Tim Berners-Lee, the publicity-shy physicist who invented the world wide web, has been awarded a knighthood. He is presently the head of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. An unsung hero of the modern age, Mr Berners-Lee is named in today's New Year's Honours List for "services to the internet" - creating the system that has revolutionised computer use across the globe. The system, which he devised in his spare time in 1991 while working as a researcher at the European particle research laboratory Cern, features billions of web pages used by hundreds of millions of people every day. Crucially, Mr Berners-Lee gave his invention away rather than trying to patent or restrict its use, making it possible for the web to grow at a rate never seen. Without his creation, there would be no "www" computer addresses, and the internet might still be the exclusive domain of a handful of computer experts. In typically modest fashion, the 48-year-old Briton was at pains yesterday to point out that he did not invent the internet itself, but instead devised a method for more easily accessing what was there. "I'm very honoured, although it still feels strange. I feel like quite an ordinary person and so the good news is that it does happen to ordinary people who work on things that happen to work out, like the web," he said. "To a certain extent it's an acknowledgement of the profession as well, that it's useful and creditable and not a passing trend. There was a time when people felt the internet was another world, but now people realise it's a tool that we use in this world," Mr Berners-Lee said yesterday.
Where would we netizens and bloggers be without people like Mr Berners-Lee. And to imagine giving his device/invention away for free, one just can't do more than that. Even tuition does not come free these days. Oh these dedicated teachers of yesteryears, this blogger used to receive free extra lessons on weekends from such teachers, such teachers are a rare breed these days. The government is proposing free tuition for half million primary 4-6 kids and is prepared to spend Rm200 million of the taxpayers' money, so really it isn't free. Hopefully, when they do sit down and brainstorm this scheme, they really get to do it well, so that it won't turn out to be like the NSP. Somehow, the Ed MINItser does not give one confidence. This blogger will be xtremely glad if proven wrong.
Now just a thought, Mr Ed MINIster, would a scheme like this work. The school can easily identify the slow learners and those in need of extra classes, whether these students can or cannot afford tuition does not arise; all those in need should be provided for. These students can then be given their extra ultra intensive classes in the school by teachers during flexi-off-school-hours. This would be like the system practised by those past dedicated, non-extra paid teachers of this blogger. The school should also be able to identify the teachers to give these classes. For these students to chose their teachers on their own?? Being sent to tuition centres outside must be a no no. Of course, the teachers involved should be paid accordingly and thus can earn some extra pay. Ther must also be a system in place to monitor these extra classes. Abuse of the scheme should be minimised. Just a thought, Mr Ed MINIster, just a thought. And A Happy New Year to you and all.
The end is near, ie the end of Year 2003, it is the time again for those who bother to have 'New Year's Resolutions' to search their grey cells for ideas, ideals, goals, aims etc etc which they may want to set or seee crystallise in the New Year. It could range from never lighting up another cancer stick to enhancing national unity to helping promote world peace. Before formulating your goals and other things, you might want to visit this site called :: New Year's Resolution Week, first.
The designer, Gary Ryan Blair, developed this site to "provide us with the tools necessary to make 2004 and subsequent years, the most exciting year ever." Gary has designated New Year's Resolution Week as the first week of the year, the week when one has the opportunity to make personal resolutions, set challenging goals, and develop detailed action plans for their accomplishment. View Gary's sample goals before formulating our own on the Resolution Contract. This important tool will enable us to measure our progress and success during the year. Parents and guardians, be sure not to miss the Kid's Section. You'll find lots of information on training children in goal setting, a invaluable tool for success in life. Here's the site to start everyone out on the right foot for 2004!
Apart from formulating our own resolutions, let's also remind others as they are going about their's. For starters, the new PM should have : Zero Corruption and A credible Polis Force which exudes Confidence, as for the Works MINIster, Zero Slides on Public Roads; for Najib, A more Wholesome Improved Upgraded NSP; should be on their respective lists. Any further additions, folks?
Parents: Talk to teens about what they see on the Idiot Box
This article :: Parents: Talk to teens about TV's casual sex by Bruce Kluger is rather interesting. You might want to read it, so that the next time you allow your teens in the house on the TV or buy the next VCD or DVD and know what to do. Could they be viewing and be influenced in the wrong way by the stuff they see on that idiot box?
According to Kluger, after reading 226 plot synopses for TV's Friends during the course of the show's 10 years on the air -- the character of Rachel (played by Jennifer Aniston) has had some sort of sexual relations with about 20 men. He concluded that one can safely say that Rachel is an especially friendly Friend.
Kluger says that TV reflected cultural shifts in our society(American, Malaysian?), and Friends is just one example of the way in which the modern sitcom holds, what he calls, that electronic mirror up to the fallout from the sexual revolution. On television, as in real life, intimate relations nowadays are not only acceptable among the unmarried, but, in most circles, considered a vital criterion by which lifelong(sic) partners are selected. He calls it, a new era. He ask the question :: Is TV sending a dangerous message about sex to kids?
Apparently the answer, is yes. According to a host of studies compiled by PSVratings.com, a new contest-based rating system devoted to educating parents about the portrayal of profanity, sex, and violence in popular entertainment, TV presents an average of eight ''sexual incidents'' during the so called ''family hour'' ie the 7-8pm or 8-9pm TV time slot. A survey last year by the Kaiser Family Foundation of 15- to 17-year-olds found that 72% of them believe that sex on TV influences the behavior of their peer groups. Is this the reason for the US of A having the highest rate of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in the industrialized world?
Coupling, a product of the Brits, is cited by Kluger, as another popular sitcom with plenty of sexual innuendoes and situations. So how do parents deal with this sex education ala Hollywood? This first thought and action may be 'off with the idiot box' or 'lock it up'. But with a ready TV available next door, this often results in the teens running off next door to watch. What's recommended is rather than act as gatekeepers to the stuff streaming on the TV, proactive parents may better function as interpreters, helping their teens sort out and make sense of what's on the idiot box. In regards to Coupling, the National Institute on Media and the Family, for instance, issued a news release calling on parents to ''speak candidly with their children about sex and sexuality".
If you think that we should only worry about the PSV messages that are coming out of the idiot box, there are also plenty of unsolicited messages lurking in that idiot box. Just think of the propaganda messages and misinformation and disinformation and censored information which are dished out by our local TV stations, courtesy of DIM and others. Come 2004 and we will have more channels to deal with. So the next time, we sit down in front of the idiot box in the living room with our teens, do remember to function as interpreters whenever the occasion arises whether the messages are sexual, political or even religious in nature. ] For those interested, this is the page to go, for more on the Kaiser Family Foundation take on Children, Health and the Media : Fact Sheet Series.
The recent proposal to unleash the full force of the polis on traffic offenders has the public coming out to say that it can be 'opened to abuse'. To the new IGP it seems a simple solution to the increasing numbers of traffic offenders and road accident fatalities. He was quoted as saying :: "All they(the polis) have to do is witness the type of road offence committed, note the vehicle number, check with the Road Transport Department on the driver’s particulars and send the summons to them.” Looks like we are going back to the era of saman ekor. This proposal is another of those thoughtless, not so good quality, off-the-cuff solutions to problems faced by our society. This proposal reminded me of an editorial which was recently seen on e.sinchew-i.com. Read the article to see what are some more examples of such proposals/solutions thought out by our decision makers and those in authority. Both the Star and the MMail have done some checking out with the public on the new IGP's proposal. Some of the members of the public figure the proposal sucks.
Hear ye! Hear ye! Traffic offenders and others, beware, the polis will be coming after you all in full force soon. There won't just be the 4000 strong uniformed traffic polis, the entire polis force of 82,000, the new IGP included, in or out of uniforms, on or off-duty will be empowered to issue traffic offenders with summonses. So all of you, shooters of red lights, speed freaks and those who park their vehicles in places not meant for parking, watch out. The other person next to you might just be one of these 82,000 summons issuing polis. They can be just anywhere and it will no longer be easy for you to spot them when you are thinking of committing your next traffic offence. Now those who love to impersonate polis officers, they no longer have to go to Golok to get their immitation uniforms, they can always chose to impersonate an out-of-uniform polis. And for those who impersonate the polis to 'cari makan', this latest decision of the new IGP is heaven/hell sent, depends on how you see it. Out of the blue, the guy behind you, who shot the red light with you, may just overtake you and issue you with that summons. The present force of 4000 traffic polis issues between 5,000 and 10,000 summonses daily nation-wide. Now with a force of 82,000 working 24 hours a day, imagine the volume of summonses which can be issued. The newly added summons bearers need only issue one summons a day and this would result in an additional 78,000 a day. Imagine how our overworked courts, magistrates, court presidents and judges are gonna deal with this. Is the new IGP aware of what happened when the polis last went after those who had not paid their summonses. Now come to think of it, what has happened to those who have not paid up?? Now back to saner things. At the one-day national public forum which was organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) to get feedback on ways to reduce the high number of road accidents, the forum was told that human factor was the main cause of road accidents. Other statistics presented (in this Star report) included the following ::
human factors included the following : bad driving behaviour, speeding and reckless driving, accounting for 95% of accidents
road conditions accounted for 7% (Semi Value must be happy)
vehicle condition accounted for 2.2%
other factors accounted for -4.2%, presumably these included acts of God eg weather, landslides, mudslides, hailstones, potholes etc etc etc. (Blogger note :: 95% + 7% + 2.2% - 4.2% = 100%).
68% of accident victims suffered light injuries, 20.6% serious while 11.4% were fatalities.
58.6% of traffic accident deaths involved motorcyclists, followed by 15.8% (cars), 11.8% (pedestrians), 4.5% (cyclists), 3.3% (lorries) and 1% (buses).
traffic offenders were mainly aged between 16 and 25, with Malays forming the highest number (65%) followed by Chinese (22.6%), Indians (7.7%) and others (4.7%).
those with more than four years’ driving experience made up the highest number of traffic offenders at 57%, while those with less than a year contributed 19.4% (many of us thought it was the other way around eh).
This proposal by the new IGP to unleash the full force of the polis on traffic offenders was one of a total of 113 proposals submitted at the forum by government agencies, groups and individuals.
Malaysiakini reported this evening, that the Reformasi websites which were recently taken offline by their web host have been reinstated. This blogger has checked and both the sites :: FAC and Black 14 are available again. The latest news on both these sites is regarding the launching of "GERAKAN ANWAR BEBAS".
According to this M'kini report, RPK, the webmaster of FAC said he had been informed this morning that Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had taken up the matter with Easyspace, which then pledged to put the site back up.
Easyspace had acted on complaints by a Malaysian now residing in Australia, regarding an article, possibly this article, posted last October on the FAC website. This article is one written by RPK which alleged a conspiracy involving the Sydney-based Malaysian, Australian television channel Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and Malaysian national news agency Bernama. The complaint is that the said article is a defamatory rather than an inflammatory one, as was earlier reported.
The Malaysian Government is said to be considering lodging a protest against the 5th Annual Report on International Religious Freedom presented by the US. According to the Star, the Foreign Minister said that the inclusion of Malaysia among nine countries with laws or policies that favoured certain religions and placed others at a disadvantage was totally unacceptable. He added :: “From the way the report was prepared, I think they have a mission and that is to tarnish our image as a multi-religious country.”
The executive summaries for the Reports of 2001, 2002 and 2003 are produced below ::
Malaysia (2003). Islam is the official religion, although the constitution provides for freedom of religion. The Government considers adherence to Sunni Islam intrinsic to Malay ethnic identity; therefore, Sunni Islamic religious laws bind ethnic Malays, who represent approximately 55 percent of the population. The Government monitored the activities of the Shi'a minority and claimed the right to detain members of what it considers Islamic "deviant sects," i.e., groups that do not follow the official Sunni teachings. The right to leave the Islamic faith and adhere to another religion remained controversial, and in practice it was very difficult for Muslims to change religions. Non-Muslim religious minorities generally worship freely although with some restrictions, such as construction of places of worship and new cemeteries.
Malaysia (2002). Islam is the official religion, and the practice of Islamic beliefs other than Sunni Islam was restricted significantly. The Government continued to monitor the activities of the Shi'a minority and periodically detained members of what it considers Islamic "deviant sects" without trial or charge. The Government generally respected non-Muslims’ right of worship; however, state governments carefully controlled the building of non-Muslim places of worship and the allocation of land for non-Muslim cemeteries. After the November 1999 national elections, the Government significantly expanded efforts to restrict the activities of the Islamic opposition party at mosques. Several states announced measures including banning opposition-affiliated imams from speaking at mosques, more vigorously enforcing existing restrictions on the content of sermons, replacing mosque leaders and governing committees thought to be sympathetic to the opposition, and threatening to close down unauthorized mosques with ties to the opposition. For Muslims, particularly ethnic Malays, the right to leave the Islamic faith and adhere to another religion remained a controversial question, and in practice it was very difficult to change religions.
Malaysia (2001). Islam is the official religion, and the practice of Islamic beliefs other than Sunni Islam is restricted significantly. For Muslims, particularly ethnic Malays, the right to leave the Islamic faith and adhere to another religion is a controversial right, and in practice it is very difficult for Muslims to change religions, as evidenced by a recent court ruling that an ethnic Malay is defined by the federal Constitution as "a person who professes the religion of Islam." Proselytizing of Muslims by members of other religions is prohibited, although proselytizing of non-Muslims faces no obstacles. The Government generally respects non-Muslims' right of worship; however, state governments carefully control the building of non-Muslim places of worship and the allocation of land for non-Muslim cemeteries and were very slow in granting approvals for such permits. The Government continued to monitor the activities of the Shi'a minority and periodically detained members of what it considers Islamic "deviant sects" without trial or charge.
Looking at the 3 summaries, don't they look almost the same in essence, if anything the 2002 report had more to say, this was regarding the clampdown on opposition following the 2000 election. Why is there so much hot air this time around? Has it got to do with the new PM? Is it because the 11th election is near? Or has someone just realised that our image had been tarnished once again and some polishinng is needed. Dear Datuk Seri Foreign Minister, if you had wanted to protest regarding "US trying to tarnish our image", you appear to be at least a couple of years too late. Of course, if the whole exercise is to score some "brownie points", please do carry on.
Bernama reports that our PM has rejected the United States' government report that listed Malaysia(read Malaysian Government) as among the countries(read governments) that did not practise religious freedom but why the reason(s) for the rejection are not provided. This report The 5th Annual Report on International Religious Freedom was released on 18th Dec 2003. The Malaysian Government, together with those governments of Belarus, Brunei, Eritrea, Indonesia, Israel and the Occupied Territories, Moldovia, Russia and Turkey are listed as practising Discriminatory Legislation or Policies Disadvantaging Certain Religions.
The executive summary on Malaysia is as follows ::
Islam is the official religion, although the constitution provides for freedom of religion. The Government considers adherence to Sunni Islam intrinsic to Malay ethnic identity; therefore, Sunni Islamic religious laws bind ethnic Malays, who represent approximately 55 percent of the population. The Government monitored the activities of the Shi'a minority and claimed the right to detain members of what it considers Islamic "deviant sects," i.e., groups that do not follow the official Sunni teachings. The right to leave the Islamic faith and adhere to another religion remained controversial, and in practice it was very difficult for Muslims to change religions. Non-Muslim religious minorities generally worship freely although with some restrictions, such as construction of places of worship and new cemeteries.
The full report on Malaysia can be found here. This report starts like so ::
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, the Government places some restrictions on this right. Although Islam is the official religion, the practice of Islamic beliefs other than Sunni Islam is restricted significantly. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report. Religious minorities generally worship freely, although with some restrictions. The Government enforces some restrictions on the establishment of non-Muslim places of worship and on the activities of political opponents in mosques. The generally amicable relationship among believers in various religions in society contributed to religious freedom. The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government in the context of its overall dialog and policy of promoting human rights.
This blogger does not see why this report should be rejected, it is a reasonably accurate report on the state of religious freedom in this country. A state which many of us accept rather than reject. It is no use calling for people to tell you the truth and then not recognising it when it is staring in your face. Read the full report on Malaysia and see what you think of it. Is it right to reject it? Maybe the PM should also read the report in full and its proper context before rejecting it out of hand.
Updates ::
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim has this to say : The allegation by the United States' (US) State Department that Malaysia has laws or policies that favour a particular religion and are unfair to other religions has been described as "arm chair judgement". "This is actually arm chair judgement and is unilateral in nature or one-sided. It's time for America to stop making such unilateral judgements and instead worry about the legal problems in the country (US) itself such as the case of the detainees at the Guantanamo Prison, Cuba."
Klang Sri Sundararaja Perumal Temple president, S Anandakrishnan has this to say : "We abhor such statement as it does not disclose the truth of religious freedom in Malaysia." "As guaranteed and enshrined in the Federal Constitution, a citizen's right to practise his or her religion of choice had never been trampled on by the Barisan Nasional government."
MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has this to say : "Tell them that we have the freedom (of religious worship). We all celebrate the festivals together and there are no problems among believers of different religions."
The Reports for 2001 and 2002 had the same things to say about the Malaysian Government and Religious Freedom, can't understand why there is so much hot air this time around.
The Penguins are here, the Penguins are here! Arriving from Johannesburg, via the famous KLIA, at the Langkawai International Airport, 20 Rockhopper penguins, each costing a cool RM26,000, for a total cost of over half million Ringgit Malaysia. These penguins are destined for showtime at the Underwater World Langkawi. The Underwater World Langkawi., is another cheap RM30 million MINI brainchild of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir, the project, which started in April and is 30% completed, involves the building of a new facility to complement Underwater World’s existing complex. Underwater World general manager Tanzil Md Noor Tanzil said in an interview :: "This is indeed a historic and exciting day for us. We are confident that this facility is poised to be a world-class centre for education and research in this region." According to aquarium consultant Khoo Teng Chye, “It is our dream and vision to produce the first Malaysian-bred penguins within two years.” Other exhibits in this project, may include seals, anacondas, sloths, primates, capybaras and jays. Wonder if there are any more projects the exPM may have approved prior to his retirement which will be surfacing soon. As far as this blogger is concerned, these cool birds and other animals would have been better left in their natural environments and definitely they would be better appreciated seen on screen like in those films produced by National Geographic and Discovery Channel. Our recent experiences with the Taiping 4(gorillas remember) and the Rhinos, seems like lessons forgotten amidst the Malaysia Boleh spirit
If you have ever wondered about Christmas and all things associated with it, go to this site :: "How Christmas Works" for some of the answers to your questions. The site is approached through the eyes of Gorg, an alien who has dropped in for a December earth visit. You function as his guide for the Christmas week. The questions start with 'What is Christmas' all the way to 'Why are stores and malls so geared up about this holiday', the last being the most important reason, commercially, for the Xmassy feeling locally at this time of the year. Here are some of the stuff I have picked up at this site ::
The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass". Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in 336 A.D.
In the Roman Catholic calendar, Christmas is one of six holy feast days celebrated in America, the others being: Circumcision (New Year's Day), Ascension, Assumption (Mary's assumption into heaven, August 15), All Saints (November 1), and the Immaculate Conception (December 8).
Why is Christmas such a big deal? There are 1.8 billion Christians in a total world population of 5.5 billion, making it the largest religion worldwide
Why is mistletoe hanging over the front door? The Scandinavian goddess of love (Frigga) is strongly associated with mistletoe. This link to romance may be where our tradition of kissing under mistletoe comes from.
Who is this Santa Claus person? According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Santa Claus started with a real person, Saint Nicholas, a minor saint from the fourth century:
And finally, why are stores and malls so geared up about this holiday? In America today, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are, by far, the biggest retail sales weeks of the year. The survival of most retail stores depends on the Christmas buying season. This may be the true reason for Christmas as far as these retailers are concerned. Mr Bow-Tied one, are you reading this? Hope you won't have complaints this time around.
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Oh yes, just to brighten up your Xmas, Lon San, read this :: "No funding woes," says EPF chairman, your EPF money is safe, they won't be messing with it. Merry Christmas
As I walked into the kopitiam last night for my usual cuppa, I could see that my old friend was unhappy and he also had this 'angrified' look on his face. Within seconds of my sitting down and even before I could have my order taken, this chap, Lon San fired away at what he was so annoyed about. Last Thursday the papers had reported that the EPF board was thinking of abolishing the partial one-third withdrawal at age 50 and on Saturday the board had hinted on abolishing lump sum withdrawal of EPF money at age 55. These changes would indeed screw up San's plans, plans which he had carefully made for the education of his 2 sons, Sin Wan and Sin Too, for buying his dream house and taking his better half on that long promised trip around Malaysia. If all these EPF changes were to come true, San would have to forget about all his plans. Having married late and being only blessed with children in his late 30's, San could only depend on his regular savings and EPF money for his retirement. The goodwill of his offsprings would have to come much later. So these proposed changes in the EPF act would put spokes into his retirement plans. There must be plenty of average-joes like San with almost similar plans. On hearing what San had to say, those seated at neighbouring tables joined in the discussions. Apart from contributions like :: "It's our money, don't restrict us from spending it our way", "Got no money to pay anymore, been helping the cronies too much", "At 50 or 55, let us enjoy the fruits of our labour lah", "EPF, no shame", "EPF, we don't need such proposals, leave our money alone", "EPF work on getting us higher dividends", "Where got meaning or sens", "Go fly layang, layang EPF", there were also plenty of unmentionables. The message obviously that they all wanted to pass to the EPF was in conclusion this :: "Don't Screw with our EPF Money". After that EPF talk, the next topic for discussion was the capture of Saddam but this was rather less hot.
It's confirmed the controversial 623km double-tracking and electrification rail project has been postponed till better times. Is this the first sign of changes to come. See this and this for context. The reason given for the postponement is that the Government has priority for other more important development projects, so said the new PM. He also said the majority of Cabinet members, who met on Wednesday last, strongly felt that the project must be postponed and that health, education, agriculture and socio-economic projects under the 8th Malaysian Plan needed greater attention. This is probably something which is more on the right track. The question now is on what basis was the project first approved and why the controversial decision to award it to Gamuda-MCC. Then did the majority of the Cabinet members (inclusive of the new PM, who was then DPM) felt equally strongly about its importance and usefulness to the nation? Why the about-turn now after such a short period of time and with hardly any significant changes in Cabinet composition? Don't blame the Rakyat for being sceptical and thinking there is something amissed as it has been revealed that the Cabinet had discussed this project many a times. As to this postponement being a sign of changing times, we will just have to wait. It could just be a case of window dressing or the effect of a new broom. Only time will tell, let's await further such signs. Can we expect to see new faces nominated to stand when the 11th election comes.
This blogger has commented on the hasty preparation and implementation of the National Service Training Programme {NST programme}. Today those chosen 85,000 youths are faced with more dilemma. The Ed MINIster, Tan Sri Musa said that for the chosens in the 2nd and 3rd batches, there will be a 2+1 plan. According to our Ed MINIster, his ministry had adjusted the entry dates for pre-university programmes to accommodate the national service training BUT NST trainees in the second and third batches entering Lower Six and matriculation classes would not be able to complete the three-month programme in one stretch. Obviously there has been no co-ordination between his MINIstry and the NST Programme Dept, the affected youths will have to do a bit of their 12 weeks NST programme in 2004 and the remainder in 2005! The affected ones are also required to appeal directly to the MOD and not to Musa's MINIstry. What a messy business. My sources also inform this blogger that the guidelines for medical and disability exemptions have not been made available as yet. The designated government hospitals for these medical examinations have also not been revealed. Already there are anxious parents bringing their children for such examinations. As the programme is not on a voluntary basis, shouldn't the onus be on the NST Programme Dept to have the chosens declared medically fit to undergo the training rather than the other way around where the chosens have to get themselves declared medically unfit for the Programme? Are the parents required to sign release forms for the youths to undergo this nonvoluntary training? Those who have already signed up for further studies especially for the Australian programmes and are among the chosens, are now facing problems. Will they be able to get refunds of the fees paid? See this story for context. Similarly the Ed MINIstry is passing the buck to the MOD. If they are not allowed to appeal and postpone their NST stint and cannot get a refund there would be losses aplenty. As for the trainers of the chosens, some 650 Chinese trainers are still needed. So far only 350 have volunteered. Will they be found in the near future, for these trainers would require training before they can function as trainers. Considering the possiblity that the appeals by the affected chosens are considered and allowed and they will complete and fulfill their mandatory training in 2005, what happens then for subsequent batches of trainees? Has the NST programme Dept look into this. Surely they have not, seeing what a mess these first batches are gonna face, come 2004.
No 1."I am the number one servant to serve this nation and ensure that all things are being implemented well and efficiently so that it will benefit the people and the country."
No 2."I have to teach him that politicians are not called the political masters and him the government servant for nothing."
Saying No 1 was of course by our No 1 man, the new PM in an interview here with members of the Japanese media, ahead of his first-ever trip to Japan since becoming prime minister on Oct 31. What a humble PM. He will attend the Asean-Japan Commemorative Summit in Tokyo on Thursday. It is also his first trip abroad as Malaysia's new head of government. Will we be seeing letters from the civil service ending with :: Your obedient servant :: again. During the same interview, he was rather revealing. When asked whether he would continue with the policies implemented under former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad or introduce his own ideas. He said: "We have to be dynamic, nothing is cast in stone that cannot be changed. If the situation warrants changes, and if I don't make the changes, then somebody will say `he must be stupid'. He added, "Now, I have no boss to refer to, you know." What a humble No 1.
As for saying No. 2, there is little need to mention who said it, surely all of you do know by now. For those who really don't, he is none other then our ED Minister. This not-so-humble political masterman is rumoured to be fading from and may even disappear from the scene after the 11th election.
This morning saw this group of 17+ year olds from my immediate neighbourhood, crowded round my computer, trying to find out whether they were among the chosens. They were here requesting me to access the web to find out their immediate fate. Tried as much as I did, it was not possible to get access to that blasted website with the URL :: www.khidmatnegara.gov.my. Being the only computer with streamyx connection to the web in the immediate neighbourhood, this was a big letdown for those gathered around me. Numerous curses and unmentionables were uttered. All these certainly were no help as far as gaining access was concerned. Surely the heavy traffic must have been expected, so why the difficulty in gaining access? Soon some left in disgust to try other means. The SMS service and Telekom must be doing a roaring trade. What with each one of the 450,000 something youths, their parents, boyfriends, girlfriends and just plain friends and KPCs trying to check in on the chosens. What a killing at RM2 each try, the SMS ie. Those not among the chosens must by now be smiling but probably among this group a few may be crying at not having been chosen. These are the ones who had phoned Najib to volunteer themselves. Among those chosens, some must be starting to think of medical reasons or imagined disabilities for refusing the offers, ie if they have not already got theirs ready. Others would have resigned to getting their 3-month toiletries in order and saying good byes to their driving licenses, computer proficiency certificate, piano exams and what not for the immediate future. Next to me right now is one very happy 17+ year old, the SMS just came back, it read :: KP 86...............telah melalui proses pemilihan tetapi TIDAK dipilih untuk Khidmat Negara. RM2 gone by what a big cheesy smile. For those still milling round the computer, it is still the blank screen at URL www.khidmatnegara.gov.my. For those chosen, grit your teeth, smile and make the best of it. Remember it is for your own good and that of the nation and this programme is all for your benefit, so said Najib. Remember also the one who first thought of this programme and the one who set about to implement it, reserve your best of thoughts for them. Just an aside, it would be interesting to know how many among the chosen are the 17+ year old children of our MINIsters, Deputy MINIsters and others. This blogger wishes all of you well and happy training. KHIDMAT NEGARA
Update @ 1639hrs, still unable to access the Khidmat Negara website. Message reads :: "Internet Explorer was unable to link to the Web page you requested. The page might be temporarily unavailable". See also this article in M'kini
The verbal war between the Entrepreneur Development MINIster Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.and ACA Enforcement Director Datuk Nordin Ismail has taken a new twist. The MINIster reportedly said yesterday that there is a paragraph in the General Orders which states that a public officer cannot criticise MINIsters. Datuk Seri MINIster, Sir, can you please show us this paragraph. Oh yes, the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, the KSU, said Monday :: "As far as I know, there is none." So may be you need not look too hard, Datuk Seri MINIster, Sir. The KSU also had these to say :: "However, it is not the practice among government officers to criticise ministers as they were the administrators" and "It was out of place for civil servants to criticise MINIsters as they (MINIsters) have to abide by their own code of ethics and were only answerable to the Prime Minister." This is where you are wrong, Tan Sri KSU, for the MINIsters and even the PM are ultimately answerable to the people, right people? Now we seem to have it right and proper. Also for the info of the MINIster and KSU, most days the people while having their cuppa in the warungs, kopitiams, Starbucks...guess what they are also doing while seeping...they are engaging in their favourite past-time :: MINIster bashing and critisising. Oh yes, Tan Sri KSU, as you have brought it up; could we, please have, a copy of this code of ethics for the MINIsters in order that we can know when the MINIsters run foul of the "code". And while you are at it, would you like to consider a code of ethics for the people too, on how to relate to MINIsters and not engage in those activities in the warungs, kopitiams and Starbucks. Thank you. The Entrepreneur Development MINIster reportedly also said that he would raise in the Cabinet the provision that barred civil servants from criticising MINIsters. He said the provision was in force during the administration of the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysia's second Prime Minister. Now that would be rather difficult for the people to check on. Read more on this verbal war at mggpillai.com
The list is finally selected and 85,000 of those born in 1986 will know soon if they will be going for National Service training ala BN Malaysia. But it looks like the training which is slated to start in 2 months or so has still many pieces not fitted in. Malaysiakini reports that the trainees comprise 59,438 (69.93%) bumiputeras, 17, 629 (20.74%) Chinese, 6, 257 (7.36%) Indians and 1, 679 (1.97%) from minor ethnic groups. Of the total, 43,350 (51%) are males. Najib called for mindset change among those still resistant to the scheme. Oh yes, even to this day there is resistance. See earlier blog. Najib at the selection, said :: "This will not be a waste of time or a burden to (the youth)....it is for their own benefit." For those who have other plans, the 12 week training has certainly put a spoke into their wheel. At this late stage, we are told that trainers are still needed to fill up the quota. Oh yes, there is going to be a quota for trainers too. Presently there are vacancies aplenty for non-malay trainers. It looks like section 25 of the Act to appoint trainers will have to be invoked. Among things still undecided is the quantum of allowances and insurance coverage for trainees, this is still awaiting approval from the Treasury. There is also the question of a reserve list which was raised in an earlier blog. Currently there is no reserve list and no decision has been made yet, just imagine that. For obviously there will be among those selected who will be medically unfit, disabled or presently studying overseas. Najib claimed that the MINIstry had received many phone calls from parents insisting on enrolling their children voluntarily, if not selected for training. Surely the MINIstry has kept a record of these volunteers, could they be utilised for the reserve list? The Finance Ministry representative to the National Service Training Council has yet to be identified. This is a rather important representative as this programme is said to cost Rm500 mil annually. Looks like despite the various criticisms, shortcomings and hasty non-transparent incomplete planning and opposition by various groups, parents and youths, the National Service Training Programme will see the light of day soon. Considering the vast amount of money that will be spent and the disruptions it will cause to the youths, selected trainees or not, let's all hope that some good will ultimately come out of this Programme.
This lad from Taiping, Ng Shu Wai, is in Hanoi for the SEA Games. Down for 8 events, Shu Wai delivered a GOLD in the men's individual all-round event despite having a hard fall in the high bar, in which he scored a poor 8.200. But in the other 5 routines, he managed to score more :: He posted the highest score of 9.350 in the floor exercise. In the pommel horse, he chalked up a score of 9.050 and had scores of 9.325, 9.300 and 8.500 for the rings, vault and parallel bars respectively. His total of 53.725 was sufficient for the GOLD. The Thai, Sutrra Suwansa, had a score of 52.287 points while the Philippines’ Ramirez Roell came in third with a 51.375 total. The lad was joined by Nurul Fatiha Abdul Hamid, who despite twisting her toe during the warm-up, managed to win her individual GOLD medal, in style, hardly making any mistakes with a score of 33.237. Singaporean Low Sanmay and Vietnamese Do Thi Nganthuong bagged the silver and bronze with scores of 32.236 and 31.886 respectively. Let's wish them more golds in their individual apparatus events.
Our Golden Boy & Girl
Update 09.12.03 :: Malaysian gymnasts grab 3 more golds :: Ng Shu Wai - floor exercise; Nurul Fatihah - balance beam & Onn Kwantung - pommel horse.
Another Gen-X speaks :: "It's a Disservice to Teens"
Another Gen-X has spoken and this was in a letter to Star Mag, as this is not available online, it is produced in toto below. This disservice to teens, she speaks of is with regards to the National Service Training Programme. Read what she has to say, though it appears to be a little late, or was this held up by other forces. Here is the letter by Gen-X, Ms Tee Ann Jie of Taiping ::
Let's talk about the National Service. While many people agree that it is an excellent programme, I am one of the grumpy whiners who beg to differ. First of all, no one knows exactly what National Service is about. We only know it has military style training. We're given a vague idea that only serves to befuddle us. Teenagers aren't going to like being barked at. if we wanted to get military training, we would go to military school. I strongly suggest that the Government let those who are keen, to volunteer first. Why force teenagers who aren't interested and deprive those who are and don't get picked? Let teenagers volunteer first. If there aren't enough, then the Government can make a selection. Secondly, once we're on the National Service bases, are we going to be locked up like criminals? We're told we must bring three months worth of toiletries. How does anyone pack toiletries for three months? The idea we're given is that we're going to be cooped up on the base with no breathing space allowed, where we're not allowed to go out or get visits. Hello? Are we criminals? What did we do to deserve such injustice? Does the Government think that forcing everyone into - excuse me - this hellhole, will make us patriotic? Please, teenagers loath being forced into something they really don't want to do. Thirdly, the uniforms aren't nice looking at all. My friends were dismayed when they saw the uniforms that were described as "cool". Leaving aside the issue of how the uniforms look - after all, everyone's tastes differs-who is going to pay for them? The leather boots, the belts, the funny looking uniforms are definitely not going to be cheap. Are you going to force parents to pay or is the Government going to sponsor these uniforms for us? If some big-time official reads this, please understand that a great majority of us are not keen on the idea of National Service at all. Some of us want to work. Some of us want to get our licenses. Some of us want to replenish sleep we lost sitting for our stupid SPM. And believe me, when you coop everyone up it does not mean that lepak cases and the like are going to stop. The National Service is not going to accomplish anything but cause frustration and intense displeasure. Forcing us to do something is not the way to endear our country to us.
Gosh, there you have it, the opinions and views of an involved teenager regarding this contentious issue. I thought I knew alot about the NST programme, but the 3-months supply of toiletries caught me by surprise. Imagine lugging along these toiletries and for the ladies 3-cycles of sanitary pads and tampoons from the Peninsula to East Malaysia or vice versa! Wonder whether Ms Tee has extended a copy of her letter to Pak Lah or Najib for their perusal? Surely they would be interested to know. What about parental visits once every 4 weeks to put minds at rest that the trainees are in good health? Any further suggestions from any of you?
Update :: National Service list is out. There are 5 channels for the public to check if they are on the list from tomorrow :: 1. Hotline--- 03-2681 3446, weekdays from 800am to 600pm 2. SMS--- typing in the letters “KN-,” followed by their identity card number and send the message to 36188. Each SMS will cost RM2! 3. Website at www.khidmatnegara.gov.my and key in their identity card number to check the status. 4. Newspapers--- Utusan Malaysia and New Straits Times over the next many days. 5. Snail mail--offer letters will be sent out after 16th Dec.
Recently, our newly retired PM, Tun Dr Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was conferred an honorary doctorate in the field of management and engineering by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. This was said to have been conferred as a mark of respect for his 22-year “labour of love” for the country as Prime Minister and probably for all the various "mega" construction and engineering projects during those 22-years of his helmsmanship of the nation. Look here for a list of these "mega" projects. In his acceptance speech, according to the Star, Tun Dr Dr Mahathir said that we should drop the term “mega” when describing huge and expensive projects as it was a label created by former colonialists for big but wasteful schemes. All these while we thought that "mega" was a local Malaysia Boleh creation as in such things as Malaysia Mega Sales (which is on at the moment), the Mega Bakun Project. May be we should agree with him, now that we know that the word "mega" is a creation of the former colonialists, may be we should just call a spade a spade and call them "crony" projects instead. In his speech, Tun Dr Dr Mahathir also spoke about the latest versi of colonialism. We have had the colonialisme asli, then neo-colonialism and now the latest model : "mental colonialism' as reported in the NST. This is what has caused us to think that all "mega" projects are big and wasteful. For his information, only "crony" projects are considered as wasteful and among these are the twin towers, the F1 circuit, Perwaja. Probably during the 22-years of his "labour of love", the nation was indeed subjected to a form of "m" colonialism--the "Mahathiristic colonialism".
The computerised draw for National Service trainees will be held on Monday, 8th Dec 2003. The draw will be held at the National Service Training Department's headquarters at Jalan Tun Razak and will be witnessed by the media. The names of the chosen ones will be available through the short messaging service (SMS) from Tuesday, 9th Dec 2003. The SMS number 36188 will be effective from Tuesday and remains active for a week. For the SMS check, send either the identity card number or full name. The names of the chosen ones will not be released immediately as they have to be first gazetted. Instead of using the SMS service, the alternative is to wait for the call-up letters coming via snail-mail. The chosen ones will receive their letters between Dec 15th and early Jan 2004. The letters will inform the chosen ones which batch they have been placed in and which camp to report to, and those who think they are medically unfit or disabled, they would have to obtain a medical declaration from a panel of government doctors. There is no mention made of a reserve list. In view of those chosen who are medically unfit or disabled or have other valid reasons eg studying overseas presently (does studying in Singapore counts?), such a list of reserves should be available. If not those not among the chosen ones this time around will still be kept in limbo. Alternatively, those exempted should not be replaced. Further information about the National Service can be obtained from this website or by calling the department at 03-26873400/405/406. The inaugural National Service Training Programme will be held in two intakes. The first batch of trainees will report on Feb 16 while the second and third batches will start simultaneously on March 22. The 12-week programme comprises of 4 weeks of physical training, 5 weeks of nation-building and character-building courses, and the final three weeks of community service.
How many of us noticed International Day of Disabled Persons being celebrated or passing us by. I must confess that I failed to. 3rd December was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1992 as International Day of Disabled Persons. The Day aims to increase awareness and understanding of disability issues and trends, and to mobilise support for practical action at all levels, by, with and for persons with disabilities. The theme for the observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons in 2003 is "A Voice of our Own." If you want to know how this Day came to be, look here. The focus this year is on giving a voice to the human experiences of disabled persons. The voice of persons with disabilities is seldom heard in the mainstream media. When persons with disabilities are portrayed, they are either stereotyped or presented as an inspiration for “overcoming” a disability. Observance of the Day should therefore be used to offer an opportunity for persons with disabilities to speak for themselves. Being in this sleepy hollow, the Day passed with little mention made of it. Now we are told our new PM is a mesra Rakyat PM and he has ordered, after "close observations and comparisons" on buildings he had visited, that all buildings be made disabled-friendly. . This was announced by the MCA President, who is also the MINIster of Housing & Local Government and is reproted here in the Star. I have also done my "close observations and comparisons" of buildings in my sleepy hollow. What I have noticed that till today, most of the buildings even government ones are not disabled friendly. It is heartening to note that the MINIster concerned has reported that feedback from local authorities showed that 98% of building plans submitted last year had complied with the bylaws. Can he please let us know what percentage of government buildings in the peninsula are disabled friendly. The Uniform Building (Amendment) Bylaws (UBBL) 1991 and guidelines on disabled-friendly requirements in buildings was gazetted by all states in the peninsula by 1996, Sarawak in 2001 while Sabah was in the midst of doing so. All owners have to comply with the bylaws within three years from the date of gazette, There are some 30 requirements to make the buildings disabled-friendly, including ramps, step ramps, pathways, stairs, doorways, grab bars, ground floor surfaces, lifts, toilets, basins, bathrooms, parking space and alarm system. Buildings covered under this bylaw include offices, banks, post offices, department stores, supermarkets, administrative and commercial buildings, car parking buildings, factories, hospitals, medical centres, clinics, restaurants, concert halls, theatres, cinemas, and buildings on education, culture and science, hostels, hotels and other residential buildings. Surely government buildings are also covered by this bylaw. With such a mesra Rakyat PM and now that his orders are out, in the near future we will be witnessing a fury of activities to make all these not so friendly buildings disabled friendly, starting with the government ones. So do keep your eyes wide opened and do your own "close observations and comparisons".
Pak Lah started his premiership with the call to eradicate corruption. He has had nearly 5 weeks to show the country and its people what he is capable of in this direction. Apart from the talk-talk about cutting redtape and reducing opportunities for bribery, has there been more solid things done for us to achieve zero corruption? The multi-billion ringgit double-tracking railway project contract controversy rages on, with no resolution of it in sight. And now we have the controversy of the early forced retirement of another whistleblower, the now former deputy chief of the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Services Dept. He had alleged corruption and abuse of power in relation to use of department personnel and facilities to organise lavish wedding receptions for the son of the DG of the Fire and Rescue Services Dept. The former deputy chief can hardly believe that the ACA could find no wrong and he had this to say :: "Given the extensive checks by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), it does not seem plausible that investigators have failed to come up with evidence." Read this blog and take a look at the pictures in it. You will probably agree with the former deputy chief. In the meanwhile, Bernama reports that our new PM says that Malaysia will sign the United Nations Anti-Corruption Convention later this month in demonstrating its strong commitment in fighting corruption especially at the international level. The general areas that are covered by the Convention include criminalisation of bribery, prevention of corruption and promotion of integrity. The new PM also said that Malaysia hoped to build international cooperation by signing the convention as corruption was a trans-boundary problem. The new PM would be better of taking care of 'within our borders' corruption first before tackling those which are trans-boundary. The new PM also announced the establishment of an Anti Corruption Academy under the purview of the Anti Corruption Agency (ACA). It is said to be the first of its kind in the region. The academy was set up in recognising the need for greater investigative expertise and skills to clampdown on the rise of corruption. Surely the ACA has sufficient investigative expertise and skills already, what may be lacking is the will to use them in the direction and for the right purpose. Let an ordinary Joe/Lone say it, in order to clampdown on the rise of corruption, give the ACA more bite, make the ACA accountable to Parliament and not the PMO, there is little need for an Academy presently, it can come later. The Rm17 mil can be better utilised. The all important political will must be there, for the clampdown to be effective. The big sharks must be dealt with by the ACA. Protection for the whistleblowers is good, can we start off with Irene and Mohd Ali Tambi Chik? Just telling the ACA :: "Act fast to avoid public and media suspicions" will have little effect. Reporting and prodding in the media regarding corruption cases is not prosecution by the media, you are wrong, Mr PM. Apart from the media, the people also wants to see the ACA tackling these cases especially the long drawn out ones like Perwaja The Star has reported the latest fight against corruption effort of the new PM in its print versi under the headlines :: All-Out Graft War. This is something we are all waiting to see but have yet to see. Let's all be patient and see what the good 'doctor' has to come out with in this nation's ride towards zero corruption. The new PM also thinks reintroducing civic classes in the school curriculum for all students will result in instilling a lifetime of good values and ethical behaviour. It would be better if examples be made that if you are corrupt or abuse your powers, we will get you. What the students see presently is that often the corrupt and those who abuse their powers get away with things easily. What they perceive is that it often appears as if the function of ther ACA is to clear rather than to catch those involved with corruption or abuse of powers. If it is easy to get away with corruption and abuse of powers, why not. What monkey sees, monkey does. Catch the big sharks and the smaller fishes will fall in line. To instill good values and ethical behaviour in our youngs, it is of little use just telling them about these stuff, they have to see with their very own eyes that corruption does not pay and at the same time see why corruption is bad for the nation. So Pak Lah, let's see some of those big sharks being caught in your anti-corruption nets before your first 100 days are over.
Bernama has reported our MCA Deputy President as saying that the Chinese population in PAS- controlled Terengganu is decreasing. According to him this decrease is due to the following reasons :: the Chinese community opts to move out from the Terengganu in view of the difficulties it is encountering in doing business and finding jobs. As this is the era of truth telling, surely the MCA DP can provide the statistics to support what he is saying and claiming. So let's have them. Terengganu's Chinese population, according to the Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia, fell from a total of 26,089 in 1991 to 25,568 in 2002. This shows a fall of some 500 in those years, PAS only took over Terengganu in 1999. Wonder which figures the MCA DP are using. Did these 500 or so ran away before 1999? Chinese only constitutes about 2.7% of the total population of Terengganu. Datuk MCA DP, since the last count, how many more Chinese have left Terengganu, maybe another 500? As the DP of the party purportedly looking after the interests of the Chinese, the party might like to spend more time on Malaysia as a whole rather than the just the decrease of the Chinese population in Terengganu. A figure of 1 mil is often quoted as the number of Chinese who have left Malaysian shores. Would the MCA DP and his party conduct indepth studies on this instead? It would certainly be more fruitful for him to do this. And in this era of truth telling, he can then tell this to our new PM, so that more can be done to ensure that the number of Chinese leaving Malaysian shores can be decreased in time to come.
Update :: Read 'Char Siew Pau's : Of MCA Race-baiting and PAS's "The Moon Represents My Heart" tour package and unscrupulous racial politicians.
Bouquets for Hospital Taiping Doctors & Those Blood Donors
It was the 3rd day of Raya and Mrs Tan was blessed with a beautiful baby girl that morning. Both the Tans were overjoyed. But their joy was shortlived as she soon started to bleed nonstop. . She had to be admitted to Hospital Taiping in view of her worsening condition. According to the doctors there, she was having postpartum haemorrhage/bleeding. The form of PPH she was having was DIVC or Disseminated Intravascular Coagulopathy, one of the most feared complications of childbirth. This condition required her to have massive blood transfusions to control her bleeding. All this happened on that fateful switched off-day Saturday. On that fateful day, being an off-day, the blood bank was closed, doctors were having their off-day. But according to Mr Tan they all rose to the occasion, many of those off-duty ones came back to help save his Mrs Tan. Within hours, 16 pints of blood (all the Group O Rh positive available in Taiping Hospital) were used up to help saved the patient. Mr Tan then had this great idea, he decided to call for help via SMS, sending out a distress message to relatives and friends to find Group O Rh Positive donors to help. These friends and relatives in turn SMS their relatives and friends. His message read: "Just give birth, need blood (o+) urgently, anybody can help? pls". In time more than 100 donors turned up to help. This is certainly demonstrative of the use of technology and the true Malaysia Boleh spirit. This happening was reported in the print versi of the Star today but is not available online. According to Mr Tan, the Mrs has been stabilised and is improving. He expressed his thanks to the doctors, nurses and staff of Taiping Hospital. This is what he had to say :: "Many have a misconception about government hospitals but I found the staff to be very professional, caring and friendly." This blogger certainly would like to join in and says :: Syabas & Bouquets for Hospital Taiping Doctors & Those Fab Blood Donors.
Foot notes :: Blood is always in short supply in the Blood Bank during the month of Ramadan and during the Hari Raya celebrations. The accident victims during the Hari Raya 'balik kampong' rush had also contributed to the depletion of the Blood Bank stock. Help save lives by donating blood.
LONE's rantings for all interested, COMMENTS/KOPI-0s welcomed. Comments are solely the views of their makers MALAYSIA, a great place to be in, BUT we can, will and must make HER better.
You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one. IMAGINE:youtube::John Lennon
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:: LONE