English 101

A colleague sent me this ... the quality of English is just so *******


Aussie MP's? MP's? sheesh

Yes, it is Australian practice to interfere with Australian courts!!!


These people are so memalukan!!

Living in Dangerous Times – commenting on a comment

My earlier posting was not anti-UMNO propaganda. It was neither an anti-Malay tirade. What I was trying to highlight was the insensitiveness of our politicians. Questions were asked on why I highlighted those few statements and my answer is to show the mentality of the people leading/running our country.

Of course in this age of freedom of speech and unlimited rights, anyone is free to say anything, but any sensible person would think of the consequence of their words (ok, fine, I’m not sensible, I’ll try harder next time!) before opening their mouths (or typing on the keyboard).

I’m guessing that when they said what they said, selfishness and ego controlled their thoughts. Driven by these factors they failed to see the bigger picture and worse, they failed to be rational or reasonable. They forgot the fact that we live in a country built on different cultures, religions and differing opinions on life in general. We should accord each other respect and tolerance. In any case, no one race has absolute rights on any land. And the principle of justice and equity states that everyone should have equal rights. That is only fair.

Apartheid was built on racial superiority. The Nazi philosophy was one based on racial supremacy. We don’t want to go down that road. All humans are created equal.

FYI, the Malay rights champion Ibrahim Ali was once a director in one of Vincent Tan’s listed companies. Ibrahim’s take on that – “so what if I do business with the Chinese?” (read it here)  I just don’t get this guy!!

Living in Dangerous Times

Criminals don’t make the country unsafe. Stupid Politicians do.

Consider these statements:

Malay Nationalist Group Perkasa, lead by Ibrahim Ali warns that the Chinese community will use the next general election to take over the country. This prediction was made by an idiot by the name Dr. Zubir Harun and the “good” doctor is also worried that the New Economic model will have a Chinese agenda.

(http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/55624-chinese-will-take-over-in-the-next-election-warns-perkasa)

Second finance Minister Ahmad Husni apparently said at a function in Penang that if the Chinese bully us, we will fight them back.

(http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/55634-1malaysia-in-further-peril-with-more-racist-remarks-)

Anuar Shaari told 100 or so supporters at an UMNO Youth gathering in Wangsa Maju that “how can the Malays be equal to Chinese”. This Anuar Shaari guy even admitted that they are going all out to smear Anwar Ibrahim and PR.

(http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/55580-umno-ramps-up-attacks-on-pakatan-rakyat)

At the rate the UMNO politicians are going, they will destroy Malaysia in no time.

Stop them before they do.

Patrolling Petrol

According to news reports, the government plans to introduce a new fuel subsidy mechanism on May 1st which will see the amount of subsidised fuel tied to the engine capacity of a car. The Government had planned to introduce a tiered pricing system for petrol, depending on engine capacity, while foreigners would have to pay the market price. According to reports, the plan called for the mandatory use of MyKad to differentiate Malaysians from foreigners, requiring the need for MyKad readers at petrol stations.

The plans however have been shelved.

Who came up with that idea? Aren’t the government aware that cars with small engine capacity are not necessarily cheap? The RM195,000 Mini Cooper has an engine capacity of 1,598cc and the 1.8L Mercedes E200CGI cost in excess of RM300k. The 2 litre variants of the Accord, Camry and Mazda 6 cost RM150k. These are not exactly cars for the low income group but yet they fall under the <2,000cc category. So how does giving subsidised petrol to those driving cars below 2,000cc help the lower income group?

"A new structure, merely based on engine capacity, does not solve any problem,’’ said Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Sdn Bhd in a statement to StarBiz.

“As BMW Malaysia views the situation, the problem with designing a fuel subsidy programme around the engine capacity of a vehicle is that small engine capacities alone do not necessarily mean better economy,’’ said BMW Group Malaysia managing director Geoffrey Briscoe.

Making policy u-turns seems to be a regular feature of the Najib administration. Well, this time it’s not really a policy but it was officially announced so it makes it an almost policy.

It was also rumoured that the MyKad will be used as a mechanism to allocate the subsidies. The details were sketchy but if fully implemented it could effectively distribute the subsidy to those deserving but at the same time may lead to abuse if there is no limit to the amount of petrol each person is allowed to buy. For example, a wealthy person who is not entitled to the subsidy may use his driver’s Mykad to purchase petrol thus enjoying the undeserved subsidy.

In order to make the Mykad to buy petrol system work, the card must have the income details of the MyKadholder, which is to be updated every year based on, perhaps, LHDN records. It should also be tied to JPJ records, which will disallow the non-car/motorcycle owning MyKad holders from enjoying (and abusing) the subsidy.

Subsidies would be preferred for essential goods and services such as foodstuff, healthcare and ummm … fuel. Having said that, subsidies are not something favoured because it distorts free market pricing as well drains the public finances. Then again, it is the duty of the government to assist those genuinely in need of assistance; to lower their cost of living by in this case, lowering the cost of fuel. Subsidies are only good if it reaches the intended recipients.

“The public has to realise the fuel subsidy scheme is not sustainable as it impacts the Government’s finances. Removing the subsidy would reduce over-consumption and promote more efficient use of our country’s resources, a “fully market-driven” system is a better option in the long run,” said RAM Holdings Bhd chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng when contacted by StarBiz.

For the record, many countries, including those less developed such as Indonesia and Sri Lanka are practising a free-float system, where fuel prices were based on global oil prices.

Maybe the government could introduce a system whereby car owners above the age of 18, earning less than RM3,000 per month be given an entitlement to say, 150 litres of petrol a month at a subsidised price. Motorcycle owners will get a lower entitlement. For those owning both, two entitlements will be issued. The entitlement can be in the form of a card which can be read by the machines at the petrol station (if kad mesra and bonuslink can, I’m sure this is possible too). Every time petrol is purchased, the card is credited. I’m sure the forgers will immediately work on forging the card but that is something the authorities will have to ensure does not happen.

Pro UMNO Media – A Danger to the Ummah

Is the title too strong? Too rude? Inviting Kamunting residency? Asking for a death by C4?

Frankly, I don’t care.

Seriously.

I just found out that the UMNO run states of Johor, Perlis and Pahang won’t be organising any Maulidul Rasul procession this Friday. Strangely I didn’t hear of Utusan criticising the 3 MBs for being anti-Islam, and insensitive toward Muslim sensitivities for not organising the parade.

Lim Guan Eng on the other hand was branded a chauvinist, racist bigot for no reason. Apparently the “no-parade for Maulidul Rasul in Penang” was merely a suggestion and Penang will be having a procession lead by DCM1 Mansor. Various programmes are planned for the day including prayers and Quranic recitals (a 3 day event) and an expo on Islamic civilisation.

CM Lim even invited DPM Muhyiddin and ex-PM Pak Lah to join in the procession!

It seems that Penang didn’t organise any Maulidur Rasul processions in 2003, 04 and 05. Was Koh Tsu Koon labelled a racist SOB then? Did UMNO protest and filled pages in the Utusan condemning the BN-Gerakan CM for insulting Islam by not having a Maulidul Rasul parade?

Come on la guys, play fair. If you call Penag’s Lim a narrow minded Singapore imitator for “not” having a Maulidul Rasul procession; wouldn’t Johor’s Ghani, Pahang’s Adnan and Perlis’ Isa fall under the same category?

Pakciks and makciks in remote Terengganu or Perak will believe whatever Utusan say and will view Lim Guan Eng as a racist, anti Muslim extremist. They will believe Nik Aziz would do anything to please the Chinese and is a DAP sympathiser. But is that the true picture? Or is that what UMNO wants the rakyat to believe so they can eliminate their opponents?

I beg UMNO please stop digging your own grave. Your time and resources are better used to raise the living standards of the Malays; the race you claim to represent.

Out of Ideas

UMNO politicians are really desperate. They are going all out to destroy the PR to the point that they are making a fool out of themselves. UMNO leaders accuse Lim Guan Eng of being anti-Islam by cancelling the Maulidul Rasul procession. Nik Aziz too decided not to have any procession this year. Is he anti-Islam too?

In Mekah and Madinah, the Prophet’s place of birth and final resting place, there is no annual procession to mark his birthday. It is not wrong to have a procession to honour his birthday but it should be made into something mandatory. Instead of spending money on the procession why not use the resources for something more beneficial like funding orphanages or helping the poor.

Everything the opposition does and say is viewed by UMNO as being anti-Islam and anti-Malay. Why can’t UMNO focus on making this country a better place to live in, rid this country of corruption, wastage of public funds, bad roads, lousy politicians…

A group of Indian Muslims burnt Lim Guan Eng’s effigy in protest of his unfair treatment of the Malay traders in Penang. I see this as a good sign that the racial relations in Penang have improved – an Indian group protesting against the bad treatment of Malays! And yes, UMNO is a multiracial party; it admits Indians as well as scores of Sabah Bumiputeras into their fold, as long as they are Muslims. Maybe UMNO wants so much to be like PAS …

I want to support UMNO, but so far they haven’t given me any good reason to.

p/s I heard the new Scorpene submarine Najib and Razak Baginda bought cannot go underwater due to some technical problems … a reporter termed it as “kapal selam yang tak boleh menyelam”

Perhaps We Need a Drastic Change (updated)

I haven’t written anything political for a while not because there is nothing to write but because it’s so nauseating to read and write about Malaysian politics at the moment.

Last week, the courts decided that BN is the rightful government in Perak and Zambry is the rightful MB. PR decided they won’t fight anymore and announced that they will work with the BN government in implementing projects beneficial to the rakyat. Being the opposition, they will definitely oppose a lot of government initiatives, that’s their job and that’s what they do best – oppose, but it is also heartening to hear that they will support any initiative which is good for the rakyat.

The opposition in Kelantan however, seem to prefer to oppose as opposed to helping the rakyat. I mean, who in their right frame of mind would reject 5% of a lot of Ringgit in return for a measly RM20million compassionate payment? The Kelantan BN-UMNO opposition, lead by Federal Minister Mustapha is going all out to deny Kelantan (and her rakyat) of their rightful oil royalty. Doesn’t make sense at all. Or is there a hidden agenda? Jeng-jeng-jeng …

Ku Li tries to defend Kelantan’s right to the oil royalties. Some quarters accuse him of defending the decision to deny Terengganu of their oil royalty in 2000 but in actual fact he was against the wang ehsan and even offered himself to be a witness in Terengganu's lawsuit against the Federal government.

Actually, oil royalties was not what I intended to write about. I want to talk about change, drastic changes.

The changes I would like to see are;

• Anwar Ibrahim taking an indefinite break (retire perhaps?) from front-line politics to clear his court case.
• Ku Li to quit UMNO and head the current opposition.
• PKR to elect a President, Deputy, VP, Secretary, Youth Head, Treasurer who was never linked to UMNO/MCA/MIC.

There is a saying (Chinese, I think), if the fish head is rotten, the whole fish will rot (please don’t confuse this with the Saxo-Ukrainian saying – if the fish is head is rotten, don’t make curry). In other words, the head i.e. the leaders cannot be allowed to be a liability. If the leader becomes a liability, kick him/her out ASAP.

Maybe what this country needs to overhaul is the politicians and not the political system.

Steak 101

The ever popular Wikipedia defines steak as a cut of meat, usually beef, cut perpendicular to the muscle fibres. The act of cutting the meat perpendicular to the muscle fibres is to improve the perceived tenderness of the meat. The name steak apparently is derived from the Old Norse word “steik” which means roast, if I understood it correctly.

There are many types of steak, each coming from different parts of the cow;

Tenderloin - found in the middle of the back between the sirloin and the rib. The most tender because the muscle making up the tenderloin is hardly used. It is also the most expensive. When the tenderloin is cut into pieces, we get fillet mignon steaks.

Rib-Eye – is a cut from the beef rib. Meat from the rib section is tender and fattier than other cuts of beef making it one of the juiciest, flavourful, popular and expensive steak cuts. Also called Scotch Fillet and Spencer Steak.

T-Bone – cut from the short loin and has a T-shaped bone in the steak, hence the name. The bone separates the smaller tenderloin section from the larger portion of the top loin.

Porterhouse – also contains a T-shaped bone but comes from the thick end of the short loin. Has bigger tenderloin portion compared to the T-Bone and hence is more tender than the T-Bone.

Sirloin – comes from the hip, near the rump. Sirloin steaks are tougher than cuts from the loin or the rib.

Strip Loin – cut from the strip loin, a muscle that is relatively low in connective tissue, making it very tender.

Top Loin – it is basically Porterhouse or T-bone steaks but minus the tenderloin portion, and the bone.

Chuck – a cut from the neck to the ribs

There are many ways of cooking steak;

Raw – uncooked, the way tigers eat their meat.

Very rare – cooked very quickly leaving the inside barely cooked although the outsides have some evidence of contact with fire.

Rare – cooked slightly longer than very rare, the insides are slightly warm but still bloody.

Medium rare – centre will be fully red and warm.

Medium – cooked half-way.

Medium well - the way I like my steaks.

Well done – fully cooked.

Overcook – for fans of burnt toast.

Not all steaks are steaks though.

A Salisbury steak is not a steak but a burger made from ground beef.
Tartar steak is a finely chopped raw fillet of beef.

Not So Good News …

This is actually old news.

“The Malaysian economy seems to be caught in a middle-income trap - unable to remain competitive as a high-volume, low-cost producer, yet unable to move up the value chain and achieve rapid growth by breaking into fast growing markets for knowledge and innovation-based products and services,” the World Bank said recently.

MEF executive director Haji Shamsuddin Bardan says that Malaysia is currently a net exporter of talent with outflows exceeding inflows. According to him, Malaysia has only about 38,000 expatriates as compared with seventy to eighty thousand in the 1990s. Whereas some 785,000 Malaysians are working abroad, two out of three of which are professionals. “Our ability to attract expatriates is quite challenged,” he said.

Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak wants to make Malaysia a better place to live and work in, to bring back its citizens who are residing overseas and also attract global talent to the country. “We will create more opportunities, more excitement and more buzz in Malaysia to attract the Malaysian diaspora and expatriates to the country,” said Najib.

There must be a reason why people prefer to work elsewhere and not in Malaysia. There must also be a reason why parents prefer their children to be educated in local private schools and in overseas tertiary institutions.

How do we make this country a better place to live and work in? There are so many things that we can do, I don’t know where to start.

Maybe we can start with public amenities, basic infrastructure, living conditions.

Our public transport system sucks. I can say that because I was until recently a user of public transport. It sucks because there is limited connectivity, limited service, limited frequency and frequent interruptions.

The condition of the public roads is far from satisfactory unless you happen to live in the choice neighbourhoods of Damansara Heights or Taman Tun Dr Ismail. The road around KLCC, which is supposed to be the prime-est area of the city, is in terrible condition.

What about the education system? A hot and dusty classroom packed with 45 seven year olds is not exactly the most conducive learning environment. Add a tired, overworked and underpaid teacher into the equation and we’ll get an academic calamity waiting to happen. Inconsistent education policy does not help either. It is fine to have changes, but only if it is for the better.

Piped water is sometimes brown in colour.

The local political scene needs to include elements of maturity, responsibility and accountability. We cannot afford to have racist politicians like Ibrahim Ali who is constantly inciting racial tension. Or rude politicians like Bung Mokhtar with his derogatory statements. We cannot allow our police force to be seen as lackeys of the ruling party. We must have an anti corruption agency (commission) which is truly independent and professional.

In this age of free information (and rumour) flow, we must have responsible and truthful media channels. The days of print and electronic media being the propaganda machinery for the ruling party is over. If news providers want to biased, I would prefer them to state it outright so people will know which side they are on. Don’t pretend to be balanced when it is so obvious that the reporting is skewed towards only one side.

Government policies are quite biased. Quota system, preferential treatment for certain groups is a big disincentive to remain in this country.

The Malaysian judiciary is constantly under attack.

We have a problem with corruption, whether it’s real or perceived or made up, I dare not comment.

Cars are so expensive. Cars are cheaper in almost every other country in the world. I love cars. I cannot afford good nice cars in Malaysia.

When the reasons are right, Malaysians will stay in Malaysia. Even foreigners (other than unskilled Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Nepalese etc.) might want to call Malaysia home.

Sports Loyalty

I have come to the conclusion that sports fans and sportsmen have different definitions of loyalty. I mean it is without doubt success breeds loyalty but the problem with success is that can only be one winner. But not being champions doesn’t make the runners up and those below bad. Unless of course if you’re in last place. I’m talking specifically about the English premier League, and the predicament faced by my team, the red half of Merseyside.

It is becoming more apparent now that Liverpool is a two, maybe three man team. Without Torres and Gerrard and possibly Reina, the team is deemed doomed. Every team has their own talisman, key player and Liverpool is no different. Arsenal had Viera and now Fabregas. Man United had Keane, Ronaldo, Schmeichel and now Rooney, Ferdinand. But the difference between Liverpool and them is that their teams had more depth. Other than those three and perhaps Mascherano, Kuyt and Johnson, LFC do not have any other players who could carry the team. To effective survive in the EPL and Cup competitions; a team needs at least 16 players who can play in the first 11. From the looks of it, LFC has only 8-9 who can play in the first 11, the rest are effectively back-up players.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, loyalty amongst most supporters is difficult to shake. This is evident from the fact that teams like Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday are still able to attract large crowds despite playing in the lower divisions. Supporters, once affiliated, are willing to risk all for their teams. The incidence of supporters deserting their teams, I’m guessing, is probably low.

On the other hand, players do not seem to have the same sense of loyalty. No doubt, everyone wants to play in a winning team but making threats like ‘I’ll ask for a transfer if the team doesn’t make it to the champion’s league’ or a get out clause if the team gets relegated is an obvious sign of disloyalty.

Let’s take Michael Owen for example. When he left for the Barnabeu, he must have thought that it increased his chances of winning the Champion’s league. The very next season, Liverpool was crowned champions of Europe. He came back and played occasionally at Newcastle but (I’m guessing) if he had stayed on Merseyside, he could have helped Liverpool become champions of England for the 19th time, seeing how impressive they were last season. His skills and goals could have helped especially in the absence of Torres.

Good players like Gerrard should display some form of loyalty to the club that nurtured him and to the supporters who have backed him for so long. Instead of deserting the team if it is not strong enough to challenge for honours, he should say “I’ll stay and make sure the team wins honours”.

That’s loyalty.

Treading on Dangerous Waters

What a way to welcome the New Year. 4 churches in the Klang Valley were attacked in the last 24 hours. In most likelihood it was the work of (a very small group of ill-informed) dissatisfied Muslims, angry about the court ruling on the usage of the word ‘Allah’.

I’ll get to the issue of the word later but for now I want to express my disappointment over the uncalled, unjustified and stupid attacks.

How can anyone, in their right frame of mind, show disrespect towards a place of worship. Why is the anger over the court ruling directed towards the church? If these people are really upset over the ruling, (I’m not advocating such actions, it’s just an example) go and torch the courthouse! Scratch the judge’s car. Throw faeces into the judge’s car/house porch, after all he was the one who made the judgement.

A place of worship is sacred and thus deserves utmost respect. Never ever deface and desecrate a place of worship. There is no justification for such act of stupidity. Retaliation brings no benefit. Insensitive acts such as that will only serve to create and escalate racial and religious tension. In a multi-racial-religious cannot afford such a situation.

If things get worse, everyone loses.

Happy Birthday

This blog is one year old! I would not have gotten this far without the support of my loyal readers. Thank you for your support and comments. Let's hope 2010 will be a better year for all of us.

Happy new year!

2009 – Annus Horribilus?

Apologies to QEII, I couldn’t resist using her famous quote from her 1992 New Year speech.

My 2009 was both good and bad; life IS a bed of roses, sometimes you bask in the sweet scents, sometimes you get pricked, stabbed even, by the thorns.

1. In 2009, my beloved Malaysia got a new PM, his wife said he was destined to become PM. Wow!
2. 2009 also saw a new tagline for Malaysia, propagated by the new PM - 1Malaysia, now everything starts with “1”,
3. Perak fell to BN via defections in Q1 2009,
4. In 2009 Bursa Malaysia saw the world’s 6th largest IPO for the year (Maxis),
5. Malaysia is poorer by RM31 billion in 2009 because PETRONAS made less money,
6. 2009 was the year of the swine; not in Chinese astrology terms but in the medical context (in case some of you still don’t get it, I’m talking about influenza A/H1N1 aka Swine Flu),
7. Malaysian motorists get a taste (not literally of course) of RON 95 petrol and Euro-2 diesel in 2009,
8. Malaysia’s largest telecommunication company changed its name to Axiata in 2009,
9. Malaysia had 7 by-elections (I’ve lost count, correct me if I’m wrong) in 2009,
10. RPK disappeared (and found in London) in 2009,
11. A witness fell to his death at the MACC office in 2009,
12. 16 September (Malaysia Day) was declared national holiday in 2009 but effective only in 2010,
13. In 2009 Malaysia got another Indian political party (they already have MIC, IPF, MUIP, PRIM, PPP …) and they are already fighting to sack the president …
14. 2 ‘national’ MPVs were introduced in 2009
15. Malaysia won the SEA Games football gold medal in 2009 after a 20 year hiatus,
16. In 2009, it was revealed that Malaysia lost 2 jet engines in 2007 (and found them in Argentina)

What a year it has been eh? Let’s hope 2010 brings more excitement and joy.

Terrorist Labelling

Terrorist [ter-er-ist]

(1) a person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism
(2) a person who terrorises or frightens others.

If the western media is to be believed, all terrorists are Muslims. Every time a Muslim commits a criminal act, the headlines will read “Muslim terrorist”, “Muslim murderer”, “Muslim rapist” but when a non-Muslim commits the very same crime, the headline only states terrorist, murderer, rapist, without highlighting the offenders’ religion. Why the double standards?

Apa Ada Pada Nama

That’s Malay for “what’s in a name” which is exactly the topic for today.

We Malaysians are very particular when it comes to names. Names like Foch Avenue, Shaw Road, Mountbatten Road, Maxwell Hill, Jesselton are erased from our maps, replaced with Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lok, Jalan Hang Tuah, Jalan Tun Perak, Bukit Larut and Kota Kinabalu. Even my alma mater was not spared; there was a rumour back in the 80’s the government wants to change the name to Sekolah Menengah Lelaki Jalan Hang Tuah!