Category: Life

The bitter truth about marriage registration

It is damn tedious-loh. In my defence, it was because we were looking forward to have the officiation at my house. However, here’s what happened in summary.

Rewind few weeks back

Spoke to my friend who’s a wedding planner and she shared with me that the couples would have to observe the registered address in their IC. Because if your address states you’re from Seremban and you’re marrying a person from Selangor, you’ll have to file an application for marriage in BOTH STATES – Seremban and PJ! Just in case someone in your hometown decides to object to your marriage. We’re both from the same region. *phew*

In addition, I also asked my friend about getting the registration done at my house. So she explained I needed to speak to the JPN’s registrar about it. Because some JPN officers don’t perform out-calls. Then, she suggested we try asking JPN Shah Alam. So we did.

However, this was when it started getting messy. The registrar there only does out-calls on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. We needed a Friday out of feng shui reasons. So, lady at the counter advised us about JPN Putrajaya as she knows they do Fridays. That let me have some relief.

But after calling up JPN Putrajaya, they only make out-calls within Putrajaya – I stay in PJ. *faint*

This was when after speaking to my Dad, he said we should drop by Thean Hou Gong temple – so we did. The lady over the counter explained their process very quickly and handed me a printed guide of what needed to be prepared. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t very clear to me despite her saying “sumpah sumpah”. Plus, my Mandarin is below basic so I couldn’t converse with her or the other staff.

Timing is everything

Remember I said we wanted to register on Friday for feng shui reasons. Well, we were also looking at the time between 11am and 1pm. This kinda complicated things a little even at Thean Hou Gong temple. Because they follow time slots that are allocated to couples apply in the order. Meaning you couldn’t really choose the time you wanted. Geez!

Fast forward to today

We decided to sort out this registration thing. In the morning, we went to go see a Commissioner of Oaths for a signature and stamp. Seriously, I believe this is the easiest money for lawyers. No need to check anything, just ask the couple to put in name and signatory, then the person signs. Done.

After that, we left for Thean Hou Gong temple. When we reached the parking lot, I forgot to bring copies of my witnesses’ IC. *slaps forehead* Hence, we went back to get it.

After waiting a few minutes as there wasn’t really a queue, we sat down and I took out the JPN form for the lady at the counter thinking we were all good. Until she explained to us that we needed to have JPN stamp the form as well. This was the “JPN verification” process in their printed guide. *stone face* *slaps forehead* So yes, we had to travel to JPN in PJ and get it stamped.

Back to Thean Hou Gong we went – again. This time, it was pouring so poor Ariel was swimming in her flats.

Splish splash splish splash

Thankfully, we now had all documents in order, paid RM80 and got the date we wanted. Just that, I pray we get the time we want and they won’t be stubborn about it.

In conclusion:

  • We went to Commissioner of Oath – paid RM8.
  • We went to Thean Hou Gong temple – 3 times then paid RM80.
  • We went to JPN PJ to get application stamped – paid RM20.
  • Travelling time between destinations back and fourth, approximately 3-4 hours.

Ain’t this the bitter truth. So make sure you’ve all your sh*t together if you’re not doing the officiation at the JPN office.

Two sides to every coin, even Bersih 3.0

So I didn’t get tear gassed and I wasn’t covered with chemical laced water by the cannons fired by the FRU. However, I did follow the updates closely of my friends who took part in the rally today. Here are some of the notable pictures by Malaysians who courageously took part in this campaign. You know who you are, leave a comment if you took the original photo.

#1 Razor wire all setup
#2 Malaysians are not weak
#3 Malaysians came
#4 Malaysians conquered - that's 1 street by the way
#5 Malaysians even came prepared

The extended Bersih 3.0 activity

#6 Leave goodwill messages

One Malaysian tweeted that there’s a goodwill tree for people to leave a message on and it was said that it’s allowed to be displayed until the upcoming general election. The truth in this is unconfirmed for me.

#7 Go go yellow ranger
#8 Bersih 3.0 Ipoh
#9 Bersih 3.0 Johor

In addition, there were Bersih 3.0 gatherings in other states like Penang and Melaka. Also, I’m pretty sure there may be much smaller groups who supported this in their own states but may not have added a photo to the #bersih hashtag via Twitter. Nonetheless, you’re still part of this movement already.

#10 Bersih 3.0 Japan
#11 Bersih 3.0 Hong Kong
#12 Bersih 3.0 Shanghai
#13 Bersih 3.0 Mekah

Besides that, Bersih 3.0 rallies were taking place in other parts of the world like Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland to name a few, by the Malaysians residing in those countries.

We’ve still a long way to go

It’s only fair to talk about the other side of the coin as well. Here were some of the things which happened.

#14 Habit of throwing stuff conveniently
#15 Why couldn't we do it the right way in KL
#16 Just because you can doesn't mean you're suppose to do it

The worst event of Bersih 3.0 – police car incident

I had friends say their eyes hurt due to the tear gas and some which said they were having a skin reaction to the chemical laced water. However, my dear Malaysians, this was suppose to be a peaceful rally. Whether or not you were influenced by the forces to behave otherwise, I hope you reflect on your actions for it.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ara569Nh_U0]

I was very surprised to find news that Malaysians overturned a police car. My heart gave the full benefit of the doubt that we won’t be behave as such cavemen. However, watching the first 15 seconds into the video proved me otherwise.

From such a situation, it led to a more worst scene. The police car had reportedly run into some Malaysians. Some say it resulted in a fatality. Watch closely 35 seconds into the video below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0TnNtzIhTw]

Some Malaysians jumped right in to control the crowd frenzy happening. The priority was to help casualties of the collision. This resulted in the overturn police car as some Malaysians believed there may have been a person trapped beneath the car.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZmS2AczePY]

Based on the videos I’ve watched, there are 2 sides of the coin to be blamed. Whether it was only caused by 1, can and will only be proved when there’s proof of it. Until then, we can’t ignore the fact that we lost a fellow Malaysian here.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xh52zernUM]

This video close up revealed the beating and damage taken to the police car, which shouldn’t have happened. But it also shows our justice to beat down those who were wrong for their actions. And, it shows our compassion as Malaysians (even in a rally) that we love our own and we know when we need to protect and rescue them from harms way.

To all the Malaysians who took part in Bersih 3.0, I thank you for carving a hole of light for our future. We know when we have to stand and we know when action will be necessary.

*salute*

Yellow yellow Bersih 3.0 fellow

Tomorrow’s going to be a day to follow on Twitter and Facebook. It’s the 3rd instalment of the Bersih rally by Malaysians who are, I wouldn’t say protesting, but creating the awareness that they wish to have an improved electoral system. One that’s cleaner and fairer.

The previous Bersih 2.0 rally, where more than 10,000 people walked the streets in Kuala Lumpur was about these 8 points:

  1. Clean the electoral roll
  2. Reform postal ballot
  3. Use of indelible ink
  4. Minimum 21 days campaign period
  5. Free and fair access to media
  6. Strengthen public institutions
  7. Stop corruption
  8. Stop dirty politics

Following the updates of friends who participated in the rally and those who updated their Twitter, some people got hurt, someone died and never did anything about it, tear gas filled the air and water cannons were fired.

The Bersih 3.0 sit-in rally happening tomorrow at Dataran Merdeka is calling for:

  1. The Election Commission must resign, as it has failed in its responsibility and has lost the confidence of the public.
  2. The electoral process must be cleaned before the 13th General Elections.
  3. Invite international observers to observe the 13th General Elections.

The authorities (municipal and police) have taken action to blockade the area of Dataran Merdeka to prevent a scene. However, reading the updates online, it looks like the rally will definitely still be happening.

Call me a coward or un-Malaysian, I may not be sitting down with you, though I still carry concerns close to my heart that everyone participating be safe.

And to the other side, do not overcomplicate a matter which was meant to be peaceful. You can do something better than what happened at Bersih 2.0 about it.

Everyone needs to look into the mirror sometimes.

BE A MAN Russell Peters

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qtrAMK7_Qk]

I was introduced to the comedian by my group of friends. Oblivious to his existence, I never knew Russell Peters until I saw that video and it just stuck. Be a man.

Other than that video, his other memorable line would the $34.50. Russell was impersonating how when you buy stuff, you’ll get a hard time bargaining with a Chinese stall owner. My, ain’t it true. LOL! 😛

Sure sell out

So, little I’ve to say as you may have heard, his show has been sold out in Malaysia since the ticketing started today. Event company websites like TicketPro Malaysia and AirAsia RedTix had a very hard time coping with the influx of traffic of customers waiting to buy tickets to the one-time show on May 12.

Cue awkward silence

I opted to purchase my tickets from TicketPro because they gave me the better impression of an events company that I could rely on. However, I guess sometimes they doubt how well their website would hold up to a super surge of traffic. And I could see all the frustration vented on their Facebook page at the time. To make matters worst…

What...the...fuck...

After waiting for more than 10 minutes (some say they waited 2 hours), I was unlucky to come across this message. Hence, all I could do was wait – again.

Thankfully, an almighty power of the universe, may be God, got me to the purchasing page for my tickets after that. Without hesitation, I put down my order of tickets and paid for them. Hoorah, the war had been won!

What do you mean retractable?

We’ll be seated at the East area and really, what do you mean retractable? My Dad joked that maybe the seats will move like we’re on some motion master ride. *slaps forehead*

I’m really looking forward to this international act and I’m very curious as to what jokes will Russell pull out for us Malaysians. 🙂

The Cheng Beng tradition

The only meaning I know about the Cheng Beng or Ching Ming or Qingming tradition is the season which we dub as the hungry ghost festival. It’s a little weird sounding when you think that it’s also the time when families visit their ancestor’s grave to pay respects. Or, I guess it’s a literal manner to describe the activities of offering food in front of their graves.

So anyway, I thought of writing this to keep a rough note for myself to remember what’s needed to be done when I’ve to do this in the future.

According to my Mum, you can walk into one of the stores who sell traditional prayer stuff and just tell them you need stuff for hungry ghost festival. Besides incense and candles, I only know the treasure box with paper crafts and paper money. Not sure what you call the rest. So the good thing, based on what my Mum said is they now have packages for you.

Just need to tell the person you’re praying at the temple and whether your relative has a tombstone grave or it’s part of the ‘villa’ (not sure what’s it called). When I asked my Mum the difference, she was saying the tombstones normally have a ‘gate keeper’ accompanying the grave.

Alright. Once all stuff was prepared, we did the prayers at the temple first. Food offering was placed on a table, while we had to light some candles and incense to be placed at the God of Wealth (Tai Pak Kong). After that, we lit more candles and incense to be placed at the God of Protection (Lo Tok Kong). Though this year, we also had a tiny bowl looking incense to light and placed on top of what had 4-digit numbers. *shrug* Then, there were 2 stacks of paper offerings to burn.

We later sat around for awhile before picking up the food offering we left on the table to head down to the ‘villa’ to pay respects to my Mama (grandmother).

A table was set up and we placed 6 small cups (3 with tea and 3 with rice wine) with chopsticks. At the same time, putting our food offering on plates. We had a steamed chicken, roast pork, oranges, apples, kuih and pau. Then lighting more candles and incense to pray to my grandmother. Followed with putting incense in nearby pots as paying respect to her ‘neighbours’.

Now, family members normally will be chatting to allow eating time for the deceased. There’s no set time when the meal is done. So what we do is take 2 coins and ask the question, “are you done eating?” then tossing it with both hands. If the coin faces are opposite one another, it apparently signifies a positive yes.

Then we’ll continue the ritual of burning more paper money and the treasure box with all kinds of goodies inside from clothes, mobile phones, iPads, watches, shoes and more. Once the burning is complete, it’s time to wrap up and we’re done.