
Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Through all the ups and downs of the Malaysian Election that delivered a hung parliament, there is a silver lining. Maybe, the hung parliament is a blessing in disguise. Now, Malaysia has a new Prime Minister and a “Unity Government” made up of political parties from different sides of the divide. Maybe, this is the time to put aside our differences and work towards creating a new unity, a Malaysia where harmony and cooperation among the different races and religions are more important than progressing our own faction’s agendas. Forgive and let’s move on to build up our nation again. Mr Anwar Ibrahim has finally achieved his dream of becoming Malaysia’s Prime Minister. After 25 years of being framed, beaten up, jailed, shamed, subjected to all sorts of charges, …he persevered. God bless him.
I think he is the correct leader to have now for Malaysia, who has grown ever more divided through the years, fuelled by extremists, the selfish and racist zealots. I think he’s the right man to heal the nation and build it up again. Maybe God let him go through all the trials and injustice that he’d been through, to shape him up into a true Malaysian leader who could see the problems of the Malaysian system. Interestingly, God also blessed his once mentor, then nemesis, Tun Dr Mahathir to live a long and healthy life to see this day come to pass. Tun Dr Mahathir was the main person who caused much of Anwar’s problems and also incidentally, in looking back, the one who contributed to some of the existing problems of the nation, like nepotism, the loss of judicial independence and racism, during his time in power, in his drive for consolidation of power in the 80’s and 90’s. Tun Dr Mahathir who stood for this election, at 97 years of age, lost the election. Not only that, he was trounced in his own constituency and came in only 4th among all the contenders. The new party that he created also lost all their seats. Maybe God showed him this, to humble him before he returns to God. Who says heaven doesn’t have eyes? For me, God has eyes, on Malaysia. Thank You God for looking after us. Amen.
As usual, I am posting some photos with this post. I’ve decided to post photos of Kuching, the capital of the state of Sarawak, or what I called the kingmaker state. Sarawak who has a habit of voting en bloc, holds quite a lot of clout, when it comes to deciding who forms the government, when no party could obtain the majority. We visited Sarawak in July this year, my first ever visit to East Malaysia in my 52 years of life as a Malaysian, believe it or not?!

Grandpa, Papa, kids – 3 generations of Ong in Kuching, Sarawak

Masjid India (India Mosque), on the Sarawak River, Kuching

The Astana (Palace) of Sarawak, once the palace of the White Rajahs of Sarawak. Sarawak was at one time a kingdom ruled by the Brooke family of Great Britain. Now, the Astana is the residence of the Governor of Sarawak

Sungai Sarawak (Sarawak River) and the Kuching Waterfront from the Darul Hana Bridge

The Square Tower on the Kuching Waterfront, with the State Legislative Assembly Building behind

Late lunch at Atap Street aka Carpenter Street, Kuching, opposite the Hiang Thian Siang Ti Temple, Kuching



Hiang Thian Siang Ti Teochew Temple, Carpenter Street, Kuching – (How do I know all these names? …Google Maps, mate. Check it out!)

Padang Merdeka (Independence Field), Kuching, with the Borneo Cultures Museum in the background

Let’s run, it’s raining… Kuching in the rain – At the start of India Street looking towards the Kuching City Mosque (with the gold domes)

I Heart Kuching – at Kuching’s Old Court House
And that concludes our half day stopover at Kuching, and this post. Adios!