Holy Matrimony of Ing Chiong & Eian Ling - This Is The Day The Lord Has Made

When Ing Chiong and Eian Ling walked hand in hand on the red-carpeted aisle to the altar, they beamed all the way through. This was a moment of outburst of joy for the two.

To Ah Chiong and Eian Ling, March 21 is a dream coming true! What else could be more joyous than entrusting to each other in God?

Psalm 118: 24 says it right, " This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it".

Close to 200 guests turned out to witness their solemn matrimony and share the joy of the two.

From calling to order to benediction, the whole matrimonial service was joy-filled and smooth in flowing through. The event was themed "Blue and White", signifying an ocean-like love. Most of the guests came in white or blue at the request of Ah Chiong and Eian Ling to tie in with their theme.

A grand wedding banquet was held at Blue Splendour Restaurant to feast the guests. The Tea Gang was honoured with an invitation to partake of the reception. We grabbed hold of it to take a group photo with the bride and groom.

Thank you Ah Chiong and Eian, and we wish you all the best!

(Photos: Steve Ling)

Business Trip To Kuching (Part 2)

We zoomed towards Kuching right after our quick breakfast at Sarikei. Checking on the time, it was 8:30 am. By a rough count, the remaining journey would take about five solid hours with one or two stop on the way for a break or ease-off.

Travelling by air and land alike produces hypnotic effect on me. I still recall an official travelling trip by coach to Mukah during which I slept like a log right through.

As such, I had to keep awake to catch all the glimpses alongside the Kuching-Miri highway, fearing that if I dozed off, I might miss some of the fascinating scenes.

When the huge sign of Sebangkoi Country Resort on the roadside came into my sight, I was very much drawn to it.

This country resort was a significant effort by our state government to develop the local tourism industry. A combination of country park and resort uniquely laid out and designed to give visitors a touch of tropical setting, SCR is excellent for a breakaway or a brief sojourn.

My tight itineary did not permit me to pop in for a quick stop-over. As the resort faded away from my sight, there was a strong urge rising up for me to come here for a visit.

Batang Ai By-Election - All The Goodies And Sweeties Now

The hand-outs by Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Ak Numpang were timed perfectly well to coincide with the run-up to the by-election in Batang Ai. With very little doubt, the synergistic effects would all go to BN.

Calling it a bonus for the outboard engine owners, the local press gave a front-page coverage to this all-happy bonanza at the height of the by-election fever. Even if you are not a recipient, you would probably get a contagion of it!

The goodies and sweeties are in the form of rebates for outboard engines in Batang Ai. To call them goodies and sweeties are more than apt - the rebates range from RM350 to RM705, depending on the horse power of the engines.

It was an all-smile give-away ceremony. Jabu would not let it slip by without hitting out hard at the opposition.

From all perspectives, the rebates were election-motived. You may call it a rakyat-orientated project for the benefits of the folks in Batang Ai, but, alas, the timing of it was so fishy that we couldn't help to unmask the sweeties and goodies.

It is a tossing game for the electorate in Batang Ai. Between BN and PR, a choice has to be made! The voters there would have a good time to balance their thinking before casting their votes.

Business Trip To Kuching (Part 1)

Travelling by land to Kuching has always been a fascinating experience. You can't afford to miss it out if you have never gone through it.

When I planned for a two-day business trip to Cat City, I decided to drive rather fly. Land travelling is alluring in many ways on this Land of Hornbill.

We departed at 7:00 am from Premier Hotel which was a little bit late for this 6-hour driving journey. On the itineary, Sarikei was our first stop.

Sarikei, a growing town, is not too far off the main road. The location is, therefore, strategic enough to take in long-distance travellers for a stop-over. In comparision with Sri Aman, Sarikei is better off in this sense.

We popped in for a quick breakfast with no extra time for other pursuits. When I checked out with a blogger in Sarikei www.wongsiewping.blogspot.com , a few recommendations were put forth for eateries of fineness in local cuisine. But, alas, my drop-in was very much just touch-and-go, so I could not afford the luxury of sampling them with ease and leisure. For that I need a food savouring trip with some other bloggers to Sarikei to poke my nose near to every dish and dip my finger in to whet my appetite.

We chose the food centre (gee, there is absolutely no official name for it after years of operation) where food varieties are aplenty. The interior of it is pretty spacious and hygienic with good ventilation, making it a place of comfort for a decently priced breakfast. I placed order for kampua and teh chi kosong for sampling. Woah, the taste turned out to be quite appetizing and the serving time was surprisingly satisfying. I gave a plus to the stall.

We set out on our onward journey after our Sarikei experience!

Batang Ai By-Election - James Masing Took Bloggers To Task

PRS president Dato' Sri Dr. James Jemut Masing was one step ahead of the opposition PKR to unveil the candidate for Batang Ai by-election.

You see, when PR is still squabbling over the seat, BN has straightened it out with little whiff. The component parties of the ruling front are now putting hands together and vowing to nail PR down. Their one voice, one action and one stand in Batang Ai is seen as building up a firm foothold.

Malcom Mussen Lamoh has over the night turned into a glittering political star, taking on his shoulder a stiff job to retain this BN seat.

Malcom may not be as seasoned as Nicholas Bawin of PKR politically, but he has the full backing of the component parties of BN. This adds a big plus to this fledgling politician.

In the meantime, James Masing took the Iban bloggers to task, calling them "not walking the talk". A group of elite Ibans in their blogs called for the Dayaks to stand as a united group in this challenging era. James Masing further put the bloggers under fire, saying their unity call was in true essence a divisive move in allowing PKR to push them and fight their own kind.

The electorate would give a fair judgement.

World In Simultaneous Recession

The burst of the credit bubble in U.S. in Sept. 2008 swept the whole world into a simultaneous recession. The vibration of it was so great and the scale so shocking that that it was dubbed "financial tsunami" of the century.

In a matter of less than two months after the collapse of the major investment banks in U.S., the fierce waves of the financial turmoil engulfed the whole world. Multiplying effect spread fast and soon domino effect set in, taking the whole world down to a recession.

At a fellowship gathering of MAF of Ai Ming Methodist Church on March 7, I gave a talk on this global burning issue.

Looking at it with a global perspective, I dealt with the subject broadly by touching on three pertinent areas: 1. The underlying factors giving rise to the financial tsunami; 2. The speeding up of the global shift of economic power from West to East, and 3. The bumpy recovery road ahead.

The 45-minute sharing was relevant to all of us.

MAF of Sibu East District - Culinary Delights

Liong Ung shared with us the delicious pig leg soup with dried cuttlefish (du ka men yu). This authentic Foochow food is a must! Leng Kieh was very much tempted by the delicacy.

Huat Mee and Yien Leh spoke highly of the evening.

It was all thumbs up - Tieng Ching, Mui Chiew and Soon Siong found the delectable dishes irresistibly good.

Good things are for sharing - Ing Moi served us with diligence.

It was too good to say "no".

Bean sprouts with egg - I couldn't help to go for second helping.

Pumpkin kueh - a snack you must tru out.

Home-made pizza

Ing Moi sliced it for sharing.

We gathered in the name of our Lord.

The evening was filled with praises to God!

A moment of mingling around.

Leng Kieh gave a harmonica performance.

What else could be more enticing than dipping your fingers into a delectable dish?

We made a wonderful visitation to MAF of Shiuan Daw Methodist Church on March 13 to share with them the love of God. When we set our feet on this trip, we had had much to look forward to.

MAF of Shiuan Daw Methodist Church gathered with a difference this evening. They put their hands together to come out with delights for sharing and called the evening "Culinary Delights". It sounded innovative and attractive.

The fellowship gathering was filled with lots of sharing of God's love, delicacies and culinary skills. One of the highlights of the evening was a demonstration on home-making of pizza by Tie Ing Moi. She gave it away generously - her recipe, live demonstration and contact number. Gee, Ing Moi was so very thoughtful - the phone contact was meant for those who may need someone to turn to when running into hiccups in pizza-making.

"Culinary Delights" came more than just in name - we were treated to delicacies of great taste after the gathering. It was a marvellous time of sampling the tempting dishes and mingling aroud and rubbing shoulders.

Dishes like pig leg soup with dried cuttlefish, pizza and bean sprouts with egg whetted our appetite and filled the air with wow!

The evening simply slipped away amidst praises and laughters. As the saying put it so perfectly right : All good things have to come to an end! Much as we wished to hold back the good moments a little longer, we couldn"t and had to call it a day!