From the NST today.
"Every state, except Kedah, recorded an increase in crime last year. The number of serious crimes has also gone up."
This is indeed worrying. Especially after reading this other article about this old couple who was murdered in a burglary. The kinds of animals we have in the country that is willing to do anything is sickening.
I wonder if Pak Lah's government is even aware of this.
Read the article after the jump.
Pak Lah has responded. Rather lamely if you ask me.
He has responded that the government had merely leased the aircraft from Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad.
Just for the record, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad is owned by Khazanah Nasional - which, of course is government owned.
So what's the difference then? It's like saying something along the lines of "Oh my brother Ah Meng bought it with our combined family money, and we all get to use it, but it's not something I bought what?". Ok, maybe a little lame of a comparison, but you get my drift.
Also - "The jet is for use of the government, not the prime minister (only)," he told a news conference at the KL International Airport upon his return from London after having attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
He thinks we stupid or what?
So now we have a new jet for him, some selected few from the government and probably the royal families to use? Wow! How nice!
I would also be very cautious about his words - I really doubt that apart from himself, others are really going to be using it much.
One should also think about the term lease here. According to wikipedia, leasing is:
"A lease or tenancy is the right to use or occupy personal property or real property given by a lessor to another person (usually called the lessee or tenant) for a fixed or indefinite period of time, whereby the lessee obtains exclusive possession of the property in return for paying the lessor a fixed or determinable consideration (payment)."
Most of the time, this regular payment will be higher than what you would pay upfront, so - let's think of it in another perspective.
The jet costs U$ 50 million, in the end this can end up costing the rakyat a few million extra, and of course, making some fella somewhere richer by a few.
In the first place, why wasn't this disclosed to the rakyat? I don't recall anything anywhere about using the national funds to pay for an Air Force One for the so called "government" and perhaps royalty to use for their enjoyment.
Where is your constantly emphasized transparency?
By all means Mr. PM, if I (and all of the bloggers who have written about this) are wrong, please correct us.
On Monday morning just before I went out to work, Cookie threw up 4 times. He was fine the whole day after that, but last night (Tuesday), at 4 am, he woke me up.
I discovered that he had puked again, twice to be exact so I had to get up and check on him.
He really didn't allow me to sleep again after that - everytime I tried to sleep, he just kept walking on top of me until I woke up and stroked his head while he sat staring into space. Definitely sick I thought - and definitely a trip to the vet once they open.
Luckily, the vet said he should be ok and it was probably a stomache upset or maybe a bacterial infection of some sort. There was possibility that he might have even swallowed some 'fluff' from his soft toys he said.
So 2 injections, $135 poorer and a bag of "Dietary" dog food 'richer', I went home today (yup, I missed work) and cleaned up the place to make sure there wasn't any funny things he was putting into his mouth.
A little article in The Star newspaper today.
On the political front, Berita Minggu reported that Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is aware of people belittling him as the country’s leader.
Things like that, however, happen in politics, he said in an interview.
More importantly, added the Prime Minister, is that he has the support of the majority of the people.
Singling out bloggers and websites that criticised him, he said: “To them, anything they see about me is not good and they tend to exaggerate things. They just want to rubbish me.
“Lies upon lies were made. To them, everything is not right.”
Tell us Mr. PM, which are lies and which are not?
Is the new U$50 million dollar "Air Force One" jet a lie?
You're asking every Malaysian young and old to tighten their belts while we cope with the fuel prices (that doesn't seem to ever go down) and pre-programmed toll charges.
You donated $20 million dollars to your own school while there are thousands of schools that are in dire need of help - lacking basic essentials like electricity and water.
You gave out $600 million dollars worth of taxpayers money to the UMNO division chiefs to spend - or shall I say, waste?
"Bukan kita mau kutuk, tapi kalau tak betul, mesti lah kena buat betul?" - It's not that we want to criticize, but if there is something not right, then of course you need to make it right.
My company recently started a new policy to allow us to take 1 "Volunteer leave" day a year - and I took the opportunity along with 4 of my colleagues to use it today.
The 5 of us were volunteers for the day for Mirabel Foundation's Big Day Out.
"The Mirabel Foundation was established in 1998 to assist children who have been orphaned or abandoned due to parental illicit drug use and are now in the care of extended family (kinship care). Mirabel believes that every child deserves a childhood and its mission is to break the destructive cycle of addiction."
In the past I've done a little bit of charity work before, but I have never ever done anything that is remotely related to volunteering like this. I have to admit I was very nervous leading up to this day - as I have never had experience with a big group of kids.
The plan for the day?
We were going to take the kids to watch Night in the Museum, then have a picnic lunch at the Carlton gardens followed by circus activities by 'Crazy Daisy'.
Malaysia is the land of mega shopping malls. It seems that over the years, the trend is to build bigger and bigger and bigger malls - regardless of whether there would be enough demand to fill up all the stores.
Growing up with this "shopping" culture, three things always gets to me when I visit a shopping mall.
1. Service.
Now before I came over to Australia to study, I have always thought that sales people shadowing you silently while you browse are the norm in shops. Sometimes it feels like they're watching your every move like a hawk watching its prey - like you want to steal something like that.
The first few months in Australia gave me a wake up call. I thought that the sales people here were nuts and insane or something. "How are you doing?" and "How are you today?", they normally asked when you walk in. At first I was seriously stunned. I didn't know how to react. I'm not your friend wor?
They also approached me all the time to ask, "Anything I can help you with?". Like wow! These people actually want to help me get my shopping over and done with as quick and easy as possible!
Well - it finally dawned upon me that this should be the way to go and I've grown up getting used to the wrong thing! Walao-eh!
Thank you(s) are also rare in the Malaysian shopping experience. Seriously, how difficult is it - both from a shopper and the cashier to utter these 2 words? From the cashier's perspective they're thanking the shopper for buying something from their store. From the customer, they're thanking the fellow for their service.
A smile and simple "thank you" goes a long way.
2. Toilet Expectations
Yup, it was bound to happen in this country where "free speech" is advertised but never practised transparently.
Prominent political bloggers Jeff Ooi and Rocky's bru has been sued by government controlled News Straits Times.
Here's an excerpt from Rocky.
"I have been served the papers. They dropped them on Tuesday evening, around 9.30 pm, at the National Press Club. They are applying for an injunction against Rocky's Bru, this blog. They are suing me for libel.
In the case against me, "they" are:
1. The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad (No. Syarikat 4485-H)
2. Kalimullah Bin Masheerul Hassan
3. Hishamuddin Bin Aun
4. Syed Faisal Albar Bin Syed A.R. Albar
5. Brenden John a/l John Pereira
The plaintiffs have cited 48 postings (under Schedule 1, the List of Defamatory Articles complained of in the Statement of Claims filed in this action)."
Let me show you how biased our local newspapers are towards the opposition parties.
In The Star today.
The title of the article?
Unknown youngster to take on BN
The article below - and my comments are in bold.
RAUB: An unknown 21-year-old businessman, standing as an independent, will take on the might of the Barisan Nasional in the Batu Talam by-election to be held in 12 days.
Ng Chee Pang, who will turn 22 on Monday, is the son of a former Pahang DAP leader. He will take on Raub Umno division secretary Abdul Aziz Kiram.
First you say he is unknown. Then you say he is the son of a former Pahang DAP leader. Fantastic editor - well done.
Returning officer Abdul Kadir Abu Bakar made the announcement at 11.15am after the objection period ended at 11am.
Aziz, 47, expressed confidence in Barisan retaining the seat.
When I think back to 2005, all I can recall is one thing - World of Warcraft.
I've just logged on to the account management page to get these stats from my just over one year of playing.
Started playing: December 23, 2004 4:31 AM PST
Last login: February 1, 2006 6:33 PM PST
Account Status: Frozen - This account has been frozen and cannot be used for playing. Please add a payment below to reactivate this account.
Yup, I was one of the fellas that played this game like mad since the launch of this game - putting in some insane hours on top of my full time job.
I have to hand it to Blizzard. This game is probably one of the best games I have ever played - engaging from a single player perspective and totally addictive from every other point of view. The multiplayer and community aspects of this game are insane - partly because the people on the game are all able to come out of their comfort zones.
Heck - some people even have split personalities when they're on. Mild mannered nerd by day - hardcore loudmouth raiding leader at night.
The game never ends - you can go on and on doing the same things over and over again - but you don't see an end to the game.
Being the sucker to addiction that I am, I just suck with time management with these sort of games. I can play on and on and not do anything else, forfeiting sleep and meals.
Midnight last night was the launch of the long awaited expansion pack of this game - The Burning Crusade.
Sofia's is located in busy Camberwell on 857 Burke Road. This pizza house which seems to be always packed every night is known for its generous servings and value for money.
I think this is also probably one of the most famous pizza houses in this area, judging by its age and popularity with the locals.
Their easy access to Camberwell's train station or perhaps their generosity with charity making regular generous donations to the Royal Women's Hospital and the Good Friday Appeal might be another one of the reasons why they are one of the top picks of the locals in the area.
Finally got to the root of the problem.
Thanks to the people who have reported this bug to me.
Was going through my pictures when this one caught my eye. I took this recently when I was in Springvale, watching the people play Chinese Chess while SY was shopping.
Yup Chinese Chess - what a rare sight. I couldn't even remember how to play it any more, having not touched the game for about 15 years now.
The games were dominated by men who were probably waiting for their partners - and the minute a girl rocks up, this dude looks straight over - and all while I'm taking the picture.
Can he be more obvious... heheh.
Ah men. :)
I finally went and tried snorkeling last weekend. The weather looked rather gloomy in the morning when I woke up but we went ahead with our drive up to the Mornington Peninsula anyway to chance it.
We rented a wet suit, diving mask and snorkel set and flippers all for $35 a person from Harbour Dive in Mornington Town.
I was actually contemplating not spending the extra on the wet suit but boy was it handy - the water was freezing cold!
After picking up our equipment we went to this quieter part of beach about 2 minutes away from Mornington town by car.
" At Red Emperor, we specialise in sumptuous cuisine prepared traditionally by our master chefs."
This Asian cuisine restaurant is situated in the Southgate complex at Ur3, 3, Southgate Avenue - Southbank. The restaurant faces the Yarra river and Melbourne city with plenty of natural light flooding in - and provides an excellent view of the city landscape at night.
I had an opportunity to do visit this place twice - once for dinner and the following morning for yum char - with SY's family when they were here so I have them to thank for this review.
I'll begin this write-up with our dinner experience.
We started off our meal with some deep fried oysters which were absolutely delicious when accompanied with some freshly cut chillies and chilli oil.
I read this before but I can't seem to find the origin now. A pretty good eye-opening read.
Dear Raja Petra,
I have been meaning to pen some of my thoughts for some time now, to let people actually read the views of the typical ‘overseas Malaysian’ who is kept away. I realise that my e-mail is rather long, but I do hope that you would consider publishing it, and also keep my name private.
I shall start by telling you a little about my background. Mine is a rather sad tale -- of a young Malaysian full of hope and patriotic enthusiasm, which is slowly but surely dissipating.
I am very different from many other non-Bumiputeras as I was given tremendous opportunities throughout my childhood. Born into a middle-class Chinese but English-speaking family, I grew up with all the privileges of imported books, computers, piano/violin lessons and tuition teachers.
My parents insisted that I should be exposed to a multi-racial education in a national school. In my time, my urban national school (a missionary school) was a truly happy place -- where the Malays, Chinese and Indian students were roughly equal in proportion. We played and laughed with each other and studied the history of the world together during Form 4, with one interesting chapter dedicated to Islamic history.
Though 75% of my teachers were Malays I never really noticed. My Malay teachers were the kindest to me -- teaching me well and offering me every possible opportunity to develop. I led the district teams in the English and Bahasa Malaysia debating competitions. I was the only non-Malay finalist in the Bahasa Malaysian state-level elocution competition. My Malay teachers encouraged me to transfer to a government residential school (sekolah berasrama penuh) so as to enable me to maximise my academic potential. I refused because I was happy where I was, so they made me head prefect and nominated me as a ‘Tokoh Pelajar Kebangsaan’. Till this day I am absolutely certain it was the kindness of all my Malay teachers which made me a true Malaysian.
I excelled at school and was offered a Singaporean government scholarship to study overseas. I turned it down because I wanted to ensure I would remain a ‘true Malaysian’ in the eyes of Malaysia. So I accepted a Malaysian government scholarship to study at Oxford University. Throughout my three years as an undergraduate the officers at the MSD looked after me very well and were always there to offer support.
Here's a slightly unusual entry for my Eat eat, makan makan! category.
I was browsing through Mellycious' photo gallery of her recent Bangkok travels when I saw this picture.
If you're wondering what they are, according to Mel:
Bottom left: silk worms
Right: fried grasshoppers
Top left: unknown cocoon looking thingy
Let me know if you dare eat anything here, or IF you have already tried something like this.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to look at some cute little bouncing bunnies to try and keep my lunch in.
If you're really feeling up to it, read on to see 2 more pictures.
Sakura in Spring is located on 329, Clarendon Street, South Melbourne.
This Japanese restaurant has both á la carte and teppanyaki dining, but their specialty is really their teppanyaki.
That's right.
That must be the only explanation for him wanting to allow the toll increase in the Klang Valley by up to 60% on some highways.
Plucked from The Star (November 28, 2006):
Toll rates will be increased for five concessionaires come Jan 1, 2007, according to Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.
He said the Government could not afford to compensate the concessionaires for the Guthrie Corridor Expressway, Karak Highway, Grand Saga Cheras-Kajang Highway, Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP) and Kesas Shah Alam Highway the estimated RM2bil, if no increase was approved during this round of concession agreements.
It is understood that this is how much the Government will have to fork out until the concession agreements lapse.
Citing an example, Samy Vellu said the original toll rate when the LDP first opened was RM1.50.
“But because of complaints by the people, it was reduced to RM1. Just because the toll was reduced, it did not mean the balance of 50 sen did not have to be paid,” he said, adding that the Government had to compensate the LDP concessionaire RM68mil last year and RM76mil this year.
Samy Vellu said the quantum of increase would only be finalised after a study by the ministry to make sure the increase was reasonable and would not burden the public.
In what some is calling an outright daylight robbery, our Works Minister has just been exposed to have signed the papers for the toll increase (for the LDP) way back in 1996. That means that we the rakyat are basically set to pay tolls for 30 years regardless of whether the company has already received the compensation for the cost of building the highway!
Then what's this about him saying the government cannot afford to subsidize these highways anymore? In the first place, we can afford to build a new Istana Negara for RM400 million and dish out RM 1.2 billion for bailouts to failing companies.
Looks like we're off to a flying start!
BBC News UK has such a great article which ironically highlights some of the most ridiculous nonsense Malaysian law enforcement is known for.
American Wayne Wright is far from convinced by the promise of Malaysian hospitality and the claim of its tourism slogan that it is truly Asia.
"I was walking in Chinatown," he told the BBC, "when a gentleman in very scruffy type clothes, nothing that you would associate with police or anyone in authority, walked up to me and asked me, "Can I see your passport?"."
Fearing a scam, Mr Wright refused and tried to move away.
"At that point he essentially lunged at me, grabbed me, put handcuffs on me really tightly and called for a few other people out in the crowd," he explained.
Mr Wright, a serving US Navy lawyer, says he protested that he was a US citizen and told the men who had grabbed him that his passport was in his hotel room, a matter of a few hundred meters away.
He was taken, shackled, through Chinatown and put into a caged truck used by the Malaysian immigration department.
Then there is this other incident.
Kenshin just provided me with a little piece of news.
His parents had gone to a Chinese temple in Muar, Johor to help with some donations and apparently was told that the government monetary relief is/will be directed only to the Malay people that were affected.
Non-Malays are apparently left out of the relief funding.
Now whether this is true or not - I am not sure but I would really like to hear from anyone who might be able to confirm this.
As we all know - thousands of people have been affected by the flooding and any help is good. However, at times like this - if race is still a factor to distinguish your eligibility, then it is indeed very sad to hear.
Let us hope this is not the case.
Cushion Lounge is more known as a night time hangout than a place to eat. I actually chanced upon this place with my work colleagues, looking for a place to eat along Fitzroy Street. We decided to give it a try as none of us had eaten there before.
Located at 101 Fitzroy St, St. Kilda - this lounge is probably more popular at night as a place to hang out.
Many best wishes to all for the new year!
Here's to hoping that 2007 will be a fantastic year.
