==tulip speaks==

Taking a break from General Election (GE-12), I wanna introduce the new addition to my online store - Austrian Crystal Necklace - Earring sets.
They are made of beautiful shining Austrian Crystal Rhinestone, and
available in three different colors - clear, blue and pink. These are
simple designs which will be ideal for daily use.

Some of the items:

There are only 6 items in this category, and there is only one set available per design. Visit Shopping Paradise now and grab them before they are gone!

For the benefit of my readers / blogmates from overseas,

Malaysia
will be seeing her 12th general election on 8th of March 2008, and the
nomination day for all the candidates were held today. At the national
level, voters elect the 222-member House of Representatives (Malay:
Dewan Rakyat, literally "Hall of the People") of the bicameral
Parliament. Members are elected from single-member constituencies drawn
based on population and the party that has the majority of the House of
Representatives will form the federal government. At the state level,
voters elect representatives to the Dewan Undangan Negeri (State
Legislative Assembly). The number of representatives varies between the
different states.
You may want to read more in  the Wikipedia entry on elections in Malaysia.

For 50 years (since Independence), Malaysia has been ruled by Barisan Nasional
(BN) which was formerly known as Parti Perikatan (Alliance). BN is not
a political party but its own, but a collation formed by a long list of
member parties. The opposition, on the other hand, made of few other
parties such as DAP, PAS and PKR. 

You
may find few General Election related articles in tulipspeaks from now
on. Hopefully it would be a learning experience for everyone,
especially those in other countries.

This
would be one of the best General Election (GE), my constituent
(Puchong) have ever seen. Gobin Singh Deo, son of the mighty Karpal Singh is contesting for Puchong parliamentary seat, while Teresa Kok, the woman who has won my admiration is contesting for Kinrara state seat!

Oh my my.. This would a great battle between the ruling party (ahem.. what else if not BN) and DAP. I think the last strong candidate from DAP stood (and won) in Puchong was V.David.
And now its time for another strong MP and state assemblyman to
represent this constituent. The issues in Puchong are endless, and I
will talk more about it in coming post.

Felt like the week just started and now it’s already Friday! It only
means I got to buck up, start visiting everyone’s bloggie and post a
Nostalgic Friday post.

This whole week has been really busy, and
though I am no longer a fulltime staff in the university, I still find
myself occupied everyday. *sigh… I need a life! Given that my free
time is rather limited, I rarely read any forward e-mails, especially
those with attachments. Unless it comes from special friends, of
course. In one of such e-mail, I found Asin’s
modelling photo, trying her best to pout her lips to look like Angelina
Jolie. For me, its pathetic. Can you just be yourself, Asin?

Okie, stop pouting YOUR lips everyone! It is NOT sexy!!

Meanwhile, listen to the song for this week while planning for a great weekend ahead. See ya all!

Song: Yantra (Theme song)
Movie : Yantra (Malaysian-made)

Since Saturday, I have been answering calls & smses asking the whereabout of Mahen. Mahen, you have to pay me if you want me to be your secretary la :P. Kidding! Kidding! To those who are clueless, it was all about a Rose Rally, which turned ugly in the end.

What is Rose Rally?
It
is suppose to be peaceful rally in which 100 children will hand over
roses to request the Prime Minister of Malaysia to release five (5)
detainees of the HINDRAF, who are currently under Internal Security Act
(A draconian law which allows for indefinite detention without trial).
These five detainees had earlier voiced their concern in the ever
deteriorating state of the Indian minority in Malaysia and in a broader
sense to provide equal platform for all Malaysians for the enhancement
of the society.This peaceful gathering is legal and is in accordance to
Article 10 of the Malaysian Federal Constitution. (More)

The rally was to be held in few cities around the world. So far, Raaja has updated his blog with photos and news of the rally in Los Angles, New York and Malaysia.

Why it turned ugly?
I wasn’t there to comment on it, but for a fair share of news, I took some excerpts from leading media around the world:

Malaysian
police fired tear gas and water cannon to break up a rally on Saturday
by ethnic Indians demanding racial equality ahead of general elections.

Malaysian
police used water cannon and tear gas on Saturday to break up an
anti-government protest by ethnic Indians carrying roses to symbolise a
peaceful demand for justice. With the Malaysian government concerned
about street protests in the run-up to early general elections on March
8, around 100 policemen, including riot police with helmets and
shields, turned out to disperse a gathering of about 300 men, women and
children.

Malaysian
security forces have used tear gas and water cannon to break up a
protest by ethnic Indians in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.More than 20
people taking part in the banned march were detained by police.

Malaysian
police fired tear gas and water cannon to break up an illegal rally
Saturday by ethnic Indians demanding racial equality ahead of general
elections.The group planned to hand roses and a protest note to Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, but police banned the rally citing
national security.

On
Saturday about 300 men, women and children were dispersed by about 100
policemen, including riot police with helmets and shields."Police were
too rough. They used their power," said S Manikavasagam, a spokesman
for the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), the ethnic Indian group
that organised the protest.

More
than 60 people — including two leaders of the Hindu Rights Action
Force, or Hindraf, that organised the protest — have been detained in a
police crackdown since late Friday, said lawyer N Surendran, a Hindraf
member. The group planned to hand roses and a protest note to Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, but police banned the rally citing
national security.

Back to the beginning of the post, what does it have to do with Mahen?
Our darling blogger went to give a rose to the PM as well, and get caught. Mahen, I already told you that day. You might as well give me the rose! But, he looked macho in this picture:

Photo taken by FotoWarung. More photos here and here.

He wrote his experience here and JD, a blogger who went to the rally also wrote his personal experience  here. As for me, Malaysia would be the only country in the history which fired water cannon and tear gas for giving roses.

Yippeee… I got a new blog!! And gals… believe it or not? Its a
shopping blog!! It’s a place where you’ll find shopping tips, latest
fashion news and much more! Plus, you could do your shopping online!!

Naming
the blog was not a difficult task as opposed to setting up the blog
(obviously). For a person like me who often goes for ’shopping
therapy’, such an online shopping blog is a SHOPPING PARADISE. Do you feel the same about my latest blog?

Join me in SHOPPING PARADISE now!

With the launch of this blog, I have fulfilled two of my wishes for the year 2008. 8 more to go!

1. Robbers to be caught
2. A new car
3. New hairstyle
4. Gadgets
5. Lose weight
6. Overseas vacation
7. A new boyfriend
8. PhD
9. A new blog on shopping
10. A brand new self