I had a great end of year break with my family. My husband, Tony & I took all our 4 kids to Beijing. It was freezing (minus 15 degrees!!!) but we were lucky there was sunshine in the day when we went to Great Wall and Forbidden Palace. The scale of these structures were amazing. The Olympic Village was also magnificent and the Chinese are so proud of that. Their propoganda is so good that all the Chinese feel that the 2008 Olympics showcased China to the world and was a statement to the world that China has 'arrived'!
The only thing we thing we did not quite enjoy was the food. It was oily and quite bland. Maybe we didn't know where to go. But even their famous Peking duck (according to my kids - because Tony & I don't eat meat) was not as tasty as the ones in Singapore or Malaysia! they even had serial number for the duck!!!
Shopping if you are good at bargaining is good. We can even bargain down to 10% of the opening price!!! We all bought our Chinese outfit for New Year even my daughters had their first cheongsams..
After the cold we had a few days to chill out in Bangkok. That was cool - we had great food and shopping was also good for the kids.
Malaysia must learn how Thailand promotes itself. The place is buzzing. Lucky for us the airport demonstration was over, that was bad.
Back to Kuching on 2nd January 2009 - rain, rain and more rain. Our rooms were mouldy and damp. Few days of washing and getting kids ready for school. Stocking up the kitchen and getting all chores done.
SUPP was uneventful as usual - also I am hopeful that when we get down to work, young leaders will be given the trust to do something. Well let's see what will come up next.
Everyone is anxious about Lunar New Year and how rain is going to affect them. Well, let us pray that our people will be safe and will ride through these tough times. This year is for us to be careful and prepare ourselves for leaner times.
Interesting development about DAP and their disagreement with their Pakatan Rakyat partners on Hudud Law applications if they come to power. Everyone should follow closely on the arguments and not let ourselves be blinded by the urge to change at the risk of bigger issues.
2009 - first 2 weeks - saw possibility of our people being laid off in manufacturing industries. Also bad news for manufacturers in Sarawak as they seek the government's assistance to alleviate the high freight charges, lack of manpower, high energy charges and bad infrastructure.
We have challenging times ahead. I hope SUPP will take up my suggestion of forming a think tank which would include all the stakeholders including private sector to really hear their problems.
Let me have your feedback anytime.
Have a good 2009 ahead.
CHENG YI 12th January 2009
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