Starting a mud crab hatchery

by Junelyn S. de la Rosa

Today, more and more farmers are going into mud crab farming. Studies have shown that mud crab farming is a very lucrative business with a 1.54 return on investment in only 60 days. Scientists from the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV) have prepared a guide in starting a mud crab hatchery.

Mud crab species:
There are four kinds of mud crabs in the Philippines: the king crab (Scylla serrata), the purple crab (S. tranquebarica), the orange or red crab (S. olivacea), and the rare green mud crab (S. paramamosain). Among the mud crabs, the king crab is the most popular for its fast growth and flavor and is called an "export winner" for its high demand in the international market.

Hatchery/nursery facilities
Tanks for broodstock maturation, rearing, spawning, nursing, and for holding water should be constructed. They can be made of concrete, fiberglass or wood with dimensions of 0.5 to 1 cubic meter. The number of tanks should depend on the number of larvae and crablets that you are planning to produce.

Food production
Mud crabs feed on phytoplankton and zooplankton. Thus, in any hatchery one must learn how to culture phytoplankton to ensure that there is enough food for the mud crab juveniles. The first step to phytoplankton culture is obtaining an algal starter from laboratories or institutions that are selling them.

Chlorella, Nannochloropsis, and Tetraselmis are the common algae. You can start culturing them in one-liter capacity bottles. When the phytoplankton has bloomed and the density is 3 to 5 x 105 cells/ml, transfer them to ten-liter carboys. Upon reaching the same density, they should be transferred to a 0.5 to 1 ton- tanks where they will be allowed to bloom more.

In culturing phytoplankton, maintain the water temperature from 20-25 °C for indoor culture and provide good aeration to give enough supply of carbon needed for plant growth. And use boiled or filtered seawater with a salinity of 25-30 ppt for the culture and sterilize all the containers before use.

Also, for bigger culture, use urea (21-0-0) and ammonium phosphate (16-20-0) to supply the essential nutrients needed by the algae.

Broodstock management and spawning
The major source of broodstock is the wild-caught post juveniles or half-grown crabs while adult or berried female crabs are used as spawners. A minimum weight of 200 to 300 grams for broodstock and 450 grams for spawners are desired.

The king crab is sexually matured when the width of its carapace reaches 14 cm and it weighs 450 grams while the other mud crabs can spawn even if its carapace is still below 10 cm and weigh 300 grams.

As soon as the broodstocks and spawners of the king crab arrive at the hatchery- they place them in the tanks at 300 spawners per tank and 1000 broodstocks per tank with a 10 cm sand substrate at the bottom. Feed them daily with mussel meat (Perna viridis) at 5% to 10% of their biomass. Change the water (at least 30%), scrub the sides of the tank and remove excess feed daily.

Mud crabs become mature and mate when they are 4 months old. In ponds or tanks, male and female crabs clasp for 5 to 7 days to fertilize the eggs.

There are two methods of spawning: the natural and the induced. In the natural method, the mud crab is left in the tanks until they become sexually mature and spawn. For induced spawning, the most common method used is ablation where one (unilateral ablation) or both (bilateral ablation) of the mud crab's eye stalks are crushed or cut to induce spawning 7-13 days after fertilization.

The advantage of unilateral ablation is that the mud crab can spawn again while in bilateral ablation the mud crab dies after hatching the eggs. In both cases, observe the mud crabs closely until the eggs fill the abdominal flap.

Since ablation increases the appetite of the mud crabs, feed the mud crabs more until the eggs are hatched. Incubation ranges from 7 to 13 days. At this time, the berried (pregnant) crabs should be transferred to another tank without the substrate. Expect the eggs to hatch when the eggs turn from light orange to dark grey.After the eggs are hatched, transfer the larvae into the large tanks filled with 5-10 tons of filtered seawater with 34 ppt salinity. Add algae and rotifer at a rate of 5 x 10 (3) cells per cubic meter and 25 ind/ml, respectively. Yeast-grown rotifer may also be added at 5 ind/ml. Give supplemental diet of 6 grams/ton/day and feed them at 6AM, 12 NN, 6 PM and 12 MN.

Rearing of larvae in nursery
Line the nursery tanks with soil (10 cm thick) inoculated with lab-lab. For large tanks, line them with mud substrate that has been seeded with lab-lab. Apply lime and chicken manure at 2 kg/ 10-ton tank and ammonium phosphate at 500 grams per tank. After fertilization, transfer the megalopae at a density of 20,000 to 30,000 per cubic meter. Apply organic fertilizer to encourage the lab-lab to bloom.For those using hapa nets as nurseries, use hapa nets with a mesh size of 1 mm and a dimension of 1m x 1 mx 1.5 m. Install the nets in a canvass-lined earthen pond. Line the hapa net bottom with 3-5 cm thick mud substrate. Apply chicken manure and inorganic fertilizer (16-20-0) at a rate of 20 g to 500 g /cubic meter. Fill the pond with water until a depth of 20 cm to promote growth of microbenthic algae that will serve as food for the larvae. Other organisms such as bloodworms, oligochaetes could also serve as food for the larvae. Harvest by totally draining the pond.

A Nice Lesson..!

Once a boy went to a shop with his mother. The shop keeper looked at the small cute child and showed him a bottle with sweets and said ‘Dear Child..u can take the sweets…

But the child didn’t take. The shop keeper was surprised, such a small child he is and why is he not taking the sweets from the bottle. Again he said take the sweets….

Now the mother also heard that and said.. “take the sweets dear..” Yet he didn’t take… The shopkeeper seeing the child not taking the sweets… he himself took the sweets and gave to the child. The child was happy to get two hands full of sweets.

While returning home the Mother asked the child… Why didn’t you take the sweets, when the shop keeper told you to take?..

Can you guess the response: Child replies… Mom! my hands are very small and if i take the sweets i can only take few.. but now you see when uncle gave with his big hands…. how many more sweets i got!

Moral: When we take we may get little but when God gives… HE gives us more beyond our expectations… more than what we can hold..!!

The Christian Bear

Bear An atheist was taking a walk through the woods “What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!” he said to himself. As he continued walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes. Turning to look, he saw a 7 foot grizzly charging towards him.
He ran as fast as he could up the path. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the bear was closing in on him. His heart was pumping frantically and he tried to run even faster.

He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear raising his paw to take a swipe at him. At that instant the atheist cried out: “Oh my God…”

Time stopped.

The bear froze.

The forest was silent.

It was then that a bright light shone down upon the man and a voice came out of the sky saying: “You deny my existence for all of these years, teach others I don’t exist, and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?”

The atheist looked directly into the light, “It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps, could you make the bear a Christian?”

“Very well,” said the voice.

The light went out.

And the sounds of the forest resumed.

Then the bear lowered his paw, bowed his head and spoke: “Lord, bless this food which I am about to receive and for which I am truly thankful. Amen.”

From the Horse mouth

Dato Seri Nizar:

" Kampung Baru paling ramai penduduk di Malaysia adalah di Perak. Ia didirikan di zaman darurat di mana kerajaan ketika itu membawa kaum Cina ke kampung baru bagi mencegah anasir komunis.

Ada 134 kampung bru yang melibatkan 65k keluarga. Dalam Kanun Tanah Negara Kampung Baru sudah tidak boleh dibuka lagi. Kalau kesemuanya diberikan hak milik kekal, ia hanya melibatkan tanah 5000 ekar sahaja yang mana 80% penduduk adalah kaum Cina.

Begitu juga Kampung Tersusun yng mempunyai hampir 75k keluarga di mana 70% penduduknya orang Melayu. Ia juga hanya melibatkan 7k ekar.

Kita tidak memberikan tambahan tanah tetapi kita hanya tukarkan daripada pajak kepada hak milik kekal. Kerajaan juga mendapat pendapatan RM330juta. Kalau dulu penduduk kampung baru ada pajakan 99 tahun dan kalau tanahnya disandar kepada bank mereka akan mendapat sedikit nilai sahaja. Sekarang kalau tanahnya jadi hak milik kekal bank akan berikan pinjaman maksima. Penduduk boleh gunakan wang tersebut untuk meningkatkan imej persekitaran rumah mereka.

Perak Politic - comment from a Blogger

Saya rasa anda kurang faham pasal politik. Saya cuba memberi penjelasan untuk DUN di Perak sahaja. Di Perak ada 59 kerusi semua. DAP bertanding 18 kerusi menang 18. PAS bertanding 21 kerusi hanya menang 6 kerusi sahaja. PKR bertanding 20 kerusi menang 7 kerusi. ( DAP:18+ PAS:6 + PKR:7 = 31 kerusi. BN menang 28 kerusi iaitu UMNO 27 dan MCA 1 kerusi.

Kerusi DAP menang adalah daripada kerusi yang diperuntukkan oleh BN kepada MCA/MIC/GRK. Ini bermakna jika DAP tumbang maka semua kerusi cina/india akan berada ditangan (MCA/MIC/GRK= semuanya bukan melayu juga.

PAS bertanding 21 kerusi hanya menang 6 kerusi sahaja, selebihnya dimenangi oleh UMNO. Jika PAS menang semua yang dipertandingkan bermakna PAS adalah tunggak menggantikan melayu Perak. PKR bertanding 20 kerusi iaitu bertanding kerusi-kerusi yang diperuntukkan kepada UMNO/MCA/MIC/Grk . PKR bertanding 20 kerusi iaitu 11 kerusi adalah calon melayu, 5 calon cina dan 4 calon india. Jika diandaikan PRU-12, PAS menang kesemua iaitu 21 kerusi campur 11 kerusi PKR (melayu) maka kerusi melayu adalah tunggak iaitu sebanyak 32 kerusi daripada 59.

Kita bersetuju bahawa Sultan Perak mempunyai bidangkuasa melantik calon melayu sebagai MB kerana perlembagaan negeri tidak membenarkan bukan melayu sebagai MB. Ini keputusan yang tepat dan mengikut perlembagaan negeri tidak boleh dipertikaikan walaupun DAP menang kerusi 18 kerusi tetapi tidak berhak menjadi MB melainkan DAP ada calon melayu sebagai wakil rakyatnya.

EXCO negeri Perak iaitu DAP 6 ( 5 cina 1 india). PKR ( 1 cina dan 2 melayu ). PAS 2 melayu. Ini bermakna 6 cina, 1 india dan 4 melayu ( jumlah semua 11 orang). Mengikut pentadbiran Perak 11 exco dicampur dengan ex–Officio iaitu SUK, Pegawai Undang2 dan Pegawai kewangan jumlah semuanya 14 orang. Ini bermakna kedudukkan komposisi kaum dalam Exco Perak ialah 7 melayu, 6 cina dan 1 india.. Semua ex-officio boleh mengambil bahagian dalam mesyuarat Exco tetapi tidak boleh mengundi. Jika diandaikan semua exco bukan melayu mengundi dan dapat majoriti TETAPI MB mempunyai kuasa veto boleh membatalkan keputusan yang dibuat oleh Exco. Kuasa veto MB boleh kita ibaratkan sama seperti di PBB antara negara yang diberkuasa veto ialah USA, China, Rusia dll.

Berkenaan tanah yang diberikan kepada kaum cina di Perak. Apa salahnya tanah diberi hakmilik kepada kaum cina sebagai tempat tinggal mereka. selama ini hanya status sebagai tanah pajakan sahaja sekadar untuk tempat duduk. Untuk makluman ” Orang tengah” berapa ribu ekar tanah di Pulau Redang, di Awana Kijal Terengganu ,Genting H/land Pahang yang mana UMNO/BN berikan kepada kaum cina?. Berapa banyak tanah kawasan simpanan melayu yang diberikan oleh UMNO/BN kepada bukan melayu kenapa diam?. Bila tanah sekadar untuk tempat diberikan sebagai tempat duduk maka UMNO pun bising se Malaysia.

Kenapa tak bising berapa puluh rakyat cina/india yang UMNO berikan warganegara kepada bukan melayu semasa zaman Tunku Abdulrahman sebagai PM, kenapa UMNO/BN diam?.

Bila Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Perak tumbang kepada PR, pelbagai isu yang timbul bermula isu DEB, isu babi, isu lembu, isu Tadika/tabika. Bila isu timbul, maka dibenarkan demonstrasi dibuat oleh UMNO tidak dihalang pun oleh polis. Bila kena kepada PR dikatakan tidak demokratik dan pelbagai tuduhan yang dibuat.

Sebenarnya rakyat sudah bosan dengan UMNO/BN. Jika ikut propoganda media UMNO/BN seolah-olah mereka boleh menang besar di Penang/Kedah/Selangor/Kelantan. Begitu juga di Pmtg Pauh dan Kuala Terengganu seolah-olah BN akan menang. Bila tahu keputusan rupanya BN tumbang.

Penganalisa politik yang dijemput oleh UMNO/BN semuanya merapu dan memberi laporan dengan hujah-hujah membodek. Samalah apa yang berlaku dalam Perhimpunan Agung UMNO semua Perwakilan tidak boleh lari daripada ucapan membodek, ampu, berpantun, berseloka semuanya bodek. Sepatutnya ambil peluang memberi pandangan/cadangan untuk kebaikan rakyat dan negara tetapi kebanyakan ucapan adalah hambar . Sikap UMNO bila ada kuasa semua berpakat mencium tangan Presiden/PM. Bila tak ada kuasa tak dilayan pun. Cuba tengok apa yang berlaku kepada arwah Tun Ghaffar Baba dan kini kepada Tun Dr Mahathir tak ada orang UMNO pun nak cium tangan. Sekarang berebut-rebut untuk cium tangan Najib. Pak Lah kini mula dipinggirkan. Apakah nasib Pak Lah macam Tun Dr Mahathir juga bila tidak ada kuasa?.

Tepatlah Peribahasa , di situ ada gula di situ ada semut. Macam UMNO lah juga, di Situ ada kuasa di situ lah ramai belaci2 UMNO yang datang mencium tangan.

UMNO tumbang maka diwawarkan akan hilang kuasa ketuanan melayu/islam. Apa hendak susah hilang/tumbang UMNO dengan sendirinya kuasa melayu akan berpindah kepada PAS dan PKR (melayu). Begitu juga DAP menang maka dengan sendirinya MCA/MIC/Grk yang kalah dan begitulah disebaliknya. Di mana pulak logiknya jika UMNO kalah/tumbang maka cina yang memerintah?.

Jangan hendak memperbodohkan rakyat kerana rakyat sudah faham kecuali segelintir pengundi disaluran satu dan saluran dua yang masih menyokong UMNO/BN. Percayalah pada masa ini UMNO/BN Perak boleh diibaratkan menang sekarung ( Rampas kerajaan) tetapi tunggulah dalam PRU-13 mereka (UMNO/BN) akan rugi seguni ( akan kalah besar dalam PRU-13). ” UMNO/BN tidak releven lagi kepada rakyat yang bosan dengan rasuah, kezaliman, penyelewengan, murtad dan gejala sosial yang begitu hebat sekarang angkara UMNO/BN perintah Malaysia selama 50 tahun ” itulah hasilnya”.

Perak coup de etat

By Raja Petra Kamarudin
Many ask why I have been very silent the last 48 hours. Well, that is because I sudah menyampah. Why scream now? If we want to scream make sure we do it before the ship sinks. Once we are in the water we should save our breath for breathing -- if we can keep our heads above water, that is. If not, then quietly drown and die with some dignity. At least you will be remembered for someone who died in style.There is a time to talk. There is a time to act. Now is no longer the time to talk. So can all those people who keep sending me messages via SMS about ‘you must do this’ or ‘you must do that’ please stop doing so. You are just wasting your money. I don’t even read them. I just delete them without reading any of them. Stop telling me what I should do. If you feel something should be done, go and do it yourself.Okay, I am down with a bad flu so I am in a very bad mood today. Even my wife is staying out of my way. I have not been sleeping because every time I do I start coughing violently. This article, for sure, is being written with me in a most foul mood indeed.

In spite of the flu I drove up to Ipoh on Thursday but came home that same night because I had to go to court the following morning (yesterday). I am sure many of you who met me in Ipoh noticed I was not my usual friendly self. Sorry if I appeared sombong but I was feeling real bad on Thusday.

To add to that list of aggravations, I am in the midst of preparing for three court cases next week -- my sedition, criminal defamation and ISA hearings. Yes, I am going to be locked up in three different courts almost the entire week. And chances are, I might be sent back to Kamunting to spend the remaining years of my life under detention if I lose.

I wrote the following pieces in the run-up to Thursday:
Constitutional Monarchy, rule of law and good governance (5 Feb)
How to bring a government down (4 Feb)
If fresh state elections are held in Perak (4 Feb)
Santa Claus is coming to town (2 Feb)
No two ways about it: DISSOLVE the Perak State Assembly (2 Feb)
Live by the sword, die by the sword (31 Jan)
I just love this country (27 Jan)

As you can see, I have already said what I wanted to say. There is nothing more I can add about an event that is already a fait accompli. Nasi sudah jadi bubur, as the Malays would say.

About a week ago, a few of us sat down to discuss the impending collapse of the Perak government. It was suggested we speak to the Pakatan Rakyat leaders, which we did. Our recommendation was that they dissolve the Perak State Assembly and hold fresh state elections while Pakatan Rakyat still has the majority in the Assembly. Once Pakatan Rakyat has lost that majority it will be too late. No way will the Sultan agree to the request to dissolve the Perak State Assembly once you no longer command the majority in the Assembly.

But the Pakatan Rakyat leaders would not listen. They still have things under control, they remarked. We did not think so and we told them this. But who are we to ‘teach grandmothers how to suck eggs’, as Malaysians would say? If we are so smart then how come they, and not us, are the party leaders. We would be sitting in their chairs, instead, if we are cleverer than them. Politicians do not think much of you if you do not hold any party positions. They only respect those who hold positions in political parties and government, not those outside mainstream politics.

Everyone is an expert on hindsight. Only good leaders have foresight. And our leaders lack just that, foresight. They are very clever when it comes to reacting to situations. But they know nothing about pre-empting. Why react, especially when it is too late? You must be able to pre-empt before it is too late to do anything. This is what our leaders lack, the skill to pre-empt.

When the Rulers of Perlis and Terengganu ‘interfered’ in Umno’s choice of Menteri Besar, we hailed them as great Rulers who are full of justice and wisdom. When the Rulers agreed to allow Pakatan Rakyat to form the Perak and Selangor state governments, they are the best Rulers in the world. Whenever things go our way we are full of praise. But as soon as the decision does not favour us they are haprak Rulers.The Rulers are a disappointment. We are disgusted with our Rulers. Our Rulers sold out to Umno. Malaysia should abolish the Monarchy and turn the country into a Republic. And so on and so forth. That is what is on the lips of many Malaysians. But if the Rulers had favoured the opposition, even though they did so in violation of the law and the Constitution, we will hail the Rulers as amongst the best in the world.Actually, the Perak and Selangor Rulers were worried that the Pakatan Rakyat state governments of these two states would not last, in particular in Perak, which had a very slim majority. That is why there was a week’s delay in swearing in the Perak and Selangor state governments.

And can you blame the Rulers? DAP had said it will not sit at the same table as PAS, let alone form a coalition government with it, if PAS does not openly and publicly declare it will abandon the Islamic State agenda. PAS, on the other hand, said it shall not openly and publicly declare such a thing. That means DAP and PAS can never form a coalition.

The Rulers of Perak and Selangor then called all the State Assemblymen and women from DAP, PKR and PAS and asked them, one by one, whether they agree to the formation of coalition governments in Perak and Selangor. The coalition can only be formed if all three parties -- DAP, PKR and PAS -- agree to it. Even if just one of the three do not agree, then Pakatan Rakyat will not have enough seats to form the governments in both Perak and Selangor.

The DAP, PKR and PAS State Assemblymen and women indicated their agreement. But this still did not satisfy the Rulers. You can say one thing now, but what is there to prevent you from changing your minds later? So the Rulers asked the DAP, PKR and PAS State Assemblymen and women for both Perak and Selangor to sign letters confirming this agreement. Only then will the Rulers agree to swear in the new state governments.It was, in a way, a contract of sorts. The Rulers wanted all the DAP, PKR and PAS State Assemblymen and women from Perak and Selangor to sign a contract stating that they agree to the formation of a three-party coalition and that there are no dissenters from amongst the ranks of DAP, PKR and PAS.

Then the fight broke out. DAP, PKR and PAS could not agree on how to share out the EXCO positions, the racial quotas, who should hold the posts of Menteri Besar and Speaker, and so on. In Selangor, some DAP State Assemblymen organised demonstrations. In Perak, they threatened to boycott the swearing-in ceremony. Even the trivial matter of the wearing of the songkok during the swearing-in ceremony became a hot issue and almost brought the coalition down before it could even be formed.

The Perak and Selangor Rulers had their doubts. They doubted whether the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition, now called Pakatan Rakyat, could last. DAP, PKR and PAS had very little in common and were always squabbling over minor issues. And they argued about party and racial quotas just like Barisan Nasional. Pakatan Rakyat is as racist as Barisan Nasional. It appeared like there is very little difference between Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional.

Nevertheless, the Perak and Selangor Rulers decided to give Pakatan Rakyat a chance. Let Pakatan Rakyat prove that not only it can do a better job but it can also keep the coalition going. If the coalition breaks up, then a decision would have to be made, later, what to do about it. In the meantime, allow Pakatan Rakyat to prove it can last at least one full term until the next general election.

Then we began to hear grumblings. This State Assemblyman was not happy and wanted to resign. That State Assemblywoman was not happy and wanted to resign. Barely one year into the marriage and the marriage appeared to be breaking up. The Indians complained about not having enough Indian quotas. The Chinese grumbled about having the most number of seats but not being able to become Menteri Besar. The Malays grumbled about the ‘Chinese’ government not looking after the Malays.It was all about race and about so-and-so being neglected and not being looked after better. Suddenly it was no longer about the rakyat. It was about your personal interest and position and about the quotas your race is being denied. Pakatan Rakyat was nothing but Barisan Nasional by another name.

What happened in Perak is good. I hope it will teach Pakatan Rakyat that it has to get its act together. The DAP lady’s crossover was triggered by something very trivial and goes to show she is more concerned about herself than about her party or about the rakyat. Everyone got a new Camry except her. So she sulked (merajuk) and left the party. If she had been given a new car she would not have sulked. A mere car brought the Perak government down.

If this is what brought the Perak government down, then it deserves to fall. The Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak used to be a non-Malay majority government. Now, it is an almost entirely Malay government. 27 of the 28 State Assemblymen are from Umno. Even if the three ‘independents’ join the new government it will be 29 Malays against only two Chinese. And there is not a single Indian State Assemblyman/woman in the new government.

What took 52 years of transformation has been destroyed in a mere days. Today, we are back to an entirely Malay government in Perak. And a DAP State Assemblywoman helped achieve this. A Chinese made the restoration of maruah Melayu (Malay dignity) possible. She should be given the next Ma'al Hijrah award and be accorded Bumiputera status.

I can only say that this serves Pakatan Rakyat right. They had it coming. When personal interests and racial issues override everything else, you deserve to fall. And there are many low quality wakil rakyat still in Pakatan Rakyat -- DAP, PKR, as well as PAS. Expect more to cross over. The RM25 million dangled in front of their faces is just too difficult to say no to. After all, not everyone is in politics to serve the rakyat. Many are in it for their personal interests. And RM25 million is an attractive proposition.Next time, get better candidates. Some of the Pakatan Rakyat wakil rakyat are so low standard I would not even trust them to baby-sit my dog. I would not deny there are some good wakil rakyat in Pakatan Rakyat, some even better than those from Barisan Nasional. But all we need are 30% bad ones to bring the party down, especially when you are barely surviving with a 10% majority in Parliament or the state assemblies.

Okay, Umno bought over our wakil rakyat. So what? If they are not for sale then Umno could not have been able to buy them. It is like prostitution. If there are clients then there will be prostitutes. It is the law of supply and demand. If there are no takers then there can be no givers as well. Simple!

We all know that Umno has tons of money. And RM10 million is nothing to Umno. If the Pakatan Rakyat people are so unprincipled then whom do we blame? Why blame Umno? Blame our people who worship money and pray to the Ringgit. Blame Pakatan Rakyat for fielding low quality people to contest the elections.

You can take the man out of the kampong but you can’t take the kampong out of the man. Low quality people can’t suddenly become high quality just because they are now wakil rakyat. They will still remain low quality and will kowtow to money because they have no maruah (dignity). That is, after all, what prostitutes do. They open their legs for money. And many in Pakatan Rakyat are prostitutes while those who manage prostitutes and called pimps.

If I were in Umno I would do exactly the same. I would use the immense wealth that Umno posses to buy over the prostitutes in Pakatan Rakyat. Anyway, is that not what we want Anwar Ibrahim to do? We want Anwar to form a new federal government by enticing at least 30 Parliamentarians from Barisan Nasional to cross over to the opposition. Najib did in Perak exactly what we want Anwar to do at federal level. So, why the sudden outrage? What if three State Assemblymen in Negerl Sembilan cross over and Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the new Negeri Sembilan state government? Would we still express outrage?

Let’s face it: we lost. Let’s just lick our wounds and learn from this bitter experience. Our leaders were stupid and we paid for this stupidity. We chose poor quality people as candidates. We knew that Umno was trying to buy over our wakil rakyat. We knew they would eventually succeed. But we just stood and watched without launching a pre-emptive strike -- such as dissolving the state assembly when there was time to do so and when we still had the power to do so.

That is the long and short of it. Let us lose like gentlemen. Sure, they did not play fair. The Sultan should not have forced the MB’s resignation or appointed a new MB from Umno when Nizar did not resign. Sure, there are questions of whether it was legal to do what the Sultan did. But he did, fair or otherwise. And the Sultan could not have done so had we been cleverer. We left the door open and they walked in. We should take the blame for that rather than moan and bitch. And, next time, lock all the doors. Thieves are thieves and will always be thieves. But we were sloppy and that allowed the thieves to get in. There is no denying that.

We lost the battle. But we are yet to lose the war. That is the big picture. So focus on the big picture and see how we can eventually win the war. That is more important. And how do we turn defeat into victory? How can we menang dalam kalah? We can turn defeat into victory if our leaders are clever. My only worry is whether they are clever enough to do this. Let us see.

kisah penjual tempe

Ada sebuah kampung di pedalaman Tanah Jawa. Disitu ada seorang

perempuan tua yang sangat kuat beribadat. Pekerjaannya ialah membuat tempe dan

menjualnya di pasar setiap hari.. Ia merupakan satu-satunya sumber

pendapatannya untuk menyara hidup. Tempe yang dijualnya merupakan tempe

yang dibuatnya sendiri.

Pada suatu pagi, seperti biasa, ketika beliau sedang bersiap-siap

untuk pergi menjual tempenya, tib a tiba dia tersedar yang tempenya

yang diperbuat daripada kacang soya hari itu masih belum menjadi, separuh

jadi.  Kebiasaannya tempe beliau telah masak sebelum bertolak. Diperiksanya

beberapa bungkusan yang lain. Ternyatalah kesemuanya belum masak lagi.

Perempuan tua itu berasa amat sedih sebab tempe yang masih belum

menjadi pastinya tidak akan laku dan tiadalah rezekinya pada hari itu. Dalam

suasana hatinya yang sedih, dia yang memang kuat beribadah teringat

akan firman Allah yang menyatakan bahawa Allah dapat melakukan

perkara-perkara ajaib, bahawa bagiNya tiada yang mustahil. Lalu diapun mengangkat kedua

tangannya sambil berdoa , "Ya Allah , aku memohon kepadaMu agar kacang

soya ini menjadi tempe . Amin"

Begitulah doa ringkas yang dipanjatkan dengan sepenuh hatinya. Dia

sangat yakin bahawa Allah pasti mengabulkan doanya. Dengan tenang perempuan

tua itu menekan-nekan bungkusan bakal tempe dengan hujung jarinya dan dia

pun membuka sikit bungkusan itu untuk menyaksikan keajaiban kacang soya itu 

menjadi tempe . Namun, dia termenung seketika sebab kacang tu masih

tetap kacang soya.

Namun dia tidak putus asa, sebaliknya berfikir mungkin doanya kurang

jelas didengar oleh Allah. Maka dia pun mengangkat kedua tangannya semula dan

berdoa lagi. "Ya Allah, aku tahu bahawa tiada yang mustahil bagiMu.

Bantu lah aku supaya hari ini aku dapat menjual tempe kerana inilah mata

pencarianku. Aku mohon agar jadikanlah kacang soyaku ini kepada tempe ,

Amin"

Dengan penuh harapan dan debaran dia pun sekali lagi membuka sedikit

bungkusan tu. Apakah yang terjadi? Dia termangu dan hairan apabila

tempenya masih tetap begitu!! Sementara itu hari pun semakin meninggi

sudah tentu pasar sudah mula didatangi ramai orang. Dia tetap tidak

kecewa atas doanya yang belum terkabul. Walaubagaimanapun keranakeyakinannya

yg sangat tinggi dia bercadang untuk tetap pergi ke pasar membawa barang

jualannya itu. Perempuan tua itu pun berserah pada Tuhan dan meneruskan 

pemergian ke pasar sambil berdoa dengan harapan apabila sampai 

di pasar kesemua tempenya akan mas ak.

Dia berfikir mungkin keajaiban Allah akan terjadi semasa perjalanannya

ke pasar. Sebelum keluar dari rumah, dia sempat mengangkat kedua tangannya

untuk berdoa. "Ya Allah, aku percaya, Engkau akan mengabulkan doaku.

Sementara aku berjalan menuju ke pasar, Engkau kurniakanlah

keajaiban ini buatku, jadikanlah tempe ini. Amin". Lalu dia pun berangkat.

Di sepanjang perjalanan dia tetap tidak lupa membaca doa di dalam

hatinya.

Sesampai sahaja di pasar, segera dia meletakkan barang-barangnya.

Hatinya betul-betul yakin yang tempenya sekarang mesti sudah menjadi. Dengan

hati yg berdebar-debar dia pun membuka bakulnya dan menekan-nekan dengan

jarinya setiap bungkusan tempe yang ada.

Perlahan-lahan dia membuka sedikit daun pembungkusnya dan melihat

isinya. Apa yang terjadi? Tempenya masih belum menjadi!! Dia pun kaget seketika

lalu menarik nafas dalam-dalam. Dalam hatinya sudah mula merasa sedikit

kecewa dan putus asa kepada Allah kerana doanya tidak dikabulkan.

Dia berasakan Tuhan tidak adil. Tuhan tidak kasihan padanya, inilah

satu-satunya punca rezekinya, hasil jualan tempe . Dia akhirnya cuma

duduk sahaja tanpa mempamerkan barang jualannya sebab dia berasakan bahawa

tiada orang yang akan membeli tempe yang baru separuh menjadi. Sementara itu

hari pun semakin petang dan pasar sudah mulai sepi, para pembeli sudah

mula kurang.

Dia meninjau-ninjau kawan-kawan sesama penjual tempe , tempe mereka

sudah hampir habis. Dia tertunduk lesu seperti tidak sanggup menghadapi

kenyataan bahawa hari ini tiada hasil jualan yang boleh dibawa pulang.

Namun jauh d i sudut hatinya masih menaruh harapan terakhir kepada

Allah, pasti Allah akan menolongnya. Walaupun dia tahu bahawa pada hari itu

dia tidak akan dapat pendapatan langsung, namun dia tetap berdoa buat

kali terakhir, "Ya Allah, berikanlah penyelesaian terbaik terhadap 

tempeku yang belum menjadi ini."

Tiba-tiba dia dikejutkan dengan teguran seorang wanita.

"Maaf ya, saya ingin bertanya, Makcik ada tak menjual tempe yang belum

menjadi? Dari tadi saya sudah pusing keliling pasar ini untuk

mencarinya tapi masih belum berjumpa lagi." Dia termenung dan terpinga-pinga

seketika. Hatinya terkejut sebab sejak berpuluh tahun menjual tempe ,

tidak pernah seorang pun pelanggannya mencari tempe yang belum menjadi.

Sebelum dia menjawab sapaan wanita di depannya itu, cepat-cepat dia

berdoa di dalam hatinya"Ya Allah, saat ini aku tidak mahu tempe ini menjadi

lagi. Biarlah tempe ini seperti semula, Amin".

Sebelum dia menjawab pertanyaan wanita itu, dia membuka sedikit daun

penutup tempenya. Alangkah seronoknya dia, ternyata memang benar

tempenya masih belum menjadi! Dia pun rasa gembira dalam hatinya dan bersyukur

pada Allah. Wanita itu pun memborong habis kesemua tempenya yang belum

menjadi itu.

Sebelum wanita tu pergi, dia sempat bertanya wanita itu, "Mengapa

hendak membeli tempe yang belum jadi?"

Wanita itu menerangkan bahawa anakn ya yang kini berada di England

teringin makan tempe dari desa. Memandangkan tempe itu akan dikirimkan

ke England , si ibu tadi kenalah membeli tempe yang belum jadi lagi supaya

apabila sampai di England nanti akan menjadi tempe yang sempurna. Kalau

dikirimkan tempe yang sudah menjadi, nanti di sana tempe itu sudah

tidak elok lagi dan rasanya pun kurang sedap.

Perempuan tua itu pun kehairanan dan berfikir rupa-rupanya doanya sudah

pun dimakbulkan oleh Tuhan...

Moral:

Pertama: Kita sering memaksakan kehendak kita kepada Tuhan sewaktu

berdoa, padahal sebenarnya Tuhan lebih mengetahui apa yang kita perlukan dan

apa yang terbaik untuk diri kita.

Kedua:. Sentiasalah berdoa dalam menjalani kehidupan seharian kita

sebagai hambaNya yang lemah. Jangan sekali-kali berputus asa terhadap apa yang

dipinta. Percayalah bahawa Tuhan akan mengabulkan doa kita sesuai

dengan rancanganNya yang mungkin di luar jangkaan kita.

Ketiga : Tiada yang mustahil bagi Tuhan

Keempat : Kita sering ingin Allah memenuhi hak kita sedang kita tidak

pernah mahu memenuhi hak Allah seperti menjaga SEMBAHYANG 5 WAKTU ,

menyegerakan solat, berkata-kata perkara yang berfaedah dan berpesan ke

arah kebaikan.. oleh itu, hantarlah kepada sahabat yang lain agar

kebaikan boleh sama dikongsi. Mudah-mudahan Allah suka dengan apa yang kita buat

(",) ....