Foreign Worker Dormitories

Laugh no more. It's real!

Foreign workers particularly from Bangladesh are now staying in commercial areas.

Investors who thought they can make big bucks renting out commercial premises were stuck with such units.

So, instead of leaving their units vacant, they decided to rent these units out to developers and contractors to house their workers on the cheap. In fact, such dormitories or workers hostels  are oftentimes near the site of work or the workers were bused in and out if it is a distant away.

Apart from Kota Damansara and other areas where the KL MRT project is slowly being implemented, Aman Perdana in Meru  is one such enclave for the housing of foreign workers.

These photos tells a million words.

Bused in and bused out

Sundry washings on the Stairways

24 Hours Sleep-in Beds

These are the shop-lots which you will pass as you drive into Aman Perdana. Things are dull during the day.

Then the workers come back in the evening from their factories and work-sites.

A hive of activity has just begun.

They played football and badminton on the road and interestingly like to play " Where is the Queen?" which is a sleigh of hand trick game.

Workers lived on the ground floors as well as the upper floors of the multiple shop-lots built just outside the guarded and gated elite residencies of  Aman Perdana.

Most of the 150 lots have been rented out to house these Bangladeshi workers. Their living conditions are less than conducive.

On the other hand, the Aman Perdana residents  mostly stay in bungalows and Semi-Ds with two lovely lakes running through their neighbourhood. Guards are  at stationed at entry and exit points and boom gates to ensure that visitors are checked before leaving the neighbourhood.

What a contrast!

TV Series-Post-mortem and Continuing Series

I have just watched a couple of US TV series which ended in April-May 2014.

I am watching another three series.

Let's talk about the first one.

Ragnar and Lagertha 

Vikings chronicled a band of sea marauders led by Ragnar Lothbrok who invaded the easterly coast of England such as Wessex. While it tends to be graphically violent and show that the early Vikings are blatant killers and sacrifice humans to their gods such as Odin and Thor, it still play on the familiar close family bonds and the conflicts with  other earls such as  Jarl Borg. It ended on a high note with the revenge on the back-stabbing King Horik. The next season will be worth watching to see the possible kingship of the protagonist of Ragnar and the machinations of King Ekbert in England. Travis Fimmel plays a coy Ragnar; Clive Standen, his courageous brother Rollo, George Blagden as Athelstan and Gustaf  Skargard as  Floki.  Katheryn Winnick plays the pretty heroine, Earl Lagertha, Alyssa Sutherland as Princess Aslaugh, Jessalyn Gilsig as ex an Earl's wife, Siggi and Gaia Weiss as the delectable Porunn.

Juliana Margulies as the adorable Alicia Florick

The Good Wife also ended a fortnight ago. While it had a good run for 4 seasons, the excitement sort of leveled off and maybe went down a wee bit after the sudden write off of Will from the series. Michael J Fox could not fill the gap nor was the other character, Finn played by Matthew Goode. The final episode saw a possible chance for Diane to run for Attorney General, Cary trying to stop the merger between Florrick Agos and and Lockhart-Garder, and the attempt to take control of Lockhart Gardner by David Lee and Louis Canning. For me, the Fifth Season is experimental and does not have a focus story line; playing on the periphery. It could be exciting if Diane takes on as Attorney General. Otherwise, it may just be the last season!

The current series that I am watching are Fargo and VEEP as well as watching the earlier two seasons of Hannibal. 

Icy  Death in the Snowy Grave

Fargo is tastefully done with Allison Tolman as the police women protagonist, Molly Solverson. The horrific portrayal of the arch-villain  Lorne Malvo by Billy Bob Thornton  is electrifying. Slow dialogue but well paced and getting more interesting as the new episodes rolled by.  Martin Freeman in the role of Lester Nygaard who set the story on fire is in all silliness, good. Death in the snow. Mafia in tow! Chillingly exciting TV series.

Selena Myers and the VP Office

VEEP tells the bungling efforts of the Office of the Vice President of America, Selina Meyers and her kooky office team as she takes on the other contenders for the post of the President of USA. Funnily stupid characters but do watch this series for the laughs as Julia Louis Dreyfus reinvents herself from one form of silliness to another as she changes hair-styles and bungles on her foreign missions and meetings with the Press. Supporting her are the pretty Anna Chlumsky as Amy and Reid Scott as failed campaign manager, Dan Egan.

Bon Appetit!

I am currently watching Hannibal Season 1 and the graphic depictions of crimes is superb, just like on the big screen. Mads Milkelsen  play the cannibalistic psychopath psychiatrist and his morbid taste for human organ gourmet. I think the story is getting better as the police pursues him. Great acting by Hugh Dancy as Will Graham, the visionary investigator who can re-enact crime-scenes with his special God-given qualities, Laurence Fishburne as the persistent Jack Crawford and Mads Milkelsen as Hannibal the Cannibal.

Sure Makes Sense, Doesn't It?

Dyana Loses in Maiden Attempt in Teruk Intan

For a Better Tomorrow

Despite the adverse circumstances of having to fight the humongous BN election machinery, Dyana lost by a whisker of only 238 votes.

Not  Leaving DAP

The DAP may yet contest the close call after a post mortem.

 A Whisker Loss Won't Daunt Her!

The end result-the last nail in the Gerakan coffin has been averted and Mah will ascend into a glorious Cabinet position. It will be a boon to him and much less for the people of Teluk Intan.

As they say, you deserve the leaders you choose and so this the case with Teluk Intan for the next 4 years or so.

A 238 Whisker win for this political Fat Cat

Interestingly, can he fulfill all his lofty election promises particularly the setting up of a university in northern Perak?

Grooming My Baby Politically

As for Dyana, her victory in defeat will certainly be a stepping stone for her  to the next political challenge whether in the party or in the polls.

The experience garnered in this maiden fight will stand in good stead for her  in the coming years.

Aftermath 2020

After all, she is just a tender 27 years old!

For Mah, he should be magnanimous in victory for winning by baited breath!

Will Dyana Hit Home in Teluk Intan?

No plain sailing for both candidates

The polling booths are closed and counting has started.

Will it be a close fight now that the voter turnout is less than 60% ?

Selfie of a Beaming Voter

As far as the DAP is concerned, at this voter turn out it will be a hard battle uphill for first time candidate Dyana and may give Mah a close shave to winning this hot seat.

Commencement of Campaign

While the sentiments are with Dyana, it is not easy to fathom the voters of Teluk Intan this time around.

Making Her rounds

If they stand their ground, Mah may make it.

With fair Nurul Izzah

If they shift because of last minute BN fumbles, Dyana will take the accolade as the new MP.

Truly 1Malaysia!

The higher voter turn out in DAP majority wards will be good for Dyana while the two schools that almost saw body contact between supporters of both sides may be indicative of hot breath competition where any one can win.

With Admirers

We will know in the next 3 hours or so whether Teluk Intan crowns a new princess or got saddled with an old has been.

Helping An OKU

Exercising with the Senior Ladies

Another Great Selfie!

Is Mah Digging his Own 'Doom'

Battlefield Day

Lambasting outstation voters who are making a bee-line to Teluk Intan to vote today must really be foolhardy and an act of desperation.

The Deface Brigade at Work

Miscreat Handiwork

The Politics of  Perverse Development

Showing displeasure at this is a sure sign of Mah's dying strategy to get votes.

If the turn-out is about 85% as anticipated by the Election Commission, then Mah will fall by the wayside of politics come tonight.

A Calm Before Victory?

The home-run looks ominous for MAH as unnecessary fumbles are committed by his BN partners.

The escalation of the defacing activities on Dyana's posters also shows badly on the BN even though they have come from paid hirelings and other outsourced parties, here for a quick silver dollar.

Every Vote from the OKU counts!

Dyana will surely get the sympathisers' votes.

The massive 10,000 crowd at the DAP final ceramah speaks volume as were the empty blue chairs of the last BN's public rally where only 70 persons came in to listen is ample evidence on how the wind is blowing.

Mah's Waterloo?

"Aye!" says the Blue Chairs

We will only know how strong the wind is blowing tonight at about 9 pm.

Vote from the Common Folks

Stellar Optics of Dyana Do Sway Them

The Final Belt-out in Teluk Intan

A winning smile from Dyana

Yes, this is the Rumble in the Bronx for Malaysia!

It has started at the polling booths across the Parliamentary Constituency with expectedly heated contest in the Malays dominated wardsfor both candidates  and a presumably plain sailing in Chinese populated polling stations for Dyana .

A Comfortable Fit with PKR Leadership icons

While on the surface, it is more a party (Dyana) versus personality fight(Mighty Mah), the odds are in all mathematical probability against Mah as the Chinese voting lobby remains undeterred, opting strongly ever for the Opposition DAP and its more promising and colourful candidate, Dyana Sofya.

The verdict will likely be delivered at about 10 pm tonight.

Stellar Qualities? Note the Younger Generation.

For all the gung-ho talk by the Cabinet Ministers who went to campaign for Mah and promises of earthly heaven for the folks of Teluk Intan, the Gerakan candidate remains colourless and all talk and expected not to do much for the voters as usual as can be seenfrom his performance when he was the former representative before 2008.

I wish all the best for both candidates and they romp home on the home run.

A Barrister Turned Politician

History will surely be created when Teluk Intan  gets Dyana, a Malay lady representing a predominantly Chinese voting populace and a Malay community getting neutralised especially Generation Y voters.

Its due reward  for the winner and due desserts for the loser.

Teluk Intan will go back to its old same old, same old life after these two weeks of political salesmanship and mud-slinging .