Boh's Aftertaste.
Title borrowed totally ripped off Pok Ku's entry on similar subject.
We all heard how bad the flood was in the East Coast recently. My mother told me that the last time it was this bad is probably 13 years or so ago. Years later, the water usually goes up to only 11/2 feet high at my Tok We's (grandmum's) place, which is less than 1km away from the river and 7km away from the sea. Recently, it flooded up to almost as high as my shoulders! Luckily it still wasn't enough to reach the floors of her home.
This is during Raya in Nov, 2004.
My uncle and I spent some time back in Tok We's place in Kelantan last week to help her clean up the wet kitchen (on the ground) and the garden from all the mud brought by the risen river water. I can't help thinking how much more difficult it must be for the recent Tsunami survivors to make their areas home sweet home again, let alone to get their 'city sweet city' back.
My shoulders, neck and wrists are in pain after having to carry the heavy blocks of mud out. Yet this is considered very clean debris, not concrete walls of someone's houses or restaurants, God forbid-not dead bodies, not cars and boats that belong to strangers. We had fun, because there're good food and good company at the end of the day.
During 'boh' (Kelantanese and Trengganunese dialect, which means 'bah' in B. M'sia, or flood in English), apparently, the only time we were struck by famine was 43 years back. Honestly, Kelantanese enjoys 'boh',.... really! This is the time everyone spends time out of the house to play with water. We will even bathe under the end of where the water catchment flows down from the roof to make believe we're at the waterfalls!
It is not surprising why many of them end up getting married to their neighbours soon after this season. There are no community parks in this state, let alone any gathering areas or events for the youth. There's nothing much to do at home at this time anyway. This is a true water festival. In fact, I think they should start selling power water guns on the roaming boats next time.
We will find all kinds of excuses to go out and get stuff in town. How often can you take the boat from your door steps right to the steps of the shops in with the neighbours while squeezing to share an umbrella? Isn't it fun?
Our diet automatically changes to eating grilled tapioca dipped in grated coconut sprinkled with sugar even though there's enough supply of rice. We will definitely sit down quietly by the front door enveloped in our blankets while sipping Nescafe while dunking cream crackers in it and let the softened biscuit perish in the mouth.
We will think of so many other things that's nice to eat during the wet and cold season. Oh! One of it is to prepare Tom Yam Porridge, uuuuuhhhhh! Imagine frying salted 'ikan masin' (mackerel) to go with it while it's raining outside, the smell can really cease the time and give you a kind of high. Fried sardines, 'kicap' (black thick soy sauce) and rice is considered a special feast.
It's nice that the DPM contributed ONLY RM50K to cover the damages to the Kelantan state. I saw the sack of rice donated, the cooking oil and the canned sardines. The rice quality is of the kind you must finish eating not more than 5 hours after it is cooked.
What's needed most are manpower and fire brigade trucks or water sprayer lorries to wash the mud off the main roads quickly and clear the blocked drains from garbage before they smell and the dusts creates all kinds of health problems. Kelantan state is populated by 70% old retired people, they are too tired to contribute their energy towards this.
Hmmm... it's still a long way for this 'Gotong Perdana' team to reach our area.
I do wonder if the armies are too occupied to help out, or the National Service trainers are not allowed to be creative at mobilising their trainees. If they are still too occupied for whatever reasons, what about transporting the nearest University's students who take part in Kesatria or Rotu? The job isn't as bad as practising to march for Merdeka Day you know. What about Rakan Muda, what have they contributed to?
The young should be trained. We can't just rely on the army to do all the donkey jobs. Let's train ourselves so we don't need to rely on the American and English armies for help all the time.
We all heard how bad the flood was in the East Coast recently. My mother told me that the last time it was this bad is probably 13 years or so ago. Years later, the water usually goes up to only 11/2 feet high at my Tok We's (grandmum's) place, which is less than 1km away from the river and 7km away from the sea. Recently, it flooded up to almost as high as my shoulders! Luckily it still wasn't enough to reach the floors of her home.
This is during Raya in Nov, 2004.
My uncle and I spent some time back in Tok We's place in Kelantan last week to help her clean up the wet kitchen (on the ground) and the garden from all the mud brought by the risen river water. I can't help thinking how much more difficult it must be for the recent Tsunami survivors to make their areas home sweet home again, let alone to get their 'city sweet city' back.
My shoulders, neck and wrists are in pain after having to carry the heavy blocks of mud out. Yet this is considered very clean debris, not concrete walls of someone's houses or restaurants, God forbid-not dead bodies, not cars and boats that belong to strangers. We had fun, because there're good food and good company at the end of the day.
During 'boh' (Kelantanese and Trengganunese dialect, which means 'bah' in B. M'sia, or flood in English), apparently, the only time we were struck by famine was 43 years back. Honestly, Kelantanese enjoys 'boh',.... really! This is the time everyone spends time out of the house to play with water. We will even bathe under the end of where the water catchment flows down from the roof to make believe we're at the waterfalls!
It is not surprising why many of them end up getting married to their neighbours soon after this season. There are no community parks in this state, let alone any gathering areas or events for the youth. There's nothing much to do at home at this time anyway. This is a true water festival. In fact, I think they should start selling power water guns on the roaming boats next time.
We will find all kinds of excuses to go out and get stuff in town. How often can you take the boat from your door steps right to the steps of the shops in with the neighbours while squeezing to share an umbrella? Isn't it fun?
Our diet automatically changes to eating grilled tapioca dipped in grated coconut sprinkled with sugar even though there's enough supply of rice. We will definitely sit down quietly by the front door enveloped in our blankets while sipping Nescafe while dunking cream crackers in it and let the softened biscuit perish in the mouth.
We will think of so many other things that's nice to eat during the wet and cold season. Oh! One of it is to prepare Tom Yam Porridge, uuuuuhhhhh! Imagine frying salted 'ikan masin' (mackerel) to go with it while it's raining outside, the smell can really cease the time and give you a kind of high. Fried sardines, 'kicap' (black thick soy sauce) and rice is considered a special feast.
It's nice that the DPM contributed ONLY RM50K to cover the damages to the Kelantan state. I saw the sack of rice donated, the cooking oil and the canned sardines. The rice quality is of the kind you must finish eating not more than 5 hours after it is cooked.
What's needed most are manpower and fire brigade trucks or water sprayer lorries to wash the mud off the main roads quickly and clear the blocked drains from garbage before they smell and the dusts creates all kinds of health problems. Kelantan state is populated by 70% old retired people, they are too tired to contribute their energy towards this.
Hmmm... it's still a long way for this 'Gotong Perdana' team to reach our area.
I do wonder if the armies are too occupied to help out, or the National Service trainers are not allowed to be creative at mobilising their trainees. If they are still too occupied for whatever reasons, what about transporting the nearest University's students who take part in Kesatria or Rotu? The job isn't as bad as practising to march for Merdeka Day you know. What about Rakan Muda, what have they contributed to?
The young should be trained. We can't just rely on the army to do all the donkey jobs. Let's train ourselves so we don't need to rely on the American and English armies for help all the time.
posted by Maine at 1:07 AM
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