It was a hot day here in Melaka yesterday. Fortunately the enervating heat didn't deter Noi and her many accomplices from ensuring the kenduri went well, with everyone more than amply provided for.
Having surfeited during the day, Hamzah and I took ourselves off in the late evening for a quiet cup of coffee at the White Coffee place near Cheng, where we found ourselves contemplating the futures of our different nations through, I think it would be fair to say, fairly jaundiced eyes. To be specific, Hamzah believes, as do a lot of folk in these parts, that Malaysia faces something of a watershed moment in the election due on 9 May. I suspect he doesn't really believe the nation will choose the path he thinks is best come the event, engendering a mild despair: We old men can just go fishing and drink teh tarik together, being the best he could think of as a remedy.
The most visible sign of election fever here manifests itself in the form of flags representing the various parties involved which have sprung up everywhere. These, by the way, are likely to be left behind as litter when it's all over, adding to the nation's ills. At least, that's Noi's prediction.
On my side, I think my recounting of the events that led to Brexit served to make Hamzah a little more cheerful about the likely election result. To realise that the March of Folly extends beyond one's own nation is oddly comforting. But contemplating the real possibility of something beyond temporary decline that stretches into outright catastrophe is unsettling, even over a friendly coffee.
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