OF A KELANTANESE, A SRI LANKAN, A MOROCCAN, A MALAYSIAN WHO NEVER LEFT UK AND CHEF WAN

It had just been reported to me yesterday that Chef Wan is in London for some TV show and interviews with a few magazines. And of course a few non-profit organizations will seize this opportunity to haul him for some cooking demonstration in the pretext of charity drive.

One confusion yesterday will definitely made his day. The organizer, a Kelantanese lady requested for a transport for Chef Wan from his rented apartment to the location. The request was made to a Sri Lankan supervisor who is in charge of transport arrangements.

Her request sound like this "Karunanithi please send a driver to pick the CEH".

The Sri Lankan then called the drivers room and a driver "Mohammed please go to this address, go to apartment 24 and collect a CHEAR".

The driver then asked "How many chairs". The supervisor said "Only one". The driver responded "I need a messenger to come with me because there is no parking at that address. I cannot leave the car. The messenger can go up the apartment a collect the chair"

The supervisor said "Bring Mat Salleh then". Mat Salleh is a Malaysian, born in the the UK and cannot speak even a word in Bahasa.

So both of them left for the address. When they arrived Mat Salleh went into the building, passing Chef Wan who was standing there and rang the apartment.

"I lived here" said Chef Wan. "Oh hello" said Mat Salleh, "I am here to collect the chair".

"It the chef, not a chair" said Chef Wan, "and I am the Chef". "No" said Mat Salleh, "I suppose to collect a chair".

By now Chef Wan had heated up. Not only they were late, now they want to carry him as a chair to the car.

Mat Salleh called the Sri Lankan supervisor informing that there was no chair there, but an angry-looking guy who kept on repeating that he is the chef. The supervisor then called the lady Kelantanese organizer for clarification only to find out that it was actually a chef to be picked up, not a chair.

On his way to the location, Chef Wan grumbled in his usual Cik Kiah style while both the Moroccan and Malaysian just kept silence.

He will probably tell this tale in one of his show later, I guarantee......

THE MALAYSIAN CURRENCY CRISIS, HOW AND WHY IT HAPPENED - A SUGGESTED READING

Well,well. Do you think that I am going to suggest a newly published book to read? Maybe later, but this time I would like to suggest you to read The Malaysian Currency Crisis by the former Malaysian PM.

For those who have not read this book, I suggest you to go and get one. It explains what is the Asian Currency Crisis 1997-1998 all about and how wrong the decisions made by the former DPM cum Finance Minister which almost brought us to total collapse.

Ironically I haven't heard a single refute from the former DPM nor his famous threat to bring the former PM to court on the issues raised in the book. Or probably there were that missed my attention. Or there were none to bring the whole truth from his viewpoint.

I finished reading the Malaysian Currency Crisis in one day (it is a small thin book anyway). I had read this book afew times over and over again.

I had also read Anwar Ibrahim's Asian Renaissance. I read up to 6 pages, closed the book and kept it in my bookshelf until today. Never open it again.

The self-proclaimed Renaissance Man just couldn't come close to the stature of the Grand Old Man or a Statesman to be exact.

... AND HERE IT IS, ANOTHER SUB-PRIME CRISIS

Right after the rattle of sub-prime mortgage crisis seems to subside, another sub-prime menace is already here, waiting for us in the horizon. This time a much bigger sub-prime crisis, the credit cards debts estimated at US$915 billions. We will have to accept it now that the US is heavily indebted. The Americans are living their 'American Dreams' on the borrowed money. Unlike the Euros, the US dollar is not back-up by gold reserves. It is back-up by the words 'In God We Trust'. It is a matter of time the crisis in the US would burst wide open. When thats happen, we will go down the drain with them.

On top of that, the petrol price is keep on rising, as a result of weak US Dollars. Petrol price is quoted in US Dollars in the world market and if you remember Dr. Mahathir had many times suggested for petrol to be traded in the Euros, a suggestion that fell into deaf ears. Now we are paying for the price.

I filled up my car this morning and got shocked that the price today is £1.01 (around RM7.00) per litre. It was £0.69 when I arrived in the UK. A more than 40% increase. So brace yourself for an evitable rise of gasoline price in Malaysia, which is happening very soon or latest right after the anticipated General Election.