Inul talks politics...meow..meow...meow....

The BIG event in Sarawak yesterday ( 16 April) was the Sarawak's 10th state elections results announcement. The ruling party ( Barisan Nasional) was declared the victor after garnering 55 seats out of 71 contested ( two-thirds majority). That means the Prime Minister of Malaysia has Sarawak tucked nicely in his pocket as FD ( fixed deposit) state!! ( Oh , yes we cats do understand politics...humans got plenty of tips from our animal kingdom about the rat race , survival of the fittest and inhuman or animal behaviour in man .....meow, meow, meow.. POLITICS AND POSTERS Inul gets to see much show of election posters along the journey. There is this HUGE STRUCTURE OF A PYRAMID OF POSTERS seen along the Pan-Borneo Highway at the rest area outside the town of Betong ( pix above). The pyramid was erected by the ruling party. Inul still wonders however what politicians have done to the Pan-Borneo Highway? Example: The worst stretch that Inul find is from Bintulu to Tatau ( est. 50 km) ---Inul cries and screams when travelling on this stretch because the road there is very bumpy, uneven, and dangerous because of too many potholes, bad patch-up work etc. Oh, Inul hates the Bintulu to Tatau road...Will the politicians care to listen please ? Secondly...Inul has been travelling the Pan- Borneo Highway for about four years now and after a bit of research found out that for about 50 years the highway has not changed a little ...It is still a two-lane single carriageway after such a long , loooooong time!... meow, meow, meow... What??? after 50 years this is what Sarawak gets?? In contrast, in West Malaysia, the highways are 6- lanes dual carriage ways...Judging by the conditions of roads alone Inul concludes that Sarawak is 150 years behind schedule from Semenanjung ( West Malaysia). Oh ,noo....meow...meow....meow....... o oo politicians in Sarawak don't be too complacent...you need to catch-up A LOT guys!!!!You need to work for the people not for your pockets!!!! ( Cats know that too) ....Try the roads first. The journey.... The day after the election night, fospa decided to get back on the road again . So we left at 8.50 am in fine weather and arrived Kuching at 7.30 pm in heavy rain. The heavy rains however occurred during the last lap of the journey 1.e. after the town of Sri Aman which is a three hours journey to Kuching. First pit stop was Selangau ( inset) , then Sibu ( below) where fospa was keen to grab the morning papers to know the detail results of the election. But thanks to fospa, he chose a cool and shady place for us to relax while they were having some coffee at the food court. We had our share of food served in the car. Being a Sunday and the day after the election results were announced, Sibu coffee shops were flooded with customers naturally to talk and analyse the results ..the coffee-talk way.

Fospa thought this poster as most outstanding for its originality. According to fospa, the use of metal scaffolding for rural advertising is new. To the best of fospa knowledge the candidate is an engineer who owns a scaffolding company (besides undertaking civil and mechanical works) at many of the industrial outfits in Bintulu. That would probably explain how he can afford the use of BS scaffolding( British Standard) which is the only allowable standard of scaffolding used in the major oil and gas installations in Bintulu to a remote place like Ulu Krian. Ali ak Biju is an Iban and his posters use the Iban language to relay his message . Ali Biju's poster reads : "Aram Berubah - Together we Change, " Angkat semua - Rise up, "Tan ke reta pesaka kita "- Fight for our ancestral heritage. Ali won the contest on an opposition ticket ( PKR) after defeating the BN incumbent.

Mama Daisy and me ( back facing camera) - sharing the front seats.

The heavy rains slowed down the journey from Sri Aman to Kuching. What would normally take two and a half hours instead took us three hours.

All's well that ends well.....meow...meow...meow....

Note: On this 25th journey back Kuching, cumulative distance achieved = 29,400 km.