[Of elections and chikus]
I used to recall that sometime ago, a reporter from the Chinese newspaper called my office and asked if I knew where the chiku tree was.

I asked my colleague (in mock exasperation): "We got chiku tree here meh?"

She said: "Dunno"

Then my cleaner auntie pointed outside to the porch and said: "There. You see. It is there."

But then, chikus were not so much hot topic. So I didn't bother.

You must be wondering why I am blogging about chikus. I shall transport you back in time to the days of the 2001 General Election.

Eric Low, who was the PAP candidate for Hougang at that time, used to joke that the chikus are ripe for plucking. And his opponent Low Thia Khiang used to make fun of PAP's Eric Low saying that the chikus are not ripe for plucking.

In reply, Eric Low said that he would keep the unripe chikus in a rice urn until they ripen.

Needless to say, my adviser loves chikus so much that he has a chiku tree in his garden at home and there are even chiku trees at the Hougang Community Club.

And during the last one year at my current workplace, I have heard that chikus have been rarely sighted on the trees.

Curious, I went outside a few days ago to take a look to see if I could get a glimpse of the legendary chikus.

So I circled each tree a few times scanning each tree from top to bottom. There are altogether three trees (don't get tongue-tied). I look up, look down, turn around just like how they do it for those nursery songs. I look at the leaves and hope to see a colour other than green.

But, no. There is not a chiku in sight.



So where have the chikus gone? Stay tuned.