A clerihew is a whimsical, four-line poem invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley. The first line is the name of the poem’s subject, usually a famous person put in an absurd light. The rhyme scheme is AABB, and the rhymes are often forced. The line length and metre are irregular. Tony Fernandes You’ll seldom see him at his desk, Because of ...

Malaysians crave for titles, The way Christians love their bibles, Look at the number of awards dished out every year, There is no end to that I fear.   Titles used to be awarded with much constraint, But they’re now given with little restraint, No longer awarded to only people with unimpeachable integrity, But given so perversely to every Tom, ...

Tong biru they give, Our future hangs in the tong, What a sorry state!

My college mate Tolstoy Tingang Trang has suggested to me that I should seriously consider writing haiku poems.  In the last couple of days, I decided to do some study about haiku though initially I thought haikus are not the type of poems that I would want to write. Then I became hooked and have been busy trying my hands ...

In our scorching hot weather, Nothing tastes better, Than a cool ice kacang, The dessert with its irresistible charm.   The thirst -quenching concoction, Favourite dessert of our nation, ABC it’s fondly called, Ais batu campur it is known to all.   A mixture of red beans, cendol, grass jelly and sweet corns, A mountain of shaved ice drizzled with ...

The Grand Old Lady lives alone, High on Canada Hill, You may think she must be forlorn, But that is not how she feels.   Towering thirty metres above ground, Famous landmark she has become, Malaysia’s first cable-tool oil well is her crown, Also known as Miri Well Number One to some.   At over one hundred and five years ...

Unique and mesmeric, Tasty and aromatic, Sublime and creamy, Tantalising and spicy.   That’s Sarawak laksa, Crème de la crème of all laksa, A reddish-brown concoction of hot soupy goodness, So tempting with its tint of sourness.   A favourite of Anthony Bourdain, Breakfast of the Gods he ordained, Took to it like a rhino to a mud bath, Inducing ...

What annoys me the most in Miri, Are those who park like dimwits, With parking hogs adding to the melee, Mirians are driven to anger fits. Parking hogs are the worst ever, They are not playing by the rules, Reserving parking spots in ways they think are clever, Causing Mirians much parking blues. Business owners shoot themselves in the foot, ...

Imagine a bowl of kolomee, Maybe you prefer kampua mee, Where the noodle represents proper English, Add in seasonings of Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien and Tamil to get Manglish.   Manglish is a Malaysian English-based creole, Linguists have studied it with much allure, It’s like an official declaration of Malaysian identity, The way we express ourselves with spontaneity.   The ...

Small and laid back, Conjuring images of the outback, Along the lower reaches of the mighty Rejang it sits, Capital of Meradong District it is.   Inhabitants predominantly Foochows, Industrious like hardworking cows, Binatang is its old name, Green tangerines bring it fame.   Vibrant and lively in the old days, The town deteriorated in many ways, Riverine life quietened, ...