Malaysia do you have USB?

YES and I'm not talking about Universal Serial Bus drives OR devices here!

Unacceptable–Social Behavior (USB) is a serious mental condition where a person experiences frequent unwelcome obsessional thoughts that are socially abnormal and acts upon them, often followed by self gratification for having achieved those acts. An extreme example would be terrorists; classic version some whom misinterpret religion and use violence to achieve their "holy" objectives.

BUT I'm pretty sure that most of us anyway are NOT.

USB may be considered an illness and it affects almost everyone, from young children to adults, regardless of skin, sex or social or cultural background. The question that you should ask yourself is whether you have severe USB or mild USB?

IF USB is really an illness, almost all of us are certainly unaware of it since there is very little highlight on it. Maybe being Malaysians we just don't care as long as it doesn't personally hurt us. 

GENERALLY, USB sufferers experience obsessions which manifest into physical form. These hard to ignore acts are intrusive, unwanted, disturbing, significantly interfere with the society and the population at large. To people with USB they often know that their obsessional thoughts and acts are unacceptable, but they believe they have the personal right to act as they please even if it causes resentment and pain.

Typical USB includes:

• Spitting indiscriminately
• Public tantrums
• Running the Red Light (Red means Go?)
• Cutting Q whether driving or not
• Obstructing others from passing (again, whether driving or not)
• Showing the universal finger sign at others
• Throwing rubbish everywhere but the dustbin
• Dog Owners who allow their dogs to roam and defecate freely (my neighbor)
• Forcing others to follow (My Way or The Highway style)
• Hoarding (Mine mine mine and no one else's)

And that's only to name a few! If at any moment you did think or consider that these are the norm and nothing to worry about, then that's the very reason why USB is rampant and growing.

For people with USB there is often an over-inflated sense of ego that prevents them from estimating the amount of damage that their acts will cause to others. The USB person often feels ultimately responsible to have things their way.

To some degree USB people have probably experienced, at one time or another, by most of them, times when their acts are met with equal corrective action -- a speeding ticket, an earload of scolding, etc. Even then their ego prevents them from not doing the same selfish acts in future.

In a nutshell:

• USB people know that their thoughts and behavior are irrational and senseless,
• They feel proud and responsible to act out their selfish thoughts, and
• They do not doubt that their acts causes resentment.

Left unchecked and untreated, USB will mushroom and feed upon itself and can have the power to consume if left unchallenged.

Unfortunately, we have yet to even slowly begun to understand and identify USB symptoms much more effectively, maybe it's because of the culture of this country we live in.

The writer is still trying to understand USB better and, more importantly, hope that someone with the power to make a change, will recognize it as a threat to society and find ways how to treat it, and to offer belief and hope that recovery from Unacceptable–Social Behavior is possible.

How I Replaced My Old Inspiron 1520 Hard Disk with a Sandisk Ultra SSD

Literally for dummies, not that we are.

Firstly, why SSD and not just replace it with the same Hard Drive type? SSD is actually a data storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies as memory to store data. Hence, SSDs contains no actual "disks" nor motors that will wear out over time from so many Read/Write during operation and has faster data transfer rates.

After 7 years, my DELL Inspiron 1520 is probably the longest and most lasting Laptop. See? It's a Laptop and not a Notebook, but I won't delve any deeper into mobile computing history. It's more interesting to learn how simple it is to replace the Hard Disk, right?

Here goes,

Common signals that your old RPM Hard Drive is about to fail when you get the Blue Screen hard disk error message (the more frequent in-between, the closer it is to its demise) and/or when the sweet sound it used to make while spinning internally has developed into something louder as noise!

When I encountered the said signals, the first thing I thought was to replace it with the latest in storage drive technology, the Solid State Drive or SSD in short. As we all know, the better it is (say storage), the higher cost it is to buy.

The Inspiron 1520 I have came standard with a 60GB RPM Hard Drive. Before I went out and actually bought a SSD - I unscrewed the screws to the Hard Drive slot and removed it so that I could verify the connector type on this drive before I plugged it back in. 

Once I verified that it was the same as the SATA connector of the SSD, I went ahead and got one from the 2nd most expensive IT retailer in Malaysia, namely Thunder Match Technology. SO BEFORE YOU BUY A SSD, DO CHECK AROUND.

Since the original Inspiron 1520 Hard Drive is a 60GB dinosaur, I went ahead and got myself a 128GB Ultra Sandisk SSD.

I wanted the entire old Hard Drive contents replicated on the SSD so that it would work the same (bootable) once plugged in and used the Acronis True Image Backup software for this purpose to backup the old Hard Drive into an extra 500GB USB Samsung External Drive*.

* Acronis was chosen for their easy step by step options while the external drive was used because the old drive simply did not have sufficient space for the backup.

It took me nearly an hour to fully backup the old drive. Once that was over, I used the Acronis software to "restore" the backup into the new SSD drive which took slightly over 30 minutes to complete. Then I removed the old drive and plugged in the SSD.

I press the Power Button and Voila it works!

Step by Step Walk-through:

1. Power down Laptop, shutdown.

2. Remove battery and plug from power adapter.

3. Perform a Static Discharge as a safety precaution by press holding Power Button for 10 seconds.

4. Remove screws locking the Hard Drive (I removed the 4 screws as marked).

5. Gently pull out the Hard Drive.

6. Verify the SATA connector to be the same as that of the SSD.

7. Gently return the Hard Drive back to its slot, making sure it goes in all the way and connects properly.

8. Return battery and plug from power adapter.

9. Plug in USB External Drive to free USB port.

10. Plug in SSD with USB-SATA converter to free USB port.

11. Power up Laptop, press Power Button.

12. After Windows loads up, select Acronis True Image from desktop (first you have to download it).

13. Select the easy to understand options in Acronis to backup your old Hard Drive (refer to their guide if unsure). Also ensure Antivirus is off and all other applications are closed before backup.

14. Once backup is complete, use the Restore option to "restore" the backup to the SSD (again, refer to their guide if unsure).

15. Once restore is complete, exit Acronis and perform Windows shutdown.

16. Unplug the external Hard Drive and SSD.

17. Repeat Steps 2-5.

18. Unscrew the old Hard Drive from plastic slot cover.

19. Remove the USB-SATA adapter from the SSD.

20. Screw the plastic slot cover to the SSD (same as how it was previously attached to the old Hard Drive).

19. Repeat Steps 7-8 

20. Secure the "Hard Disk" SSD in its slot with the screws removed earlier in Step 4.

21. Power up Laptop, press Power Button.

22. Need there be a Step 22?

By the way, I went through all these steps because I didn't want the hassle of digging up the installation disks for all the various loaded programs or copying data -- some of you may shorten the process by doing a clean install of everything.

Cons: Antivirus now doesn't work and I had to reinstall.

Pros: Overall system speed improved.

Why Acer is Making Losses and Fail to Deliver

Anyone considering buying Acer should read this post before they do.

Maybe just possibly, problems like the ones you read here made its founder Stan Shih to retire when he did...although outgoing ACER CEO J.T. Wang claims it's only due to the write-off of its old inventory "worth" billions!

Always the staunch supporter of Acer, I believed in its brand philosophy, promise and quality -- even after experiencing a motherboard failure with one of its "best in class" (at the time it was bought) Notebooks - the Aspire 4736G.

Just Google it and you'll know what I mean.

Here's my rather disappointing Acer Experience at the recent PC Fair at Mid Valley in early November this year:

The Wrong Decision: After being told by the Dell person at the Dell Booth that the particular Dell desktop model I was interested in was sold out (at that on my 2nd day visit to the PC Fair!) and out of stock - I took it as a clear signal that buying Acer would be a better choice. How wrong I was!

It was our 2nd day visit to the PC Fair. We had spent the day before, browsing and sifting thru the various offers available.

We settled on the Acer Aspire TC603 which according to the brochure handout, is a model with the 4th Generation Intel Core i5-4430 Processor. The package included an Acer V206HQL 19.5" LED-backlit Monitor, 3 Year Extended Warranty, Speakers and 16GB Pendrive.

According to the salesperson, we could take delivery "immediately" if we took the 3rd Generation version of the same model and upgrading it to the 8GB we wanted would only be a few hours OR we wait for a week for delivery for the brochure version.

We opted for the version stated in the brochure as we were willing to wait out the 1-week delivery time. Honestly we were pleasantly surprised when the salesperson said that they could send it to their outlet nearest to us in Desa Park City for collection.

No After Sales Information...

After anticipating delivery (with exception of the in-between Awal Muharram public holiday), I started to feel uneasy and referred to the official receipt - it had no contact number stated on it! I then googled Thunder Match Technology and completed an online query form on their website, and 72 hours later no response.

Reachable, NO!

By this time, I had already obtained the contact number for their Head Office and started my attempts to call them up. 

After spending the whole morning right up till slightly after 2pm, the best I could get out of the various options from the automated telephonist, was a foreigner who finally answered and asked me to call back again  - as he was only the security guard! 

Swell!

Varying Versions...

I called the next number I had -- which was their outlet in Mid Valley. When I informed the person who answered that, I would like to know the status of the delivery for the TC603, he replied that it was out of stock and a discontinued model - all the time stating that it was the 3rd Generation version. Okay so I'll check with Acer Malaysia!

Dissatisfied with the response, I called Acer Sales and Services (Acer Malaysia - AM is short) at their toll free number 1800-88-1288. After providing details of my complaint, I requested that they clarified the matter with Thunder Match Technology (their appointed dealer, TM in short) and revert to me.

While waiting for AM's call, TM's Mid Valley rep calls to say that the TC603 was not in stock and when asked when it would be in stock,... he replies that he was unsure and instead offered an exchange to another product or, a full refund in lieu. 

Good news? Fat Chance!

After telling him that I would consider, I hung up just in time to receive the AM rep's callback. She basically repeated the same information of the TC603 being out of stock and even went a step further by saying it was discontinued after having checked with TM.

I told her it was impossible and this is when the AM rep said it is discontinued as it is a 3rd Generation version as per the brochure she had in hand. Luckily for me (or maybe not) the brochure I have stated it otherwise. After further questioning she reveals that the version I wanted had yet to arrive from Acer Taiwan!!! 

I then thought, "Why not escalate my query to Acer's HQ, Acer Inc. in Taiwan?" and asked her to send me an email contact for the said purpose.

"Great I thought" as I checked my Inbox to see that she had indeed sent me an email. When I opened it, I was beyond shock (after having been overly drained by all the stress and time wasting activities from what was supposed to be a simple purchase of an Acer Desktop) - she had emailed me alternative models for selection while stating that the TC603 is "not available in the Malaysia market" and Acer Inc's telephone and fax!

What !?!

Does this mean the brochure printed in Malaysia (most likely) for the Malaysia market with the listed model TC603 with the 4th Generation Intel Core i5-4430 Processor and further confirmed by the salesperson accepting the order over a week ago is WRONG !?!

Always Forgiving...

Extremely disappointed I then did the unthinkable, I counter offered to take the alternative model which was priced lower while insisting that all other items remain as per the initial package.

As I end this post I wait and see how AM and TM responds tomorrow.

P/S Just to add, there was an instance when the TM rep said that the TC603 was 4th Generation but differed inside !!! Now that really makes me wonder...

Endnote:

 Questions seeking answers with some you already know the answers to,

- This only happens in Malaysia?

- When will Acer make itself customer friendly by providing top level e-mail contact info?

- Does having a strong visible market presence ensure "proper" after sales service/support?

- Is Explore Beyond Limits referring to exceeding the tolerance limit for bad after sales service/support?

A Short Note on the Future of Economics of MY Malaysia Tanahairku

Econs...never my best subject and yet when I think of my beloved country, Malaysia, I am inspired to write this article - so that we may all be focused on the main issues that affects us in our daily life. As a commoner (one of the many Rakyat), perhaps this is all that I will do as I'm sure governing a country and to lead its people forward is no simple task...

To move forward as a nation, we need to know and determine the factors affecting our nation's health and whether anything can be done for its betterment.

To simply "put it" - we need to know just how much risk Geopolitical instability is to our nation's growth. Say what?

According to an online dictionary, Geopolitic is defined as the relationship among politics and geography, demography, and economics, especially with respect to the foreign policy of a nation.
 

A good example of a governmental policy employing geopolitics: The Nazi doctrine holding that the geographic, economic, and political needs of Germany justified its invasion and seizure of other lands (I add - people's rights inclusive).

You see, Malaysia is considered a still developing country (rated just above Third World). While our optimism for our economy is increasing, it is anticipated that future growth will come from developed markets that are less plagued by geopolitical dilemmas. 

So what's our biggest hurdle? Geopolitical instability.
 

Attacking and addressing this hurdle is made simple by looking at the common examples* of Geopolitical dilemmas,

_1. Slow growth of the GDP / Low demand for Exports;

_2. Low returns from savings and investment;

_3. An inflation rate that is higher than rate of returns from savings and investments;

_4. Sociopolitical instability from a highly combustible cocktail of politics, religion and race;

_5. Unemployment; and

_6. Exchange Rates.

* such a broad range, are we exempted and able to escape at all? Sigh!

So how do we renew and boost our optimism for our nation's future economy?

First things first, we need structural policy and regulatory reforms that are aimed at increasing consumer confidence and greater social and political stability.

By the way, rationalizing subsidies is not one of them as it will only "fuel" inflation (pun intended) - besides, the only major good I see is the elevation of the nation's credit standing for other nations to approve better terms for lending to Malaysia!

Increased foreign investment (not in terms of loans) are a great way to boost our economy and is only attainable when the rate of return on investment is enticing to the investor. 

A Contrasting Example for Investors:

Would you yourself invest in a business where the cost of operations leaves you next to nothing profits? You hire and/or pay less. Then you decide to invest in machinery as automation reduces manual labor, hence less workers to be paid. Then at the end of the day you realize you are paying for power at a premium too. Booyah and I haven"t even mentioned other business factors viz. cost of capital, property and rent, etc!

In fact any other actions that will address the above listed dilemmas in earnest will fair well but please bear in mind that not ALL action is better than NO action.

I rant, I rave and life goes on... 

Footnote:
Breaking news! Still reeling from its aftershock and again, why? Appended today September 26, 2013 - price for RON95 petrol is poised for 'another' increase in near future and this time it's supposed to also 'help' curb petrol smuggling. Way to go - we will never learn.

Curbing Inflation in Malaysia

In times of inflation, the key investment principle to remember is to protect your wealth from being depleted due to inflation. But just how do we do that when investment returns on i.e. savings & deposits are even lower than the perceived rate of inflation?

While the wealth of the government is not the wealth of the people, we shouldn't be shocked when they decide to reduce and/or remove subsidies - in other words telling the people to spend more of their (the people's) wealth on things that the government feels is right.

Facing reality, ready or not, inflation is a growing problem in Malaysia and continued subsidy rationalization will only make it worse. But wait, isn't it the government's top priority to curb inflation? I guess not!

I for one am already experiencing the aggravated effects of the recent increase of 10% in the price of petrol.  High petrol prices sets off inflationary pressures that have a dramatic effect on us (The Rakyat) making us suffer from a rise in prices for the Essentials (Food & Water, Housing and Electricity). When prices are rising and up, they stay up! Need I say more?

Elsewhere in the world, petrol prices are closely watched as they have the ability to trigger a spiral of rising prices. When that happens, what happens? INFLATION INCREASES!

While this article may not be picked anytime soon by the brains behind the latest price hike, I hope that whoever does will at least make sense of why inflation should be curbed.

Selamat Hari Malaysia yang Ke-50, My Email From Najib Razak aka admin@1malaysia.com.my

Bloggermun yang dikasihi.


Tahun ini adalah tahun yang amat bersejarah buat semua rakyat Malaysia. Pada tanggal 16 September, negara kita menyambut ulang tahun rasmi penubuhannya yang ke-50.



Pengisytiharan rasmi penubuhan Malaysia telah dibuat oleh Perdana Menteri Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj pada tarikh bersejarah ini, dalam tahun 1963, di Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.



Pengisytiharan yang disaksikan oleh oleh Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Raja-Raja Melayu, Gabenor-Gabenor Pulau Pinang, Melaka, Sarawak dan Sabah serta 30,000 orang rakyat telah memberi sinar harapan kepada semua.



Pada ketika itu, rakyat berbilang kaum dan agama, mengimpikan kemerdekaan, kebebasan dan kemakmuran dalam sebuah negara yang berdaulat.



Satu kompromi telah dicapai bagi melindungi kepentingan Sabah dan Sarawak bersama Persekutuan Tanah Melayu dalam penubuhan Malaysia. Hak autonomi dan kedudukan kedua-dua buah negeri ini turut dinyatakan dalam Perkara 20, Suruhanjaya Cobbold.



Ingin saya tegaskan bahawa Sabah dan Sarawak tidak pernah dipinggirkan oleh Kerajaan Persekutuan dalam pentadbiran negara. Sebagai Perdana Menteri, saya sentiasa berusaha bagi memastikan pembangunan yang sama rata untuk semua negeri di Malaysia.



Sejak tahun 2010, kerajaan memperuntukkan RM2 bilion untuk melaksanakan sejumlah 79 projek pembangunan infrastruktur asas luar bandar di Sabah dan Sarawak. Pada tahun 2012 sahaja, sejumlah RM62.3 juta dari jumlah ini telah diperuntukkan kepada Koridor Tenaga Diperbaharui Sarawak (SCORE) bagi membiayai beberapa projek, termasuk merekabentuk jalan masuk dan jalan dalam ke Hab Halal Tanjung Manis, bekalan air di Samalaju dan kajian kebolehlaksanaan untuk Taman Sains di Mukah. RM207 juta juga telah diperuntukkan dalam Koridor Pembangunan Sabah bagi melaksana beberapa projek infrastruktur dan pertanian.



Usaha berterusan bagi membangunkan ekonomi Sabah dan Sarawak sentiasa menjadi keutamaan kerajaan Malaysia. Kehidupan masyarakat di kedua-dua buah negeri ini telah banyak berubah berbanding 50 tahun yang lalu, selaras dengan pembangunan global.



Walaupun dalam usia yang muda, Malaysia telah berjaya membina sebuah negara yang disegani, sama ada dari aspek politik, ekonomi dan pembangunan sosial. Pengorbanan dan usaha gigih semua pihak dalam membentuk negara, mempertahankan keamanan dan kemakmuran selama ini akan sentiasa dihargai.



Kepada semua rakyat Malaysia, marilah kita bersama-sama berganding bahu dalam membina kemakmuran ekonomi, mempertahankan kedaulatan dan memelihara keharmonian dalam Negara.



Terima kasih.



Najib Razak



Admin


Untuk melihat infografik penuh, sila klik pautan ini.


http://www.1malaysia.com.my/blog/infografik-hari-malaysia-2/

How to Send An Email That's Clear for Women

Before you send your next professional email, read over this list, and check for these 5 undermining communication habits that are so common for women. Then delete, delete, delete the ones that you find!

You’ll communicate more powerfully — and your colleagues will appreciate the clearer, more succinct writing too.

Here’s your handy checklist – below

“Before You Hit ‘Send’ Checklist” 

____1. Check for “shrinkers” – words like “just,” “actually” and “almost” (As in, “I justthink….”, “I actually disagree,” “I almost want to suggest that we…”) Delete them!

_____2. Check for any unnecessary apologies - places where you are saying sorry for no good reason, or for simply taking up space on the planet. (“Sorry to bother you but,” “Sorry if this is a silly question…)

____3. Check for any instances of “Does that make sense?” “Am I making sense?” or “Do you know what I mean?”. Replace these questions with something like, “I look forward to hearing your thoughts” or “Let me know if you have questions about this.” I know you were just trying to make sure your audience understood you, but you can find out if they have questions without implying that you’ve been incoherent.

_____4. Check for any undermining qualifiers: “I’m just thinking off the top of my head, but…”, “I’m no expert in this, but…,” or “You clearly know about this more than I do but…” Delete the qualifier and just say what you have to say.

_____5. Check for places where you are hiding your point of view behind a question. Instead of sharing your opinion, i.e. “I think this is the wrong direction for us to take” you might have written, “Does everyone feel sure about this direction?” Sure, sometimes, we use questions instead of statements for strategic reasons- to be diplomatic or nonthreatening, but more often we do it because we are afraid to take a stand or we are afraid of being seen as unlikable if we rock the boat. Use questions as replacements for more explicit statements when it’s strategic – but not as a way of hiding your ideas.

There’s your checklist!

Subway Sandwich, the line that never moves...

All about Subway

Typical of a Malaysian "service" outlet, expect no service good enough to make you glow and smile. Even if you do find that special one place that does, it has got to be rarely consistent. AEON and Tesco cashiers, KFC front of house, Pizza Hut servers and most recently Subway Malaysia line employees. Perhaps there are more, care to share?

Off the road Note: TESCO loves to advertise and display racks with no products...for Heaven's sake if the product is off the shelves - remove the price label please!!!

One thing I'm sure it's not the ethnic background of the hire, take Hinods "the Five Ringgit Store" for example - Malays as sweet and accommodating as can be.  Maybe then it's the volume of business - the more business you get, the less friendlier or appreciative the staff is for the business.

Well this video was captured June 24, a Monday and at about ten in the morning. It was only taken after 10 minutes of waiting in a line less than 10... not counting the 3 who left after waiting too long. And, it shows an unmoving line of customers waiting in queue at the Subway outlet in Kepong Village Mall. Although for the world to see, the minimum 3-person staff was down to 2 and it was impossible to provide timely service but the least they could do was to say, "Pardon us for the service wait, may I have your order please?"...

This entry is NOT really all about Subway. It's about the standards of service in Malaysia that is consistently the same. Even worse is when the help hired cannot even communicate properly is the same lingo (not making reference to Myanmars, Nepalese, Vietnamese and Bangladeshis - by the way there is a very fluent in Cantonese foul language Bangladesh cleaner wearing a Malaysian Harvest uniform at AEON Metro Prima, last seen chatting with a heavily smoking Chinese man in the loo). 

Malaysia Boleh?

Majority of Malaysians Do Not...

I am a Malaysian and while what I am about to write may not represent the true Malaysian, I believe that there is some inkling of truth to what follows - please read on...

What makes a Malaysian? By definition, any person born after the first Merdeka (Independence) Day in 1957 is naturally Malaysian. Growing up in Malaysia was fun - people from different backgrounds, religions and ethnic groups mashed up in a wonderful loving environment. The streets back then were relatively safe to with me walking the length of Kuala Lumpur undisturbed. 

Okay maybe that incident with that one Malay drug addict while asleep on the famous KL BMW (Bas Mini Wilayah)...this person attempted to molest this schoolboy (yours truly). I was a scout back then and we had just done an all-nighter in school having carried out a campfire gathering, so I was bushed and fell asleep on the bus only to be rudely awakened by this person stroking my thigh (didn't even stop even when I awoke). Luckily I had my Scout's Knife with me and I persuasively showed him enough to stop, he alighted at the next stop. Good riddance!

Back to topic, so what does the majority of Malaysians not...

• We do not simply park our cars. We park within allocated parking bays.
• We do not key, scrape or dent the car next to us even if they parked too closely to us.
• We abide by the traffic lights rules and stop at red.
• We do not tailgate the person in front who is hogging the lane and holding up traffic.
• We do not suddenly cut in another lane without signaling or at the last moment.
• We queue when it is required. We do not cut queue.
• We do not shout and use international sign language at other car drivers.
• When we walk across roads, we make sure it is safe - walk quickly and at pedestrian crossings. We do not walk slowly daring oncoming traffic and act blind. We also do not hold out our hand, stopping traffic and act as if we own the road.
• We do not walk shoulder to shoulder on narrow walkways with those next to us and prevent other people from overtaking us from behind or getting by us from the front.
• We do not make merry in public places and create a noisy nuisance of ourselves.
• We do not work for the need of money but rather for the purpose of assisting others get things done.
• We do not force others to succumb to our will; rather we show them the way and allow them to choose.
• We do not condone dirty politics and all its ills.
• We do not complain when the neighbor litters the front and the rubbish conveniently  blows to the front of our house.
• We do not also complain when heavy commercial & construction vehicles park and make the nice neighborhood we live in their depot. Even if we did complain to the local municipal, we do not expect much to change.
• We do not wish for change as change is strange, new and unpredictable to us.

There's just so many things that we Malaysians are not but one thing certain - the majority of Malaysians do have 2 things in common, anything that's free AND food! 

So be Malaysian, Malaysia Boleh!

Hot Hazy Summertime Blues in Malaysia

Wikipedia the free encyclopedia describes haze as a traditional atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other dry particles obscure the clarity of the sky.

Well in Malaysia it is very traditional alright, right down to consistently during summer (since 1982 too). Just as if the ozone layer is already not depleted enough and so burning hot! The way I see it, only idiots (because there are definitely more than a few of them) in Indonesia who make it a point year after year to do massive wide open burning.

While the Indonesian Government has only made disparaging retorts so far and in the past along the lines of - "the 'people' doing open burning is no other than those from Malaysia and Singapore", they seem to be nonetheless appreciative of these business mis-adventurers from overseas. Otherwise, why would they be knowledgeable of the nationalities of the perps and yet do nothing constructive and effective against them !?!

Hell they don't even get fined...even if they do - money can't buy back what is already lost, or maybe they are thinking that when the haze lifts and until the next time - it is sufficiently timely for those poor affected souls (such as Malaysians) to "heal" before the next attack!!!

No action doesn't mean that the problem will go away, yes it does but then again what about a year from now !?!

Every year we in Malaysia suffer the same problem with hazardous levels of haze, what are we? Some meek neighbor who only hold weekend parties and stay indoors (gap shut) while the next door neighbor does open burning!?! Oh good! Maybe the wind will blow the haze back in their faces and into their haze-resistant lungs... Hmph! Fat chance of that happening!

Schools closed, eye irritations, breathing difficulties -- WHY WHY WHY must we meekly endure this annual assault to our precious health?

Surely there must be some responsible and caring people in Indonesia who do not appreciate the lack of action and who are equally concerned about their own health and the environment that they live in, right?

There is hope still:

Walhi or Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (Indonesian Forum for the Environment) noted that the root causes of the haze have remained the same, three decades after it became a trans-boundary problem. Quote Walhi's Southern Sumatra acting Executive Director Hadi Jadmiko, "Efforts to stop open burning should begin from the Indonesian Government". He goes on to say that the haze COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF the Government (of Indonesia) had been serious in tackling the issue by coming down hard on open burning over the years.

If not:

Let us pray that the good people in Walhi get elected to government roles of power and hopefully (and thankfully then) will we only have a hot BUT NOT hazy summertime in Malaysia...

Until that happens, I'll be indoors with the air-conditioners on and god forbid having to go outdoors mask on...

By the way, Malaysian Government is ramping up efforts WITHIN Malaysia by telling us to call 999 and report any open burning...

MAHAP

MALAYSIAN AGAINST HAZE & AIR POLLUTION

   

MY beloved Malaysia, Merdeka, Elections and Marching On

Go forth filled with glorious pride Malaysia!

Post Merdeka certainly isn't what it is supposed to be nowadays with so many issues related to racism; otherwise why would there be an endless count of pro-unity advertisements in the media and being exposed to all these ads makes me start to wonder if racial harmony is really at stake.

When I was young (way way back in school), skin color was never an issue. We all mixed well socially and never thought of others as Malay, Chinese, Indian, Punjabi, Eurasian or English. Yes, there was a chap named Mark in school back then and he was from good ol' England. So why should there be an issue since then? I mean, people back then around my age should be the same people now who are now 'perceived' racist right? I really don't know...and we cannot go round asking others if they are racist, except of course we can judge by their actions to know.

Nazism stresses and believes in the superiority of one race over others. After a war and Adolf Hitler, there are still self proclaimed Nazis in this world. But, Malaysians are generally a peace loving lot. It's "in our blood" and culture. We are not Nazis and neither are we some form of the Ku Klux Clan. Racism and all it's extremities has no place in the modern world and certainly never in Malaysia.

What I do know is that racism should never arise as we Malaysians are Satu Malaysia, Satu Bangsa!

Harmony is not forged of tolerance; rather it comes from the mutual understanding and acceptance of one another. Yet, most of the earlier mentioned ads carry the Tolerance message.

Is the Merdeka model now dead? Hah! There is no straight answer because we Malaysians are so diverse. I may be a post Merdeka (way post, read all I could from proper History textbooks) but I think and still believe in Merdeka - it's history, significance and appreciation is a single component that bonds and binds us together...

The 13th General Elections also brought on another side of politicians that we have never seen or heard of -- they who lost started lamenting that the very people they 'helped' had voted for another. Just goes to say that these persons are politicians first before anything. And is it not true that this voting process allows us - a Malaysia citizen to have our say in choosing those whom we believe are capable to be the people's representative in the Parliament, Government and country? Instead of complaining, any proper bona-fide community service provider would have continued doing what they do best, that is to serve the people without falter -- actions do speak louder than words.

I learned long ago that national harmony can be a success only when we know why we are doing it, are clear about what we want to achieve (not Apa Lagi Cina Mahu nonsense) and set ambitious but realistic targets AND expectations. There must not be any trial and error and taking the 'we'll find out as we come upon it' attitude too. There will be a million people who will tell us a million ways why we failed to be Satu Malaysia Satu Bangsa BUT this country has way more than a million people. Right?

So if you are Malaysian and reading this - believe in unity and never back off!

 

Apa Lagi Cina Mahu?

Definitely not for some social misfit like Zaini Hassan to be part of the respected media and Utusan Melayu. Why talk about skin color when we all born and bred in Malaysia are One Bangsa One Malaysia? Even in the below slated reference to his follow up post to Apa Lagi Cina Mahu?, he remains adamant in defending his rants. "Kaum Cina" might have been better, perhaps? Tsk tsk, I should take back my words on trusting the media for unbiased reporting -- sorry that is not reporting; rather it is the writings of a social misfit - a person who does not understand that we are after all Malaysians.

Zaini Hassan rants on about the "blood flowing in Chinese" being the blood of 5,000 years of civilization. Then he talks about Chinese feeling that they can live without Malays in Malaysia.  Come on... is he serious, just how wrong can he be?

To us "Chinese" life is not all about money, Chinese schools, the Chinese Language and Chinese culture. Please wake up if anyone at all still thinks this way (and by the way, I attended a Sekolah Kebangsaan and only picked up the Chinese Language way after school)! Excuse me, I'm Chinese but none of the aforesaid applies to what I need.

Our dear PM, Najib Razak, is already doing so much for the nation -- that I am experiencing (not hearsay, bull**** or whatnots). Mind you, it is not his fault that GE13 went by with poorer results. Just a bit about GE13? The ONLY candidate that I saw in my DUN was the BN's candidate and yet she lost. So what does that say then?

Zaini Hassan goes on further to compare the Chinese in Singapore with that of Malaysia but falls short of making a point. Instead, he praises the Singapore Government for being fair and not bias in favor of Chinese. Are they better for not favoring one over the other? Ahem, just exactly what is he trying to say? Bad choice of an example, I say.  

And that statement about DAP claiming Malaysia belongs to them this time round? Wakey wakey, Malaysia is not for one but for all Malaysians.

So Apa Lagi Cina Mahu? Definitely not "segalanya" or everything. I'm Chinese and I want to live life peacefully and to be able to do the things I love.

Got it? 

  

Reference Source:
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/Rencana/20130508/re_03/Pasca-PRU-13-Ke-mana-Melayu-selepas-ini#ixzz2SqEUnNnv

1 Malaysian's View after GE13

May 5th? Thank the stars it is finally over. Lucky for me the indelible ink wiped off easy too -- according to the SPR chap's media statement the proper process of shaking the ink bottle before application was not done. Whatever.

The political climate in Malaysia certainly makes me uncomfortable -- to either be listening, seeing or reading about gutter (the public thrashing and humiliation of others) politics. Make it a crime punishable to law and I say if there's any expo'se to be done, let the police and media do it after due investigative work!

Moving forward, I'm looking forward to:

A collective Government who will continue to stamp out factors detrimental to a modern civilized prosperous country such as extremism, racism, favoritism and corruption.

Educational programs reaching all levels of society to inform of the backwardness of judging others based on their language, behavior, customs and/or religion. 

A Government that is thrifty and looks after the welfare of all Malaysians irrespective of age, gender or political affiliations. Thrifty also means spending it's money within Malaysia instead of overseas for charity or on humanitarian grounds -- unless of course there is a surplus and it's own people already have enough welfare.

More police presence to deter crime. Though a one-liner but boy oh boy is it critical!

Weeding out all illegals and stopping the influx of immigrants or otherwise risk being overrun, an increasing crime rate plus health and employment concerns.

Country leaders and representatives who are respectful of their status in society and shy away from scandals and misdoings.

SO, please do the needful!

P/S Share This.

PPS I also hope ("hope" coz it's been so long and yet...) the Government doesn't forget the badly in need of tarring roads, traffic and flood systems too while at IT!

MY Guide to Voting in the 13th General Elections

Racism suspended (or preferably eradicated). Peace maintained.

The 13th General Elections in this beloved country Malaysia that I call home will indeed be the "Mother of all Elections". Will the 'Opposition' lead by Anwar of PKR garner more seats than back then in 2008 or will Barisan Nasional triumph and win back seats it lost and more? I care not...

What I do care for is quick and fair elections. Not having to queue long for my time to exercise my rights as a Malaysia citizen and vote. There is no particular 'brand' of politics that I 'succumb' to; rather I always vote for the representative that I believe (hopefully and sincerely) will bring about some change to the area I live.

Manifestos, pledges, propaganda, plans and promises do not work with me. Neither do those haphazardly installed banners and posters along the road. If the message is clear, voting should not be based on last minute marketing efforts. If it is, OMG! To tell you the truth, the incumbent I voted for in 2008? Never met the man before and I don't think I ever will. I think in this aspect Hannah Yeoh is my model of a good representative - easily seen, accessible and approachable. Now tell me how many are like that?

But I do sing praises of the people behind the I Love PM, We Love BN campaign. Goes hand in hand beautifully. If you love the PM than you must love BN and vice versa. Can't go wrong with that!

Most Malaysians do not place a lot of emphasis about history and don't realize that they are inadvertently continuing the same situation from back then. I don't too. I choose to forgive and forget...but this 2013 will be about change. Change that is for the better even if its someone new with no previous track record of achievements, scandals or failures.

No big deal except that you and I will both be voting for Malaysia so choose wisely. Voting is your own responsibility. Don't leave it to others to tell you who to vote (especially not me but I didn't).

Me? I vote for Malaysia. I vote for Harmony. I vote for Peace. I vote for Progressive Action. And, so forth.

MY Wishlist:
For Government leaders will look into income increases reflective of inflation, traffic management systems that no longer make a 30-minute drive an hour (can't say less traffic since its the cars that are daily increasing), improving public safety (i.e. relative of mine who called for emergency police response in Bandar Mahkota Cheras from the police in Sungai Long was asked to call Kajang instead), controlling the surge of foreigners that are neither legal workers nor students, removing unfit drivers from the roads, etc...

  

TESCO Malaysia Everyday Offers, Or Not?

Believe it or not but even the best of Malaysia's superchain hypermarkets do screw up, more than once! 

That's why it is always better to check, check and triple-check before you commit to your purchase. Although there is a written code that in established stores such as Tesco for them to honor the price tag on the product, what happens when instead of a tag -- a generic master tag on the shelf and/or bin is used AND WRONG? 

Hypermarkets are fond of saving manpower on price tagging, so they did away with individual item tagging. It made their life so much easier as price changes could be effected with just a simple one tag change per barcode.

Let me quote my personal experience at Tesco:

I am not too fond at times (too many to count) of having to be informed by the Tesco cashier to get a refund from the Tesco Customer Service Counter. More often there is a queue of customers already waiting their turn. Most of the times when I feel that my time is more precious I would just accept having paid extra because on top of the time spent in queue there is also a waiting time for their Customer Service representative to run to wherever the product in question is located to verify the difference!

Why can't anyone or someone please do their pricing changes efficiently?

I do believe that Tesco already has in employ more than sufficient staff at hand (reference: Kepong Village Mall, Tesco HQ - staff parking already spilled over to 2nd level) to manage and overcome the said problem. Perhaps THEY don't see it as a problem, who knows?

So coming back to the picture proof -- quite hilarious, really. I was informed by one of their floor staff who was busy stocking up the bin, that the product referred to by the price tag was not the product displayed below it but actually meant for another product???

Question: If not, why continue stocking up the same product displayed "since" another product was supposed to be in place?

My actual question was one of curiosity as I only wanted to know why the promotional price is higher than the previous normal pricing!

Lesson learned -- always compare pricing and never believe in "promotions". Lastly, do check the expiry too!

P/S Complaining is also futile, the real people in charge who do care are not easily reachable...

MY Malaysian Dream

Food, shelter, clothing and income. Commerce Study teaches us that these are the essentials for survival. Any less would create hardship and an unbearable existence. 

Born post 1957 did not leave me any less appreciative of the struggles of our predecessors to make this country independent of another country's rule and management. It does however make me feel that Malaysia was never a British Colony -- the British never intended to settle down in Malaysia and procreate. The 3 major races at the time - Malays, Chinese and Indians were the ones that did.

In fact, the United States of America was more a British Colony than we ever were -- in that sense. Pocahontas and her likes are greatly outnumbered today, so to say.

However, the good that the British brought with them, i.e. infrastructure and education cannot be denied.

As a 3rd generation Malaysian being born and bred in this wonderful country called Malaysia, just what exactly is the Malaysian Dream about -- more importantly, am I truly living the Malaysian Dream?

Do I have food? Do I have shelter? Do I have clothing? And, do I have income to sustain them all? So what more do I want then? Is this not the Malaysian Dream?

I don't know.

Perhaps the idle mind has time to ponder and give rise to wants. Wants of power, recognition, equality and more. Are these the new and modern needs of society?

Take for example the antics of politicians during their assembly -- the way they verbally abuse one another in so-solemn a meeting and then there are those  who come to blows. Absolutely shameful!

Maybe that's a bit off topic but hey I can't deny that I abhor publicly elected representatives of the people who have questionable motives and act childishly!

Okay so then what is MY Malaysian Dream?

I want the feeling of being safe and secure at all times - not to be worrying about the crime rate and having to look over my shoulder every now and then. I want to be served by locals instead of cheap imported labor who may sometimes be carrying communicable disease(s). 

I want to know how so many Africans can be in Malaysia without visible signs of employment and income -- don't you agree? At one point they even caused sensational news by being rowdy in the Chow Kit area and a tough enforcement issue due to their size (height and build, of course). But that soon died down and now I see them in Petaling Jaya, Bandar Mahkota Cheras and Kepong. They obviously don't look like students least act like one, so how do they sustain having a car, apartment etc.? The Burmese (Myanmarese) can at least be seen working in local eateries - whether legally or otherwise, who knows?

I pray that people in the Government act maturely, responsibly and in the best interest of the public at large. Same goes for news agencies who highlight political antics -- for them to stay on track and unbiased. As far as the public is concerned, I feel that a good government is felt and not always be heard or to be seen. I'm looking forward to the 13th General Elections -- waking up early in the morning, dressing up, going to the voting centre and then standing in a long queue for my turn.

I want straight answers from government agencies that have to be dealt with. I don't want the merry go round treatment.

I don't want the once a year haze party from across  the sea. I HATE HAZE! Even smokers do not appreciate another smoker blowing their cigarette smoke at them -- after all, we do have our own open burners.

I want less traffic jams (as if that would really happen)! I want Traffic enforcers at every street corner to ensure that motorists do not cut queue, speed, go through red traffic lights, throw rubbish, spit and tailgate. There are just so many inconsiderate people on the roads these days that driving out is like going on to a battlefield -- if you don't hit them, they hit you! 

So what do I really want?

I want to wake up every morning and safely enjoy life freely...perhaps then I'll surely be living MY Malaysia Dream.