. I was not given another RM1,000-00 allowance before I could really make money on my own.
All these were the push factor for me when I was a young lawyer, still trying to make a mark for myself in the world and was trying to impress quite a few girls. These was also the time I was juggling 8 girls at once in various stage of relationship (read http://kruel-legalcat.blogspot.com/2008/09/sold-soul-fiction-of-epic-proportion_29.html)
When I realised my shortcomings, I quickly went around looking for cases with all the contacts that I could exploited. I used my parent's contacts in town. The association that my father was a part of. My friend's client whom they don't want to refer to their firm who wasn't giving them any commission, unlike me, for case referral. My relatives. I was like a whore. If you pay me, I would be willing to do anything.
I learned a lot in that one year I was in Seremban but it was never a bed of roses. Until I agree to go to Petaling Jaya and had a meeting with this one guy who was looking for someone who could work from morning till midnight and with a promise of big things to come.
If not for him, I would still be stuck in Seremban.
If not for him, I would never be in a prison cell in Thailand like I am now...
The firm informed the Bar Council on my status as a partner of the firm and I was officially a partner but the name of the signboard only had my partner's name. It was okay as he was the founder of the firm and I came in later. It would also be harder to explain to all those that we applied for panelship to explain the change in such a short period that the firm was form.
I thought I now could go around town and people would fell head over heel trying to give me cases. I thought all I have to do was go to the office, sit around and the cases would come to me.
I was so excited that I had a heart to heart talk with a few of my friends and even my mother about whether I was moving to fast in the world by taking a partnership stake with someone. They thought I was just checking whether I was doing the right thing by just winging it and started to manage a business without learning about law properly. They actually encouraged me as most of my friends were working with other people.
What they did not know was deep down I was so excited at my prospect that I thought in no time I would be driving a big car and having things that people rarely achieved in such a young age. This was in 1998 when Malaysia was coming back from a recession and young entrepreneurs are non-existence.
How wrong was I. How so very wrong.
That was when I was forced through a baptism of fire. My partner approached me two weeks after I was installed as a partner and told me that I need to contribute to the monthly expenditure as I would also be using the staff, the office with its electricity and other overhead. I was a bit put-off but he explained that this was what sharing a partnership really means.
I only had one file then and it was introduced by a relative of mine. As our modus operandi in opening a file was just a payment of RM500-00, I had squandered all of the money to celebrate on my status as a partner upon receiving it from the client. I asked for a few days from my partner and had a discussion with my parents. My parents agreed to give me an allowance of RM1,000-00 until I manage to stand on my own two feet.
So much for all of their sons not needing them anymore.
Actually, I had to thanks my parent quite a lot. I was living in their house. I was given the full usage of their second car. I still had the supplementary credit card given to me when I was a student. I was not given another RM1,000-00 allowance before I could really make money on my own.
All these were the push factor for me when I was a young lawyer, still trying to make a mark for myself in the world and was trying to impress quite a few girls. These was also the time I was juggling 8 girls at once in various stage of relationship (read http://kruel-legalcat.blogspot.com/2008/09/sold-soul-fiction-of-epic-proportion_29.html)
When I realised my shortcomings, I quickly went around looking for cases with all the contacts that I could exploited. I used my parent's contacts in town. The association that my father was a part of. My friend's client whom they don't want to refer to their firm who wasn't giving them any commission, unlike me, for case referral. My relatives. I was like a whore. If you pay me, I would be willing to do anything.
I learned a lot in that one year I was in Seremban but it was never a bed of roses. Until I agree to go to Petaling Jaya and had a meeting with this one guy who was looking for someone who could work from morning till midnight and with a promise of big things to come.
If not for him, I would still be stuck in Seremban.
If not for him, I would never be in a prison cell in Thailand like I am now...
October 24, 2008
Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang YB (sebuah novel Malaysia) Episod 6
Aku termangu-mangu cuba menahan pedas dan YB terus berseloroh bertanya kenapa muka aku merah seperti termalu-malu berjumpa dengannya. Aku tersengih dan menerangkan yang aku tidak tahu wasabi boleh sepedas itu. Dia tersenyum sambil menggeleng-geleng kepalanya. Mungkin dia tertawa di dalam hati dengan kejakunan aku yang tidak pernah makan makanan Jepun.
Dia terus bertanya kepada H tentang beberapa perkara termasuk samada 'bos' ada menelefon, bateri baru telefon bimbitnya telah dibeli, ubatnya ada dibawa dan samada temujanjinya selepas itu masih akan diteruskan. H menjawab satu persatu dan baru aku memahami tujuan H ada bersama kami. Dia bagaikan pembantu peribadi YB yang sentiasa ikut bersama ke mana-mana dengan YB. Aku membuat telahan mental untuk mengeksploitasi maklumat ini.
Dia kemudiannya mengalihkan perhatiannya kepada kami dan bertanya apa yang telah kami pesan untuk makan. Dia kemudian bertanya kepada H samada nasi goreng bawah putih dan Unagi (belut Jepun) telah dipesan untuknya. Apabila H menjawab tidak, dia terus menepuk tangannya dan tidak semena-mena terdengar suara "Hait!" di luar restoran dan 5 minit kemudian pintu bilik kami dibuka.
Seorang pelayan wanita yang sedang mengandung masuk. Walaupun mengandung kelihatan dia sebenarnya seorang cantik. YB tersenyum melihatnya dan terus bertanyakan khabar dirinya dan keluarganya. Dia menjawab dan terus disambut YB dengan selorohan tentang samada anak yang dikandung adalah anak yang kesepuluh. Ditambah lagi dengan pujian yang suami wanita tersebut sangat beruntung mempunyai isteri yang cantik. Pelayan itu tersenyum lebar.
"Perempuan! Pantang dipuji" ujar YB apabila wanita itu meninggalkan bilik kami.
Itulah pertama kali aku melihat YB menggunakan perwatakannya untuk menawan hati seseorang.
Aku meneliti YB. Dia bukanlah seseorang yang dikategorikan 'kacak'. Dia adalah apa yang aku selalu bayangkan seseorang Jawa patut kelihatan. Kulit sawo matang, tidak terlalu tinggi dan rambutnya terdapat beberapa helai uban yang semakin menguasai bahagian yang hitam. Dia kelihatan seperti umurnya yang mencecah 45 tahun pada masa itu. Pakaiannya nampak mahal tetapi koordinasi warnanya seperti kurang sepadan. Baju batik merah bercampur kuning, seluar hitam dan stokin kelabu. Sedikit janggal.
Dia nampak aku sedang memandangnya dan terus mengacukan soalan "Apa tujuan kita berjumpa ni? Makan je?". Aku memandang S dan S menjawab "Kami nak ajak Dato' berniaga. Itu pun kalau minat lah".
Sebelum kami dapat meneruskan perbincangan, dia memandang tepat kepada S dan berkata "Dulu kalau datang jumpa aku di opis asyik pakai jeans aje. Ni cantik sikit pakai suit macam ni"
S tersenyum dan meneruskan percakapannya "Kami ingat nak kongsi perniagaan firma kami. Secara sah memang tak boleh lah, tapi kita boleh buat perjanjian di luar"
"Menarik. Apa kata korang berdua tulis benda ni dan mungkin kita berjumpa semual dalam seminggu dua ni". Memang kata-kata YB ini telah kami jangka dan tunggu-tunggu.
Seterusnya perbualan kami hanya tentang macamana kami boleh membuka firma kami dan latarbelakang kami menjadi rakan kongsi. Aku nampak YB semacam pelik kenapa S yang rupawan ingin menjadikan aku sebagai rakan perniagaannya. Aku tidak kisah apa tanggapannya selagi dia mahu menolong kami.
Bertitik tolak dari pertemuan inilah aku akhirnya menjadi lebih rapat dengan YB dari S.
Dia kemudiannya mengalihkan perhatiannya kepada kami dan bertanya apa yang telah kami pesan untuk makan. Dia kemudian bertanya kepada H samada nasi goreng bawah putih dan Unagi (belut Jepun) telah dipesan untuknya. Apabila H menjawab tidak, dia terus menepuk tangannya dan tidak semena-mena terdengar suara "Hait!" di luar restoran dan 5 minit kemudian pintu bilik kami dibuka.
Seorang pelayan wanita yang sedang mengandung masuk. Walaupun mengandung kelihatan dia sebenarnya seorang cantik. YB tersenyum melihatnya dan terus bertanyakan khabar dirinya dan keluarganya. Dia menjawab dan terus disambut YB dengan selorohan tentang samada anak yang dikandung adalah anak yang kesepuluh. Ditambah lagi dengan pujian yang suami wanita tersebut sangat beruntung mempunyai isteri yang cantik. Pelayan itu tersenyum lebar.
"Perempuan! Pantang dipuji" ujar YB apabila wanita itu meninggalkan bilik kami.
Itulah pertama kali aku melihat YB menggunakan perwatakannya untuk menawan hati seseorang.
Aku meneliti YB. Dia bukanlah seseorang yang dikategorikan 'kacak'. Dia adalah apa yang aku selalu bayangkan seseorang Jawa patut kelihatan. Kulit sawo matang, tidak terlalu tinggi dan rambutnya terdapat beberapa helai uban yang semakin menguasai bahagian yang hitam. Dia kelihatan seperti umurnya yang mencecah 45 tahun pada masa itu. Pakaiannya nampak mahal tetapi koordinasi warnanya seperti kurang sepadan. Baju batik merah bercampur kuning, seluar hitam dan stokin kelabu. Sedikit janggal.
Dia nampak aku sedang memandangnya dan terus mengacukan soalan "Apa tujuan kita berjumpa ni? Makan je?". Aku memandang S dan S menjawab "Kami nak ajak Dato' berniaga. Itu pun kalau minat lah".
Sebelum kami dapat meneruskan perbincangan, dia memandang tepat kepada S dan berkata "Dulu kalau datang jumpa aku di opis asyik pakai jeans aje. Ni cantik sikit pakai suit macam ni"
S tersenyum dan meneruskan percakapannya "Kami ingat nak kongsi perniagaan firma kami. Secara sah memang tak boleh lah, tapi kita boleh buat perjanjian di luar"
"Menarik. Apa kata korang berdua tulis benda ni dan mungkin kita berjumpa semual dalam seminggu dua ni". Memang kata-kata YB ini telah kami jangka dan tunggu-tunggu.
Seterusnya perbualan kami hanya tentang macamana kami boleh membuka firma kami dan latarbelakang kami menjadi rakan kongsi. Aku nampak YB semacam pelik kenapa S yang rupawan ingin menjadikan aku sebagai rakan perniagaannya. Aku tidak kisah apa tanggapannya selagi dia mahu menolong kami.
Bertitik tolak dari pertemuan inilah aku akhirnya menjadi lebih rapat dengan YB dari S.
October 23, 2008
Sold Soul (a fiction of epic proportion) continues...
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)
My call to the bar, where I was annointed with the title lawyer at large, was with an endorsement by the then High Court judge who was an old friend of my parents. There were two other would-be lawyers that day, one lady and another guy, whom I am indebted to for agreeing to have the usual after-call-to-the-bar party at the only four-star hotel in Seremban, then. It actually broke a tradition or two and being lawyers, that was considered a big no, no.
Most of the parties before were held at the Royal Sungei Ujong Club which was the traditional place since someone started it long ago. Usually the menu will be the usual mee goreng and some finger foods and the lawyers who had cases that day (we still worked on Saturday then) would turned up in droves. The speech by the masters were usually short and were peppered with the masters achievements and not the pupils.
When mine was held, my master was eloquent enough to make sure I was mentioned and she was praised with just a hint of self-upliftment. Maybe it was due to the High Court judge being in attendance, who usually would not attend these events. I have my parents to thank for willing to spend a bit on having it at a hotel.
As of that day, I was a full-fledged lawyer and I was presented with a new dilemma.
What do I do now with my new title?
Do I go further my study with an MBA or an LLM? Do I stay at my master's firm and became the only male lawyer there? Do I opt for civil service? Do I join the AG's Chamber?
All these choices swirled in my head but I finally found the courage to do what I have always wanted. That was to be my own boss.
It all started when I heard about how certain lawyers offer themselves to be freelancer and help big firms in completing legal jobs. As these freelancers were lawyers who were either retrenched during the previous year due to the recession or very senior lawyers who couldn't be bothered to have to go to an office every day, I was neither. I was determined to be one of the few who was fresh from being a pupil to offering freelance service to the world.
Again, I brought down to earth when I was told in Seremban, no one really hire freelancer as the pay for lawyers in Seremban were quite low. Everyone could afford at least one Legal Assistant.
I was crestfallen.
I told my master and the other partner of my decision and it surprised both of them. They were hoping that I would stay on and be the man of the office. They were shaping me to be their protege and I noticed that fact when I had to attend a few of meetings with clients who were not under my portfolio. It was good to know I was wanted but I made my case and left.
That was when I was proposed by someone who never met me before. The same hotel that witness me celebrating on my memorable day was also the place where my new life began. An ex-Deputy Public Prosecutor was looking for a partner for his new legal firm and when he heard that I was looking for freelance job, he offered me an office and a share in his partnership. This all happened when the hotel was used as the place for our lawyer's association annual dinner.
I accepted his offer and I thought I was going to be set for life...
My call to the bar, where I was annointed with the title lawyer at large, was with an endorsement by the then High Court judge who was an old friend of my parents. There were two other would-be lawyers that day, one lady and another guy, whom I am indebted to for agreeing to have the usual after-call-to-the-bar party at the only four-star hotel in Seremban, then. It actually broke a tradition or two and being lawyers, that was considered a big no, no.
Most of the parties before were held at the Royal Sungei Ujong Club which was the traditional place since someone started it long ago. Usually the menu will be the usual mee goreng and some finger foods and the lawyers who had cases that day (we still worked on Saturday then) would turned up in droves. The speech by the masters were usually short and were peppered with the masters achievements and not the pupils.
When mine was held, my master was eloquent enough to make sure I was mentioned and she was praised with just a hint of self-upliftment. Maybe it was due to the High Court judge being in attendance, who usually would not attend these events. I have my parents to thank for willing to spend a bit on having it at a hotel.
As of that day, I was a full-fledged lawyer and I was presented with a new dilemma.
What do I do now with my new title?
Do I go further my study with an MBA or an LLM? Do I stay at my master's firm and became the only male lawyer there? Do I opt for civil service? Do I join the AG's Chamber?
All these choices swirled in my head but I finally found the courage to do what I have always wanted. That was to be my own boss.
It all started when I heard about how certain lawyers offer themselves to be freelancer and help big firms in completing legal jobs. As these freelancers were lawyers who were either retrenched during the previous year due to the recession or very senior lawyers who couldn't be bothered to have to go to an office every day, I was neither. I was determined to be one of the few who was fresh from being a pupil to offering freelance service to the world.
Again, I brought down to earth when I was told in Seremban, no one really hire freelancer as the pay for lawyers in Seremban were quite low. Everyone could afford at least one Legal Assistant.
I was crestfallen.
I told my master and the other partner of my decision and it surprised both of them. They were hoping that I would stay on and be the man of the office. They were shaping me to be their protege and I noticed that fact when I had to attend a few of meetings with clients who were not under my portfolio. It was good to know I was wanted but I made my case and left.
That was when I was proposed by someone who never met me before. The same hotel that witness me celebrating on my memorable day was also the place where my new life began. An ex-Deputy Public Prosecutor was looking for a partner for his new legal firm and when he heard that I was looking for freelance job, he offered me an office and a share in his partnership. This all happened when the hotel was used as the place for our lawyer's association annual dinner.
I accepted his offer and I thought I was going to be set for life...
October 22, 2008
Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang YB (sebuah novel Malaysia) Episod 5
Pertemuan pertama aku dengan YB telah diadakan di restoran Jepun di hotel yang berhadapan dengan tempat persidangan partinya. Pada hari itu parti politik YB sedang mengadakan satu lagi perhimpunan yang terkenal apabila diadakan akan menyebabkan semua hotel-hotel di sekeliling Kuala Lumpur dipenuhi. Perhimpunan parti YB juga selalunya akan menyebabkan kesesakan luar biasa berlaku kerana pelbagai bas-bas dari luar KL akan datang untuk membawa ahli-ahli parti politik YB ke ibupejabat parti tersebut. Lobi-lobi hotel juga akan dipenuhi dengan pelbagai pihak sedang berdiskusi tentang pelbagai perkara 'penting' tentang parti mereka. Dikatakan pada masa parti politik YB berada di puncaknya, hampis semua kontrak kerajaan pada sesuatu tahun telah ditentukan kontraktornya pada masa parti politik YB bersidang.
Di restoran Jepun itu, kami diminta menunggunya di dalam salah satu bilik daripada bilik-bilik kecil yang dibina mengelilingi tempat makan terbuka restoran tersebut. Kami mendapat bilik pertama yang menghadap pintu masuk restoran tersebut. Apabila aku telah mengenali YB lebih lama baru aku faham kenapa YB suka memilih bilik yang pertama. Mudah untuk dia keluar masuk tanpa dilihat. Temujanji kami telah ditetapkan pada pukul 8 malam dan S telah ada di situ lebih awal dari aku. S tinggal di KL dan aku duduk bujang dengan kawan-kawan dari universitiku luar sedikit dari KL.
Apabila aku masuk ke bilik itu, terdapat seorang lelaki yang sudah berada dengan S. Aku ingatkan dia YB dan aku terus bersalam dengannya sambil bertanya kan khabar. Apabila aku memanggilnya YB, dia tersenyum. Dia terus menerangkan kepada ku bahawa dia hanyalah pemandu kereta YB dan dia diminta oleh YB untuk menemankan kami sebentar sementara YB selesai bersidang untuk hari itu. Dia memperkenalkan dirinya sebagai H.
H adalah seorang yang agak muda dan apabila dia memberitahu dia masih berumur 30-an, aku terkejut kerana aku menyangkakan dia masih di dalam linkungan 20-an. Dia juga memberitahu yang dia berketurunan Jawa dan begitu juga YB. Aku hanya mengangguk sambil memandangnya semula dengan lebih teliti kerana dia mempunyai kulit yang cerah dan menyerupai seorang Cina. Bila dia nampak aku meneliti dirinya, dia menerangkan yang kadang-kadang memang ramai Jawa berkulit cerah dan kelihatan seperti dirinya.
Sambil kami menunggu kedatangan YB, kami berborak tentang bagaimana S selalu datang ke pejabat YB pada satu masa dahulu dan sekarang telah pun bergelar sebagai seorang peguam. S tersenyum sahaja dan mengatakan yang tahun terakhir di universiti agak mencabar dan setelah selesai belajar, terpaksa berguru selama sembilan bulan sebagai seorang yang 'chambering' menyebabkan dia tidak mempunyai masa untuk melawat YB. Kini setelah mempunyai perniagaan sendiri, S rasa sudah sampai masa bertemu semula dengan YB.
S telah memberitahu aku awal-awal lagi yang YB tentu saja akan bersetuju berjumpa dengan kami kerana YB pernah menawarkan untuk menolong S sekiranya ada apa-apa masalah yang boleh diselesaikannya. S telah menelefon pejabat YB dan bercakap dengan pembantu peribadi YB yang S ingin berjumpa dengan YB. Pembantu peribadi YB terus menyambung talian telefon tersebut kepada YB dan YB telah meminta agar pertemuan ini diadakan. S juga telah menjawab apabila ditanya tentang apa tujuan pertemuan ini dengan jawapan ringkas "Bisnes".
Hampir sejam juga kami menunggu dan sambil kami berborak, kami dihidangkan dengan sushi dan pelbagai makanan Jepun. Aku yang tidak pernah makan makanan Jepun, telah diolok-olok oleh H dan S apabila mereka menyuruh aku meletak wasabi yang banyak di atas sushi yang aku telah pegang. Itulah pertama kali aku merasakan segala hingus dan segala buangan telinga ku telah dibakar oleh wasabi tersebut. Kedua mereka ketawa berdekah-dekah melihat aku menggapai gelas minum untuk menghilangkan kepanasan yang aku rasa.
"Ha! Pedas tak?" ujar S. "Tak tahan nampaknya orang Negeri Sembilan".
Aku hanya mampu tersenyum dan pada ketika itu YB pun masuk melihat aku bermata merah sambil terpinga-pinga menahan kepedasan....
Di restoran Jepun itu, kami diminta menunggunya di dalam salah satu bilik daripada bilik-bilik kecil yang dibina mengelilingi tempat makan terbuka restoran tersebut. Kami mendapat bilik pertama yang menghadap pintu masuk restoran tersebut. Apabila aku telah mengenali YB lebih lama baru aku faham kenapa YB suka memilih bilik yang pertama. Mudah untuk dia keluar masuk tanpa dilihat. Temujanji kami telah ditetapkan pada pukul 8 malam dan S telah ada di situ lebih awal dari aku. S tinggal di KL dan aku duduk bujang dengan kawan-kawan dari universitiku luar sedikit dari KL.
Apabila aku masuk ke bilik itu, terdapat seorang lelaki yang sudah berada dengan S. Aku ingatkan dia YB dan aku terus bersalam dengannya sambil bertanya kan khabar. Apabila aku memanggilnya YB, dia tersenyum. Dia terus menerangkan kepada ku bahawa dia hanyalah pemandu kereta YB dan dia diminta oleh YB untuk menemankan kami sebentar sementara YB selesai bersidang untuk hari itu. Dia memperkenalkan dirinya sebagai H.
H adalah seorang yang agak muda dan apabila dia memberitahu dia masih berumur 30-an, aku terkejut kerana aku menyangkakan dia masih di dalam linkungan 20-an. Dia juga memberitahu yang dia berketurunan Jawa dan begitu juga YB. Aku hanya mengangguk sambil memandangnya semula dengan lebih teliti kerana dia mempunyai kulit yang cerah dan menyerupai seorang Cina. Bila dia nampak aku meneliti dirinya, dia menerangkan yang kadang-kadang memang ramai Jawa berkulit cerah dan kelihatan seperti dirinya.
Sambil kami menunggu kedatangan YB, kami berborak tentang bagaimana S selalu datang ke pejabat YB pada satu masa dahulu dan sekarang telah pun bergelar sebagai seorang peguam. S tersenyum sahaja dan mengatakan yang tahun terakhir di universiti agak mencabar dan setelah selesai belajar, terpaksa berguru selama sembilan bulan sebagai seorang yang 'chambering' menyebabkan dia tidak mempunyai masa untuk melawat YB. Kini setelah mempunyai perniagaan sendiri, S rasa sudah sampai masa bertemu semula dengan YB.
S telah memberitahu aku awal-awal lagi yang YB tentu saja akan bersetuju berjumpa dengan kami kerana YB pernah menawarkan untuk menolong S sekiranya ada apa-apa masalah yang boleh diselesaikannya. S telah menelefon pejabat YB dan bercakap dengan pembantu peribadi YB yang S ingin berjumpa dengan YB. Pembantu peribadi YB terus menyambung talian telefon tersebut kepada YB dan YB telah meminta agar pertemuan ini diadakan. S juga telah menjawab apabila ditanya tentang apa tujuan pertemuan ini dengan jawapan ringkas "Bisnes".
Hampir sejam juga kami menunggu dan sambil kami berborak, kami dihidangkan dengan sushi dan pelbagai makanan Jepun. Aku yang tidak pernah makan makanan Jepun, telah diolok-olok oleh H dan S apabila mereka menyuruh aku meletak wasabi yang banyak di atas sushi yang aku telah pegang. Itulah pertama kali aku merasakan segala hingus dan segala buangan telinga ku telah dibakar oleh wasabi tersebut. Kedua mereka ketawa berdekah-dekah melihat aku menggapai gelas minum untuk menghilangkan kepanasan yang aku rasa.
"Ha! Pedas tak?" ujar S. "Tak tahan nampaknya orang Negeri Sembilan".
Aku hanya mampu tersenyum dan pada ketika itu YB pun masuk melihat aku bermata merah sambil terpinga-pinga menahan kepedasan....
October 21, 2008
Sold Soul (a fiction of epic proportion) continues...
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)
The office where I was supposed to chamber was at the end of the row of shops in Seremban. It was near the Seremban court, then, and was adjacent to a place called Singapore Street where wholesaler sold things from condensed milk to brooms. It was always busy with lorries and people walking on the street looking for bargains, especially during festive seasons. If you arrive there early, there were always parkings just beside the building. As for me, I always arrived at the office no earlier than 9am where the parkings were already mostly full and I have to make a few rounds before I can get a parking.
The office where I was supposed to chamber was at the end of the row of shops in Seremban. It was near the Seremban court, then, and was adjacent to a place called Singapore Street where wholesaler sold things from condensed milk to brooms. It was always busy with lorries and people walking on the street looking for bargains, especially during festive seasons. If you arrive there early, there were always parkings just beside the building. As for me, I always arrived at the office no earlier than 9am where the parkings were already mostly full and I have to make a few rounds before I can get a parking.
In Seremban, during those time, it was easy to get anywhere within 5 minutes. Basically, my typical day will start off with me waking up a 8.45am, in which I may or may not have breakfast at home. Reaching the office 10 minutes later, I would park the car around the shop office where my office was situated, I would then check my schedule whether I was entrusted with a case or not. Most times, I would just hang around the office until either one of the partners arrives.
Both partners were ladies in their mid-30s. One is married with 2 kids and the other one was single. The single one was my master. She was the only lady lawyer in town who was known to be a court brawler. She was the protege of a very well-known respected lawyer whom no one was willing to face in court as he never lost a case. She managed to chambered and worked with him for a few years although he was known to throw files for no apparent reason. He then became a judge whom everyone feared to face in court as he was known to bite heads off for no apparent reason.
My training in becoming a lawyer was basically filled with trips to the court to look for someone to do cases for me when I was still not allowed to represent client in court (you are only allowed to after 3 months). Lounging around at the court's canteen for hours waiting for my case to go on. Sometimes (quite often when I became bolder) I talked other lawyers to go on farther to other stalls and restaurants around town. It then became a known fact that I always look for company for breakfast and there were nearly 5 to 6 'regulars', who were mostly more senior than me. I then became more closer to the partner who was married that she would always look for me to take to lunch and appointments. During the World Cup that year, we even have a running bet on who would win the game that night.
Cases that were memorable that I got to do when I was chambering was a divorce case (syariah) where I had to pull a young boy from his father's arm to give to his mother when the court decided for the custody to be witrh his mother. It was heartbreaking to say the least.
Cases that were memorable that I got to do when I was chambering was a divorce case (syariah) where I had to pull a young boy from his father's arm to give to his mother when the court decided for the custody to be witrh his mother. It was heartbreaking to say the least.
Another case saw me having to sit through a rape case, where I was supposed to sit and keep the accused company, in which the accused was a 16 year old boy who was accused of raping an 8 year old girl. My research also made me understood male and female anatomy in detail and the trick that doctor used to check whether one is already capable of sex or not. I finished my chambering before the case was finished but the stare that I got from the victim's family member made me felt want to whack the boy myself.
As my career as a lawyer started to take off, I was also excelling in my social life. Nearly all the young lawyers in Seremban then would look for me to have fun.
That episode deserves an entry on its own...
October 20, 2008
Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang YB (sebuah novel Malaysia) Episod 4
"Jadi, firma kau dah bersedia?" kata-kata YB menyentak aku kembali ke alam realiti.
Dia terus memandang aku dan aku mengangguk.
Kami berada di pejabat YB di kawasannya dan kami baru selesai berbincang dengan parti-parti komponen lain tentang kempen yang akan dibuat. Hari penamaan calon masih ada 3 hari lagi dan tarikh-tarikh yang penting telah dibincangkan dalam mesyuarat tersebut.
Parlimen Malaysia telah dibubarkan pada 13.02.08 dan penamaan calon akan diadakan pada 24.02.08. Tarikh yang dinanti-nantikan dengan debaran oleh semua bakal-bakal calon pilihanraya adalah 08.03.08. Dan tarikh pembubaran dan tarikh pilihanraya tersebut dikatakan mempunyai kaitan dengan pelbagai nombor bertuah beberapa orang penting negara. Bagi YB tarikh-tarikh tersebut tidak mempunyai makna khas tertentu bagi dirinya. Dia menganggap pilihanraya telah patut diadakan lama dahulu ketika masih tidak banyak isu-isu ditimbulkan oleh pelbagai pihak. Malahan, oleh kerana dia rasa dia sudah bersedia, dia anggap peluang untuk dirinya dipilih sekali lagi hanyalah 50 : 50.
Aku kenal benar dengan perangai YB. Jika dia mengatakan sesuatu, ianya satu percaturan politik yang dia akan ulangi dalam percakapannya dengan orang-orang lain yang bakal ditemuinya. Dia makan minum tidur dan bernafas politik. Aku tidak hairan sekiranya dengan Datin pun dia berpolitik. Ini bermakna jika dia berkata sesuatu, ia adalah untuk memastikan dia 'selamat' dalam percaturan politiknya.
Dia memang dari dahulu terkenal dengan kepandaian bermain politik 'selamat'. Dia telah berkhidmat dengan tiga 'bos' yang berbeza. Dengan setiap bos tersebut, dia sentiasa berjaya menjadi barisan exco. Portfolio yang dipegangnya sentiasa membolehkan dia membantu kawasannya yang berada di bahagian negeri itu yang belum begitu membangun. Dia juga memastikan dirinya dapat di'bantu'.
Aku hanya mengenalinya selepas pilihanraya ke-11 Malaysia. Pilihanraya umum pada 1999 tersebut dikatakan sebagai pilihanraya paling mencabar bagi parti yang dianggotai YB. Pada masa itu Bos Tertinggi telah melucutkan jawatan Bos Kedua kerana kes seks luar tabi'i. Betul atau tidak perkara itu berlaku telah ditentukan oleh Mahkamah Malaysia. Di luar mahkamah, penduduk Malaysia telah menilai dengan cara lain iaitu dengan hampir separuh tidak mempercayai keputusan mahkamah tersebut. Pilihanraya tersebut diadakan pada masa kes itu belum diputuskan tetapi ia telah diadili dahulu oleh penduduk Malaysia.
Maksudnya dengan bertanya aku sudah bersedia atau tidak adalah samada aku telah mentelaah segala undang-undang yang perlu untuk memastikan sekiranya dirinya terpilih, pencalonannya tidak akan menghadapi apa-apa masalah.
Di pihak aku pula, walaupun sejak dari pilihanraya 2004 yang lepas, aku diberitahu olehnya dia sedang melalui penggalnya yang terakhir, apabila pada Oktober 2007 terdapat khabar angin pilihanraya akan diadakan, semua akta-akta terbaru telah aku beli. Pengumuman-pengumuman oleh Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya juga aku ikuti dengan taat.
Oleh itu, jawapan aku kepada YB ketika diacukan soalan itu hanyalah satu perkataan
"Ya"
Aku kenal benar dengan perangai YB. Jika dia mengatakan sesuatu, ianya satu percaturan politik yang dia akan ulangi dalam percakapannya dengan orang-orang lain yang bakal ditemuinya. Dia makan minum tidur dan bernafas politik. Aku tidak hairan sekiranya dengan Datin pun dia berpolitik. Ini bermakna jika dia berkata sesuatu, ia adalah untuk memastikan dia 'selamat' dalam percaturan politiknya.
Dia memang dari dahulu terkenal dengan kepandaian bermain politik 'selamat'. Dia telah berkhidmat dengan tiga 'bos' yang berbeza. Dengan setiap bos tersebut, dia sentiasa berjaya menjadi barisan exco. Portfolio yang dipegangnya sentiasa membolehkan dia membantu kawasannya yang berada di bahagian negeri itu yang belum begitu membangun. Dia juga memastikan dirinya dapat di'bantu'.
Aku hanya mengenalinya selepas pilihanraya ke-11 Malaysia. Pilihanraya umum pada 1999 tersebut dikatakan sebagai pilihanraya paling mencabar bagi parti yang dianggotai YB. Pada masa itu Bos Tertinggi telah melucutkan jawatan Bos Kedua kerana kes seks luar tabi'i. Betul atau tidak perkara itu berlaku telah ditentukan oleh Mahkamah Malaysia. Di luar mahkamah, penduduk Malaysia telah menilai dengan cara lain iaitu dengan hampir separuh tidak mempercayai keputusan mahkamah tersebut. Pilihanraya tersebut diadakan pada masa kes itu belum diputuskan tetapi ia telah diadili dahulu oleh penduduk Malaysia.
Maksudnya dengan bertanya aku sudah bersedia atau tidak adalah samada aku telah mentelaah segala undang-undang yang perlu untuk memastikan sekiranya dirinya terpilih, pencalonannya tidak akan menghadapi apa-apa masalah.
Di pihak aku pula, walaupun sejak dari pilihanraya 2004 yang lepas, aku diberitahu olehnya dia sedang melalui penggalnya yang terakhir, apabila pada Oktober 2007 terdapat khabar angin pilihanraya akan diadakan, semua akta-akta terbaru telah aku beli. Pengumuman-pengumuman oleh Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya juga aku ikuti dengan taat.
Oleh itu, jawapan aku kepada YB ketika diacukan soalan itu hanyalah satu perkataan
"Ya"
October 19, 2008
Sold Soul (a fiction of epic proportion) continues...
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)
Seremban was never the busy town like it is today until people started to realise that there are still places accessible from Kuala Lumpur but with a much lower cost of living. Thanks to our then Prime Minister, Seremban was connected to KL with a commuter service. Seremban could be said to be the last stop to a Japanese living for Malaysian where people commute every day to work. When I graduated from my university, Seremban was still the small town that I know. I went to school in the middle of the town and using that as a benchmark, I could see that the small town was just like how I left it 6 years ago. The mamak stall just at the foot of the hill of the State Mosque was still there. The bus station had changed from a 10-feet zink roofed open spaced type of shelter to a building with the name Terminal-1. There was even a movie theatre at the mall adjacent to it. A mall in Seremban! How times have changed the small town...
Seremban was never the busy town like it is today until people started to realise that there are still places accessible from Kuala Lumpur but with a much lower cost of living. Thanks to our then Prime Minister, Seremban was connected to KL with a commuter service. Seremban could be said to be the last stop to a Japanese living for Malaysian where people commute every day to work. When I graduated from my university, Seremban was still the small town that I know. I went to school in the middle of the town and using that as a benchmark, I could see that the small town was just like how I left it 6 years ago. The mamak stall just at the foot of the hill of the State Mosque was still there. The bus station had changed from a 10-feet zink roofed open spaced type of shelter to a building with the name Terminal-1. There was even a movie theatre at the mall adjacent to it. A mall in Seremban! How times have changed the small town...
I returned to Seremban after my graduation to start thinking about my future. There were a few options. Some of my friends were applying straight away to legal firms to start their chambering. Some entered the service under the AG's Chamber to become magistrates and Deputy Public Prosecutors. Some waited for calls for interviews so that they can enter to the coveted Pegawai Tadbir dan Diplomatik (Diplomatics and Administradion Officers) corps. Some just hung around their parents house lounging and had a holiday after 6 years of studies.
I choose to take that holiday although those 6 years of studies were nearly a 6 years of holiday for me (except when we were taking exams). I decided to take a tour around Malaysia. One of my friends who is a Sabahan decided to follow my lead. We hung around my mom place for 2 weeks first before we made our move.
It started with a trip by bus to the jetty of Kuala Kedah for us to get to Pulau Langkawi. We took the ferry and arrived there without booking a place to stay. We then called one of our senior who was practising there as a lawyer and crashed at his house. He was a Langkawi's native but lived in his own single storey houes. We were given the sofa as our bed and we took turn sleeping on it or the floor. As I know a girl there, who was my junior and as I always hung out with her when university was in session, we always spent time with her while we were there. As her father had a few cars, we were given the usage of a Honda Civic two-doors which was called 'Honda Mayat' which was one of my dream car, then. We used the car generously to get the layout of the island.
From Langkawi, we travelled to Penang using the Star Cruise which transitted in Langkawi from Phuket, then. That route is now defunct but even then there were not many people going on the boat from Langkawi. As Titanic was just shown the year before, we were still trying to recreate the scene between Rose and Jack. Pity that my travelling partner was a guy...
In Penang, we were greeted by one of my batch who was spending the time in his parent's house doing nothing. He already applied for a chambering place but still awaiting answers. What I remember most about this part of the trip was the old Mitsubishi Lancer owned by a friend of my friend which was driven by its owner like it was a race car. The car had no aircondition, had one light and was driven at 150kmph with the driver talking and smoking a cigarette at the same time. He was tailgating this lorry and had to do an emergency brake when the lorry swerved to let him past. Our car managed to stopped when the driver slammed the brake AND put his gear into 1st gear. Then he had the gall to explain the dynamic of how to stop a fast car without batting an eyelid. Even explained what would happened if he didn't manage to stop.
Penang was Penang and I would never get tired of it and after spending 2 days there we went back to Seremban before planning to go somewhere else. I think suddenly we lost momentum and just lounged around my parent's house. After 2 weeks, my friend decided to go back to Sabah and reality starts to sink in. We realised that we now have to work for a living and the first thing I did was to go to see my potential master (mistress?)
October 18, 2008
Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang YB (sebuah novel Malaysia) Episod 3
Pada tahun 2000, firma kami yang baru ditubuhkan masih lagi mencari-cari arah. Kami masih mencuba memasarkan nama kami dengan bertemu dengan pelbagai orang yang kami percaya dapat membantu kami meningkatkan nama dalam senarai anakguam kami. Antara yang kami cuba dekati adalah pemaju-pemaju perumahan dan S mencadangkan agar kami bertemu dengan YB.
S telah mengenali YB sejak kami di universiti lagi. Kakak S bekerja sebagai seorang jurujual dengan satu syarikat pemaju di tengah bandar Kuala Lumpur. Sebagai seorang jurujual yang cekap, dia berani melakukan apa sahaja untuk menjual rumah-rumah yang dibina oleh majikannya. YB memang terkenal dengan sikapnya yang pantang nampak dahi yang licin dan ini telah dieksploitasi oleh kakak S dengan membawa S apabila janjitemu di pejabat YB dapat diperolehi. S pada masa itu masih lagi seorang pelajar tetapi sudah pandai menggayakan pakaian-pakaian yang lebih matang dari usianya. Ini menyebabkan temujanji mereka di pejabat YB tidak pernah kurang dari setengah jam walaupun kerusi-kerusi di luar pejabatnya itu penuh dengan orang-orang yang ingin menemuinya. Melalui temujanji ini, kakak S telah berjaya menjual dua unit dari rumah yang dijual oleh majikannya dan seingat aku, rumah tersebut masih lagi dijadikan YB sebagai rumah sewaannya.
Bagi S, pertemuannya dengan YB tersebut telah dieksploitasikan olehnya untuk tujuan lain.
Pada tahun kedua kami di universiti sebagai pelajar undang-undang, kami ditugaskan oleh fakulti kami, secara amalan turun temurun, untuk mengusai Persatuan Pelajar Undang-Undang dan menganjurkan pelbagai aktiviti. Aktiviti-aktiviti ini secara tradisinya akan diketuai oleh pelajar-pelajar tahun dua dan dipenuhi dengan AJK tahun satu dan tahun dua (yang kebanyakannya akan menjadi ketua-ketua sub-committee). S telah dilantik sebagai Pengarah Makan Malam Amal bagi tahun tersebut.
Makan malam amal ini kebiasaannya adalah tempat di mana pelajar-pelajar membeli satu tempat duduk atau satu meja dan melaram menggayakan pakaian makan malam. Masa untuk makan di hotel bersama pasangan masing-masing. Bagi yang berpacaran dengan orang luar inilah masa untuk memperkenalkan teman masing-masing yang selama ini hanya dilihat apabila keluar ber'dating' sahaja.
Bagi Persatuan Pelajar Undang-Undang, makan malam ini akan menunjukkan kepada senior-senior bahawa pelajar-pelajar yang sedang memimpin persatuan tersebut mampu menganjurkan satu program yang menarik. Malahan sekiranya ia lebih menarik, ia sesuatu yang boleh dibanggakan. S berazam ia akan menjadi yang terbaik semenjak ia pernah diadakan dan ini hanya dapat dicapai jika penajaan pada malam itu dapat dikumpul dengan banyak. Di sini lah peranan YB diperlukan.
Pada malam amal tersebut, YB telah menaja dua meja dan meja-meja ini dipenuhi oleh rakan-rakan S yang kebanyakannya dalah artis-artis baru di Malaysia. Ini dilakukannya melalui bantuan kakak kepada S (yang lagi satu) yang baru saja menjanji penyanyi. Oleh kerana syarikat rakaman yang menerbitkan albumnya masih baru, mereka menaja beberapa artis mereka secara percuma menyanyi di malam amal kami. Artis-artis ini pada masa ini masih lagi berkecimpung di dunia hiburan dan ini telah menjadikan makan malam amal kami antara yang terbaik untuk sekian lama.
S telah mengenali YB sejak kami di universiti lagi. Kakak S bekerja sebagai seorang jurujual dengan satu syarikat pemaju di tengah bandar Kuala Lumpur. Sebagai seorang jurujual yang cekap, dia berani melakukan apa sahaja untuk menjual rumah-rumah yang dibina oleh majikannya. YB memang terkenal dengan sikapnya yang pantang nampak dahi yang licin dan ini telah dieksploitasi oleh kakak S dengan membawa S apabila janjitemu di pejabat YB dapat diperolehi. S pada masa itu masih lagi seorang pelajar tetapi sudah pandai menggayakan pakaian-pakaian yang lebih matang dari usianya. Ini menyebabkan temujanji mereka di pejabat YB tidak pernah kurang dari setengah jam walaupun kerusi-kerusi di luar pejabatnya itu penuh dengan orang-orang yang ingin menemuinya. Melalui temujanji ini, kakak S telah berjaya menjual dua unit dari rumah yang dijual oleh majikannya dan seingat aku, rumah tersebut masih lagi dijadikan YB sebagai rumah sewaannya.
Bagi S, pertemuannya dengan YB tersebut telah dieksploitasikan olehnya untuk tujuan lain.
Pada tahun kedua kami di universiti sebagai pelajar undang-undang, kami ditugaskan oleh fakulti kami, secara amalan turun temurun, untuk mengusai Persatuan Pelajar Undang-Undang dan menganjurkan pelbagai aktiviti. Aktiviti-aktiviti ini secara tradisinya akan diketuai oleh pelajar-pelajar tahun dua dan dipenuhi dengan AJK tahun satu dan tahun dua (yang kebanyakannya akan menjadi ketua-ketua sub-committee). S telah dilantik sebagai Pengarah Makan Malam Amal bagi tahun tersebut.
Makan malam amal ini kebiasaannya adalah tempat di mana pelajar-pelajar membeli satu tempat duduk atau satu meja dan melaram menggayakan pakaian makan malam. Masa untuk makan di hotel bersama pasangan masing-masing. Bagi yang berpacaran dengan orang luar inilah masa untuk memperkenalkan teman masing-masing yang selama ini hanya dilihat apabila keluar ber'dating' sahaja.
Bagi Persatuan Pelajar Undang-Undang, makan malam ini akan menunjukkan kepada senior-senior bahawa pelajar-pelajar yang sedang memimpin persatuan tersebut mampu menganjurkan satu program yang menarik. Malahan sekiranya ia lebih menarik, ia sesuatu yang boleh dibanggakan. S berazam ia akan menjadi yang terbaik semenjak ia pernah diadakan dan ini hanya dapat dicapai jika penajaan pada malam itu dapat dikumpul dengan banyak. Di sini lah peranan YB diperlukan.
Pada malam amal tersebut, YB telah menaja dua meja dan meja-meja ini dipenuhi oleh rakan-rakan S yang kebanyakannya dalah artis-artis baru di Malaysia. Ini dilakukannya melalui bantuan kakak kepada S (yang lagi satu) yang baru saja menjanji penyanyi. Oleh kerana syarikat rakaman yang menerbitkan albumnya masih baru, mereka menaja beberapa artis mereka secara percuma menyanyi di malam amal kami. Artis-artis ini pada masa ini masih lagi berkecimpung di dunia hiburan dan ini telah menjadikan makan malam amal kami antara yang terbaik untuk sekian lama.
October 17, 2008
Sold Soul (a fiction of epic proportion) continues...
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)
I finished my studies in law in 1998 with a whimper. I did try to be a model students in one year of the four years I was an undergraduate and managed to score in most of the exams on that one semester but I just couldn't stomached the gruelling hours to be a dean's list student. I went back to my partying ways as soon as the new semester to the new year was opened. That one year of constant studies made the grades in total when I graduated quite commendable. And of course the A- that I got for the thesis that I had to do, on the flooding in my kampung and the law governing it supervised by one of the toughest lecturer in my university's Law Faculty, who incidently is related to me, helped too.
I finished my studies in law in 1998 with a whimper. I did try to be a model students in one year of the four years I was an undergraduate and managed to score in most of the exams on that one semester but I just couldn't stomached the gruelling hours to be a dean's list student. I went back to my partying ways as soon as the new semester to the new year was opened. That one year of constant studies made the grades in total when I graduated quite commendable. And of course the A- that I got for the thesis that I had to do, on the flooding in my kampung and the law governing it supervised by one of the toughest lecturer in my university's Law Faculty, who incidently is related to me, helped too.
I graduated second class lower and was released to fend for myself in the tough world of job market. It was 1998 and the recession had just finished battering itself on the Asean stock market. There was a lot of ego being busted and Danaharta was busy saving big companies from becoming small company and small company becoming non-existent.
I went back to my hometown and quickly thought of going for a graduate studies. MBA was foremost in my mind but my bubble burst when I was told that one need to have at least two years experience before one was admitted into an MBA program. The next option was to complete my journey in becoming a lawyer by chambering. I can choose either one of two options.
One would see me travel up and down to KL where my master would be my parent's neighbour's son who was one of the first (or was it second) batch of one of the premier (supposedly) law faculty in Malaysia. This guy was one of the first lawyer I got to know when I was choosing the course that I want to take after I finished schooling. I met him even before I finished my law school and promised to get in touch with him when I did finish.
The second option is where I will be monitored by two women lawyers who were a friend of my mother who had a small partnership in Seremban. They were two young ladies then (8 years older than me who graduated at 24 years of age) and both of them each held positions in two of the most revered business societies for women. This became a bone of contention in the later year of their practice, long after I left, as each accused the other of being too committed to their society than the practice. They split and opened a practice on their own. The one who became my master (mistress?) where I chambered had even been said to be mysteriously on the run, if the rumours was true, due to unpaid debt.
After weighing the two options, I choose the latter and was given the usage of my parent's car. It was the start of my Seremban period, where I first cut my teeth into the legal world and where my worldview was limited to that small town before the call of the big city changed everything.
October 16, 2008
Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang YB (sebuah novel Malaysia) Episod 2
Aku mula mengenali YB pada tahun 2000. Aku baru saja membuka sebuah firma guaman di pinggir bandaraya Kuala Lumpur dengan seorang dari kawan perempuanku yang belajar bersama dengan ku di universiti. Firma kami menumpang sebahagian dari pejabat anakguam kami. Ia tidak dibenarkan oleh Majlis Peguam tetapi ia tidak seteruk ketika dua bulan sebelum itu di mana kami berkongsi pejabat kami dengan satu lagi firma guaman yang juga menumpang pejabat orang lain. Kami melakukan ini semua kerana kami memulakan perniagaan kami tanpa bermodalkan apa-apa kecuali keringat.
S, kawan universiti ku itu, memang telah lama ingin meninggalkan firma guaman di mana dia bekerja kerana penat melakukan kerja litigasi di mahkamah yang berulangan tanpa peluang untuk berkembang melakukan kerja guaman lain. Firmanya itu memang terkenal mengendalikan kerja-kerja mempertahankan syarikat-syarikat insurans dalam pelbagai kes kemalangan kereta di mahkamah.
S, kawan universiti ku itu, memang telah lama ingin meninggalkan firma guaman di mana dia bekerja kerana penat melakukan kerja litigasi di mahkamah yang berulangan tanpa peluang untuk berkembang melakukan kerja guaman lain. Firmanya itu memang terkenal mengendalikan kerja-kerja mempertahankan syarikat-syarikat insurans dalam pelbagai kes kemalangan kereta di mahkamah.
Aku pula telah penat bekerja di kampung asalku di selatan Kuala Lumpur, yang hanya menawarkan kes-kes jenayah kecil seperti kes penagihan atau pemilikan dadah dan kes-kes kecurian. Mengendalikan kes-kes jenayah bukanlah mudah dan berebut kes di pekan kecil dengan peguam-peguam yang lebih senior meletihkan aku.
Setelah bertemu dan berbincang beberapa kali, kami terus memberitahu niat kami menubuhkan firma tersebut kepada keluarga kami. Bagi pihak S, dia memberi notis sebulan kepada majikannya dan bagi aku, aku terus memberitahu niatku kepada rakankongsi ku. Rakankongsi ku telah tahu niatku itu apabila aku pernah menawarkan kepadanya untuk membuka sebuah cawangan di Kuala Lumpur tetapi dia merasakan perniagaan firma guaman yang mengendalikan kes-kes jenayah tidak memerlukan banyak cawangan. Apabila dia menolak tawaran ku, aku tahu aku perlu mencari seorang rakankongsi yang lain.
Sebelum aku bercerita tentang bagaimana aku mengenali YB, aku rasa aku perlu menerangkan bagaimana paras rupa dan perwatakan S. Dia memang mempunyai paras rupa yang menarik dengan kulitnya yang putih dan tingginya yang boleh dikatakan lebih tinggi dari kebanyakan wanita. Mukanya berbentuk bujur dan dia memang pandai bermekap tanpa nampak dia meletakkan mekap yang banyak. Mulutnya kecil mungil dan giginya yang tersusun melengkapkan wajahnya.
Dia memang tidak pernah bertudung dan rambutnya sudah hilang warna asal seorang wanita Melayu. Sepanjang yang aku ingat warna rambutnya tidak pernah hitam sempurna. Sentiasa diwarnakan samada penuh berwarna emas atau terdapat sedikit 'highlight'. Ia sentiasa digayakan dengan gaya rambut yang dimodelkan oleh pelakon-pelakon Hollywood ketika itu. Pada masa ini, rambut Rihanna yang berbentuk seperti topi keledar yang pendek di belakang tetapi memanjang di depan di kiri dan kanan adalah pilihannya.
Susuk tubuhnya memang boleh dikatakan sentiasa diidamkan oleh wanita untuk dimiliki dan diidamkan oleh lelaki untuk dijamah. Cuma lehernya sedikit pendek dan tidak simetri dengan bentuk badannya. Satu lagi yang mengurangkan daya tarikannya ialah suaranya yang nyaring dan pengetahuannya tentang hal ehwal semasa yang boleh dinomborkan hampir kosong.
Dia juga gemar memakai pakaian yang seksi sejak dari universiti lagi. Skirtnya tidak pernah rendah dari lututnya dan pakaiannya sentiasa yang terkini. Apabila menjadi peguam yang terpaksa mematuhi skima pakaian yang telah ditentukan mahkamah, dia menggunakan kepakaran melaramnya menggayakan pakaian-pakaian korporat yang memberi bayangan jelas kepada apa yang disembunyikan oleh pakaian-pakaian tersebut.
Melalui dia, aku dapat berkenalan dengan YB. Ceritanya di episod yang lain...
October 15, 2008
Sold Soul (a fiction of epic proportion) continues...
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)
The Hard Rock years were where I started to take my nightlife seriously. I was always curious about the queue that forms outside of the Hard Rock Cafe in Kuala Lumpur and the music that they were playing. I was further intrigue when I was told of the going-ons inside it by one of my batch who was closed with some seniors, who had passed the permitted age of 21 years old to enter into the HRC, as it was known. It seems that they were always playing particular songs by U2 and Beatles which will accelerate into a type of dancing by the whole waiters and waitresses there. They were also one of the earliest place where live music were played by resident bands interspersing with disco musics.
The Hard Rock years were where I started to take my nightlife seriously. I was always curious about the queue that forms outside of the Hard Rock Cafe in Kuala Lumpur and the music that they were playing. I was further intrigue when I was told of the going-ons inside it by one of my batch who was closed with some seniors, who had passed the permitted age of 21 years old to enter into the HRC, as it was known. It seems that they were always playing particular songs by U2 and Beatles which will accelerate into a type of dancing by the whole waiters and waitresses there. They were also one of the earliest place where live music were played by resident bands interspersing with disco musics.
I was already bored with going to disco which were playing musics that you have to dance to, to enjoy. I was not much of a dancer and was always at on how I tried to imitate other people dancing style. I just couldn't get my body to follow the rythm. The Hard Rock year started when we became undergraduate. Some of us was still have not turned 21 years yet but we did manage to beat the system. When we became undergraduate, our batch was joined by a few others who came in either through the STPM examinations or mature students sent in by their respective institutions. Of the latter, there were the police department, the fire department and MARA. We were also joined by those who were unlucky enough to have to be in Form 6 while we spent the government money passing through matriculation with nary a worry.
As first year undergraduate, we were required to stay in hostels within the university and this made us quite perturbed as we were split and we have to share rooms with strangers. I had to put up with a very mature student who did not really care whether I was in the room or not and it suit me just fine. I can't even remember his face or his name now. Most of my batch were in another blocks of hostel and I was always in one of the room there. There was always a bed free for me to sleep in. This hostel was where we get to know new friends and shared a few memories. One of the most memorable things that we did was playing cards until late into the morning while listening to the newest happening radio channel then called Time Highway Radio (now it becomes an Indian radio channel). When there was a call-in session, we would called in and told our friends to listen to ourselves talk.
There were a group of us who kept long hairs as these were the time when Metallica released their Black Album and Nirvana was considered as the coolest band around. Any VHS video, live performance and good live bands playing their songs were sought like they were what determined how we scored in our final exams. The said group was what started me to go to Hard Rock Cafe KL every week. Their long hair would be swinging in unison, in head banging style, as the music of Metallica, Nirvana or Ugly Kid Joe, blared out of the speakers.
We always get in early as the cover charge for entrance to HRC only starts at 11pm. We would stuffed ourselves at the mamak stalls at the back of Concorde Hotel and then enter the HRC lounging at the bar or joined any one of those regulars who were already joining the rat race. We would wait for the table to be set aside and the dance floor to be cleared. The door would then be closed and the doorkeeper would start to guard the entrances for admittance. The steep price of RM21-00, as it was then, would be imposed. At 11-15pm, we would go out to the sidewalks around HRC or the lobby of the adjacent hotel, waiting for the band to come out and play. We would, before going out, without fail, obtained the hand-stamp which would be stamped on our arm, which would give us the ticket to enter back again.
The cost for us to be there were always not more than RM20-00 which was mostly in paying the transportation, either cars or public transports, and some food. If we were late in getting in, we would beg or find any one of our friends who would help us get in without having to pay anything. HRC had seen me watching people went by and events such as the launching of a new radio station called Hitz. Those years were hectic as we felt that we could breeze through without having to really study. Heck, we even went to HRC on nights where the next day we had exams.
October 14, 2008
Sold Soul (a fiction of epic proportion) continues...
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)
I was staying between my second year of undergraduate years with a friend who I was closed to when I was during my matrculation. He was a Godfather (read about it in http://kruel-legalcat.blogspot.com/2008/09/sold-soul-fiction-of-epic-proportion_26.html) then but we had drifted apart when we were in our first year of undergraduate. We stayed together until we graduated together. In my first year, I was always hanging out with another group of people whom I was trying to impress. My first year was what I mentioned before as the start of my Hard Rock years.
I was staying between my second year of undergraduate years with a friend who I was closed to when I was during my matrculation. He was a Godfather (read about it in http://kruel-legalcat.blogspot.com/2008/09/sold-soul-fiction-of-epic-proportion_26.html) then but we had drifted apart when we were in our first year of undergraduate. We stayed together until we graduated together. In my first year, I was always hanging out with another group of people whom I was trying to impress. My first year was what I mentioned before as the start of my Hard Rock years.
Our apartment was not reserved spefically for the university. The university owns a part of the whole block and we rented the apartment from the Bahagian Harta of the university. There was no security or facilities but being on the fourth floor, we decided that there was no thief dumb enough to climb a block full of university students who never sleeps. Directly on top of us on the 5th floor is another unit rented by a few students from my batch. The block across us was rented by Sony for their factory worker. One of my roommate married the girl living on the 5th floor right across from us.
This apartment was 600 square feet. There were two rooms with a common bath and I got a room to myself. This arrangement made me having to pay more but I was quite a private person. My concerned parents furnished me with a single bed, a small television and a single gas stove. We went furniture-hunting and added a television for the living hall, a VCR and a fridge. That was it. It was sparse but for a study table which came with the apartment. In our third year, I bought a personal computer which was where the two apartments (including the one on top) completed our assignments and on our final year, our theses.
This apartment seen me trying to break a few records.
I managed to stay in the apartment for a whole of 48 hours without coming down for anything during a weekend where I was just being lazy.
I managed to bring a group of my friends, including girls, to come nearly every week, to watch our favourite TV show called Friends. That was until we were told nicely by my roommates to take the party elsewhere.
This was where I tried to sleep without waking up for nearly 12 hours. This particular record was held by my other roommate when I was in the second year of matriculation who slept from Friday morning (3am) until Monday morning (7am).
This apartment saw me lived the ordinary lives of student which we tried to make unusual with unplanned and unprecedented activities. At any one time, after 8pm, there would always be more than one 'guest' either wanted or unwanted. The television would sometimes play porns endlessly from 12am until noon the next day. Poker were played but not with money but losers must downed plain water and not pee until they won a hand. I cooked for my own consumption and sometimes for everyone when my mood was okay.
This was also I started my passion for football. I was a 'kaki bangku' before I was trained by my batch to be the defence in our football team. As the captain of our team lived on the apartment on top of us, football was injected in doses and I chose a team from the many English Premier League team. Arsenal is still the chosen team until today. On days when the Champion Leagues were shown at 3am, the block of apartment right across from us must have cursed us to no end.
I don't have a specific memory which I can consider as something exceptional from those years specifically to that apartment but I loved living there. My roommates were not my best friends then but we always kept to ourselves unless events dictated otherwise. My memories were filled with what I experience outside of it but when I was living there I knew I would always have a bed to sleep in after whatever I was doing...
October 13, 2008
Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang YB (sebuah novel Malaysia)
Aku memang faham sangat-sangat jika YB menelefon aku lebih dari pukul 12 tengah malam bermakna ada sesuatu yang penting telah berlaku. Memang benar apabila aku tiba di restoran mamak yang menjadi tempat pertemuan kebiasaan kami, di meja yang didudukinya dipenuhi juga dengan setiausaha bahagiannya, pembantu peribadinya dan juga seorang yang aku tidak kenali. Jarang aku dipanggil untuk melibatkan diri dalam apa-apa perbincangan mengenai politik. Kecuali jika ia melibatkan pilihanraya.
Dalam dua minggu kebelakangan ini, topik bila pilihanraya akan diadakan telah menjadi topik perbualan di kedai kopi yang tidak lekang dari diperkatakan. PM telah memberi beberapa bayangan yang Parlimen akan dibubarkan dan pilihanraya akan diadakan. Aku seperti rakyat Malaysia yang lain mendengar pengumuman ini dan membiarkan ia keluar di telinga kanan ku kerana sejak Oktober 2007, pilihanraya acap kali dicanang akan diumumkan oleh pelbagai pihak.
Dalam dua minggu kebelakangan ini, topik bila pilihanraya akan diadakan telah menjadi topik perbualan di kedai kopi yang tidak lekang dari diperkatakan. PM telah memberi beberapa bayangan yang Parlimen akan dibubarkan dan pilihanraya akan diadakan. Aku seperti rakyat Malaysia yang lain mendengar pengumuman ini dan membiarkan ia keluar di telinga kanan ku kerana sejak Oktober 2007, pilihanraya acap kali dicanang akan diumumkan oleh pelbagai pihak.
Apabila YB memberitahu di kedai mamak tersebut yang dia terpaksa membatalkan rancangannya untuk pergi melihat anaknya di Perth, Australia mendapat gulungan ijazahnya di sana, aku mula yakin kali ini tarikh pilihanraya tersebut adalah dekat. Datin nampaknya terpaksa pergi ke Perth dengan ibunya sebagai teman untuk melihat majlis graduasi anak keduanya sebagai seorang akauntan.
Aku pun telah diberitahu sebulan lepas, walaupun tidak secara rasmi, dengan cara yang memang selalu digunakan oleh YB, iaitu secara berseloroh, yang dia telah dipanggil oleh Badan Perhubungan Negeri dan diminta agar tidak meninggalkan negeri atas apa jua alasan. Sebagai seorang yang setia, dia mematuhi arahan tersebut dan mula mengadakan pelbagai persediaan. Persediaan yang paling ketara, yang aku nampak, adalah pada satu hari Sabtu di mana aku di kawasannya bersamanya untuk minum pagi dan dia tiba-tiba teringat yang dia perlu melakukan 'spot check' terhadap jenteranya yang sedang mengadakan 'dry run' untuk memastikan jentera-jenteranya akan berfungsi masa pilihanraya nanti.
Namun, sejak dia menang pada pilihanraya 2004 di mana aku juga telah terlibat secara langsung sebagai peguam untuk dirinya, dia banyak kali memberitahu bahawa pilihanraya tersebut adalah pilihanraya terakhir untuknya dan dia tidak akan bertanding sekali lagi sekiranya dia dipilih pun. Keinginan ini diulangi dengan lebih kerap apabila tanda-tanda pilihanraya akan diadakan lebih awal setahun semakin ketara.
Aku teringat macamana aku mula mengenali YB pada tahun 2000....
October 12, 2008
I Got It from My Mama
I am known to be quite vocal when I talk to my mother. There is this one friend who keep on imitating how I speak to my mother in a Negeri Sembilan slang "Yo lah, Khairul buek lah nanti!" which basically means "Ok.... I will do what you ask me too!" although I have very weird Negeri Sembilan slang as I never learn to speak it properly and I don't really speak Negeri with my mom.
I am also known to talk passionately and quite animatedly if I found a topic to my interest. In short, I am loud and obnoxious at certain times if I want to make a point on something. My wife was quite surprised when she married me and went back to my parent's house for the first time. Before that she had always complained that I talked as if I want to pick a fight. Then when she saw my whole family talked as if we were fighting, she understood.
My family loves arguments and cannot seems to let anyone else have their say unless they say it first. Our dining table can sometimes can be too much with shouting matches being wages all around. And that does not count when we are in a car together.
Most of my arguments does not hold water at all. I've learned that when you shout the loudest, people may let you win. Just to make a point, pardon the pun, I think this is why our Parliamentarian nowadays love shouting just to make a point across. And this is also where I have learned to argue coherently and speak with confidence in a public forum.
I Got It From My Mama...
October 11, 2008
Sold Soul (a fiction of epic proportion) continues...
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)
"Heartless..."
"Heartless..."
This simple word was used so many time to describe my dealings with the fairer sex. I just don't give a damn, to quote a phrase. During the height of my dating years, I could leave someone I was taking out for a dinner and movie or a dinner and some needed release, if I get a call for someone I was currently infatuated with at that particular time.
I did had the experience of juggling a few girls at one time before I settled down with my wife. She was one of the person being juggled. Even the story of how I met my wife was enough to make a Malay drama out of it or even a full-fledged Hollywood movie. It was when I had just opened up my firm in the Klang Valley.
Mind you, I was always transparent when I juggled which means that everyone knows everyone else. I even brought two of the girls I was juggling to another of the other girl for a hari raya do. It work just fine for me although there were some incidents where I nearly got smacked during a hot make out sessions.
Let me count the girls that I juggled at that one time...
There was this lawyer who was older than me by 7 years, who had a high pitched voice, who I got to know through a friend. She helped me to actually drafted agreements for a client who eventually brought me to practice in the Klang Valley. We hooked up nearly every weekend and she gave me a tongue lashing when she got to know I was never that serious with her. I was actually trying to let her down gently when I got to know her father had actually worked under my father once.
There was this junior who I had the courage to ask out a few times and then started flirting although we both knew it would not go anywhere as she already had a steady boyfriend (whom she married later and had a few kids with). This girl was still keeping in touch with me during my working life as her company was one of the biggest government-owned real estate company in Malaysia.
There was this one divorcee with a kid who I had the courage to gain her number when I saw her for the first time at a stall where she was attending to as part of her Chinese Muslim support group in Sri Hartamas. She was my client's friend who was also a Chinese Muslim and the number was obtained from the divorcee's godmother whom I had to gain approval to and a hell after a gruelling questions and answers session (it was the first time the godmother had met me).
There was this Guest Relation Officer as they were known or a GRO as they were better known, who was older than me by nearly 6 years, who was a childless divorcee (her story) and believe it or not, was working in a dangdut club. She was a fulltime GRO but moonlight as a runner for a legal firm by day. I actually frequented the dangdut club when I was just starting to service this client who brought me from Seremban to KL. I also used her service (not THAT kind of service) to send documents and registered land matters in various land office.
There was this one short relationship where I entered into in Seremban and I brought it forward to KL when I moved office. It was with a client of the office where I did my chambering and I was thunderstruck on how she looked that one time she came to the office. I asked the clerk who attended her for her number and managed to coax her to go on a date with me. She was quite uptight and after a few dates we parted ways. I also discovered that she had a history which I couldn't find what with one of my uncle when she worked with him. My auntie was determined for me to not go out with her for some mysterious reason. Small world. Hmmm...
There was also this one girl whom I got to know through a chatroom (can't remember which one) which was the earlier popular way to meet girls then (before YM and IM made it obsolete which then evolved into social networking). I went on two dates with her before I realised that she was what people nowadays called a stalker. She was going to send me her picture to put on my desk at work after the second date. I dropped her like a hot coal.
Then there was my wife, which was another story altogether....
October 10, 2008
Learn to be still...
Waiting must be one of the most tedious job for anyone.
If you are a man, you wait for your wife to finish up shopping. Wait for your date to finish up dressing and making up her face. Waiting for a table. Waiting for things to happen. Waiting in traffic. Waiting for answers.
If you are a woman, you would always be waiting for your husband or boyfriend to follow what you have asked him to do. Wait for him to pick his clothes. Waiting for him to fix the tap. Waiting for him to propose.
Waiting for him to say I love you.
Waiting for him to say I love you.
Wait. Wait. Wait.
Our current librarianSo, I was quite intrigued when I heard that there was someone who was doing called a project called Reading While Waiting or RWP which asked people to come to an appointed place (where KL Sentral was chosen) and read for half an hour before dispersing. It happened on 23rd August 2008. Then I discovered the ringleader was actually a young upstart who believes in making things happen, differently than other people. I respect him for his bravery. Visit his website http://randomalphabets.com/ for more information.
I was actually quite amused because reading has been my passion since I was a child. I was given a choice of a few Enid Blyton books as gift every half a month before my parent went off to where they were stationed then leaving me alone with my grandma. When I was taken by my parents to school in the interior of Pahang, I pleasantly discovered the joy of reading through a mobile library. This mobile library is at my beck and call as my father was the highest ranking Felda officer in a Felda division in Pahang. Talk about abuse of my father's power. The driver of the mobile library would always parked his small van (a classic 70s Volkswagen which I would kill to own nowadays) at my father's bungalow quarters which sat atop the highest hill in the place we were stationed. I would then took my sweet time to go through every single book while he wait, usually completing some errands at other places. I would lie down under a tree somewhere and decided whether I would take one or two or maybe three books to borrow. If he was busy, I may even finish a book before he came back. I would be lying on beds, which explain my deteriorating eyesights, finishing the books and the others bought by my parents. Enid Blyton and religious books with pictures, which tell stories about prophets were the books I were hooked into. The Bercakap Dengan Jin series, from the magazine Mastika and Readers Digest were my other favourites.
When my brother came back from the States in 1986, he introduced me to a new different level of reading. I remembered his advice on reading just bestsellers to ensure that the book I choose to read was always read by others. I became a follower of a few authors due to this advice such as Robert Ludlum and Jeffrey Archer. When I went to school at a boarding school, I started to read science fiction by Isaac Asimov and started to collect comic books which I suddenly threw them away, which for the life of me I couldn't remember why. X-Men title were one of my favourite comics. I peppered with all these useless reading (which I was told then) with religious books about Islam such as the Prophet's life.
As I grew up, I started to collect books like stamps. I always buy paperback as it is cheaper and easier to carry. I remembered that book cost RM19.90 once, then RM23.00 before stopping at RM27.90 for a while before it became RM29.90 then hovered between RM32.00 and RM34.90 like nowadays.
I just love spending money on them and I don't want second hand book although there was a stretch of time where I rent books from this mamak bookshop at the Central Market as I was also collecting the Premiere magazine then (another one of my eldest brother's influence) which could only be found there. I remember the first time I saw The Firm by John Grisham which sparked my interest in law and was ecstatic when I read A Time To Kill which was his lesser known first novel. John Grisham and Anne Rice's The Witching Hour (a tome of a book which was one of my first more than 500 pages book) were introduced by one of many family who took me as one of their own when I was a latch key kid. Stephen King were discovered a bit later and I collect his old books even those which was written as non-fiction.
My working adult life saw me starting to read management books, humourous books by Terry Pratchett, Booker prize listed books, Japanese writer's books such as Haruki Murakami, Natsuo Kirano and Koji Suzuki, historical books whether fictions such as the Alexander trilogy by Valerio Massimo Manfredi or non-fictions such as Empire by Niall Ferguson. I read classics such as Alice in Wonderland when I saw a lot of thriller writer quoting from most book written by its writer, Lewis Carrol, and I read autobiography like and travel books like A Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Bowman.
The point is reading stimulates my mind and a friend once said, my wife and I would read anything even if the only thing that we have is an ingredient at the back of a chocolate bar wrapper. The romance with my wife also started because of reading. At either side of our bedside table there are at least 6 books not being read yet at any one time. Reading while waiting had been our life and we would very much love it if there are more bookstore around. Borders and MPH are some of the two where we get our fix on books. We would read just about anywhere.
Our perfect retirement plan is having a restaurant where we can go everyday to (preferebly own by us) and read all day long.
Its fiction...
As much as I love to say my life is THAT interesting, I just want to clarify certain matter. I am writing a fiction when I label something as fiction in this blog. It may jog some memories of yore for those who read it because some may think the fiction does have some truth in it. I confess they were taken from some true event in my life but not all are true.
I've seen an episode of the L Word, of all places, where a character in it who was a writer, was warned by her teacher in a writing class that the best fiction is where one fictionalised totally the writing. As an amateur, I would like to use blogging as platform for my creative juice to flow and as my first fiction, I would like to have the artistic license to use my own experience in molding the story.
I hoped my readers are entertained by it and I would love to hear whether it struck a cord in you. From next week, I am going to add another fiction written in Malay titled 'Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang YB'.
Enjoy...
October 9, 2008
Sold soul (a fiction of epic proportion) continues...
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)
I hate holidays. Especially holidays that require you to go back to your hometown and you have to pretend that you like people to come to your house for visits. Holidays such as Hari Rayas (either Aidilfitri or Aidiladha) or Christmas to other faith, where everyone was supposed to smile and pretended that they love each other. These holidays were holidays that I tried to make excuses for not participating.
I hate holidays. Especially holidays that require you to go back to your hometown and you have to pretend that you like people to come to your house for visits. Holidays such as Hari Rayas (either Aidilfitri or Aidiladha) or Christmas to other faith, where everyone was supposed to smile and pretended that they love each other. These holidays were holidays that I tried to make excuses for not participating.
When it comes to holidays, I was a bit of a scrooge. Holidays to me were where you get to sleep late (with or without company), wear smelly (and less) clothes, do laundry, read a book and a movie, either alone or with a date. There were some raya where I was left alone at my parent's house, when I still went back, on the second or third day of raya, and I took advantage of it by locking the gates and not letting any of those pesky kids doing their rounds for duit raya to come in. I was not the only scrooge it seems as I learned this lesson from my eldest brother who couldn't be bothered with raya celebration.
When I in boarding school, during holidays, even long ones, I would try to wiggle myself out from being ask to come back to my parent's house. Even if did went back, it will be a few days after the semester closed as I would be going to someone's elses house first just for the fun of it. Just ask most of my school friends who had the opportunity to introduce me to their family and had to explain why a kid from Seremban was tagging along for a few days before going back to his own home. Most of these friends were from KL and I had a fascination for KL after being brought up by my parents deep in the palm oil estates of Pahang as they were Felda officers. They did left me in Seremban to be brought up by my grandma for 2 years but when I was always No. 23 out of 26 students in my final exams, they need to ensure I was under constant supervision for my Penilaian Darjah Lima (the old UPSR). I remembered that I was warned that I would be going to school with 'orang asli' if I kept getting bad results. Sure enough, I did and was rewarded with 2 years of living in Pahang.
So, when I was in boarding school and when I was a university students, I kept going to various places for holidays with a lot of my friends. I was not concerned with having to sleep in strange bed or having to sleep in the company of strangers. I could adapt to any situations although I was fussy in eating. This experiences of sleeping at friend's houses were elevated to an art form when I had to work. I was globetrotting around the world but not always I was given good accomodations. It also helped when I was force to sleep in my office when I was just starting out in KL as a lawyer. I have also slept in kampung houses, bungalows, friends of friend's houses, girl's bachelor pad, youth hostel room, student dorms, student common rooms, budget hotels, karaoke lounge, brothels, five-star accomodations and a German homestay, just to name a few. I have slept on proper beds, beds with all the trimmings, four poster beds, cots, sofa-beds, on the floor, on mattresses as hard as wood, as soft as down and some sofas. My sleeping partners have been ministers, politicians, prostitutes, GROs, my best friends and a lot of stangers. Some were pure sleeping and some were... you get the drift.
Holiday was always travel for me although it may be just to the next town. It was always an adventure. My parents were so worried at my attitude towards holiday, they were always doing spot-checks on me when I was in school. There was this one time where they came to my school during a one week holiday because I insisted that I didn't want to come home. I was actually at a friend's house the day before they came for the spot-check. My mom was suddenly curious because she just watch the news about some kids wondering around somewhere without adult supervision. If she had caught my unplanned excursion, I may have been banned from further allowance of holidays without coming home. She might have stopped further slide of my moral. If...
How I wish to celebrate any holidays from this god-forsaken place. Just a minute of fresh air without the ugly and smelly bodies surrounding me. Without having to check whether any eye had a fancy on my backside. Without having to think on when will be my last meal before they pounce on me. Prison is a holiday to some but not for me...
When I in boarding school, during holidays, even long ones, I would try to wiggle myself out from being ask to come back to my parent's house. Even if did went back, it will be a few days after the semester closed as I would be going to someone's elses house first just for the fun of it. Just ask most of my school friends who had the opportunity to introduce me to their family and had to explain why a kid from Seremban was tagging along for a few days before going back to his own home. Most of these friends were from KL and I had a fascination for KL after being brought up by my parents deep in the palm oil estates of Pahang as they were Felda officers. They did left me in Seremban to be brought up by my grandma for 2 years but when I was always No. 23 out of 26 students in my final exams, they need to ensure I was under constant supervision for my Penilaian Darjah Lima (the old UPSR). I remembered that I was warned that I would be going to school with 'orang asli' if I kept getting bad results. Sure enough, I did and was rewarded with 2 years of living in Pahang.
So, when I was in boarding school and when I was a university students, I kept going to various places for holidays with a lot of my friends. I was not concerned with having to sleep in strange bed or having to sleep in the company of strangers. I could adapt to any situations although I was fussy in eating. This experiences of sleeping at friend's houses were elevated to an art form when I had to work. I was globetrotting around the world but not always I was given good accomodations. It also helped when I was force to sleep in my office when I was just starting out in KL as a lawyer. I have also slept in kampung houses, bungalows, friends of friend's houses, girl's bachelor pad, youth hostel room, student dorms, student common rooms, budget hotels, karaoke lounge, brothels, five-star accomodations and a German homestay, just to name a few. I have slept on proper beds, beds with all the trimmings, four poster beds, cots, sofa-beds, on the floor, on mattresses as hard as wood, as soft as down and some sofas. My sleeping partners have been ministers, politicians, prostitutes, GROs, my best friends and a lot of stangers. Some were pure sleeping and some were... you get the drift.
Holiday was always travel for me although it may be just to the next town. It was always an adventure. My parents were so worried at my attitude towards holiday, they were always doing spot-checks on me when I was in school. There was this one time where they came to my school during a one week holiday because I insisted that I didn't want to come home. I was actually at a friend's house the day before they came for the spot-check. My mom was suddenly curious because she just watch the news about some kids wondering around somewhere without adult supervision. If she had caught my unplanned excursion, I may have been banned from further allowance of holidays without coming home. She might have stopped further slide of my moral. If...
How I wish to celebrate any holidays from this god-forsaken place. Just a minute of fresh air without the ugly and smelly bodies surrounding me. Without having to check whether any eye had a fancy on my backside. Without having to think on when will be my last meal before they pounce on me. Prison is a holiday to some but not for me...
October 8, 2008
Sold soul (a fiction of epic proportion) continues...
(This is an ongoing online novel started as a fictionalised events of my life. Its based on true events not all experienced by me but there were some total fictions too)
When I was in the university, I seems to be able to have quite a lot of friends. In one day, I would be having breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper with different set of friends. When I was given a 6 year old Proton Saga in the second year as an undergraduate, my popularity soared.
When I was in the university, I seems to be able to have quite a lot of friends. In one day, I would be having breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper with different set of friends. When I was given a 6 year old Proton Saga in the second year as an undergraduate, my popularity soared.
During the years that I spent as an undergrad, I had the tendency to befriend girls far easier than I did men. Being an extrovert person, I love being the center of attention regardless of for the wrong or right reason. I could argue with a lecturer during lectures although I might just learnt the lesson then. Even if everyone in the class did not agree with my view, I was never perturbed. I think I gave the term 'loyar buruk' its due during all the time I was a student.
My easeness of befriending girls belied the way I look then. During these time, nerdy will be the easiest way to describe me. If geeks are considered as popular nowadays (thanks to Bill Gates), during those time, geeky person was unattractive. I wear thick rimmed spectacles which kept had to be taped. My hair (yes, I had hair then) was always unkempted and I wear clothes far off than the latest fashion then. Being overweight did help the look either. So, it will be quite hard for anyone to understand why there was always at least one girl in my car. Oh, maybe the supplementary credit cards given by my parents when I was given the car shed a light on the mystery.
My easeness of befriending girls belied the way I look then. During these time, nerdy will be the easiest way to describe me. If geeks are considered as popular nowadays (thanks to Bill Gates), during those time, geeky person was unattractive. I wear thick rimmed spectacles which kept had to be taped. My hair (yes, I had hair then) was always unkempted and I wear clothes far off than the latest fashion then. Being overweight did help the look either. So, it will be quite hard for anyone to understand why there was always at least one girl in my car. Oh, maybe the supplementary credit cards given by my parents when I was given the car shed a light on the mystery.
From my batch itself, I was invited for excursions which guys can just dream about. Remember the episode when I said we were given RM1,900-00 as pocket money during our matriculation? There was this one time when we had received the money, a group of girls decided to go shopping in KL. Boring to most but I was the only male in the group who was given a chance to view various dresses and even swimsuits being paraded. I was supposed to give views whether their boyfriends would love them in it. I had no complains on the task given.
I did became good friends with a few of these girls during my students years. As best friends, we exchanged stories on the girl and the guy that we have our heart set on. We planned on trips around the world. We went for late night out. Clubbing. Sleeping (real sleep) in the same room. As my nature, I managed to screw up a few friendship when after pinning my heart on my sleeves for a some time for them to notice, I got fed up and tried to change my title from a 'friend' to a 'boyfriend'. Some survived the folly and we did keep in touch when I was working.
I have this one girl whose boyfriend could never know that the girl was with me. I have to shut up whenever the boyfriend called and there was this one time we had to rush from Kajang to our hostel in record time because we were having lunch at the KFC there. I basically had to hide in a toilet for nearly half an hour when we were in one of our outing and the boyfriend made a surprise appearance at the mall. I basically knew most of her secret life when she was still a school student but they were still secrets I kept until now.
There were these four girls who were in the a different faculty whom I get to know when I was in my first year as an undergrad. We had so much fun watching the television show called 'Friends' when they were shown on Malaysian television, before I was warned by my housemates for bringing those girls to our bachelor pad. Two of them were close to me before they infiltrated the male friends from my batch. As they were quite a looker, those who they set their eyes on were easily tangled in their webs. When the other two started to go steady with their respective boyfriends, the other two became closer to me. When we were allowed to go into Hard Rock Cafe, the only place where the age limit was 21 years, we went there nearly evey weekend together. I kept trying to impress the other two girls that my credit card was used to treat them to posh restaurants but they managed to cut off my advances.
Then, there were these 3 junior students who were so close to me that we had a few short holiday together. We had weekly trips to Coffee Bean & Tea Leafs in Bangsar as the coffee culture was starting to grip Malaysia. We had a short holiday up some hill resort during the middle of the week while lectures were going on and we basically had to lie to everyone where we were. There was this one time we went to see a Hong Kong movie about a haunted karaoke which was so bad that we nearly got kick out as we were laughing so much. As one them had her own car, going out with them was easier as we could meet somewhere
There were others less insignificant girls who I went out with occasionally but these three groups were always the main characters in my life while I was a student.
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