Selamat Hari Raya and Deepavali Vazhthukkal

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri! Maaf Zahir dan Batin.
...and a belated Happy Deepavali!

Hari Raya (this year, Deeparaya... hehe...) to me back in Malaysia was just a holiday time to relax and have lots of stuff to eat at the Ramadhan bazaars. But being in Singapore, especially this year somehow, it feels... lonely. The decorations are all at Geylang Serai/Little India. The festivities are all over there.

This is what separates Malaysia from Singapore. In Singapore, it feels fake for some reason or another. Over here on the "ulu" west end of Singapore the most I'll expect to see is a banner (by the government, of course) wishing everyone a Happy whatever and if I'm lucky, decorations such as lightings spanning the road etc.

I can do without all the lighting and stuff. Where is the "feeling"? The "atmosphere"?

I still love Malaysia. And I'm proud of it. : )
p.s. Please love me back...

On another note... There is something major celebrations in Malaysia in recent years cannot do without, and that is... a PETRONAS advertisement. People really have a liking to these advertisements, because apart from reminding everyone some major festivity is coming soon, it is also touching and always teaches or reminds us of some important values in life. I can watch a PETRONAS ad and cry. And I have Yasmin Ahmad (once again) to blame for some of those incidences. She's great, and she's one of my favorite Malaysian Malaysian (as opposed to ultra-Islamic Malays, Sino-centric Chinese etc.).

Here's the links for some of this year's ads: CNY2006 and Hari Raya 2006 (sorry, can't find Deepavali one)