TIS THE SEASON NOT TO BE IN TOTAL JOLLY

Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eid ul Fitr) is only days away and the heat of last-minute Raya shopping, on top of the annual balik kampung exodus, is immense. Though I would consider myself lucky for being still single and staying with parents (meaning I don't have to be among the thousands who's stranded in a 40-minute/km traffic jam), I still need to join the other folks in a 2-hour per meter standstill in downtown KL for my last-minute shopping.

After 38 years of celebrating Hari Raya, I still find myself devoid of the senses to commit to doing early Raya shopping. I procrastinate a lot I admit that. It's not my habit really but I seem to be dragging my feet when it comes to Raya shopping. I must admit, which I'm sure some would consider me a Raya Grinch, that I hate Raya shopping! I hate the fact that I will be driven to buying new baju kurung which only ends up collecting dust in the closet. And if I go shopping with my mum, I ended up buying more than one baju kurung! It doesn't make it any better when shops seem to think that they can go on and keep fooling their customers with 30% discounts after they had marked-up the prices to more than 50%. And if they're giving away 50% discounts, that would be after they've marked-up the so-called "original" price 70% higher. If this daylight robbery doesn't get you fuming, then I don't know what is.

Therefore, I dedicate this entry for a boutique-bashing spree.

You see, I wasn't born yesterday, and yet some of the boutiques that I had the misfortune at visiting, think that they can fool, whom they think an unsuspecting customer like me, into parting with my hard-earned ringgit on a cheap trashy so-called chiffon kaftan for RM890!!! I remember seeing almost the same exact dress on the Internet for RM180 only! I suppose the boutique owner (who is also an multi-level marketing a.k.a MLM queen) thinks we're all Neanderthals who see the computer as something we chew for breakfast, thereby devoid of outside information. In simpler term, she thinks we're bodoh i.e stupid.

Another boutique closer to my place also thinks they can ride us like asses. A set of baju kurung brought down from Vietnam, which usually priced at RM150 was sold for RM179 after 50% discount. After discount! I mean wtf do these people take us for? If I had came in earlier before the so-called sale period, I would have to fork out RM358. That is if I was stupid enough-lah in the first place as to fall for it. And how do I get to know about the standard price? Well, my sis' neighbour flies to Vietnam more often than she does to the haberdasher nearby. She goes there for the baju kurung, comes back here and sell them, usually not more than RM180 per set. Most of the times, she let us off with 3 instalments. And the baju kurung are mostly akin to the ones, though with different colours and beading design, on the racks in the blood-sucking boutique that I mentioned earlier.

I understand that these boutique owners need to pay the rent. But when I was studying business in UK, we learnt that profits made should hover around 30%. That's the rule. Unless the items on sale are unique or of designer's items, or have a timeless value attached to it, then you're just simply taking a ride on your customers. It's ok if you plan to stay in business for three months but otherwise, stop egging the pudding on the price tags. Customers are not numbskulls. They know when they are being pinched and when they do, no amount of marketing and "discounts" will save your ass.

When I do my Raya shopping, I have to be extra mindful of how much am I willing to part with my money over a nice-looking-but-not-necessarily-worth-it piece of clothing, or any item for that matter. It can be a very stressful chore indeed. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I hate shopping. I love shopping. I heart shopping. I just hate Raya shopping. For the fact that it's usually done during the Ramadan month makes it all the more stressful because I can't rest for tea, which I usually do in between my hopping from one shop to another. But there's no running away from doing it during this time of the season. I still need to do that shopping. And I shall need plenty of physical stamina to wade in the road and human traffic, as well as the mental grit when looking at the price tags.

Leaping out of the "box": Can we do it?

I have stumbled upon a new buzzword: skyboxification. Since I love the way it sounds and feeling an inch cleverer when uttering the word but knows nothing of what it means, I did what other one billion people worldwide would do when they're too lazy to reach for the nearly fossilised dictionary. I Google it.

Skyboxification was coined by Michael Sandel, professor of political philosophy at Harvard, to describe the "physical and social disassociation of the wealthy from traditionally public forums that provided a setting for civil discourse". Quite a mouthful really, yet so relevant. While Sandel would integrate the meaning to the American life's setting, I'd like to apply it closer to home.

Firstly, what the hell is skyboxification?

When Sandel coined the word, he was referring it to luxury boxes at sports arena or stadiums "which cosset the privileged in air-conditioned suites, far removed from the crowd below". He's relating it to how public spaces and amenities are deliberately designed to create societal gap between the rich and the lesser beings.

Skyboxification exists in every part of the world and in every society. While I may not vouch the term to other society in other countries, I'd like to see how far this skyboxification has been practised in this country or where people of different backgrounds and incomes can interact or co-exist.

After learning what it means, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to identify skyboxification. Stadiums and sports arena aside, we can see this at banks too. While there may not be a skybox or a grandstand in banks, they do have VIP room for their platinum guests. One can easily bypass the long queue at the counters if one has the bucks.

In KLCC, there's even a designated premier washroom located on designers items floor where you'll get to pee amidst the tranquilising smell of aromatherapy oils. There are lotions and potions of yummy-smelling stuff for you to lather and spray yourself with, ensuring that you walk out of the loo smelling fresh and not foul. And you'll never be short of toilet paper either, a rarity in other free washrooms. And don't get me started on public toilets!

Sandel, however, did not stop there. He went on to say that we need to apply the bedrock of forming civic discourse, which largely believe to be the foundation of a democratic process. In Malaysia's context, democratic aside, civic discourse is not an impossible feat to achieve. Let's flip our minds to a different side of the coin and we can actually see that we are, somehow, already building that civic discourse, whether we realise it or not.

Malaysia is built on a myriad of cultures and ethnic groups. While there are some rabble rousers (politicians included) go on dividing the people with boorish statements and rude lies, the nation still stands as one. This is already civic discourse in the works. There are endless campaigns shepherding students to be more involved with the community, corporations engaging in civic engagement through their social responsibility programmes, and neighbours indulging in gotong-royong. From these littlest steps that we can start ambling our way into integrating Sandel's skyboxification into Malaysian life.

He suggested that we start with forming public amenities where all level of men and women, the young and the old can integrate and co-exist. Public libraries, eateries, recreational centre, gyms, playgrounds, parks and health clinics. To build a pluralistic society is paramount because without it, we lose the essence of education and democracy: the power of free expression.

IFTAR WITH CHEF WAN

We didn't know we had it in us.

Being the committee members for the Berbuka Puasa with Datuk Chef Wan event held at Westin KL last Saturday, we initially thought it was just going to be another private small gathering with Datuk Chef Wan (DCW), just like the first one we had when we organised a private luncheon with DCW with some of his Facebook fans on February at Sheraton Imperial.

But we later found out that it turned out to be almost just the opposite.

DCW wanted to make a donation to any deserving orphanage during the Ramadan month. That was the message and that was the plan. So, we thought a nice berbuka puasa gathering would be pleasant. Not wanting to waste any time, our chief organisers, Cempaka Sari and Shaik, started to put things in perspective.

From groundwork had turned into a grinding work. DCW, and we all couldn't agree more, wanted to make donations to a truly deserving orphanage, one that has slipped the eyes of the community, or better yet, the yang berhormats. He didn't want to give to a decorated orphanage. The government and pow-wow organisations already got them covered. Shaik then stumbled upon Pusat Jagaan Rumah Kesayangan in PJ where he thinks fits the bill of a needy orphanage.

Then, came the dealing with the hotel over the banquet room and the banquet itself. Ms Sherlyn of Westin was as accommodating and attentive as she is cute. Very comel! (Pictured here is moi and Cempaka in a meeting over lunch with Ms Sherlyn). Her professionalism (and of course, the imposing Westin fee) made the arrangements breezier. Breezier than getting the pax in.

You see, we decided to sell tickets at RM320 for Platinum table and RM190 for Silver. There should be a Gold table in between but we decided to scrap it because we realised that people either go for the Platinum or the Silver. The price includes a free DCW recipe booklet for Silver guests while the Platinum will get DCW's latest hardcover cookbook worth RM100++ (Pictured left). It was hard selling the seats initially, some got turned off by the price methinks. As DCW wanted it to be a private affair, we only advertised the event via Facebook. We got hundreds of "Attending" but almost half actually made it to paying.

Then came the pooling of sponsors. It was a toughie in the first place but once people found out that DCW was a part of it, things started pouring in. DCW was our leverage, our selling point. And sooner, we got Ayamas to sponsor the goodie bags. So did Felda, Legend Hotel and few others. Even us, some of the committee members chipped in for the kids' goodie bags and clearly realising now that it's so much fun giving than it is taking.

And Shaik, well, he had turned on his charm on a very influential woman (not to be named here) to donate a bomb to Rumah Kesayangan. Not only this generous lady sent packets and packets of rice, milo, cooking oil and what not directly to the orphanage, she also contributed baskets of goodies, toys and stuff for each and every kid during the event. God bless her kind soul.

Just days before the event, we were suddenly bombarded with people wanting to buy seats, despite the fact that we only had few left. Westin only managed to give us a smaller room and not the ballroom as we had wanted. With a stage for DCW to conduct the cooking demo and an extra space for his tablesetting workshop, we could only fit 9 banquet tables the most. Though it was tempting to take in more people, we half-heartedly had to decline. We shall not be too greedy about it as there's always next year.

The event day started pretty calm and smoothly, the committee members came right on time as well as the goodie bags from Ayamas. But halfway through the afternoon, it turned rather peckish.

Guests failed to arrive on time, possibly because of the horrendous Saturday pre-Raya traffic, and to make matters worse, it rained real hard. A good combo to raise all hell on the road. There is only one sure thing that can stop traffic in downtown KL, and it's not Siti Nurhaliza. All KayAliens know that when it pours in KL, especially on a weekend, cars either go on a standstill or go into each other. And when that happens, you can even knit a sweater behind the wheel before you finally reach your destination, hopefully with enough sanity to last through the littlest hours left of the day.

Chef himself was very late indeed but his is a different case. The man just touched down from Hong Kong earlier that afternoon. As a result, we had to make drastic changes to the plans. We had to shift the book signing session after breaking fast, and that could only mean on thing. DCW had to cut his mealtime shorter to accommodate the signing session. Oy.

And oh, did I mentioned that the event was from 3pm to 10pm?

What we thought was to become a catastrophe, had only been a mere hiccup. The moment DCW arrived, we were on overdrive. Guests started to breathe life again and I miraculously cheated hyperventilating.

DCW, knowing all to well how late he was, didn't fumble. He never was I suppose. He doesn't look like the person who would fumble when arriving late. He was calm and glowing and did not show a single dark circle. In the holding room, he was apologetic and was telling us about how he had to rush to Bangsar to have his hair washed, while I was busy admiring his skin and feeling a tad jealous. DCW, despite his salt n' pepper hair, he seemed to be defying age.

While not wasting precious time away, DCW breezed into the banquet room and took the floor by storm! DCW never fails when it comes to entertaining his audience. No one dared to question their money spent when it involves DCW. His cooking prowess charmed with his amazing oratory skills made it all worthwile. His energy was contagious, cleverly injecting life into guests who had entirely forgot about the hours of waiting with not a single drop of water to quench their thirst (remember its Ramadan) or to drain the time away.

DCW was as fresh as spring and vivacious as always. He knows when to get real personal with his audiences and he does it so animatedly that one can never take it to the heart other than laugh it off so hard that one's teeth can fall out. And for us to be able to organise an event with him and meet and talk with him on a casual basis was a privilege indeed. As for me, who had emceed two events with DCW, it was probably the breeziest emceeing task I had ever conducted. No need for stiff formal words and toeing my line ever so carefully. DCW brings and aura of simpleness and laid-back mood to an event. No need for breaking-of-ice session as it was never icy when DCW is in the picture. It was always warm and bubbly and fun. (Pictured left: Note how the girls all looked up at DCW. They must've been so amused by him and probably wondered, "hmm...pakcik ni macam penah nampak la... kat mana ek?")

The kids from Rumah Kesayangan, all 32 of them and two guardians, arrived slightly later in the evening and boy, they were beautiful kids. Obedient, cultured and simply adorable. They took their seats quietly and enjoyed the rest of the evening filled with fun, food and fares.

And that was how the whole event turned out to be.

Despite the rain that delayed some of the arrivals, despite the minor glitches that almost turned Cempaka into a lion, despite my bloody shoes gave me bunions overnight, and despite all odds, we made it! It may not be an event of the century, but it was fulfilling as it was successful.

Successful because the guests stuck with us from noon to night. Successful because the kids from Rumah Kesayangan had a rewarding and an enjoyable experience. Successful because sponsors came pouring in more than we ever expected. Successful because it brought us committee members closer than ever. But most of all...

Successful because the event alone had raised RM33,000 not including toys and other donations in kinds!


While we thank everyone for the brilliant success of the Berbuka Puasa with Chef Wan event, it Datuk Chef Wan himself that we truly owe our gratitude and humbleness because the event wouldnt be an event if it wasn't for him. He was responsible for luring in the sponsors and brought some of his generous friends.
It's a delightful feeling indeed that we had shared in bringing some light to the kids and guardians at Rumah Kesayangan. Hopefully, this event will be the start of all things beautiful and brings out the spirit of giving.

If I may, this was taken from DCW Facebook wall post on Sunday:

"Alhamdulilah Thanks to Cempaka,Shaik as well as the entire team for assisting me to raised the fund for the kids at the Westin Hotel yesterday afternoon straight from arriving dari Hongkong.We managed to raised Rm33,000.00 plus alot of food stuff as well as toys for the kids and once again thank u to all the generous sponsors and the organising team.Jangan serik tahun depan kita mesti buat lagi ok!God bless u all.Amin."

To the committee members - Cempaka Sari, Shaik Firdaus, Shahimah (yours truly), Mastura, Lufia, Bokhari a.k.a. Bobo, Karma Yusof, and Shaik's Angels - I think we truly deserve a nice pat on our backs! Jom, celebrate!

For infor on Pusat Jagaan Rumah Kesayangan, browse http://pusatjagaanyatim.blogspot.com/2010/03/pusat-jagaan-rumah-kesayangan.html