Tg. Tualang people 'tulan' or not?

I hear our PM will be visiting Tg. Tualang next Saturday.

Local MCA MP (Kampar) Lee Chee Leong, who is also Deputy Home Minister must have been very busy to ensure all the necessary preparations for the VVIP's visit are carried out meticulously. The local people must be wondering, 'Why Tg. Tualang was chosen for PM's visit?' Of all places! Ex-DAP state assemblyman for Malim Nawar, Keshvinder Singh, who jumped ship and become so-called independent assemblyman, is expected to be among the many people who will be on hand to greet Najib, the man who engineered the power grab in Perak. To be fair, Keshvinder was not one of the key persons who made it possible. He did it after, so the reward would have been much lower.

Local Umno chiefs and supporters will also ensure a crowd befitting a PM. They have to show their faces, more so now, in order to stand a chance to be selected as candidates for the next general election.

I hear shop operators were told unofficially to close for the day, presumably a small price to pay for the honour of PM's visit. But, to some of the more popular restaurants specializing in fresh water prawns, Saturday takings are expected to run into thousands of ringgit each. People come all the way from KL to have lunch there. In fact, there are tours to Ipoh which include Tg. Tualang lunch in the itinerary. There is even a concrete structure of a prawn to show visitors of its importance to the town, just like the groundnut is to Menglembu, also in Perak, or the cat is to Kuching in Sarawak.

I wonder if any of the restauraters are annoyed with such a 'request' which must be more of an insistence. Some must be feeling 'tulan' for being forced to close for the day. Will he be having the famous fresh water prawns which the town is famous for and made a tourist attraction? If so, either there is a lucky exception to the rule or fresh water prawns will be included in whatever will be offered at the main table.

Note: 'Tulan' is a term in Hokien which is normally used by some of them when frustrated and angry. It is very similar in use to 'Niamah' in Cantonese. As for the literal meaning of 'tulan', it is for me to know and you to find out!
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