To re-conquer.......Apr 2010

2009-08-10T08:19:00.000+08:00

Monday August 10, 2009

Kuching braces for water rationing

By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: More areas in Sarawak are facing water rationing, including its capital city Kuching, unless there is heavy rain soon, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam.
He said to date over 100,000 people were affected by water woes and the problem was getting more acute by the day.
“The rural areas in Sarikei and Mukah divisions in central Sarawak were initially hit, but the problems has now spread to southern Sarawak, hitting the state capital as well,” he said yesterday.
Kuching City has a population of about 500,000.
“More than 100,000 are in dire need of water now. It has become very dry. The most critical areas that need attention are Sarikei and Kuching divisions.
“Water rationing has already started in Sarikei. We will carry out rationing in Kuching as well soon. The water shortage is critical, even more critical than the forest fires and haze situation,’’ he said in an interview.
Dr Chan, who is state Disaster Relief Committee chairman, said rationing could not be avoided because the water levels in rivers and dams throughout the state were rapidly falling, some reaching alarmingly levels.
On the delay in cloud-seeding efforts, he said the aircraft was already on standby, but the operations could not be carried out because of the absence of rain clouds.
“Cloud-seeding will not work with low cloud density. For now, we must conserve the remaining water that we have in the dams and rivers as much as possible.
“That is why water rationing is the only option until we can induce some rain,” he stressed.
Dr Chan, who is also state Industrial Development Minister and state Agriculture Modernisation Minister, said the forest and peat fires raging in northern Sarawak were making the situation worse.
“The fires are spreading fast because the ground is dry,” he added.
Dr Chan, who visited the fire sites near the Sarawak-Brunei trans-boundary bridge, said the fires were getting worse.
He appealed to the public to stop all forms of open-burning, adding that without their help, the fires, haze and water-shortage problems would only deteriorate further.
More than 3,000ha of forests and peat land have already been ravaged by fires near the border, with another 1,000ha still on fire, causing massive air pollution.

The Star Online Wednesday May 27, 2009

2009-05-27T08:01:00.010+08:00

Study confirms mothers-in-law are the chief cause of divorces

By YENG AI CHUN

KUALA LUMPUR: Every married person knows it, but a local study has confirmed it – mothers-in-law are the chief cause of divorces, especially in the Indian community.

Data in the Malaysia Community and Family Study 2004 by the National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) revealed that “meddlesome in-laws” is the number one reason why Indian couples get divorced.

It is also among the top three factors for divorce among the Malays and Chinese. The other two factors are incompatibility (42.3%) and infidelity (12%).

“Interference by in-laws is the main reason for Indians to divorce. It is the top-ranked reason at 30%,” said LPPKN director-general Datuk Aminah Abdul Rahman when presenting a paper on Malaysia’s family profile and its effects at Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia yesterday.

Infidelity is the marriage breaker among the Malays and Indians but it is tolerated among the Chinese.

“Among Malays, the second most common reason is infidelity and refusal to put up with polygamy,” she said.

“Among the Indians, infidelity is the second highest ranked reason for divorce at 25%,” she said.

However, the Chinese considered infidelity as the least crucial reason for a divorce.

Cheating was at the bottom along with health and gambling addiction at 4.2%.

Surprisingly, abuse is not a reason for divorce among the Malays and Chinese, but is a reason among Indians at 5%.

“Another overall reason which ranked high among the three races at 11.5% is ‘not being responsible’,” she said.

Although it is common perception that the family institution is quite fragile and divorces are rampant, data shows otherwise - only 0.7% of the population was divorced in 2000.

The data shows that divorce is more likely to happen to those under 25 and above 40.

Meanwhile, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said that more Malaysian women were choosing to marry later in life and it could cause a reduction in fertility rate and an ageing society.

“The National Family Policy and its action plan will address this issue of late marriages,” she said.

The policy would be presented to the Cabinet soon.

The Malaysian Insider Thursday May 14 2009

2009-05-14T07:58:00.002+08:00

May 13, 1969: View from a food court 40 years later

By Lee Wei Lian

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — "May 13? What is that?" That was not the answer I was expecting when I first approached a table of Chinese students from a top private college having supper to ask them what they thought of the race riots, often touted by politicians as a black mark on race relations, that happened 40 years ago.
And the student I asked, Alvin from Kuala Lumpur, had never even heard of it.
I had come to Asia Cafe in SS15 in Subang Jaya a couple of nights ahead of the 40th anniversary of May 13, 1969. The food court is a magnet for students and young adults who gather underneath a huge willowy angsana tree to indulge in the modern Malaysian ritual of watching European football on giant projection screens while sipping drinks with friends and supping on sizzling seafood.
I was on a mission to hear what members of the generation born two decades after the riots had to say about it.
As it turns out, not many find the May 13 riots relevant as they feel they occurred at a time too distant in the past and were of no consequence to their lives. However, everyone had a lot to say about the secondary topic which is the state of race relations today.
The first table that agreed to talk consisted of three twentysomething Malay friends; two students and one batik designer. All three, their responses delivered in a mix of English and Malay, had an inkling that it was some sort of "scary" fight between races and all agreed it would not happen again. "Dah OK, semua boleh terima, sepadu (It's all OKI now, we can accept each other and are united)," said Ariff, 23, a student.
But surely everything was not hunky dory? What about all that segregation between the races which begins by them going to different school systems? Even the tables at Asia Cafe were filled according to race.
"Remaja OK, pemikiran lain dari orang tua. Kita pandang depan dan pemikiran kita positive (Youth think differently from the older generation. We look forward and think positively)," said Wan, 25, the batik designer.
"Mungkin sekolah Cina, keluarga yang paksa. Anak tak nak (as for Chinese schools, maybe the parents forced them to go but the kids don't want to)," he adds.
What an interesting way of looking at it, I thought.
With such relentlessly positive and upbeat sentiments, I left the table satisfied that this group was optimistic about ethnic harmony in Malaysia.
The second table which agreed to talk consisted of a large group of twentysomething Malay students and working adults. Sharply dressed, hair fashionably highlighted and fluent in English, this group had far more diverse views than the first.
But first, an argument broke out over whether Indians were involved in the May 13 incident or was it just Malays and Chinese killing each other?
Once the argument fizzled out, Papa, 23, an event manager from Shah Alam, said that as far as he was concerned, May 13 was in the past and should stay there.
"I don't care what happened last time," he exclaimed.
"I care about what will happen in the future. I don't see any problem here," he said gesturing at the diverse crowd at Asia Cafe. "I think racial problems are all political propaganda. It is better for us to be together. Race is not an issue. I hope the politicians will please unite. Please write that."
Ika, a girl with an intense gaze, disclosed that her mother's family is from the epicentre of the race riots — Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur.
"My grandmother told me how she and my grandfather used to hide Chinese to stop them from being killed by other Malays," she said.
"It is a peaceful country right now but if you go deeper, there is still a thin line between the races. It's all about mentality. I can like some Chinese, I can hate some Chinese. People today are smarter and more flexible. But we cannot take this comfortable environment today for granted and we must learn from May 13 so it is not repeated."
Lin, a petite 24-year-old from Seremban, works in a Chinese company and observes that while there are no racial problems, the main issue is that Malaysians tend to cling to members of their own race.
So how does she feel working in a Chinese company?
"I didn't want to work in an all-Malay company and it has been good because they really push us and they always think about how to make money," she replied with a soft smile.
But does she feel discriminated against as a Malay?
"A little bit in terms of salaries and benefits," she says shyly.
When I apologise, several in the group wave it off with loud protests. "Maybe Chinese working in Malay companies will face the same thing," Lin adds graciously.
CC, 24, who works with a consulting company, says that it is no use fighting over something that happened 40 years ago and that people should choose to make friends with all races.
"I have this Chinese friend who has many Malay friends," she says. "We should learn from the Black Eyed Peas and Bob Marley and promote love and peace."
Ika thinks the country is starved of heroes that can unite all Malaysians. "We need someone like (Mahatma) Gandhi. We lack such heroes in Malaysia."
The talk then veered off tangent to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and other politicians.
Just then, Alfie, a Malay friend of Papa's, swaggers by, sporting a huge afro.
Papa hails Alfie in slightly accented Tamil.
You speak Tamil?
"A little bit," said Papa. "A friend taught me. Do you know what I said?"
I shake my head regretfully. I also take Alfie's appearance as my cue to move on.
It is now past midnight and my last table is the group of 19-year-old Chinese college kids having a late supper.
"May 13? What is that?" said Alvin. "I have never heard of it."
His friend Dave, however, had heard of it and moved closer in order to share his views.
"May 13 was a racial issue," he replied when asked his understanding of it.
Was he worried it might happen again?
"Yeah, I am worried. But I am getting used to it."
But did what happen in 1969 affect your life today?
"I don't think it affects my life today."
And how does he see race relations today?
"I feel we (Chinese) are treated like immigrants. Some race relationships are good and some are not. I think racial problems will never end."
At that point, a third student, Kelvin, jumped in.
"We have learned the lesson from May 13, 1969. Our government then gave benefits to the Malays so that they felt appreciated and we could avoid the Malays killing the Chinese. Everyone likes to be treated specially. Our government is now organising many activities to bring the different races together."
At this point Dave is shaking is head in disagreement with arms folded. "I don't think so. I don't think the government is doing enough," he said.
And how are race relations at their college?
"The different races will mix for projects but eat separately," says Dave. "Sometimes, it can't be helped due to halal issues with food. But during projects, racial unity is there. But I feel the government is doing something only after they lost five states in last year's general election."
Kelvin responds by leaping to the government's defence. "We can't do things overnight. We are still a developing country."
By this time, Alvin can no longer keep quiet and decides to cut in. "How long do you want? 20 years? 30 years? Until you die? Japan can build a bullet train in less than a year. Here to build a less advanced train line takes so much longer."
"But a lot of talented Malaysians left to work in Singapore. They are materialistic," argued Kelvin.
"It is not materialistic. It is realistic," retorts Alvin. "No money, no honey."
He then returns to the issue of race relations. "As long as you have people of different races, you will have racial problems — unless everyone is educated."
When it is pointed out that some politicians who make racially tinged remarks are educated, Alvin shrugs.
I then conclude our conversation by soliciting their feelings about the future, which turn out to be mixed.
At this point, a fourth friend, JT, decides to join in.
"I can't see the future for Malaysia," he says. "It's unlike Japan where you can definitely see it is rising. But Malaysia, who knows? I can't tell its future."
I thank the boys and get up to leave.
It is almost 1 in the morning but in true Malaysian fashion, Asia Cafe is only just coming alive. The tables are laden with drinks and food ranging from satay to burgers to char koay teow. The latest song from pop megastar Beyonce fails to to drown out that strange but familiar sound — excited chatter in a multitude of languages spoken by Malaysian of different colours.

The Malaysian Insider Tuesday May 12 2009

2009-05-12T23:22:00.002+08:00

AirAsia's forward-thinking marketing strategies key to success

MAY 12 - It sponsors reality game show The Amazing Race Asia and F1 team AT&T Williams, recruits pilots through a blogging contest and stays in touch with customers via Facebook, Twitter and blog accounts.

AirAsia's quirky means of promotion has certainly helped make the airline a household name. Yet, barely eight years ago when it began operations, AirAsia had just two planes and a host of obstacles - Sars and the Sept 11 terrorist attacks included - preventing it from taking off.

Today, the Malaysia-based budget airline boasts a fleet of 80 aircraft that ply over 122 routes, with 480 flights to more than 65 destinations daily.

Group CEO Tony Fernandes has been instrumental in building the AirAsia brand. Known for its strong marketing and branding culture, AirAsia was recognised as one of Malaysia's 30 Most Valuable Brands in 2008, and also made it to US-based business magazine Fast Company's top 50 list of most innovative companies in the world last year.

THE BOLD AND THE CREATIVE

Explaining the reason behind AirAsia's strong marketing culture, Kathleen Tan, its regional head of commercial, said: "Marketing reflects brand attitude and personality. We're bold, inspired and we encourage out-of-the-box thinking. We do things differently and do not submit to mediocrity."

She revealed that AirAsia's creative marketing input comes not only from its marketing team, but from staff, including pilots, engineers and ground crew.

She said: "When somebody comes up with a pioneering idea, we don't shoot it down and say: 'Oh, that's unconventional.' Instead, we play with the idea and find the best way to employ it to advance our brand or introduce new products and services."

CONQUERING THE WORLD

In 2007, the new low-cost, long-haul affiliate of AirAsia was launched. Called AirAsia X, the first flight was from Kuala Lumpur to Gold Coast, Australia. In March this year, AirAsia X made its first flight to London, with the one-way fare as low as US$218 (RM784.4) .

Flights to Langkawi and Penang were announced recently, while plans are underway to fly to Taiwan.

To promote its brand and services to these locales, one marketing strategy AirAsia uses is brand association.

Tie-ups with some of the biggest global organisations - such as Manchester United Football Club - allow AirAsia to be associated with other brands "which add personality and ups the airline's cool factor", according to Ms Tan.

She added: "We're building our brand into the international market and brand association with the best global names help us. Such a branding strategy will instill trust and confidence in AirAsia as a leading player in the industry."

BUILDING A BRAND TAKES YOU A LONG WAY

Last September, after Mr Fernandes attended three business conferences, he wrote on his blog: "The value of a brand is hard to quantify and investment in a brand is always hard to justify, but the last few weeks showed me how important it is and how our investment over the last six years has paid off handsomely."

He explained that after attending these conferences, he realised that AirAsia has since become synonymous with low cost travel.

"When we need to make new contacts, look for finances and build new relationships, it's much easier because everyone knows AirAsia. So, the extra revenue, time and cost savings can arise by promoting your brand," he wrote.

And that is why AirAsia has no plans to cut its marketing budget despite the downturn. On the contrary, Ms Tan says AirAsia sees the recession "as an opportunity for us to pull ahead of other airlines".

As Mr Fernandes said in the same blog post: "Don't worry about (the) economic slowdown. The best time to build a brand is when everyone else is cutting (their marketing budgets)." - Today

Wisdom from Lee Kuan Yew's Daughter

2009-03-07T16:43:00.001+08:00

In 2007, in an end-of-year message to the staff of the National Neuroscience Institute, I wrote: 'Whilst boom time in the public sector is never as booming as in the private sector, let us not forget that boom time is eventually followed by slump time. Slump time in the public sector is always less painful compared to the private sector.'

Slump time has arrived with a bang.
While I worry about the poorer Singaporeans who will be hit hard, perhaps this recession has come at an opportune time for many of us. It will give us an incentive to reconsider our priorities in life.

Decades of the good life have made us soft. The wealthy especially, but also the middle class in Singapore, have had it so good for so long, what they once considered luxuries, they now think of as necessities.

A mobile phone, for instance, is now a statement about who you are, not just a piece of equipment for communication. Hence many people buy the latest model though their existing mobile phones are still in perfect working order.

A Mercedes-Benz is no longer adequate as a status symbol. For millionaires who wish to show the world they have taste, a Ferrari or a Porsche is deemed more appropriate.

The same attitude influences the choice of attire and accessories. I still find it hard to believe that there are people carrying handbags that cost more than thrice the monthly income of a bus driver, and many more times that of the foreign worker labouring in the hot sun, risking his life to construct luxury condominiums he will never have a chance to live in.

The media encourages and amplifies this ostentatious consumption. Perhaps it is good to encourage people to spend more because this will prevent the recession from getting worse. I am not an economist, but wasn't that the root cause of the current crisis - Americans spending more than they could afford to?

I am not a particularly spiritual person. I don't believe in the supernatural and I don't think I have a soul that will survive my death. But as I view the crass materialism around me, I am reminded of what my mother once told me: 'Suffering and deprivation is good for the soul.'

My family is not poor, but we have been brought up to be frugal. My parents and I live in the same house that my paternal grandparents and their children moved into after World War II in 1945. It is a big house by today's standards, but it is simple - in fact, almost to the point of being shabby.

Those who see it for the first time are astonished that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's home is so humble. But it is a comfortable house, a home we have got used to. Though it does look shabby compared to the new mansions on our street, we are not bothered by the comparison.

Most of the world and much of Singapore will lament the economic downturn. We have been told to tighten our belts. There will undoubtedly be suffering, which we must try our best to ameliorate.

But I personally think the hard times will hold a timely lesson for many Singaporeans, especially those born after 1970 who have never lived through difficult times.

No matter how poor you are in Singapore, the authorities and social groups do try to ensure you have shelter and food. Nobody starves in Singapore.
Many of those who are currently living in mansions and enjoying a luxurious lifestyle will probably still be able to do so, even if they might have to downgrade from wines costing $20,000 a bottle to $10,000 a bottle. They would hardly notice the difference.

Being wealthy is not a sin. It cannot be in a capitalist market economy. Enjoying the fruits of one's own labour is one's prerogative and I have no right to chastise those who choose to live luxuriously.

But if one is blinded by materialism, there would be no end to wanting and hankering. After the Ferrari, what next? An Aston Martin? After the Hermes Birkin handbag, what can one upgrade to?

Neither an Aston Martin nor an Hermes Birkin can make us truly happy or contented. They are like dust, a fog obscuring the true meaning of life, and can be blown away in the twinkling of an eye.

When the end approaches and we look back on our lives, will we regret the latest mobile phone or luxury car that we did not acquire? Or would we prefer to die at peace with ourselves, knowing that we have lived lives filled with love, friendship and goodwill, that we have helped some of our fellow voyagers along the way and that we have tried our best to leave this world a slightly better place than how we found it?

We know which is the correct choice - and it is within our power to make that choice.

In this new year, burdened as it is with the problems of the year that has just ended, let us again try to choose wisely.

To a considerable degree, our happiness is within our own control, and we should not follow the herd blindly.

The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute.

The best is yet to come by Hannah Yeoh

2009-03-07T16:27:00.000+08:00

Friday, February 20, 2009

So many people have been telling me just how frustrated they are with the current political situation in our country. Some have told me that they regretted voting for change because of the political instability now and would prefer returning to their old style of voting - vote for stability and forget about having a stronger opposition and greater check and balance. I shudder at the thought of this! One needs to remember the reason why we are seeing such great resistance for change is simply because there is much to lose for those who have been in power for so long. For decades there have been so much abuses of power, unchecked misuse of public funds and plain dirty corruption. With a stronger opposition now, they stand to lose their illegal sources of income and some may even be charged and sent to prison if they are found guilty. With this in mind, they will fight at all costs to reclaim back power and to ensure they can continue to steal public funds from the people for their own enrichment. We are not just dealing with differences in politics; we are combating evil forces who will not rest till they secure back their powers and illegal sources of income.

Sometimes I feel equally frustrated and disillusioned about the political situation too. Sometimes I lay awake thinking of how to effect change in this land. Some days I cry while driving in between meetings thinking of what's left for the future generation in this land if we give up now. I have endured much verbal attack from political enemies, accusation after accusation of me not doing anything for my constituents and etc. No one truly understands the resistance we face daily in discharging our duties except for my fellow PR assemblymen. Robert Kennedy once said ‘Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator and change has its enemies.’ Our enemies are resisting change but we must stand firm and continue to push for a competent, accountable and transparent government. At the end of each day, as I lay myself to sleep, I ask God for strength, wisdom and protection to face the next. I look forward to the end of the term when I can tell the people of Subang Jaya that I have remained clean and have not stolen any of the taxpayers' funds. As reminded by Raja Petra in his blog "Please continue your struggle to make Malaysia a better place for our future generation. This country belongs to them and it is for them that we struggle." All hope is not lost. Come the next election, vote out the corrupt once and for all. Hang in there supporters and friends, the best is yet to come!

The above is posted by Hannah Yeoh at her blog http://hannahyeoh.blogspot.com/

Pushing LIMITS

2009-01-08T17:39:00.000+08:00

I tend to see PUSHING LIMITS on oneself is a form of self-improvement. But, you need to know if you have done enough on it and make sure you don't over-stretch.

Today, my 2nd child, Patrick skipped school (4th day of Primary One) after complaining being not well. I asked which part of his body. He pointed to his heart, stomach and basically everywhere. He had a dramatic crying scene just outside the class. Being an obedient and positive child in nature, I know he has pushed his limits. I suppose as parents, we can read their minds from their attitude (not during teenage probably).

So, I took his to my office and the moment we entered my room, he gave me the sweetest smile I ever see. Have a pushed his limits?

2009

2009-01-01T00:13:00.001+08:00

For the past two weeks, I have been gathering info on market outlook for 2009 and the conclusion is Bad economically:

A banker said export has dropped.
A well-known local retailer said sales has dropped 30%.
A car seller said sales dropped.
A restaurant owner said less people eat out now.
A pub owner said business has dropped by 50%.
A coffee shop owner said sales is as usual.

My conculsion is if everyone cuts down their spending by 30%, of course local market will shrink by 30% and it has nothing to do with bad economy. So isn't it clear most of us have in fact over spent all this while? If you can survive now with 30% less then why not spend wisely?

But my urge to all, during this bad time due to external effect, do spend more in order to boost local economy.

Adios 2008 and Welcome to 2009!!! Happy New Year to all my blog readers and Wishing you more spending in 2009.

Facebook.....

2008-12-05T00:56:00.003+08:00

Eversince my last post in this blog somewhere end of Sept, 2008, I accidently came across FACEBOOK webpage. The very first account I viewed belongs to Eric Phang aka Heroes. I wasn't impressed in the first place due to unfamiliarity (most probably Eric has too many stuffs placed in!!! Sorry!). As I ploughed along, I discovered my liking and I started to create my account.

From liking to loving and now hooked up. I am amazed by its networking technology. Very powerful indeed and I really have to thank its creator, Mark Zuckerberg! But watch out because of it's nakedness in privacy...I mean comments you said can be seen by all your 'friends'.

I found my long lost buddy, Eleutherius Liew who is now based in S'pore! I made friends from people round the world! Tech brings down the world curtain!

So after 2 months of hovering at facebook, I'm back to blogging...charting my life history once again. So folks, my apology for MIA and may you continue to visit my blog and most of all enjoy reading it.

World's Shortest Essay

2008-09-25T14:49:00.000+08:00

This is a story of a 16 year old boy from New Hampshire , England who won the World's shortest essay competition. He was awarded a scholarship at the University of Harvard for his imagination and
humour ...

Here's an example of absolute brilliance....Shortest Essay:
An English university creative writing class was asked to write a concise essay containing the following elements:

1) Religion 2) Royalty 3) Sex 4) Mystery
The prize-winner wrote:
'My God,' said the Queen, 'I'm pregnant. I wonder who the father is'.

Social security in Kuching

2008-09-23T00:02:00.000+08:00

I haven't been reading Sarawak based newspaper for the past months due to super 'attraction' to local politics movement which I normally view online.

Just happened that i picked up today's Eastern Times and basically there are 2 groups of news making local headline: Local political scene, Robbery and road accidents. Let me just summarise the robbery cases reported:

COMMON CASE: House break-in (under the sun light or under the moon light who cares!!!), snatching
NEW SCENARIO: A group of friends having meal at Open Market was robbed by 3 guys at knife point!!! KNN, just imagine you are robbed (and you are not alone!!!) while having meal at the most open and frequented by people.

Just happened that a friend of mine today shared this recent news in Kuching that protection money is being demanded from a local pub and upon friendly gestures of the pub manager who offered free drinks to the gangster instead of money, the poor fellow was beaten up and landed in ICU. This has been headlined in local chinese newspaper.

Where is social security nowadays?

My darling used to say, 'Honey, who are you going to have drinks tonight?' 'Friends lah, of course!', I replied. 'Don't stay up too late yah, many bad guys nowadays.', she said. 'Aiya I'm with friends mah. Where got alone? Why worry when I'm not alone? Go to Open market eat beef noodle and drink soya bean only', I lamented.

I think I'm having second thoughts now whenever I want to go out nowadays especially at night. It's very sad because Kuching, once a peaceful city is now a dungeon of robbers and gangsters. BTW, I felt sick after reading all these negative news. No wonder my buddies migrate to overseas one by one.

Are our authorities doing enough or have the crime rate increased exponentially? Are the punishment severe enough in order to deter the convicts committing the same case again?

Psychological effect

2008-09-19T00:25:00.000+08:00

If you are always lamented as 'STUPID', 'STUPID' and 'STUPID' for any mistake that you have done, you are actually going through the process of accepting the psychological effect that you are STUPID which in actual fact that none of us are born stupid unless you think you are.

Our country is going through the process of changing the country premier and he has been pressured to hand over his job earlier than planned. Everywhere he goes he would be asked whether he would hand over his job earlier so in the end he is actually psychologically effected to hand over the job earlier though he initially stick to his plan consistently. Poor fella.

Paul Potts at Britain's Got Talent

2008-09-12T00:56:00.001+08:00

Must Watch, Truly truly fantastic......

Watch this link and watch the judges faces. This is a story about a guy, a guy like most of us, common, questioning his existences, measuring himself to others, never believing in his abilities or his worth. Then one day, his passion outgrew his fears as he stepped onto a stage, a stage that took him to a place beyond his self imposed prison. Watch the faces of the judges as this guy walks out on the stage. You can almost see what they're thinking as they pre-judge this guy based on his looks and the fact that he's a cell phone salesman. Maybe this guy stopped believing in what people told him for so many years and ultimately started listening to his passion .

http://www.maniacworld.com/Phone-Salesman-Amazes-Crowd.html

Proof of global warming

2008-09-12T00:10:00.001+08:00

you see you see.... ha, this is the proof :

bitTorrent

2008-08-31T01:32:00.001+08:00

It is either sign of age catching up or what cuz after dozing off for 2 hours, here I am blogging cuz can't continue my sleep.

Anyway after checking my download, am glad cuz finally it is running at 40kB/s+. You just have to enable Encryption which can be done if you see a red or yellow triangle symbol at the bottom of the program page.

Got some latest movies Scorpion King 2 and Batman-Dark Knight being downloaded......thanks to aXXo for his kind contribution. Thanks to bitTorrent for the excellent P2P program. Gosh, if I have discovered this guy earlier, I would have saved a lot of money! A rough count of my movie DVD collection....almost 100. Average at RM8 for DVD = RM800 (or RM5k if original version). The only thing is I have yet burn the downloaded movies under DVD and I do hope it does have good sound track or else I will revert to the RM8 DVD cuz the sound effect is just as important for me apart from good picture quality.

Malaysia Today blocked! Order from Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)

2008-08-28T00:03:00.003+08:00

From Malaysia Kini news (check out Bahasa version for full FREE story)

This is surely worst then day light robbery.

The person who instructed that is insane.

The person who follow the instruction is 'gu gon'.

The person who follow this issue will say 'kanasai'.

To locate Malaysia-today.net, just ype 202.75.62.114 at the address bar of your web browser.

Foochow dialect crash course...

2008-08-03T22:03:00.002+08:00

Capitol Hotel, KL

2008-08-02T00:57:00.003+08:00

Went to KL recently for MII (Malaysia Insurance Institute) and stayed at Capitol Hotel.

Room No: 1807 (front facing: posterior site of Sungei Wang Plaza)
Price per night: RM240+ (deluxe room)
Location: behind Sungei Wang Plaza (KL golden triangle area)
Room facility: Standard
Cleaniness: Good
Comments: A nice hotel with very basic facility (cafe and wifi).
-ve: No swimming pool nor gym. Check-in hall could have been better designed with proper seating for guests. A bit cramp.
+ve: But a nice basic hotel if shopping is your aim. Low Yat, Pavillion, Starhill, Bukit Bintang, Sungei Wang are all within walking distance. A pity I didn't bring my camera for some scene shooting. Very cooling air-cond.

Accountability

2008-07-13T22:37:00.003+08:00

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/7/13/lifefocus/1575681&sec=lifefocus

My mind of politic accountability has been spoken by above article which is a good read.

I personally think a politician should uphold the accountability as their priority in their work, in their capacity as RAKYAT representative.

I remembered I read a headline news in NZ whereby a minister's daughter has driven her mother's official ministry car for a night out and she was caught with 2 charges:

1) High level of alcohol;
2) Driving a minister official car

The minister was asked to explain why she allowed her daughter to use the official car, to the Parliment in the very next meeting.

Addiction

2008-07-11T22:25:00.004+08:00

My addictions have been squash, pc games, console games just to name a few. But those have been the past or rather 'part time' addiction now.

My current addiction are web surfing and mobile phone.

(1) Laptop
Bugger, I have been out of laptop for 2 weeks and has been such a pain in the a##. I have my personal and official data which I carry with it everyday. When it was down with corrupted registry (don't ask how I got it, obviously some viruses), only I realised I have depended/relied too much on it. But is there any way that can make my work nor personal life as 'normal' without it? I can't. I spend at least 2 hrs per day in front of the computer screen.

The funny thing is human has invented computers to assist in their daily work or lifestyle. Read carefully, 'to assist' but for me is rather to live with it!!!!

(2) Mobile phone
I only started using mobile phone in 2002. Got it as my bday gift. Six yrs have passed. I can definitely live without it but it definitely makes my life a hell lot easier.

Technology makes our life easier but at the same time makes us less useful in some ways.

I used to be able to remember at least 100 phone nos. Probably, my dear Joe Sia can be my witness if he still can recall our memory challenge when we stayed in Miri back in 1990. But now, I can hardly recall up to 30 at one time while my mobile phone has 400+ nos of mine.

No 9 Blacksmith Road, Sibu

2008-07-10T22:09:00.021+08:00

I was born at Hospital Sibu and lived on the First Floor, No 9 Blacksmith Road, Sibu for 13 years eversince my first day light.

(1) Lido Cinema - fire
So many happy and sad moments happened. I recalled the night (I was in late primary school) when Lido Cinema was burnt. Awakened by fire burning screaming by neighbours, I went to our room window and saw this huge fiery fire, seemed like englutting the terrace shops adjacent to it. It was 2-4am in the morning and my youngest uncle, Joe (who came back from Canada for holiday) had just tucked comfortably in bed was one of the very first among our family members to alert everybody. Two amazing things observed. I ran with my dad to Lido to assess the situation and only to be scared off by the explosion of the boiler on the cinema roof. That just signalled to us to move out our belonging as quickly and as much as possible. The only thing for me were my books. Ran home and packed all my books, as many as I could carry. My dad was busy grabbing all documents (birth cert etc). My two younger brothers were too young to assist. Hurrying out from our home with those stuffs, we figured there could be time to grab clothing since there were another block of shops un-torched by the fire!!! So off we went again and this time down with clothing. I think we repeated until we almost moved everything possible except for furnitures. Our floor occupied not just my family but also our grandparents, Uncle Kuok and family and our youngest aunty, Penny. There were this amazing energy to move all our stuffs out without feeling tired at all. I guess the anxiety produced extra energy for us to be superhuman because when the fire was gone, the pile of stuffs were all scattered on the Blacksmith Road and we were not the only families having that. The atmosphere was more like a garage sale for Blacksmith Road occupants!!!The second observation: there was this woman dressed oddly who suddenly appeared and kneeled down and waved her both hands in the air waving and chanted some unknown words. Pretty scary ya! That time the fire at Lido was at the peak. Co-incidently or not, the fire was under controlled after the lady chating. None of us from Blacksmith Road knew who this lady was.

(2) Dream
When we all moved out from No 9, none of us (among cousins) actually shared that in fact we all have had the same dream REPEATEDLY when we were in our childhood. The truth was only revealed when we (myself, Simon, Jeff, Shirley, Sophia, Emily) had a gathering few years later at Uncle Kuok residence at Rejang Park after moving out from No 9. I started by saying I used to have dreams of (a) jumping down from No 9 balcony, sometimes landed on the road or car roof; (b) jumping from balcony to balcony (beighbour); (c) climbing down from the balcony beam. I could see my cousins jaw dropped when I said that because their delayed response were: "I also have those dreams EXACTLY like you described"

Any logical explanation for the lady appearance and her act and also our SAME childhood dreams?

MOTHER'S EMPTY CHAIR

2008-07-10T22:08:00.002+08:00

A woman's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her sick mother. When the minister arrived, he found the woman lying in bed with her head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside her bed. The minister assumed that the woman had been informed of his visit. 'I guess you were expecting me, he said.' No, who are you?' said the mother. The minister told her his name and then remarked, 'I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up.' 'Oh yeah, the chair,' said the bedridden woman. 'Would you mind closing the door?' Puzzled, the minister shut the door. 'I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter,' said the woman. 'But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head.' I abandoned any attempt at prayer,' the woman continued, 'until one day four years ago; my best friend said to me, 'Betty, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest. 'Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I will be with you always'. 'Then just s peak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now.' 'So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day.I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.' The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the woman to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with her, anointed her with oil, and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her mother had died that afternoon. Did she die in peace?' he asked.Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock , she called me over to her bedside, told me she loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found her. But there was something strange about her death. Apparently, just before Mother died, She leaned over and rested her head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?' The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, 'I wish we could all go like that.'

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive.
I asked God for water, He gave me an ocean.*
I asked God for a flower, He gave me garden.*
I asked God for a friend, He gave me all of YOU...

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God
Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, thank God.

Politic and Business

2008-07-04T22:10:00.002+08:00

Our country has been a laughing stock these few days over the issue of the Mongolian lady, DPM and Bala's SD.

I'm just speechless reading all the reports abt Bala retracting his 1st SD. Don't talk abt politic, economic or social responsibility. Just where is sanity? If you are following the issue progress, you might as well go and read Harry Potter.

Speechless totally speechless. This event is CLEARING showing the struggle and hunger for and to be in POWER and SUPREMACY to 'RULE' .

$ is the pushign factor for all these happenings. They lie without face colour changing. None of the Bollywood nor Hollywood stars can compete with them in terms of their acting skill. Any nomination for this category?

+ve and -ve chi in office

2008-07-03T22:08:00.003+08:00

I have discovered something today and I think I have to share it.

The whole of last week till today was like hell to me in office. I dreaded getting up from my cosy bed and dragging myself to work. What to do? It's the $ sign that keeps me going.

I have been part time life insurance agent for 6 mths now and I have always look forward to the weekly meeting on Tue night. This is despite having a full day of work and still able to sing and shake a bit when they play motivational songs. Not bad. Try it yourself. It relaxes your mind and body. Actually this is my 2nd phase of being life ins agent. During the 1st phase, I wasn't looking forward to attend. Always trying to find excuses to 'miss' the weekly meeting. But this time round is totally opposite. I have discovered, having a +ve working atmosphere not only RELAXES the workers mind but INCREASE productivity.

Productivity drops when -ve atmosphere presents. -ve atmospshere can be:
1) Office set up
2) Difficult superior

A good leader must be critical enough to watch closely the above 2 factors in order for other lower rank staffs to perform.

Let's have a test in my office for this mth, July '08 and will report the result in Aug '08. adios!

STRESS

2008-06-25T22:39:00.001+08:00

I attended a weekly insurance meeting last night and was surrounded by a few colleagues asking how much is my own life insurance coverage? Hinting me to top it up.

I shrudded to think....ok ok....life ins agent always talk about your life worth when you walked out of your life one day. How much cash or debts (loans??) that you left behind for your loved one to enjoy or suffer?

There are just too many stories (actually life story) telling during each session that makes you appreciate life even more. Well, back to my early story, my colleagues have been hovering around that issue probably due to my crew cut hair style and that have partially exposed my 'baldness' at the frontage. Due to that, I have decided not to use gel when going to work today. Ah...felt younger. Just have to remind the barber not to go for No 2 next time.

But indeed, lately there has been termendous pressure at work. When I stress out, I normally turn to exercise or watching TV...just to shut off my brain from thinking office work.

'You turn OFF your brain when you're watching TV but you turn ON your brain when you're surfing the net', Steve Jobs of Apple Computers.

Re-visiting own yard

2008-06-25T22:29:00.000+08:00

All these while ie since my last post in Dec 2007 (oops...took me 6 mths!), I have been contemplating the issue of blogging (despite keeping a mild blogging activities in a few of my favourite blogs). I have also been sceptical of posting photos.

The key question: Where is the boundary? You can say anything and upload any picture but the chances is you may ended up behind bars if said the wrong thing.

Having thought all that, I have finally decided to have a revamp of my own blog and why worry so much about all those stuff as long as I post my own issue and lifestyle for sharing.

So here I come......

Realization of GOD

2007-12-14T22:20:00.001+08:00

This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering that I read...

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects.
When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: 'I don't believe that God exists.' 'Why do you say that?' asked the customer. 'Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.'
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.
Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.
The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: 'You know what? Barbers do not exist.' 'How can you say that?' asked the surprised barber. 'I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!' 'No!' the customer exclaimed. 'Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.' 'Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me.' 'Exactly!' affirmed the customer.

'That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world.'

New Age Rosary Warning Question from Mel on 6/8/2007:

2007-12-14T22:08:00.001+08:00

An email circular I received recently.....
Dear Dr. Geraghty,
I would like to warn our Catholic friends about New Age Rosary. They SHOULD NOT keep them. I know the following is true because my sisters were in Medjugorje (pilgrimage) and they were given this New Age Rosary for free. There are people giving these away for free on the streets. A priest who is an exorcist at Medjugorje told my sisters to throw it out right away. Here's the excerpt of an email I received recently: One of the things I must mention is that there are now going around in the world, plastic new age rosaries in white, blue and pink. I had no idea about them until this was mentioned on the trip. Upon arriving home I went through my own collection of plastic rosaries and found 2 that had a snake wrapped above Jesus's head with the mouth just besides his face. Also, no INRI sign and I think it is pentagons that surround each point. On the back, are also puncture marks of some kind on the cross? Please remind everyone to look carefully for these. Maybe you are already aware but it would be a good idea to tell Catholics what is now happening. One priest said it would be OK once it's blessed but another priest, whom I trust explicitly and who is a Marian priest said even though it may be blessed, it has not been exorcised and evil may still persist........ Yvonne NEW AGE ROSARY WARNING These rosaries have appeared on sale at pilgrimage centres across Europe and are in most cases are given away for FREE. They are made from cheap plastic and come in white, blue or pink, stamped as having been made in Italy, yet no one knows who has produced them. Since they are available at places of pilgrimage this makes people automatically think they are fine to use. Information regarding the danger of these rosaries was given at the Marian Cenacle in Limoges, France on 14th March 2005. Why are they considered New Age? They are considered New Age due to their symbolism which is not too easy to see except by close inspection of the crucifix, which shows a very sinister story. Behind the figure of Christ there can be seen a caduceus, which is an upright pole, representing mediation between Heaven and earth. It is an ancient herald's wand which was carried by messenger gods like Hermes or Mercury. The rod is also a divining rod to measure the earth and it's energies of power. The serpent Satan is shown behind the figure of Christ and is depicted by a coiled serpent which means latent power, concealed but not yet fully manifest, a dormant power. It may also represent to Satanists that the devil is co messianic, co redeemer and co Christ etc. The circles on the crucifix are from Egyptian Graeco-Roman, Phoencian, Baal symbols called the Pentagram, which is a major occult sign. The circles or pentagrams have five points, which represent, spirit, fire, earth, water and air. The pentagram at the bottom is upside down represents the devils goat. The four circles with dots in the centre signifies gold or the sun in alchemy. In general the meaning is "The resolution of all possibilities." Christ does not share any platform with any other god, philosophy or belief system or minor deity least of all Satan. The depiction of Christ on the cross is the most prominent place of worship, adoration, veneration, glorification, for Catholics and many other Christians and now Satanists or 'new agers,' have placed Satan along side Christ. Some have even said that if these rosaries are blessed, they loose any negative power, - and what do you think? There is some debate going on about this at the moment. Does anyone really want to pray on a rosary that depicts Satan? What we need to be asking ourselves who has made these rosaries with these symbols that should not be there.!!

271007

2007-10-27T23:41:00.001+08:00

Today, I have witnessed the 3 most important events of any single person on earth.

Went for lunch to celebrate a relative's daughter FULL MOON party. A funeral mass later on. A wedding dinner in the evening.

Ya....that's it.....BIRTH, DEATH and WEDDING! It just triggers me to appreciate my life even more and especially those love ones around me.

There have been lots of happening in my life this month....wife miscarriage, all boys down with cozsackie (spelling?) then followed by flu and my beloved grandma passed away on 191007.

PC Upgrade

2007-06-28T17:16:00.001+08:00

REPLY:
Dear Troubled User,
This is a very common problem. Many men upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING!!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0. It is impossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system once installed.
You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0is designed to not allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings-Alimony-Child Support. I recommend that you keep Wife 1.0 and work on improving the situation. I suggest installing the background application "Yes Dear" to alleviate software augmentation.
The best course of action is to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE because ultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal anyway.

Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance. Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep 3.0, Cook It 1.5and Do Bills 4.2.

However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use will cause the system to launch the program Nag Nag9.5 and/or PMS 99.0. Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0!
WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, to install Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3. This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system.

Best of luck, Tech Support