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Police Vs Government

2006-09-07T14:40:00.000+08:00

The police team took a swipe at Umno when Umno wanted to do rebranding of Mat Rempit. Guess what? Its pay back time, literally.

The cabinet decided to reverse the decision to reduce various traffic fines made by the police. Pay back for oppsosing the Mat Rempit rebranding move? Definately.

Quote from NewStraitTimes " The Cabinet felt that for traffic compounds to act as a deterrent, the amount must make the motorist feel the pinch. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said: "We must send out the right message, especially to hardcore traffic offenders, and those who commit serious traffic offences.’’"

Why are hardcore traffic offenders still on the street? Or is it they are still not hardcore enough? No cancellation of the driving license? (My guess is that it has something to do with bribery)

I for one agree with the Internal Security and Public Order Director Commissioner Datuk Mustafa Abdullah that reducing fines encourage offenders to pay up and to reduce corruption. I feel that the government are lagging behind the police in detering corruption. The police force are taking action to reduce bribery and the government is doing zits (more action would be nice).
Who the heck would want to bribe a policeman with RM50 plus taking a risk being charged by ACA when the fine is RM50?

Are the government worried about the reduced revenue from the fine collection? Not likely. More importantly, who gets to keep the fine money? The police department? The government? How, who and where is the money from the fines are channeled and used?

Coming of a Mat Rempit

2006-09-07T14:05:00.000+08:00

Coming soon, Mat Rempit at the neighbourhood near you.

Somebody must not be thinking straight. Putera Umno, are you okay?

Quote from TheStar "Putera Umno will go ahead with its series of activities for Mat Rempit (illegal motorcycle racers), including a dialogue between 200 riders and the Deputy Inspector General of Police, despite criticism against it for associating with them."

Are you out of your mind? What the hell is the government doing nowadays? (I assume that Putera Umno is a part of Umno, and Umno is a part of BN and BN 'is' the government) Why the heck are you continuing on with this charade? Dont you have something better to do? ie. enforcing anti corruption laws.

Some how i think this is the Putera Umno's definition of garnering support from the "grass root" for the coming election. It is a noble idea, which you think that “The ultimate goal of Putera Umno is to make Mat Rempits the eyes and ears of the police and to report on the activities of rogue Mat Rempits”, but arent you forgetting that "Due to this strong bond, 30 Mat Rempit will beat us if we cause trouble with its members", so who is going to report who?
a) Mat Rempit reporting illegal racing to the police? or
b) Mat Rempit reporting police operation to their "members"?

Quote "Abdul Azeez said he would continue to reach out to the 20,000-over Mat Rempits despite the criticisms levelled at him.He said although many did not agree with the wing’s plans to get the Mat Rempits to return to society’s mainstream, the efforts were beginning to show positive signs."

Must I said it over and over again, positive sign? What positive signs? Oh did you mean the day time motor expedition from Kuala Lumpur to Teluk Batik, Perak, starting on Sept 9 and the night street daredevil stunt as usual? Well, I must congratulate you of adding the day time activities for them.

Malaysia at 49 and Going Where? ...(2)

2006-08-21T16:07:00.000+08:00

August 20, 2006 21:52 PM

Rebranding Of 'Mat Rempit' On The Cards

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Illegal motorcycle riders or "Mat Rempit" will be rebranded by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at an assembly in the Bukit Jalil National Stadium this November, says Putera Umno Chairman Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim.

He said the rebranding of Mat Rempit was to change the illegal race participants' image towards something better, and "we are thinking of a suitable name like Mat Cemerlang (Excellent Mat)."

"We are finding a proper direction for them. We could not stop them to continue with their interests but we can guide them to find a direction," he told reporters after officiating the Malaysian Pengasih Association's Eighth General Meeting here Sunday.

Abdul Azeez said they should not be perceived as a threat, adding that, "If we cannot stop them, we join them. We try to understand them because they are our youths."

At the three-day assembly starting from this Nov 12, several competitions would be held for the Mat Rempit with prizes including a Satria Neo and a motorcycle.

Abdul Azeez said several things that could be learnt from these illegal riders were their strong camaraderie and a large membership of at least 5,000 riders despite being an unregistered club.

"Due to this strong bond, 30 Mat Rempit will beat us if we cause trouble with its members," he added.

He said Putera Umno did not want the bond to be inclined towards negative elements but wanted to drive the youths away from drugs and encouraged them to pursue their studies.

He said for an example, a representative from a Honda motorcycle and car dealer was impressed with the riding skills of these Mat Rempit.

The representative was also amazed with the engineering skills of the Mat Rempit, boosting the speed of their motorcycles to 180 kilometres per hour considering that the company's engineers were having difficulties to achieve a speed of 120 kilometres per hour.

He said these Mat Rempit could actually be assets in building Malaysia if they were given the chance.

Abdul Azeez said this Aug 26, he and Umno Youth Vice Chief Khairy Jamaluddin would come down to the ground on their motorcycles to meet the Mat Rempit.

--BERNAMA

This has got to be a joke !

Quote "Abdul Azeez said several things that could be learnt from these illegal riders were their strong camaraderie and a large membership of at least 5,000 riders despite being an unregistered club.

"Due to this strong bond, 30 Mat Rempit will beat us if we cause trouble with its members," he added."

He actually want us to learn to become like them? Illegal rider and all? Beating people if we cause trouble to their members? Tell me, what is the difference between this and a gangster?

Malaysia at 49 and Going Where? ...(1)

2006-08-21T14:44:00.000+08:00

Quote from TheStar "The Malays have to stop the hulur (handout) culture if they want their community to be one that is excellent and respectable, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. "

How many times have we heard that before? Or maybe I should say how many years already have we been hearing the same thing? Malaysia currently stand at 49 and going 50, still the preferential treatment given based on race still exist. Are we really truly progressing or are we still going in circles?

The question is, why is it still there? Why isn't it abolished?
The answer is so simple. Who would want to give up your special treatment? It is just the human greed, pure and simple. The special right was agreed in exchange for citizenship by the immigrants from other countries. There was no Malaysia back then. But today, after 49 years of independence of Malaysia, anyone who was born here is called a Malaysian, not some other name. The scale has already been tipped.

admitting the problem is the first step to solving the problem, taking action against the problem solves the problem.

Quote again from TheStar, "We in Umno cannot just shout the words Hidup Melayu or Hidup Umno to become strong as they are only slogans." Try telling that to the person who raise the "Keris" during a meeting.

Forever depending will not gain you independence but cripple you to dependence.

MP vs Customs ... (2)

2006-07-06T20:01:00.000+08:00

The saga continues, the Customs Department is inviting Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof to make another bid for the confiscated Mercedes Benz. In a statement by Datuk Mat Yusof Abdullah Customs deputy director-general, he said whether Jasin MP will get it or not is another story. Is this a open bribe to make him shut up or is it just a sarcasm remark?

He also mentioned that ÂThe cars that he wanted had already been approved in principle to two government officials". Approved in principal? To who? Why are they "pre-approved"?

What exactly is the procedure of buying confiscated cars from the Customs department. It would be helpful if the procedure were made clearly to the public and clear the name for Customs Department. Till then we would have to wait for the parlimentary committee.

While other MPs are saying that no suchprivilegee existed for them. It was either that suchprivilegee doesnt exist, or it existed but they dont know about it. However Ketereh MP Datuk Mohd Alwi Che Ahmad was quoted by TheStar saying " ÂI donÂt know if MPs are given priority to buy cars seized by Customs. But I know that civil servants can buy tax-free government cars after five yearsÂ serviceÂ. What does "Civil servants can buy tax-free government cars after five years' service" means? Can anyone elaborate on that?

Billboards Everywhere

2006-07-06T19:12:00.000+08:00

The billboard problem has long existed PJ. Nobody in authority has done a thing to curb it. To think with all that public complaint about it, at least some smart ass people in charge should do something about it, but no, all are clinging to the "tak apa" attitude. Why is that? Is someone in charge profiteering for "closing an eye"?

And finally when the Sultan of Selangor knows about it, with just a statement, sets order into place. If things are managed in this way in Malaysia, wouldnt it be better if we all just complaint to the Sultan? Problems admittedly do get looked into faster and maybe solved faster. Might as well let the Sultan own all the newspaper, at least that way His Majesty will know the complaint of fellow citizen.

While the new Petaling Jaya Mayor Datuk Ahmad Termizi Puteh just got to warm his seat, problems are arising. In line with the recent "showing skeleton to the public" campaign, comes the allegation that whoever wants to put up a billboard, thy has to part with a handsome donation of RM10,000 to MBPJ Football Club. This is said need to be done in show of "good will" before applying for advertisment billboard for approval. You can also say this is in line with the "Build first, apply later" concept taken from the real estate developers. If allegation may be true or may be not, but since the allegations did come out, at least some investigation should be done. The statement quoted from TheStar, " The MBPJ has reportedly said that the MBPJ Football Club accounts were not for public scrutiny as the club was a separate entity and there was no need for residents to check" just make it sound more fishy.

On another report, city council of Ipoh, Cyberjaya and Putrajaya state that all illegal billboards are taken down. Now why cant MBPJ learn from them? Anyone taking any "under the table money"? Resident in Penang however complaint that they faced a similir senario as PJ, wild billboards sprouting everywhere.

Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khir Toyo states that it was too costly to take them down, well, how did it get up there the first place? I am suggesting a solution for you, seize the billboards and fined the company advertising on it. They should borne the cost of taking it down. If they say it is not their fault, then ask them to sue the contractor/agent who put them up.

Less Talk, More Action.

MPs Vs Customs

2006-06-30T17:26:00.000+08:00

The stakes in "close one eye case" has just gotten a whole lot bigger. MP of Jasin who received much attention when his "close one eyes" charade was put on debate in parliment is now revealing the black pot of the customs department to the public.

He is claiming that the customs department are secretly having private auction of seized luxury car to "close friends" by invitational only. The luxury cars which were supposedly be in public auction are taken off the public list and sold at RM40k to 60k each. Reports also said that the cars were sold to friends in royalty for datukship, meaning that with a right price, a datukship can be bought.

In parliment sessions TheStar reports, in replied to a query by Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN - Ayer Hitam) on the rationale for Customs enforcement officers using BMW cars, Hilmi said:

"The Customs officers use powerful cars not for style but because the cars are fast and stable ... for enforcement activities. If they use Kancils, they would not be able to chase after suspects who may have bigger and more powerful cars."

"These cars were confiscated goods. The officials can use them for their work and the Government does not have to finance them."

Regarding to enforcement activities, is he implying that the customs department are doing more chasing than the police department? If not, shouldn't the BMW be given to the police department instead. When was the last time you see a custom enforcer chasing criminals?

MP of Jasin on the other hand is seen trying to blackmail the customs department to end his case. MP Jasin Mohd Said was quoted saying "In my case, somebody lodged a report against me at the ACA. I am sure someone could do the same in this case." By dangling the black pot of the customs department in front of the public, he is seem to be saying "I also know all you secrets, clear me from the "close an eye" case and I wont be mentioning names". All this seems true following that MP Jasin has not yet lodge a report to ACA despite saying that he has proof.

If he has the proof, why dont he just report it to the ACA, isnt this an obstruction of justice. It is responsibilityiity as an MP to report what is unjust. He is publicly making a mockery of the MP and ACA of Malaysia.

Energy Crisis ... (3)

2006-06-30T16:57:00.000+08:00

Sarawakian will be taking a double hit as SESCo is finalizing its plan to submit a proposal to increase its electricity tariff in Sarawak. The move came months after TNB in west Malaysia annouced an increase in its rates for all its consumers.

According to reports from TheStar, the proposed hike will only include rates for industries as rates for domestic consumer is already higher compared to TNB. No doubt, with the increase, prices of products across Sarawak will suffer another hike. This is akin to the double taxation, prices of good from West Malaysia were increased due to hike from TNB will suffer another increase due to hike from SESCo.

We do not yet know how much will the hike be yet but I am expecting it to be around 10%-15%, near the 12% hike from TNB. I do agree that the company should allow to have an increase in its electricity but they should know that by stating that QUOTE from TheStar "About 10% of the state's electricity is generated by diesel, and the rest by a mix of natural gas, hydro power and coal. "

The price of natural gas subsidized by Petronas, the factors that are taking into consideration for rate adjustment are the
1. increased price of diesel
2. increased price of coal
3. increased in operating cost

With these in mind, any large percentage increase in the tarifff are unreasonable.

Media Blackout

2006-06-27T11:02:00.000+08:00

Another trait of Malaysia is that the government controls all the main stream media, from TheStar to TV3 which about covers almost everything. The main stream media is a powerful tool for the government to portray itself. How the media portrays the government to its people is like a resume. A good resume will land you 70% of the jobs, for it government it is more than enough to secure a majority.

And here I thought the media is the source of information, where we, as people analyze the information ourselves. Facts should be reported with the true and clear picture, not distorted. How do you expect one to look through a dirty window and know what is outside the window?

Since I started blogging, there were two major gag on the media reporting, the first one was the protest at the KLCC about the fuel price. And recently, all news from the dialogue with Ex-PM was not reported in the main stream media. I don't even think that the average Malaysian knows about the forum at all. Using blackmail to enforce a gag order seems to be very effective because none of the media wants to lose its license/permit.

Gag order WAS an effective way to blackout all the news but with the advent of internet and bloggers, it will not work anymore. Alas, it has become a catalyst to fellow bloggers to air their views and reporting it in their own blog for viewers.

List of media allegedly gagged

Main points raised in the forum by Ex-PM
1. Concerns regarding the scenic bridge, proton, sale of MV Agusta, and AP
2. A graduate of Oxford was controlling the government instead of the PM
3. Khazanah Nasional and GLC are not serving its purpose
4. The support the current PM have was of non quality
5. Defended the mega projects built during his tenure
6. Claimed Malaysia has more money than before

Full report on forum by Agenda Daily
Transcipt of Q & A after the forum from Agenda Daily

Excuse me, thank you

2006-06-23T01:19:00.000+08:00

According to the survey from reader digest, common courtesy in KL is going to be extinct very soon. It should really be in the endangered species list. By putting it on the list, anyone who is not courteous can be legally fined/jailed. Only then can we really appreciate courtesy.

The result of the survey is based on three common situation.
1. the dropped paper test
2. holding the door test
3. the thank you test

True to the true Malaysian, Malaysia did not hold up well to these test. I would have to agree that Malaysia is starting to lose its friendliness image. The declination is more apparent in large cities as compared to smaller towns. With all the mad rush to climb the cooperate ladder, patience testing, pride and ego, it does not comes to a surprise we are all losing grip of the basic common courtesy.

We as the citizen of Malaysia, once well known for its friendly and courteous people, should rise up and stop the decay of courtesy. It is not that hard to do because all we need to do is to mind one's Ps and Qs.

When was the last time you use the word "thank you"? Well, mine was when I paid for dinner 5 hours ago, how about you?

Stay Away From Helicopters

2006-06-20T20:36:00.000+08:00

They are dangerous I tell you. If you see one landing, start running for cover. There was this incident that happen a hawker was scalded due to strong from helicopter landing. Interesting enough, our PM was on that helicopter.

Now, what should the response be? Well fast enough compensation was offered by the Perak MCA and Kampar MP to the unlucky victim. Well, at least PM did care and enquire about the condition of the victim. Seems like the English media are not keen to report this incident.

After reading it in the newspaper, immediately I had a flashback to an earlier incident years back where the strong winds due to the Taiwan president's helicopter landing uprooted the tent of the earth quake victims during his visit. The Taiwan president actually got scolded by the victims. While googling for the incident,I found this article which mentioned more accidents due to the strong helicopter landing winds.

The pilot may know to stay clear of the people, but does the people know to stay clear of the helicopter? Being a busybody citizen of Malaysia, no doubt we will try to stay as near as possible. Stay clear, I tell you, STAY CLEAR !

A Bridge Too Scenic ...(3)

2006-06-19T00:35:00.000+08:00

The cost of scrapping the bridge stands at RM740 million. Apperently the RM 380million land premium requested by Johor need not to paid since the land exchange deal between the Johor and the federal government is still on. The deal was a swap of land between Bukit Chagar and Tanjung Puteri.

Even so, the cost of RM 740 million for scrapping a RM1130 million deal is not acceptable. Someone must be held accountable for wasting so much of people's hard earned money.

To God I Swear ?

2006-06-18T22:26:00.000+08:00

The politics in Malaysia just got more religious, this can be seem with so many of our politician carrying around holy books. In times of troubles, who better to turn to but God? Mixing religious with politics is very bad idea, it's like eating a mix of prawns and vitamin C (circulation on internet that it can kill, I personally believe it is untrue).

What is up with people swearing on holy books, in truth I detest the idea of anyone swearing on holy books. What if you are forced/accidentally break your oath? Then you are bound to hell? If you wanna swear on holy books, then why not show proof of your doing/undoing? Swearing on holy books is just a gimmick, because in truth, even if you lie, so what? (you show me a politician who never lie and I'll show you my pet dinosaur)

They may think swearing on holy books may be religious and nobody can dispute them (religious is a well known sensitive subject in Malaysia) because they don't want to dispute God. Well, they are just plain STUPID and DO NOT believe a word they say. Why the heck do you want to swear by holy books when you can show us proof? (you don't have any proof?)

A page taken from International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz swearing on Quran. The lastest masquerade is by Matthias Chang, the former political secretary of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. By show of support to ex-PM, he sworn on 5 religious book which are Quran, Bible and with the other three books unknown (can anyone provide me the details of the other three holy books used?) that he was not involved in any businesses. In a bold move challenging both Khairy and Kalimullah to declare their assets to the public (which I am sure that the double K will not declare, too much to hide?) I for one welcome the declaration of their assets to the public.

To those who are not familiar with the double K, one is the son in law of PM and the other is the former editor in chief of New Strait Times.

Now the debate is on whether Matthias Chang, should be swearing on Quran. Whatever the result is, it is a bad move on Matthias Chang behalf to be using the holy books in the first place.

If we all care so much about the religion then surely Malaysia is a peaceful a place to live in without corruption and transparent administration. Does the high corruption rate in Malaysia says that the spiritual level in Malaysia is at an all time low and people in general just dont care much about their religion?

A Bridge Too Scenic ...(2)

2006-06-16T09:27:00.000+08:00

The 1km(800m) 6lane Road to link CIQ to causeway by Gerbang Perdana is estimated to cost RM470 million not as initially predicted of RM250 million. I think the rise of cost is actually lumping the RM190 million for connecting roads to the 6 lane highway linking to CIQ from the causeway. According to todays newspaper, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Shahrir Samad said that the RM380 million land premium compensation should not be calculated together with cost of canceling the bridge. Why shouldn't it be calculated together if the government have to fork out RM380 million to johor government? When you are paying for it, it becomes the cost, plain and simple, that is why I am adding it in. RM470 million to build a 800m 6 lane highway? Isnt that a little expensive? That is almost half a billion of people's money.

Building The Bridge
RM1113 million Agreement between with Gerbang Perdana signed in May 2003

NOT Building The Bridge
RM100 million Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd (compensation)
RM380 million Johor government requested land compensation
RM280 million 800m 6lane Road to link CIQ to causeway by Gerbang Perdana
RM170 million Paid for initial work done
RM190 million Connecting the road to the highway

And the total cost of NOT building a bridge is RM1120 million, that is RM7 million more if we did build the bridge. Seems to me that in Malaysia by not building something, it is more expensive than building something.

On the other hand, if the government did go ahead with the bridge and the Singapore did not finish the other half of the bridge then the CIQ complex would be a waste of tax payer money. To prevent that, the RM470 million will still need to be spent to build the 800m 6 lane Road to link CIQ to causeway regardless. Why did the Johor government requested the RM380 million land premium for? Answer lies here.

Taking this into account, the cost of NOT building a bridge would actually be RM650 million. If the Johor government didnt request for the land premium of RM380 million, then the cost of canceling would actually be only RM270 million.

Feud, Truly Malaysia ... A bridge too scenic

2006-06-12T20:37:00.000+08:00

The pan just got hotter in Malaysia, with all the word bashing in between PM and ex-PM. Seems like feud is hotter than the world cup this season. What the heck is all that about? back stab? traitor? Sounds like something from the communist era, or maybe all this are just the spill over from "The Last Communist"?

Ex PM is currently raising all sorts of issue and criticizing the current PM. Weren't they suppose the be a team, since the ex-PM did "hand picked" the current PM. Why all this commotion? Somebody must have done something which made the ex-PM becoming so pissed.

Personally, I think all this came up and started with the rumors saying that the ex-PM spent all the money, then came the AP issue which to my opinion were properly handled at all. The final blow was the scrapping of the bridge. I think that was the final straw for ex-PM.

I read a very interesting article from MalaysiaToday regarding the cost of building the bridge(or rather the cost of NOT building the bridge). We all know that the government was giving RM100 million to Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd as annouced earlier. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) however highlighted the "hidden cost" of canceling the bridge project.

Building The Bridge
RM1113 million Agreement between with Gerbang Perdana signed in May 2003

NOT Building The Bridge
RM100 million Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd (compensation)
RM380 million Johor government requested land compensation
RM250 million (280mill) 1km(6lane) Road to link CIQ to causeway by Gerbang Perdana

There are however other costs (RM190 million and RM170 million) which are reported by MalaysiaToday.

Is it worth canceling the bridge? Why on earth are we canceling the bridge?

Gone and Forgotten ? ...Unfinished Business

2006-06-07T17:03:00.000+08:00

Malaysian has a tendency to a short memory span. This is true, and true to the word, really "hangat hangat tahi ayam". So many issues were raised, debated and after (or should I say less) than a few months, everything is forgotten. By the way this is going, all criminal records in Malaysia can be wipe clean within a few months.

1. AP Issue
It was widely and a hot topic for all as it was raised and with all that drama, finger pointing, tears and together with religion. (Since when does God went into politics?) There was never a true ending to the AP saga. The people was just left in the lurch. With the media not raising the issue in the newspapers, all the hype for accountability and transparency in government allocation of APs apparently gone.

2. RM0.30 Fuel Hike
With the RM0.30 fuel hike, the government is saving RM4.4 billion on fuel subsidies. Saying that the savings will be channeled into improving the public transport in Malaysia. So far the only concrete thing that the government has done was improving(trying to improve) the public transport in Penang and KL. What about the other states? (or do the government simply do not care about the other states?)

3. Close an Eye for MP?
I have not seen any clear action taken against a man who have publicly admitted (QUOTE from TheStar, "Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof has admitted that he is the sole proprietor of a company involved in a recent case where the Malacca Customs was asked to Ã“close one eyeÃ” over an illegal import of sawn timber from Indonesia." ) that and done wrong against the law. Does this imply that MPs (with good connection) are above the law? Seems like the case is already closed.

These are the three cases that I remembered, who know what else have we forgotten. I am sure the opposition party will more than happy to remind us of these and our government doings when the next election comes.

Requirement and Preferably, what does it means?

2006-05-31T17:00:00.000+08:00

What is the difference between these two words? Before today, I could careless about it. Since our beloved DPM brought up that it could affect the chances of employment of workers reported in NST, I decided to do a little research about the meaning of these two word (by research I mean looking up the word in the dictionary, which by the way when was the last time you look up a word in the dictionary?).

QUOTING from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary the word "Requirement" means something wanted or needed, while the word "Preferably" having a greater value or desirability.

And I QUOTE from DPM,"When I look at ads (in the newspapers) there are some companies, for example, which put the Mandarin language as one of the requirements, such a practice indirectly leads to bias when it comes to hiring workers."

The question to our DPM is what is wrong with putting speaking Mandarin language as a requirement? Is speaking a another language not consider a skill? (You try telling that to a linguist who dedicated his/her life in learning different languages)

In term of job requirement there is NOTHING WRONG by listing the ability to speak certain language as a requirement. So does that means if I want to hire a translator or a linguist, I cannot list need to have the ability to speak difference language as a requirement?

So basically, by raising this issue it means that the companies now cannot list "good proficiency in English and Bahasa Malay" as a requirement? There is NOTHING WRONG of list it under requirement because the job may required that particular person to communicate with client in Mandarin (with the rise of China, this is possible). Futher more, like it or not, sometimes, it does help the jobseekers which they can ignore that particular job if they cannot fulfill the stated requirement (they can still try though, I have nothing against trying). It would be senseless to purposely go for a job interview knowing that you wont get the job (still no harm in trying).

Just wondering if anyone has seen any classified that put race/ethnic as a requirement? If that does exist, that is what we should be looking into.

Protestors and Police ? continued Energy crisis(2)

2006-05-29T16:14:00.000+08:00

As we all know, there was a peaceful (that turned not so peaceful when the police tried to disperse the crowd) protest that was staged near KLCC. I, however, unfortunately didn't have the chance to attend (due to my overdue road tax, I cannot drive to KL from Perak).

While the major (TheStar) newspaper did a slight coverage and report on the fuel + electricity hike protest. The report does not seem to reflect the true incident that happened that fateful day with just a mentioned of QUOTE from TheStar" At about 11am when the protest grew rowdy, police used a water cannon on demonstrators who refused to disperse. "

According to HarakahDaily.net, there is more to it then it meets the eye. The police force, armed with shields, helicopter, batons and water cannons came and clash with the protestors while trying to disperse them.

There is nothing wrong with the police trying to disperse a rowdy crowd, but it is the amount of violence used when dispersing a crowd which are a concerned. Newton's Third Law of Motion states in wikipedia and I QUOTE "To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction." I do not condemn the use of force by to stop rowdy crowds but rather I approve the use of correct amount of force to stop and disperse. Now came the question, how much force is the "correct" force and when does it becomes an excessive force? I do claim that I have the answers to that but rather let us all ponder on that question. Do we know how hard it is for a police to disperse a crowd?

Ponder this, a policeman/woman ask you to disperse from an illegal gathering in a public place, but then you feel that you do not have to because it is a public place, what is wrong with standing in a public place(the police don't own the place but neither do you)? What can the policeman/woman do to make you leave?

I agree that there may exist some protestors which are out of line and became too emotional (temporary irrationality) and may have threw the first punch on the police team. The use of excessive force by the police came up when reports from HarakahDaily.net and Malaysiakini that Zahir Hassan, the secretary general of KeAdilan was assaulted when he tried to protect his family members.

The use excessive force continues to haunt the image police force. With no clear policy change in sight for crowd dispersion, I believe the use excessive force by the police force in certain area are here to stay.

Energy crisis ...Figure manipulation

2006-05-25T17:43:00.000+08:00

Okay, so now everyone know about the electricity increase already. No matter how you protest and how many people voice your concern, the price wont go down. As said by our Prime Minister, "ACCEPT IT". Personally, it is about due time for an increase since the old tariff has been there for quite a while already. It is very hard for TNB to increase profit with the rising fuel price.

However there are some point of the word said by our Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik which I do not agree on. QUOTE from TheStar newspaper, " those unaffected by the tariff increase made up 60% or 3.036 million of the 5.1million households in the peninsula. " So basically, he is implying 60% of the household in peninsular Malaysia uses less than 200kWh of electricity per month do not have to pay extra for it. But then here is a contradiction, on another TheStar article today, attached is a table which source from Tenaga Nasionl Bhd by TheStar. If we look at the table, we would see 300W (my computer uses a 350W power supply) refridgerator with a monthly consumption of 216kWh. So, does that mean, 60% if the household in peninsular Malaysia don't own a refridgerator? Do you feel like someone is lying to you?

Again another wrong way of doing comparison, from TheStar , and I QUOTE " Even with the 12% tariff increase, he said, Malaysia still had the cheapest electricity in the region with the exception of Indonesia." I am saying this is the wrong way because, the standard of living was not taken into consideration.

On the bright side, on New Strait Times today, and I QUOTE " PETROL prices at the pump will be adjusted downwards if the price of oil falls, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin told the Dewan Negara today. " . It does really makes you wonder, doesn't it? Whether this will really happen, or is it just a false hope to cooldown/reduce people's complaint about electricity price increase. (seems like someone is playing the good cop, bad cop trick as seen in television)

Energy, Up up and away

2006-05-24T16:50:00.000+08:00

The electricity price in Malaysia has finally gone up and the government couldn't have chosen a better time to do it. (Fresh after the Sarawak election). Well, at least they are smart to do it after the election, if not we may and would have seen the opposition in Sarawak chalking up at least 15 seats (based on seats that won with a slim slim majority).

According to the reports from The Star newspaper,
QUOTE"The majority of domestic users -- 59% of about 3 million households -- use less than 200 kilowatts (equivalent to a bill of RM43.60)"

But then what about the other people? The other 41%, aren't they people too? Yes, they maybe be rich and maybe they could would afford it.

You do not say and I QUOTE from The Star " Dr Lim said low-income household would not be badly affected, as the rates would be based on the amount of power consumed ", we really need to look at the bigger picture here. And the bigger picture is?

Energy price going up basically all the goods prices will have an increased again. Why is that? Isn't it obvious? We all use electricity and all the goods produce uses electricity. Don't believe me? Name me 1 thing that does not require electricity to produce ? You are reading this article and you are using electricity, basically everything uses electricity in a direct and indirect way in this modern world. Hurray to that.

The presentation of figure lies, literally. When we say something(specifically basic goods and commodity) increase by X%, we don't just get an increase of X%, we get X%+Y%. The Y% would be the "spin off"(people like to use "spin off" to make things sound complicated) effect. Let say, before this you're paying RM100 for electricity, and in this great nation the price of electricity comes in tier, meaning they rate charge you based and how much you used, after exceeding a certain about the price of electricity would be a different rate. You new bill would not be RM112, nope it wont. I'm assuming it would be RM106 (RM50+RM50*1.12). Not so bad right, RM6 increase only.

Now, I am wondering whether price of food, clothes, groceries will face a slight increase also since they all are using electricity one way or another right?