About First of May

Today is the First of May or, as some prefer to put it, May 1st, even May Day.

In Malaysia, as in some other nations, today is also Workers' Day and therefore a public holiday. This also means that if you have to work today, your boss is supposed to pay you double or overtime. However, this only applies to those permanently employed or full-time or at least have a letter of appointment. Meaning if you are daily-paid like coffeeshop workers, I suppose you are not in a position to negotiate.

Workers' Day used to be known as Labour Day in Malaysia until recent years. I am not sure why the government made the change but my guess is that Workers sound more dignified whereas Labour sounds a bit degrading. In Malay (the national language of Malaysia), Workers' Day is known as Hari Pekerja and Labour Day is Hari Buruh. To illustrate my point, there is a local cooking oil branded Cap Buruh (Labour) and you can actually see a labourer hammering away in its logo.

Traditionally, the Prime Minister being the chief executive of the country would address workers in general and civil servants in particular on this day. This illustrates the importance that the government attaches to this day, apart from declaring it a holiday. However, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (known affectionately in Malaysia as Pak Lah) is overseas and he will address such a gathering next week. The more than one million civil servants in the country can't wait to hear him speak because they expect some good news such as the expansion of their retirement age to 60 or at least 58 and the doing away of the civil service efficiency exam (PTK). To the civil servants (me included)keep you fingers crossed until May 10.

Today is also the first day of the month-long Harvest Festival or Kaamatan in Sabah. The Chief Minister normally launched the celebration at a different district each year. This year it's Beaufort's turn. The 2-day finale at the end of the month at Hongkod Koisaan (headquarters of the Kadazandusun Cultural Association or KDCA) would be launched by Sabah's Yang Di-Pertua Negeri or Governor. In the old days when I first started working, there was no 'launching' of the State-level do on May 1st; only the climax on May 30-31 in Penampang near the State Capital. The present practice was started by the then PBS state government in the late 1980s. The Chief Minister then, Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan was, after all, the President of KDCA as well as the Huguan Siou (Paramount Chief) of the Kadazandusun people, a community native to Sabah - he still is, although he is now only Deputy Chief Minister. When the first launching of the May 1st do was held, I can still remember a KDCA leader and Cabinet Minister saying: "If the Chinese can celebrate their New Year for 2 weeks culminating in Chap Goh Mei, I don't see why the Kadazandusuns can't celebrate theirs for one month."

There is a direct-selling company in Malaysia called May First. Why they call it by this name I am not sure. But what I do know is that it is famous for its product called Pronoton which is supposed to be good for men - you get the picture. A relative introduced this company to me but luckily so far I only took 2 of the Pronoton pills for testing purpose. This is because the Health Ministry recently came out with a statement banning Pronoton as it is harmful to health. May First is one of the sponsors of this year's Akademi Fantasia and in its TV advertisement it is using 2 well-known TV personalities to promote it, including the new MC for Akademi Fantasia.

Lastly, for those too young to know, there is actually a song called First of May made famous by the Bee Gees (picture above) between the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Bee Gees was made up of the 3 Gibb brothers - Robin, Barry and Maurice. I was a band boy then and this was among the songs I used to sing at parties (there was no Karaoke then, even the Disco had not yet landed in Sabah) along with other Bee Gees and Beatles songs.

The lyrics of First of May went like this:-

When I was small, and Chistmas trees were tall, We used to love while others used to play. Don't ask me why, the time has passed us by, Someone else moved in from far away. (Chorus) Now we are tall, and Christmas trees are small, And you don't ask the time of day. But you and I, our love will never die, But guess we'll cry come First of May. (2nd verse) The apple tree that grew for you and me, I watched the apples falling one by one. And I recall the moment of them all, the day I kissed your cheek and you were mine. (Repeat chorus) (3rd verse) When I was small, and Christmas trees were tall, Do do do do do do do do do....Don't ask me why, the time has passed us by, Someone else moved in from far away.

If you don't know how it sounds, well, since you are reading this blog I suppose you will have no problem searching for it on the Internet. Happy singing.