Bali - A Travelogue

Bali Island, an island famed for her culture and nature, has mesmerized generation of travelers (as early as 1900s) with mystery and scenery.

I finally made the first visit not long ago with my wife and the elder son.

At Ubud Alila, we are housed at a villa built in the mid-air nestling on top of the Ayung river valley. The valley is deep enough to be blocked by the thick growth of plants and trees that the river is not visible from our balcony. We can only overhear the sound of river flowing without seeing it.

My son watches the squirrels climbing from trees to trees. As a spider was weaving its web, he sung the Incy Wincy Spider. Within the reach by a stretch of hand from the balcony, I introduced my son to a ripe jackfruit overhanging from the tree standing imposingly on the slope.

Moving inside the villa, a resident frog was seen hopping next to the bath tub encircled by a rectangular indoor pond with a short elevated pavement above it connecting the bedroom to the changing room. The pond is the home to some resident goldfishes.

At night it is the sound of insect accompanied by the starry night. When the sun rise, it is the turn of the roosters performing the orchestra of cock-a-doodle-doo in a foggy morning.

I grew up in a small town. All of these were free and not novel to me. Yet it is now a paid (from daddy's pocket) Discovery Channel goes live to the two and a half year old.

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The terraced paddy field, the volcano (Mount Batur), the beaches have all made it to the postcard depicting an idyllic and peaceful destination to relieve us temporarily from our trapping in an ever-flatter world.

Here in Bali, the farmer are still slogging, as the buffalos are still ploughing, the paddy field. The scarecrow is sprouted everywhere to deter the suspicious bird. The Balinese ducks are quacking away in herd.

The Balinese folks dress in their ritual gear are always busy attending the temple ceremony. Colorfully decorated temples with the distinctively Balinese Meru (pagoda) made of palm leaves dotted the skyline.

The most awesome of all temples is the Pura Bersakih, the so-called Mother Temple of Bali. Stood above the temples complex, one could enjoy the panoramic view of a distant skyline, as far as the sea, highlighted by the solemn Balinese Meru.

One can sense the religious seriousness and ritual purity among the Balinese Hindu still make up more than 80% of population. The fruits and flowers are carefully and conically arranged into an offering basket. The women walking gracefully to the temple ceremony had the offering carried on on their heads. The men mostly dressed in white are biking their way carrying the older folks if not their younger one.

Time has not changed.

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The beneficiary of a localized form of Hinduism in an archipelago that have largely converted to Islam, Bali always fascinate travelers like me who regards vacation not just as an escapade but also of learning.

It shocks and puzzles me when I read of the act of "puputan" by the Balinese rulers and subjects launching suicidal charges against the deadly fire of the merciless Dutch troop.

What left was a massacre.

It still shock and puzzles me when I read of the jumping off the cliff by the Balinese dress in their ritual plain white during the anti-Communist purge in 1965-66.

What left was a bloodbath.

Have these spirits rested? Maybe not and maybe never ever.


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I just read of a traveler story on a spiritual tax that one holiday home builder has to pay to the village head to build a villa house in Bali. The plot of land is encumbered to the existing right of the spiritual residents. The construction of of infinity pool will have to be scrapped and relocate elsewhere for it might violate the spiritual occupants. This makes an interesting topic on land law.

At our friend's wedding at a palatial resort at Uluwatu hanging on top of a magnificent cliff with an awesome view of Indian ocean, a village elder dressed in the ritual white was introduced to me as the rain stopper. He had earlier prayed and made offering to keep the rain away from spoiling the wedding party.

Unscientific he maybe, there was no rain that evening.

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Traveling on the small roads criss-crossing the island, one cannot fail to notice the flags of political parties displayed from the villages to towns. There are always hung by a tall bamboo pole.

If the number of flags flown is the poll for the election next year, Bali favors the red flag of the PDI (of ex President Magawati) over the blue flag of DP (SBY, abbreviation of a mouthful of President Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono) and then the yellow flag of Golkar.

Being a tourist paradise for many Westeners and supposedly an infidel island, Islamic terrorists have unkindly planted two bombs in 2002 and 2005 that have taken several hundred lives and crippled the tourism industry.

Recovery in tourism takes as much as time as the memory takes to fade, according to my taxi driver, Chalik.

He is still haunted by the 2002 bombing incident. He was chartered by a Middle Eastern honeymoon couple on Oct .12, the day when the bomb went off in Kuta. The couple had wanted to go to the famous Kuta strip that night but he turned it down as he had had a long day chauffeuring them.

Being a Hindu, he thanked his lucky star for surviving unscratched. Predictably he chose to stay home and didn't go to work on the recent Oct 12.

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Staying three nights at Oberoi in the comfort of modern trapping and connectivity, I had the privy to the CNN news which was denied to me at Ubud.

Where is the escape after all, you may ask?

As the CNN brings more breaking news, I contrast that with the story from the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana and wonder what have we changed in the millenniums in between that have passed?

Isn't the same obsession for power, for control?

Isn't the same innermost inclination for peace, and for love?

Strong Rebounce from Hang Seng

Hang Seng Index, after 13% drop yesterday, rebounded 1,580 or 14.35% to 12,596, with a volume of HKD 66 billion.

This is the largest single day rise since Oct 29, 1997. The index's super heavyweight HSBC jumped 20%.

The rebounce offers a short term relief after days of bloodbath in the stock market. It is still too early to say if the fall yesterday has touched the bottom.

Hang Seng Plunged to 11,015

Black Monday in Hong Kong.

The Hang Seng index plunge 1,602 to 11, 015.

The index has lost 65.5% from its previously peak on Oct 30, 2007. It has surpassed all records except that in 1973 where Hang Seng lost more than 90%.

The index's No.1 heaveyweight HSBC, dropped almost 15% to just HKD75. The price earning ratio in Hang Seng Index is now in single digit.

In stock market, fundamental just reign and it is the emotion that rule.

Dow Jone closed at 8,378 last Friday and likely to open lower given that there was no good news over the weekend.

Sit very tight.

The Tsang Administration Ate Banana Pie

The Tsang's administration ate the humble pie (or more aptly the banana pie).

The latest is prompted by Donald Tsang's policy speech in the context of the old age allowance (popularly known as fruits allowance in Cantonese). He proposed to raise the elderly's allowance from 705 dollars to 1000 dollars subject to a means test.

The allowance started way back in 1973 as a token of respect for elderly reaching the age of 65 and not intended as a welfare handout. The reality is that many elderly are depending on the allowance for living. The escalated cost of living and health care are two underlying reason for the increase in the allowance.

The legislators from both sides of the aisles criticize Tsang for demeaning the elderly on the introduction of means test. Tsang himself had a banana thrown at him at the Legco by a sensationist legislator from the League of Social Democrat. The opinion poll was against the imposition of a means test.

Facing popular backlash, the Tsang's administration withdrew the mean test today conceding to populism, one may say.

This maybe a reason of his lacking the popular mandate via a universal franchise.

The graver problem with Tsang's handling is one on policy execution lacking careful strategic thinking and political spinning.

The introduction of means test for what is actually a token of respect to elderly smacks of elitism and patronage. Means test is understandable and politically acceptable to reduce the likehood of abuse and to better distribute the welfare resources as the society is aging and the burden of the welfare spending is growing over times.

What Tsang should have done is to demarcate the fruit allowance without means test from other form of welfare allowance supporting the elderly.

Any elderly who satisfy the means test should be rightfully given more welfare allowance for living, however you name it as long as it is not called 'the fruit allowance'.

Further the imposition of means test is simply too costly for administering considering the high cost of civil service in Hong Kong. One proposal which should have been considered is to streamline and simplify various welfare scheme for more convenient and speedy application especially for elderly who maybe infirm, illiterate and without dependent.

The increase on welfare for elderly is popular. Yet, Tsang let the opponents win the kudos and ended up with the banana pie.

The 27 Million Peoples' Question

Malaysians, from the King to the Umnoputras, from lawyers to rakyat (peoples), are now talking about the social contract.

There is no reference to the social contract in the Constutition of the Malaysia Federation. Not even any mention in the preamble. Sorry, there is no preamble in the Constitution.

What is a social contract?

According to the political scientist, it is an unwritten consensus at the time of the nation founding. It is thus a piece of virtual agreement exists only in the mind of those believing that it exists.

In Malaysia's context, it means different things to different peoples. It really depend whether you talk to Ali, Bala or Chan.

Some say it is an agreement between Tunku, Tan Cheng Lock and Sambathan seeking independence against the colonialism and Communism (where are the Sarawakian and Sabahan represented?). Too bad, all the three distinguished Malaysians are no longer with us today to answer the 27 millions peoples' question.

Some say it is a social contract wherein the Malays conceding to Chinese and Indian the Malayan citizenship in exchange of their concession for Malay Ketuanan aka Malay Supremacy.

Some say it is the Malay rulers constitutional position as a protector of Malay and Islam (with some also noted the legitimate right of other communties).

Some says it doesn't exist. They pointed out that the first reference to the social contract was in 1980s by the UMNO politicians. It took well over 20 years for any Malaysian to remember that there was a social contract in the first place.

Some says it should not be questioned and reviewed.

Some say it should be taugh in school while some opposes.

Yet no one can give a definite definition of what the social contract is.

The question of "apa itu" (what it is?) should be judiciously preceded by the question of "mananya" (where is it?)

In the absense of compelling evidence, whether written or oral, by the founding fathers, including the often overlooked the 1956 Constitutional Conference in London and the five members Reid Commission charged with the drafting of the Malayan Constitution, no one should be allowed to construct and impute the existence of such a solemn consensus on national formation.

The difference between an afterthought and an aforethought is that the former is an excuse and the latter is a justification.

Thinking Malaysian, please take note!

Currency Crisis soon or now?

After the thaw of credit crunch, are we heading to a currency crisis soon, or now?

Thanks to Alan Greenspan who confessed he made mistakes. That sends a powerful chill down the spine everywhere.

The Asian stock markets reacted very nervously to the Greenspan's admission. The Tokyo Nikkei Index drops by 9.6% to7,649.

The Hang Seng Index sunk by 1,142 point to 12,618, a hefty drop of more than 8% in a single day, representing 60.5% fall from its previous peak of 31,958 on Oct 30, 2007.

This fall is close to the last record held in 1998 following the Asia's financial crisis. The Index reached 16,820 on August 7, 1997 and sunk to 6,545 on August 13, 1998, a 61.1 drop in about a year.

Does the market hits the bottom? Maybe not yet.

If Greenspan is right, this is going to be worse than 1929 crash. We can expect more bad news.

Sit tight....

Cabinet to Cabinet; Bed to Bed

The Chinese Malaysian politics is now arguing over whether it is ethical to appoint Dr Chua Soi Lek as a minister.

Dr. Chua was caught having sex with a woman but not his wife by a hidden camera earlier this year. Within days, he held a press conference and courageously admitted to his indiscretion and resigned from his ministerial position and went into political wilderness.

Last week, he fought back to political limelight after beating the establishment candidate for deputy Presidential office of the MCA ( the Malaysian Chinese Association), the second largest political party in the BN (the National Front), the ruling coalliation government.

As a matter of political convention, the MCA is allocated with four full ministerial positions and the MCA deputy President can legitimately, by virtue of the second most senior position in the party, ask for one of the four slots.

The debate launched by the Dr. Chua's opponent (the so-called Camp A including the sitting party President Ong Tee Keat and the losing Deputy Presidential candidate, Ong Ka Chuan, brother to former President Ong Ka Ting), has argued that someone with moral indiscretion is not fit to be elected, earlier, to the party office and now, made a minister.

The debate is coded in the classic Confucianist language, 才德, competence and ethics.

Failing to thwart Dr. Chua election to the party post, the opponent seeks to thwart Dr Chua appointment to the cabinet. Paradoxically, the anti-Dr. Chua protagonist do not renounce those who set up the hidden camera recording and who distributed them which are both despicable and illegal.

The tenet of their argument is basically that Dr. Chua's appointment, by reason of his extra-marital affair (or rather the fact that it was recorded on video), will lower the estimation of the MCA and the Chinese in the eye of the coalliation partner and the Malaysian public with a large Muslim majority .

It is poignant to recall 德才兼备 (possessing both ethics and competency) as a qualification to be a public officer in the Confucianism. Dr. Chua is portyared as wanting of ethics.

Set against this background, the question is whether there is a difference between 公德 public ethics (in this sense we may well call it the political ethics) and 私德 private morality.

All the attack on Dr.Chua is his hotel room exploit and not his competence and also his public/political ethic.

Based on the party election result, Dr. Chua's violation of private morality, the much ballyhood issue during the campaign, has not stopped him from his political comeback. The delegates have largely absolved him of his private moral indiscretion.

This in large part is a recognition that Dr. Chua has maintained a better image and widely perceived as a responsible politician taking the step to resign following the hidden camera recording. His resignation is commendable as he returns the mandate to the people to see if he will be forgiven and re-accepted.

First, he secured his spouse and his family's forgiveness.

Then, his son stood in for him, contested and won the March 8 parliamentaty election in a seat he previously held amidst what is now known as heavy nation-wide electoral losses to the MCA. This is as good as he won by proxy.

Finally, he won the tough party election last week. These three separate and related events vindicated and redeemed him personally and politically.

The result can be analysed as the MCA grassroot valuing competency and also public/political ethics as greater qualification to the party/public office. This result is also in line with the secular and meritocratic values of Chinese Malaysian.

The holier-than-thou altitude or peeping (or secretly recording) Tom behavior are not supported and I find these relieving and reassuring as a sign of political maturity in favor of competency and public/political ethis over private moral misbehaviour.

At all time, competency and public/political ethics should be held as more important requirement of holding a public office. Cronism, nepotism, corruption, abuse of power, dishonesty and racism in the Malaysia context are greater impediment to good governance.

Dr. Chua has won the party mandate to be appointed to, and the Prime Minister should exercise his prerogative to made him, a full minister.

Let me end by sharing a rarely known historical fact. One of my favorite but controversial historical figure, 曹操 Cao Cao, of the Romance of Three Kingdom's fame or notoriety, placed competency and public ethic above private morality in the selection of officers. No wonder he incurs the wrath of generation of Confucianist disciples and is portrayed in the negative light. By statictis, the peoples and the territory under the Cao's administration was superior in not just in output, living standard but also in culture and literacy. His succesors eventually united the divided China then.