THE PASSING OF A NATION'S (EX)LEADER



It's official. Finally. Boris Yeltsin passed away. Here is one country's ex-leader who has always intrigued me... one whom i've always heard and read about in the news during his tenure in office, during my childhood.

i've always wondered, what made him so great? what made him so famous? and during that time, i have no idea, rather than knowing that he is (or was) a the Premier of a great country called Russia that is THE arch-rival to the US. and hey, China is still the Sleeping Dragon then.

after some time, he vanished from the news, and for all i know, Rusia was then lead by a guy named Vladimir Putin (kinda reminds me to Rasputin "who made love to the Russian Queen" from BoneyM's song) and then for the past few years, nobody really cared or know what he (Yeltsin) did or do. Nothing.

And now he just died, all news about him came back into the limelight. All his deeds, good or bad, are being scrutinised under spotlight again... praise... curse... all are heaps at one go. But no matter wat was printed, he's gone.

and i wont be surprised that the same thing will happen in our country, speaking of which, the recently-retired ex-PM of Malaysia comes to mind.



yah, it used to so many things about him when he's still in office, one would've thought that he'll just slip away into the shadows, never to be mentioned again till the news of his passing away comes up in future. But no... he couldnt just sit down quietly. and with his ongoing tirades of the current governmant, i wouldnt be surprised that he'll still be appearing in the news till his death bed. not quite Yeltsin-like, i suppose?

anyhow, one thing that is for sure is that he will be praised (and cursed) after his death. all his deeds will be dug back out from the newsroom archives and be printed on the front pages of all newspapers in malaysia.

once again, a former leader gets his last limelight before he is forgotten by the generations after...

OK guys... time for another update...

Just have to post it here that my maternal grandmother, ah poh, passed away at 4+pm, Friday 30th April 2007. Here's a report abput it.

Actually we've expect it coming... it's been quite some time since she's diagnosed with end-stage lung cancer (due to heavy smoking during her younger days, picked up that habit when she worked in some tobacco factory...) and she's been so strong she had exceeded doctor's estimation of her life left... anyway, her passing is not something to be sad about. at least she no longer have to suffer the recurring pain and also good for us the younger generation to move on with life.

So on friday nite we straight go back to puchong for the wake. the funeral service goes for three days and buried on Monday. Pls be informed that below are photos that may offend certain ppl, but if u insist on keep on reading, then pls do it with an open mind.



FYI, The funeral service are purely and strictly a Taoist service (HUGE majority of chinese's belief are Taoism-lah!) and not a Buddhist one.



The burning of paper offerings... was told that we have to keep it burning the whole nite and should not be stopped. as to the reason why, i was told that these paper "gold" were burnt to bribe those wandering and lost souls (ghost or ghouls) from disturbing ah poh's path to afterlife. true or not, i dono... never been there to see it myself anyway. Maybe if i ever go there, i'll come back and post it up here to let u know.



Anyway i didnt stay to burn the papers. went to cousin sister's house to sleep the night instead... return the next day (Saturday) to prepare for the funeral service, featuring chantings and prayers by Taoist masters.




Having lunch. Meals are scrumptious and comes in big portions. All are spent on ah poh's tab. Khaw Fu (mom's brother in Cantonese) didn't wan to keep ah poh's money. whatever money ah poh left (quite a huge amount i heard...) were used for the funeral, prayers, burial plot, Taoist master's fee and food for friends and family!



That's khaw fu (uncle) in the middle with his grandson.



My father, Ee Cheong (mom's elder sister's husband) Uncle Foon, and his son my cousin John who's just 1 month younger than me. This guy's an engineeer in Penang.



folding of paper gold currency which will be burnt for ah poh's afterlife spending...



I'm the King of My Castle!!! - Fooling around with the paper gold origami, which looks like a small crown anyway... and oh, hey, that's the castle in the background!



the service is starting...



the guy holding that stick? that's another cousin brother, whom i have never seen for more than a decade! and the big guy beside him? that's his father, a man whom i should call as tai khaw fu (elder brother of khaw fu). but anyway due to some sibling squabbles decades ago, their relationship has soured. it's adult's matters anyway so it's none of my business. He's just here simply to act filial.



Prayers to the Lords and Judges of Hades, pleading for mercy, leniency and a smooth passage to afterlife for ah poh. hmm... so that was all for Saturday nite. The same process was repeated on Sunday nite, except with addition for one thing...



Burning of all the offerings!!!! which includes... a big paper mansion, a paper Mercedes with a driver named "ahmad", 2 paper servants, and one HUGE stash of paper "loot"!




Guess what? a band came and played for the funeral service prior to setting out for burial. I've recorded one sound clip, will post it up next time.



Tan Sri, Tun, Dato Seri and Dato' of the day! - nah... they're son-in-laws of ah poh la...


I used to listen to this riddle. one guy survived a terrible car accident where his car was a total wreck. however 2 chickens died. WHY?

The same happened here. my ah poh passed away, and 2 pigs died as well. WHY?










They're slaughtered to be Roasted Pork as offerings!!!








ok, time to move! we walked a round the kampung and then to the burial grounds which is just 500 metres from ah poh's house.



when we reach the burial grounds, we have to first pay respect to the "Guardian"...

and eating those roasted pork while waiting for the casket to be lowered into the hole...







ok, it's in the hole now, while...



They're still playing on!!! talk about profesionalism...




Final prayers by the Taoist master.

and final respect by the next generations.


Final resting place. Goodbye and RIP ah poh!!! (u'll always be remembered in my mind.) A proper grave complete with statues and picture will be built soon.


So that is all for now. Keep watch for another update soon!