Twentytwo13

Rendang tok makes the world go round

Dear Diary,

It’s a Hari Raya Aidilfitri with a difference as just like Easter, Vaisakhi and the Tamil New Year last month, we have to keep our distance due to Covid-19.

Some of us are lucky enough to visit our loved ones but others have to make do with Zoom, Skype and other apps to stay in touch.

Here’s hoping Day 68 of the Movement Control Order (MCO) and the first day of Aidilfitri was kind to you. I know mine was and will be as I have rendang tok to keep me company.

8.13am: STANDING HIS GROUND – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings has refused to step down after reports surfaced he breached lockdown rules with a second 400km trip from London. Downing Street denies police spoke with Cummings’s family members but Durham Police insist their officers spoke to his father, who confirmed his son had travelled with his family from London. Hopefully, there is no cover-up.

9.20am: I WANT THIS MASK

10.22am: THOUGHTFUL – Health Ministry director-general Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah donates food packs to Putrajaya Hospital health workers.

11.30am: BE LIKE DARTH VADER

12.41pm: CAN I HAVE THIS EVERY DAY? – Another round of rendang tok and lemang which my wife and I made yesterday. We wash it down with some Ahin pulut tuak. The meal receives a seal of approval from former colleague Fabian Mark Peter who asks to ‘tapau’ some for him.

1.41pm: IN THE DOCK – A new page in Israeli history opens as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu becomes the first sitting premier to face criminal charges, accused of a string of corruption offences.

2.59pm: NO ENTRY – Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob says 1,158 motorists who tried to cross state borders yesterday were told to turn back. The states with the worst offenders are Selangor (460), Melaka (121) and Negeri Sembilan (95).

3.55pm: MUCH IN DEMAND – Silicon Valley is buzzing over a new audio-chat social network – Clubhouse – which lets people drop in on conversations. It has won devotees even though it remains in ‘beta’ test mode.

4pm: OCM OR BAM? – Olympic Council of Malaysia and Badminton Association of Malaysia president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria under the spotlight with actor Rashid Salleh and Twentytwo13 editor Haresh Deol in ‘The RSS with HD’.

4.37pm: DOING WELL – For the third time in four days, there are no new deaths. Fatalities stay at 115. Another 33 patients are discharged, meaning 5,945 have been cured. The 60 new infections make it 7,245 cases.

5.30pm: DENDANG PERANTAU – A number from P. Ramlee for those who miss their loved ones this Hari Raya.