LONE

Thursday, July 31, 2003

MPK Councillors don new attire for meeting

The MPK held its full board meeting in a ceremonial manner with councillors donning those controversial elaborately embroidered robes and they were ushered into the chamber for the meeting, led by a mace-bearer. The mace is said to have a price of some Rm 100K! Those not so-attired, were 7 non-muslim councillors, who wore black suits instead. Why MIB? What's the hidden meaning?
To what purpose would the elaborate opening ceremony and the elaborately embroidered robes and elaborately decorated mace serve? The MPK president Datuk Mohd Sharif Yusof, has these pearls of wisdom to say :: "The ceremonial procedure would give a new image to the council that befitted the royal status of the town here". "The new attire would be able to change the mindset of the councillors and the public to have a sense of self-esteem." The new attire would also " help inject a renewed spirit of wanting to serve the people better". Just imagine the things a new ceremony and new attires can do. For those with low self-esteem, attending motivational courses may be more helpful or spending some time on the psychiatric couch may be more fruitful. The MPK certainly has been entertaining rather elaborate fruity ideas recently, will there be more coming soon? One just can't see how new clothes or those elaborately embroidered robes can "syringe a renewed spirit of wanting to serve the people". What does the President mean by wanting to change the mindset of the public? Does he want the public not to complain when the RR is misspent or more fruity ideas pour forth?
As for the RR (Rakyat Ringgit) spent, the MPK president has this to say :: "The budget for the new attire was a small fraction compared to the added value it would bring to the council." It is easy to say so when it is the RR and not one's own!

{Be Responsible Malaysians, Don't Misspend The RR}

| ¶ 7/31/2003 10:06:00 AM

Wednesday, July 30, 2003

Barisan Alternatif-New Manifesto?

According to this report in Malaysiakini today, the Barisan Alternatif or BA wants to come out with a new manifesto to replaced the old one which is now 4 years old.
The present one called ‘Towards a Just Malaysia’ was launched on Oct 24, 1999.
The BA will hold dialogues with the public to get their views and ideas, a total of 9 such dialogues will be held. Wonder why not 14, as we have 13 states plus a Federal Territory?
Keadilan deputy president Abdul Rahman Othman said :: "We need to know the public’s views. What they think a good government is...what (policies) they want us - if we were given the chance to administer the country - to implement. After all they are the ones who hold the power to choose the government."
So now is over to the People, we have the chance for us to have our say in regards with what we as the people want of our government. We may one day have truly, a Government of the People, by the People and for the People.

{Be Responsible Malaysians, Make Your Voice Heard}

| ¶ 7/30/2003 03:25:00 PM

Elections, This Year End?

In his article, Why is the Election Commission flexing its muscles?, veteran journalist, MGG Pillai wonders aloud whether the general elections may be as early as this year end.
In this Malaysia Boleh country of ours, the Election Commission, which is supposed to be neutral, has recently mentioned some hot spot states, viz Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Perlis, Pahang and Selangor, and claimed that trouble is abrewing in them. It is claimed that the EC and the polis have information that overzealous supporters of some politico parties may be planning to cause trouble.
MGG has this to say :: "Why is the EC making gratuitious comments on impending trouble? Is it to frighten voters into voting for the BN? Why did it announce it in so cavalierly a fashion? If indeed it is right in its assessment, should it not first have discussed it with the political parties, and their co-operation sought for a violent-free election? Already it seeks extra but illegal judicial powers to make political parties responsible for mayhem their supporters may cause. More important, why is the EC making these threats now? Is a general election imminent? The common view is it would be in the first half of 2003. The EC behaves as a cat on a hot tin roof. Is it then this year?"

| ¶ 7/30/2003 02:24:00 PM

Free Parking and Illegal Parking

The past one week or so, have been observing the parking spaces outside my place. They number in toto, 10. All of them have meters and it cost 10 sens per 20 minutes for parking one's car. The parking hours are from 8am to 6pm.
A fire hydrant is to be found in the middle of these parking spaces and the space around it is bordered by yellow lines. So accordingly this space is not available for parking.
During the said period of observation, the parking enforcement officer, let's call him, Mr B, from the Municipality is found to be a very diligent one. He makes his round almost every 30 minutes. With his sharp eyes, he rarely misses those who have not topped up their meters with coins. Mr B is not one for nonsense of any sorts. Some guys did try to wriggle their way out of getting a parking ticket with Mr B but they rarely succeeded. Out would pop his book and scribble, scribble and that pink ticket would be clipped under one of the wipers, often without a word to the car owner. These pink tickets, if you decide to have the offence compounded would require a payment of Rm10.00 at the Municipal Office. It is believed that Mr B gets an incentive of Rm3.00 for each pink ticket he issues, whether eventual payment is made or not.
Now out of these 10 meters, one was not in working order, as the indicator does not fall with time, and for the whole day long would indicate that there is 2 hours of parking time left. Mr B, for the whole week, did not notice this particular parking meter. The space where this parking meter was located, was a much sought after spot by the car owners who frequent this place. As soon as it became vacant, another car owner would move his car into the space.
As regards the space around the fire hydrant, almost everyday there would be a Kancil parked there. Noticed that the said Kancil though parked in the wrong spot and illegally never received the attention of Mr B. On enquiry why so, Mr B informs that he is only responsible for the official spaces and those cars parked other than in those spaces are not his concern. It would have to be the polis who would have to deal with the said Kancil. Fortunately for the said Kancil, for the period of observation, the polis did not come round once. This is quite understandable, as we know we are terribly short of the polis of the regular kind. Or is it because they have all gone to East Timor for further riot control training.
What does these observations show, there are still free things in life. Sometimes parking illegally is cheaper than parking in the right spots.

| ¶ 7/30/2003 12:37:00 PM

The Great Malaysia Sales

The sales and discounts in Malaysia Boleh has now even extended to the JPJ. For those who turn up at the current "JPJ with the People" programme, those who have yet to pay their JPJ fines will be given a 50% discount if they pay up at this event. This was announced by none other than the JPJ Director General at the launch of the programme in Perlis recently.
The Traffic Polis has been known to give discounts on traffic offence compounds, the various Municipalities in the country have also given discounts of various amounts for unpaid parking ticket compounds.
Are all these discounts the right thing to do? Is the wrong message being sent out; "Don't pay your fines promptly, you can get a discount later." What about those who have promptly paid up, don't they get even bigger discounts? Is Malaysia Boleh going about things the wrong way?

| ¶ 7/30/2003 08:39:00 AM

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

How Sick Can Some Hospitals/Doctors Be

AP reported that three Chicago hospitals were accused by the federal government recently of diagnosing some patients as more ill than they were as a way to hasten their liver transplants. Named were the University of Chicago Hospitals, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago.
The case stems from a whistleblower suit filed in 1999 by a surgeon who said the University of Illinois Medical Center demoted him and cut his pay after he complained. Looks like whistleblowers are the same all over, blow the whistle and most of them, not unlike Ezam will go unrewarded and may even land in prison. But in this case the ending was different.
The University of Chicago and Northwestern have agreed to settle, while not admitting wrongdoing. The state and federal governments have asked a federal court to force the University of Illinois Medical Center, which has not settled, to pay $3 million in damages.
One patient at the University of Illinois Medical Center who was certified as seven days from death was discovered in a hospital lobby wearing a clown costume and putting on a show to support a blood drive, officials said. This clown should have lie in bed and act near death instead.
The reason for this scam, rightly or wrongly, is because available livers for transplant are in short supply, and only the most seriously ill patients are eligible.

{Be responsible, Look after your Liver, and YOU won't Need a Liver Transplant}

| ¶ 7/29/2003 04:48:00 PM

More on Public Loos

We, Malaysians, are in need of toilet training, public toilet training to be specific. In essence this was what the H&LG Minister Datuk Seri Ong KT had to say at the opening of National Clean Toilets Campaign.
The people’s mindset and habits when using public toilets must change if they expect such facilities to be in working order and clean at all times. The attitude of those providing the facilities, including owners of shopping malls, restaurants, coffee shops and petrol stations must also change. Visitors and tourists to this coountry have often complained regarding the state of our toilets.

Some toilet facts :

1.The Government allocates RM720mil yearly to build public toilets.
2.The recent stimulus package had set aside another RM200mil for cleanliness purposes of which a substantial amount went towards maintaining public toilets.
3.In Johore, there is a “Flying Squad” which goes around checking toilets in coffee shops, restaurants, petrol stations and shopping malls.
4.Recently there was a suggestion that CCTVs be installed in toilets to monitor those using them.
5.Graffati writings are very commonly found on public toilet walls.

If the public can do their bit to enusre that our public toilets are clean, the huge amount of money for public toilets can be better spent in other areas.

{Be responsible Malaysians, Keep Our Public Toilets Clean}

| ¶ 7/29/2003 10:56:00 AM

Monday, July 28, 2003

More on the Taiping 4

Looks like the Taiping Zoo will do what is right according this report in the Star. But in the usual Malaysia Boleh manner they have given the reason for not displaying the 4 gorillas as "If we display them to visitors, they may get infected and we will get into trouble". So it appears that they have the welfare of the Taiping 4 as their chief concern, increase gate collection counts for little and the fact that the 4 have been illegally obtained a distant thought.
It has been claimed by the International Primate Protection League in September last that the primates were illegally purchased for a whopping US$1.6mil (RM6.08mil) from a Nigerian.?Thought it was much less.
As for the RM600,000 glass enclosure built to display the baby gorillas at the zoo, it is said that it would be used to keep other animals. Will have to see which animals will be on display, just imagine if they could display those rogues involved in the whole illegal deal which has brought Taiping and Malaysia to the notice of international conservationists !!!

For more background on the now internationally known Taiping 4 see here, here and here.

{Be responsible Malaysians, Don't Monkey Around, Send the Taiping 4 To Limbe}

| ¶ 7/28/2003 02:40:00 PM

Sunday, July 27, 2003

Election Commission expects trouble during Polls

In the front page of the Sunday Times, the Election Commission says that over-zealous supporters of political parties may cause trouble in some states. The states named were the 2 Pas-controlled of Kelantan and Terengganu, the other states named were Kedah, Perlis, Pahang and Selangor. The latter 4 states are those targetted for possible takeover by the opposition.
The EC and police are said to have information regarding these "hot spots". It is supposed that the people will not be told exactly what this information is. Could the EC be more specific and transparent?
The EC has urged all party supporters to respect the law as their misbehaviour will not only disrupt the eection but also land them in trouble. The EC should also be equally responsible and transparent and not cause any unnecessary panic. As in the past the EC and the police would have taken the necessary measures and have things undercontrol.

{Be a responsible Malaysian, Register as a Voter, Don't Misbehave and Vote Wisely}

| ¶ 7/27/2003 10:10:00 PM

More on the Computer Labs Scandal

Will the authorities and the 3 ministries concerned chase the Computer Labs Scandal to its conclusion? Will we see that all those irresponsible enough to have caused the delay in building those labs and responsible for the shoddy work brought to books. Or will this episode be like does before, left hanging with a few small fishes taken to court and the really big sharks left untouched? A recent good example is the episode of the "pirated VCDs and DVDs". Has any of the top guys been booked? Or only the small fries, the retailers have been caught?
Will the Government proposal of making direct payment to the subcontractor for work on public projects help to prevent such scandals? Before payments are made, who will be monitoring the work done and evaluate the quality of the work done? Will it be the Finance Ministry, the Works Ministry, the Economic Planning Unit or the Ministry involved? In this episode of the Computer Labs Scandal, first the Deputy Education Minister says the ministry is fully responsible, then the Minister backtracks and say the Ministry is blameless!.

For more on the Computer Labs Scandal go here and read what veteran journalist MGG Pillai has to say about "The computer labs fiasco: Missing the woods for the trees".

| ¶ 7/27/2003 09:45:00 PM

Some Gullible Malaysians

There has been all sorts of scams involving Malaysians. The 'magic stone' scam, the Nigerian money laundry scam, the scam to turn plain paper into US $$, the PhD scam and the list goes on and on and on.
The latest is the FSFM ot Federal Special Forces of Malaysia . Its leader, a “four-star general” Nor Azami Ahmad Ghazali who aspired to be the sixth Prime Minister after Abdullah. It is believed that the FSFM has been in existence for some 5 years. Nor Azami had claimed he was the “N” in the RAHMAN formula – a popularly believed formula that says the names of the Prime Ministers in the country would follow the letters RAHMAN, starting with Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Hussein Onn and Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad. It looks like even before Pak Lah has taken over, his successsor has decided for himself, who should be following Pak Lah. Is it because Pak Lah has yet to name his deputy?
Asked why people were so easily duped just by someone who claimed he would be Prime Minister, Pak Lah said: “The RAHMAN formula. Sometimes Malaysians are so gullible and they believe others so easily. They shouldn’t be so easily convinced.” Our Prime Minister has this to say regarding the group, “There are crazy people in this country. Maybe they are inspired by all sorts of nonsense and they buat benda macam itu (do things like that). I think they are mad."
In another story, it it is believed that the FSFM has raked in RM64mil from the sale of military ranks to about 8,000 people whom they had recruited as members. Almost 300 members of this illegal “Special Forces" turned up at the City police headquarters and several police stations yesterday and lodged police reports claiming that they had been misled into joining the group.
If this recruiting of the "Special Forces" has really been around for 5 years, what has our police and its "Special Branch" been doing? Hope that we, Malaysians, are not being doubly duped.

{Malaysians Wake Up, Don't Be So Easily Duped}

| ¶ 7/27/2003 05:32:00 PM

Saturday, July 26, 2003

The Star's Tribute to Dr Ling

Special tribute to a visionary
The MCA says farewell officially today to the man who led the party for 17 years.
FOONG PEK YEE asked several party veterans for their views on Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik's presidency.

MANY remember Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik as exuding a warmth that draws people and this may be attributed to his training in medicine.
Perhaps his training also helped him to be a good listener, for both politicians and corporate people describe him as non-defensive with a knack for coming up with win-win situations under the most difficult circumstances.
Several party veterans acknowledge that Dr Ling's personal touch was a factor that helped him build up the MCA and focus on education as a key to success.

His firm belief in excellence in education led him to provide affordable tertiary educational opportunities by expanding Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC) and setting up Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar).
Datuk Lew Sip Hon, who was the TARC council chairman between 1973 and 1983 before Dr Ling took over the chairmanship, acknowledges this.
"The college enrolment was only 7,000 when I left in 1983. It has since gone up to 30,000 now," Lew said.

Dr Ling appears to be influenced also by the success stories of the early Chinese settlers in Malaya, including his grandfather, Ti Kong.
Ti Kong, an illiterate and penniless immigrant, rose to become a community leader and Justice of the Peace through determination and hard work.
Like Ti Kong, who taught himself to read and write Jawi and English, the English-educated Dr Ling learned Mandarin much later in his life although he had help close at hand - his wife, Datin Seri Ena Ling, was his Mandarin tutor.

Founding MCA leader Datuk Tan Cheng Swee, 82, said Dr Ling once confided in him that he could not be MCA president because he was English-educated and was not conversant in Mandarin.
"I have known Dr Ling for over 30 years and his Mandarin is perfect now," he testified.
Tan, a former party vice-president and treasurer-general, listed Dr Ling's three outstanding achievements in his 17 years as president - improving the financial status of the party, expanding TARC and setting up Utar.
He said the transfer of power in the party recently not only augured well for the party but also the next general election and this was a testimony to Dr Ling's political farsightedness.

Dr Ling, 60, stepped down as MCA president on May 23 and was succeeded by Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting.

Lew, who described Dr Ling as a "very stable man and has good judgment of things," recognised that Dr Ling had done a lot of things for the party and community.
"Dr Ling's good leadership qualities are evident and he has a good grasp of the political situation and direction of the party," added Lew, who was a three-term vice-president and former ambassador to the United States in the 1980s.

Former party secretary-general Datuk Kam Woon Wah, who described himself as a "neutral observer" of the political developments in the party and community, praised Dr Ling: "The MCA has benefited from Dr Ling who had done his best for the party."
He also credited Dr Ling for being a leader who respected the ability and autonomy of those to whom he delegated tasks.
Lew and Kam first knew Dr Ling when he joined the MCA in the early 1970s.
Both were no longer in active politics when Dr Ling took over the party helm in 1986.

At today's tribute at the MCA headquarters, it will be an elaborate and meaningful event to honour a man who has gone to great lengths for the betterment of the party, community and nation.

| ¶ 7/26/2003 10:22:00 AM

School the best place to bring races together, says PM

Our PM has finally said it :: "The school is the best place to start national integration and racial harmony". He said this when declaring open a new building block for SMK Chung Hua Miri recently.
He defined a truly Malaysian school as one that should have a healthy mix of students from all races. He said school was where the young could be brought together more effectively and allowed different races to forge closer rapport among each other.
He said he was happy to find that in SMK Chung Hua Miri, some 20% of students were bumiputras and there were students from the three major races and also native groups from the state.
Why should it be quite amazing to find a Malay girl speaking fluent Chinese though he was not surprised that the Chinese are already so fluent in Bahasa Malaysia. If he had kept his eyes and ears opened wide, all these would have been plain and not so amazing for him. Even many of the National Type Chinese schools in the peninsula have already acquired these characrteristics of a racial mix of Chinese, Malay and other races.
So, is there really a need for the new Vision Schools and National Service to foster racial integration, closer rapport and harmony among our various races? Already a good number of the Rakyat has taken the step to foster better racial integration and harmony by placing their children in such schools. If allowed to, "they will hold assemblies together, eat together and play in the same field so that each race will not distinguish themselves from others." It must be remembered that when we talk about schools let's not just confined ourselves to the physical structures, the soul of a school is the students and the teachers in it.
Should the government not then see that the already existing schools, which can be of all shades, be upgraded, further improved, better staffed and equipped, instead of embarking on spending those millions of RR (Rakyat Ringgit) on Vision Schools and National Service. In a rush to spend, like those Computer Labs, we may not get our RR worth.
Dr Mahathir, who is due to step down as Prime Minister at the end of October this year, obviously still has got some good ideas left in him and he may yet get to see better racial integration and harmony if the right policy is carried out in the years to come.

| ¶ 7/26/2003 09:11:00 AM

Friday, July 25, 2003

Promotion of Judges, C.J. tells how

The Star reported under the headline "Seniority not sole factor, says CJ", that the Chief Justice said that the promotion of judges is not based solely on seniority because their social life, experience, knowledge of the law and the speed at which they carry out trials also count.
According to the C.J. factors taken into account are :: ability, integrity, work, knowledge of the law, whether they are up-to-date with their judgments, the speed at which they carry out the proceedings, their personal lives, what people say about them (the judges) and how they socialise.. Factors not taken into consideration :: whether judges sat for Anwar's cases.
The newly appointed C.J. must have been very busy indeed, looking into the personal lives of all the judges, their social activities and what people say of them (the judges). Wonder how he did all that?

Quotable quotes and words of wisdom from the C.J. ::

"It's not easy to be a Judge."
"It would be unhealthy to promote judges solely on seniority because that would create deadwood".
“Well, lawyers judge from their angle but I as Chief Justice judge overall."
"If you examine carefully, there were judges who heard the Anwar Ibrahim cases but were not rewarded” .

Four judges moved up to the Federal Court – Datuk Wira Mohd Noor Ahmad, Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohamad, Datuk P.S. Gill and Datin Paduka Rahmah Hussain.
The other four – Datuk S. Augustine Paul, Datuk Arifin Jaka, Datuk Tengku Baharuddin Shah Tengku Mahmud Shah and Datuk Nik Hashim Abdul Rahman – are going to the Court of Appeal. Syabas

| ¶ 7/25/2003 12:47:00 PM

Penang Polis-Poor Performers II

Under the headings "You're Wrong, Chong Eng" and "Cops Prompt and Courteous", 'the Paper that Cares' presented the results of its own street polls.

MCA public bureau chief, Ooi Chuan Aik said in general the polis have done a good job."In terms of protecting public safety and maintaining harmony, the polis have done a good job," he said. The paper further reported that Ooi felt that the survey may not have covered enough number of people but said that it may not be a cheap publicity attempt by the DAP (is Mr Ooi being wrongly quoted?). He thinks that the people interviewed were those who had had bad experiences with the polis (those with good experiences have been missed out).
State Puteri Umno chief, Azlina Mehtab said the DAP should not have come to that conclusion based on interviews with 212 ( actual figure is 262) people of Penang.
State Gerakan secretary Datuk Dr Teng did not want to be involved in the "war" between DAP and the polis. His remarks :: Chong is after all, a politician. Wonder what that means, for Datuk Dr Teng is also one!

'the Paper that Cares' further published the responses of 10 Penangites interviewed during its street polls and came to the conclusion that the "Cops are Prompt and Courteous' Of these 10 the last was most telling; one Mohd Kabit Mohd, a clerk from George Town, was quoted as saying :: "The polis are doing a fair job. but it could be further improved. I lost my identification card sometime last year and went to the Dato Kramat police station to report the loss. I was instead referred to the Timur Laut station, where I had to wait 40 minutes to lodge a report. Apart from that incidence, everything is satisfactory."

For Chong Eng's 2 polls results see here

You can form your own conclusions from the three polls.

| ¶ 7/25/2003 08:55:00 AM

Thursday, July 24, 2003

SARS Watch

Taiwanese girl ruled out as SARS infection
A girl who had been staying for 6 montrhs in Shanghai, returned to Taiwan recently, she first developed fever on July 7, two days after her return.
Though her fever abated with medication by doctors, her symptoms reappeared July 15 and again on July 17.
She was sent July 18 to the National Taiwan University Hospital, where she displayed a cough and lung abnormalities.
The hospital reported the case to the CDC Wednesday, following tests on the girl's blood specimens showing "weak positive" response to the coronavirus antibody. Specimens collected from her throat tested negative for the virus that is also responsible for the common cold.
AFP reported that CDC head Su Ih-jen said the CDC conducted the tests again Thursday, as well as a separate analysis of her stool, and all came back negative. "The sensitivity of these tests can altogether reach 98 percent, which is the best we can do," Su said.

Hospital Tests 11 for Suspected SARS in Hong Kong
Reuters reported from Hong Kong that 11 patients from a Hong Kong mental institution have been admitted to hospital as suspected SARS cases, a government spokeswoman said on Thursday. "All 11 have respiratory problems such as fever and coughs. They're now under observation and in stable condition," the spokeswoman said. "We're testing them if they have SARS," she said.
Another government spokeswoman later told Reuters it was unclear whether or not staff at the mental institution in Kowloon were among the suspected SARS patients.
The suspected cases come about one month after the World Health Organization (news - web sites) (WHO) declared Hong Kong free of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus, which killed about 300 people and ravaged the city's economy.
Some medical experts said the pneumonia-like disease might only be dormant and could return in the next flu season. Others said it was possible there are milder versions that are virtually undetectable and could be circulating in the wider population. That raised the concern that the virus could be mutating and would be even more difficult to detect.
The WHO said early this month that the global outbreak of SARS had been contained but warned countries to remain vigilant against the re-emergence of the illness that has killed more than 800 people worldwide, mostly in China and Hong Kong.

{Be Vigilant, Rather than be Sorry}

| ¶ 7/24/2003 09:51:00 PM

Zeus Bug-The Ultimate Male Chauvinist

Dr Mark Elgar and his colleagues, of the University of Melbourne in Australia, studied these water bugs, called Zeus bugs, Phoreticovelia disparata, which are commonly found along Australia's east coast. Their findings were recently published in Nature. What they found regarding the life style of the male Zeus bug is the male chauvinist's ultimate dream.
The female Zeus bug not only provide the male with free food and unlimited sex, she is also the transport ministress, carrying the male around while engaging in this sex fest and feeding orgy. At times the sex fest is known to continue for up to a week. Female Zeus bugs are such great provider that they subvert the traditional notion that amorous gifts are a male preserve. They are instead the providers of "nuptial gifts".
Dr Elgar and his colleagues are completely baffled by this behaviour, which defies the norm in the world of animals and insects. They did not mention the human world, probably they may be aware that there are such behaviour pattern in it already.
The reasons why the female Zeus bug puts up with this behaviour is unclear. According to Dr Elgar, he suspects that it could be because the female finds it less tiring to put up with one male partner (though the partnership is unequal) than several. Dr Elgar thinks the female is wise, for a constant stream of male suitors wanting to take part in a polygamous-free-for-all could lead to greater harrassment, greater energy expenditure and even harm to herself. The male gets also to be the exclusive sperm contributor. So it looks like one of those win-win situations which is often spoken of. If only this life style of the male Zeus bug could be transferred to the human male. A dream come true in Zeus Heaven???

| ¶ 7/24/2003 11:49:00 AM

Penang Cops-Poor Performers

MP Chong Eng : YES, Penang CPO : UTTER RUBBISH. Those were the opposing views.
In July this year the DAP Wanita Chief carried out two opinion polls on a total of 262 Penangites. The first had 212 respondents, the findings are as follows ::

1. 87.8% dissatisfied with polis performance and attitude
2. 76.4% were victims of robbery, theft and other crimes
3. 86.3% felt crime rate in Penang has worsen
4. 4.8% were confident of polis ability to solve their cases

The second poll concerned 50 participants, the findings ::

1. 54% were victims of thefts and robbery
2. 55% of victims made polis reports
3. Reasons of not reporting :: polis told them not to, language problems, lack of confidence in polis, time consuming..

The Penang CPO's response as reported in the Malay Mail ::

1. Polls did not reflect overall opinion of Penangites, only 262 of the 1.5 million Penangites participated.
2. Penangites confused between criminal and civil coomplaints
3. Polis Not reluctant to take reports, even trivial ones will be accepted
4. Reports are time consuming as the polis takes them seriously. the process cannot be rush, just like going to see a doctor. Reporting is not like buying a stamp at the post office.
5. Conclusion:: Opinion polls -- Utter Rubbish

Lone says : The Penang CPO should not be so hasty to dismiss the findings. Many a victims of thefts, robberies and petty crimes will attest to the polls findings. Considering that the polls results were overwhelmingly negative, the CPO should at the least acknowledge, take note and investigate a little for surely he must be aware of the PDRM's Khidmat Mesra . The Rakyat will be much reassured if the PDRM could conduct its own performance polls and come out with more assuring results.

{Khidmat Mesra :: MESRA, CEPAT DAN BETUL}

| ¶ 7/24/2003 08:51:00 AM

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Computer Labs Scandal Update II

The CTF or Cabinet Task Force had its meeting on Monday 21st. The Education Minister promised a tell all press conference today after the Cabinet Meeting. Something must have happened during the meeting, resulting in no tell all press conference. This is getting to be the trend of things these days, the trend of broken promises.
Earlier the DEM or Deputy Education Minister, had said that the Education Ministry is fully responsible for the computer labs scandal. Is the Ministry now backing out of this?
What is the real state of affairs presently? What is the actual proportion of labs completed? What percentage of those completed are safe for use? What is the number of unfit for use ones? We have been told only that less than 5% are usable for the Eastern Zone, what is the situation in the other 3 Zones? Who is the overall computer lab project management consultant? How did the lack of supervision come about? Those responsible must be brought to the books. Were the contractors and subcontractors and possibly subsubcontractors capable of the task alloted? According to the DPM, the construction of the labs was not difficult. Questions and yet more Questions. Now when will the tell all session be? That's one more question. The Rakyat has the right to have the answers, as their children future and safety are involved and also because so much of their tax money, to the tune of Rm 500 mil have been spent on the project.

Stop Press : 11:52pm EM Musa has revealed the Project Management Consultant to be QSC Projects Sdn Bhd. In clearing his ministry for the delay, Education Minister Tan Sri Musa Mohamad said it was the fault of Bell Grand Sdn Bhd and the ministry’s project management consultant, QSC Projects Sdn Bhd.

{Be a responsible Minister, Ensure Safe Computer Labs, Tell All}

| ¶ 7/23/2003 11:29:00 PM

Turncoats will be exposed

According to this report in the Star, the Information Ministry plans to expose “turncoats” who use their government connections and contracts to get rich and then support anti-government campaigns.While he is at it, will the DIM or Deputy Information Minister, please also expose those who have used their government connections and contracts to get rich and have not turned anti-government, it is only fair to do so. The Rakyat needs to know, so they won't vote them in the next time around.
"The Government knows of at least three persons, with accumulated wealth of about RM50mil each, and who are involved in such campaigns." We are sure the DIM is aware of more than just three, do the Rakyat a favour, list them all, the Rakyat will remember the DIM when the time comes if the honourable DIM gets to stand the next time around.
"There are several politicians and non-politicians who are still using their government and Umno connections to do business, although they are now in the opposition camp." See you definitely know more of them. Do not keep us guessing. You might be forgotten when the time really comes.

| ¶ 7/23/2003 02:27:00 PM

AFP report On Anwar Bail Appeal

Malaysian government lawyers oppose bail for Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 (AFP) - Malaysian government lawyers on Tuesday fought against a bail application by jailed ex-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, saying there was no guarantee he would not violate the law if he were freed.
The move prompted a furious response by Anwar's lawyer, Karpal Singh, who described the claim as "scandalous".
Anwar, who is seeking bail partly so that he can go abroad for treatment for a back injury allegedly sustained when he was beaten up in custody, was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair and neck brace.
He was hugged and kissed by family members, as some 200 supporters outside the courtroom chanted "reformasi", his popular battle cry for political change.
While the need for surgery for a slipped disc is high on the list of arguments for bail, his lawyers are also pressing the case on the basis that Anwar's Federal Court appeal against his nine-year sentence for a sodomy conviction has not yet been heard.
No date for the hearing has been set, and his lawyers say he is entitled to bail as he has already completed his sentence on a corruption charge. "There is no evidence that the applicant (Anwar) will embark on a spree of offences if bail is allowed," said Karpal. "This paragraph is scandalous. It ought to be expunged. I cannot see how he is considered a security threat."
The paragraph in the government affidavit said: "The possibility of the applicant being involved in any act violating the law if he is released on bail is something which cannot be assured of at this time as it involves the future which no one can determine."
Karpal reminded the panel of three judges, headed by Judge Pajan Singh Gill, that Anwar had been imprisoned for the past four years and that his appeal to the Federal Court could take some two years to be heard.
"What if Anwar succeeds in the end? Why not, this man was once prime minister in waiting," he said. "Why must prosecutors in the case of Anwar go out of the way to oppose bail?"
Karpal said Anwar would not jump bail. "Why should he abscond? He stood his ground when Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad expelled him in 1998."
Karpal said Anwar was still having severe back pain and should be allowed to go abroad for treatment. "He is still on painkillers. Cannot this court show some mercy?"
Anwar claims he was sacked and later charged with sodomy and corruption to prevent a political challenge to Mahathir.
The two-day bail hearing continues Wednesday.

| ¶ 7/23/2003 09:40:00 AM

Pushy Middle-Class Mums "know best", says Prof Ball

Professor Stephen Ball of the Institue of Education, University of London, carried out a study and found the creation of the "able middle-class child" was mainly the result of "work by the mother". Prof Ball's study was recently reported by BBC. One does not really need to carry out a study like Prof Ball, just talk to any mum you meet in the various supermarkets of KL and Subang and they will tell you similar stuff, "of course, mum knows best, what do dad knows. The best tutors, the best schools, the best circles to move in, even though often they just take you round and round". Prof Ball should have just approach these mums.
Prof Ball tells a lecture audience: "It's who you know and what you do with it". Now isn't that something also very familiar with us too, "It is not what you know but who you know and what you do with it, that will get you far and wide". We didn't require a study to tell us that.
Pressure for success has led pushy mothers in some cities to colonise and capture particular schools in an effort to create educational enclaves for their children. This is so much like our Malaysian pushy mothers camping outside their select schools to register their children. Thanks god for pushy mother.
According to Alan Smithers, director of Liverpool University's Centre for Education, says "If a parent can see advantages in going to one sort of school over another, and has the wit to get her child in, then that parent is to be appaulded." There is so much to thank pushy mum, if not for her, where would we be today.

| ¶ 7/23/2003 12:43:00 AM

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Burma - expelled from ASEAN?

Dr Mahathir, in an interview prior to the arrival of the French PM, said that Burma might have to be expelled from the Asean grouping if its military rulers continue defying world pressure to release democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. Dr Mahathir was the last person to have been expected to have said this. For there is a Malaysian "Aung San Suu Kyi" by the name of Anwar in his own backyard. If one remembered right, the world has and still is also clamouring for the release of this Sungei Buloh prisoner.
Asean members traditionally do not interfere in the internal affairs of member states. However on this matter, Mahathir said : "We don't criticise member states unless what one state does embarasses us, causes a problem for us." With regards to Anwar, Malaysia has also been critized before by Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, but as in that case, in the case of Burma nothing will also happen. Obviously the Burmese military must be laughing at this latest call by Dr Mahathir.
True enough, the previous statements have been proved to be quite toothless as shown by this report in the Star : ‘Asean must agree to expulsion’. Our Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said any decision to expel Burma from the 10-member grouping would be a last resort and as far as Kuala Lumpur was concerned, Rangoon must release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi before more pressure was exerted on it. We wonder the said more pressure is expected to come from whom, Malaysia, Mahathir, Singapore, America, Britain?
“The Prime Minister’s statement is a reminder and any action to expel Burma from Asean will be a last resort. That decision (to expel) must be made by Asean based on consensus, just like how Burma was admitted into the grouping,” the Foreign Minister said further.
Mahathir, who played a major role in bringing Burma into the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1997 despite the misgivings of many western nations, rights groups and NGOs. Will he be playing a major role to get Aung San Suu Kyi released or the expulsion of Burma from Asean? Or will he leave it to consensus and the benevolence of the Burmese military rulers? The world holds it breath and awaits. Or is this whole threat of expulsion from Asean just a sandiwara played out for one visiting PM from France by another PM?

{Be a responsible Malaysia, Release Anwar; Be a responsible Burma, Release Aung San Suu Kyi}

| ¶ 7/22/2003 10:59:00 PM

BOLEHWOOD Ban Lifted

In an about turn, the BAN on BOLEHWOOD has been lifted by none other than the KL Datuk Bandar himself.
Even the ICT, Instant Cafe Theatre, itself was surprised. It was too stunned and is still keeping the curtains down, just in case. It will await the Press Conference which the Datuk Bandar will be giving this morning.
Datuk Mohmad Shaid is reported to have said, "Let the show go on, even tonight itself", last night. he also said "Personally, speaking, I did not find anything offensive about the show" and "We, KLites, must be broadminded and liberal enough to accept such shows". At least he must have seen the show, way to go, Datuk Bandar.

| ¶ 7/22/2003 08:48:00 AM

Bail Watch 00 Again

J-Day again for Anwar on 22nd July. Will Anwar get is Bail which will allow him to seek medical treatment. If his appeal is heard, it will be known in a day or two. The grounds for opposing bail will also be made known. What is known to date, is that his appeal for bail will be contested. The prosecution claims that if allowed bail, there is no guarantee that Anwar will not breach the law.
This morning, the prosecution will continue with their reasons for not granting bail. The appeal team will then present their reasons why bail should be allowed. Then it is up to the 3 judges to deliberate, if they need to and then decide whether bail should be granted.
It is hoped that justice will prevail and the right decision is made. In the meanwhile, PRAY.

| ¶ 7/22/2003 12:18:00 AM

Monday, July 21, 2003

Last words on the Taiping 4?

Chanced upon this report on the Star online and thought it should be just shown in its entirety:

Group: Display baby gorillas to the public
TAIPING: The four baby gorillas illegally sourced from Nigeria by the Taiping Zoo recently should be displayed to the public, said the Taiping Tourist Association.
Its secretary Anwar Isa said a lot of money had been spent to bring the animals here and to maintain them since their arrival in February last year.
“Before they are surrendered, isn’t it wise to let visitors to the zoo have a look at the baby gorillas?"
"Visitors will surely throng the zoo if the baby gorillas are displayed, as lately, we have received many enquiries from tourists who want to see them,” said Anwar.
On July 8, Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding said the Cabinet had decided to have the baby gorillas sent to the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa in Pretoria under a bilateral co-operation scheme.
Since their arrival here, the baby gorillas have been kept in quarantine in an enclosure.
Taiping MCA division vice chairman Ang Lee Kaw expressed the hope that the Government could “work something out” since much money and energy had been spent to bring in the animals and maintain them.
Taiping DAP chairman Yew Tian Hoe said that apart from wasting public funds, the pride of the town had been tarnished by the disclosure that the baby gorillas were illegally obtained. (bold emphasis added, end of report)

Just knew that someone will suggest getting something in return even if the whole deal was an illegal one. Malaysia Boleh. The earlier one was to get the offsprings of the Taiping 4 to be sent back to the Taiping Zoo.
Let's do the right thing, have the Taiping 4 sent to the Limbe Wildlife Centre where they can be rehabilitated and returned to the wild from where they were taken. Renowned primatologist Dr Jane Goodall has recommended this, SAM has supported this and so has the International Primate Protection League (IPPL).

Will displaying the Taiping 4 and increasing the gate collections of Taiping Zoo, make the whole deal less illegal?

{Do The Right Thing, Limbe for the Taiping 4}

| ¶ 7/21/2003 11:09:00 PM

The MCA TRIAD COMEDY-Will the real TING please stand

When the MCA Triad link was first brought to public notice in May, when a number of photos appeared on the net, there were a lot of people denying such lings. Datuk Seri Ong KT alleged that these were smear campaigns against him and MCA. Datuk Ong TK and datuk Seri Ong KT made police reports regarding this alleged MCA Triad link.
Our PDRM investigated and discovered there were no such links or infiltration of MCA by the triads. This information was then passed on to the nation via parliament by none other than our honorable DHM Datuk Zainal, who on 16th June said in Parliament that the MCA and its leaders were not involved in triad activities.
Hardly a month after that announcement in parliament, the cat is out of the bag. The PDRM now says that it has ordered a nation wide hunt for one "Jackie Chan" Ong, who is the MCA Gurney Drive branch Chairman.
With that police hunt announcement, diffent things are being said.

Datuk Seri Ong KT : "I knew Jackie Chan, I thought that his triad activities were history"
Datuk TK : "The MCA has not been infiltrated, only the triad had caused trouble during the MCA Youth Meeting, I was missed understood".
Datuk Zainal : " Ah,.....Ah"
IGP : " "
Datuk Seri Dr Lim : "Why do I need to complain as it does not involve my party.
DPM : "MCA is not under Probe" “King Ee’s case is an isolated one and the MCA should not be dragged into the issue.” " The MCA is not involved in secret society activities" .
MCA CC Member : "Datuk Seri Ong needs to explain on why he had made contradicting statements on his "alliance" with the fugitive."

The funny tings that are spoken by our leaders of tings, one ting today and some other ting the next. Now who is the real TING. What funnies will they produce later on?

| ¶ 7/21/2003 01:19:00 PM

Sunday, July 20, 2003

Shocking Responses to Ipoh Hospital Survey Part II

Apart from the shocking repsonses of the DG and the mass media to the shocking responses to the Ipoh Hospital Survey (IHS), the immediate response by the rakyat to the findings would be like Ripley's, "Believe it or not?" Lone's response would have to be similar to Dean Cain's "Believe It".
Being a frequent visitor to Government Hospitals and being a frequent user of its services, Lone is aware of the staff dynamics in such establishments. Over the years, the core of dedicated staff in such estabishment have become smaller and smaller, the most of the newer staff now mirrors those in the civil service in general. A unhappy and unfriendly lot, unhappy and unfriendly with themselves as shown by the IHS findings and therefore also unhappy and unfriendly with the rakyat who seek their services. For only happy and friendly staff can provide happy and friendly services to the rakyat.
Many many more of such campaigns, be they called "Service with a Smile" or "Service with Love", will only result in lip service and not in service improvement to the rakyat.
It must be remembered that the staff concerned is also part of the rakyat. The ills and misgivings and problems of the staff must first be looked into and dealt efficiently with by the Ministry of Health and the Government before one can expect them to function happily, lovingly and efficiently.
It is not for Lone to detail all that is ailing the medical and health staff and the civil service, one only needs to walk into any Goverment hospital or office, in order to form one's own impressions.
The Ministry of Health, if it does not already know it, can always conduct another survey, preferably a confidential one, to find out the reasons for the recent IHS findings. Lone is sure the results will not prove to be too shocking to the DG.
Our Government is said to be a caring one, so must the Ministry be, only and only then can the rakyat expect and receive "Service with Love".

{Be a truly caring Malaysian Government, "Service with Love"}

| ¶ 7/20/2003 04:35:00 PM

Computer Labs Scandal Update

The Star reports "Ministers to discuss computer lab delays", 3 ministers will meet on 21st July, to discuss ways to solve the delays in the construction of computer laboratories in schools. Education Minister Tan Sri Musa Mohamad, Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and Second Finance Minister Datuk Jamaluddin Jarjis will be at the meeting. Will this meeting resolve the issue? ?Will they be able to catch those responsible for the debacle? Will they be able to punish those responsible? Lone thinks "No" is most likely the answer to all three.
The CTF or Cabinet Task Force is said to be chaired by the Education Minister; the Education Ministry, according to the Deputy Education Minister is fully responsible for the computer labs delay; can an independent enquiry result? Again the answer is "No", mana boleh? Is the CTF just going to be a "cakap-cakap" sessi or what?

For more on "Who's Who in the Computer Labs Debacle?", go to joe-blogs

{Be a responsible Government, Hold an independent enquiry}

| ¶ 7/20/2003 03:37:00 PM

Markers of Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease is one of the main cause of deaths in the developed country and its incidence in the developing countries is also on the increase.
More than 5 or 6 years ago, blood tests for risks of heart disease, would consists of measuring the following parameters viz total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol(bad cholesterol) , HDL cholesterol(good cholesterol) and triglycerides. Of those 4 parameters, having low levels are good except for HDL cholesterol. If your total and LDL cholesterols were high, you were first advised lifestyle changes, advised more exercises and diet changes. After these changes and the parameters do not fall appropiately, drugs to lower cholesterols and triglycerides were started.
It was found that there are patients who suffered heart attacks despite normal levels of the 4 parameters. In time to come, a new marker for heart disease emerged. This is homocysteine, a byproduct of protein metabolism. Individual who have high levels of homocysteine were more prone to heart attacks. The B vitamins and folic acid can lower this marker.
Again despite, lowering of cholesterols, triglycerides and homocysteine, there were still individuals who were noted to succumb to heart attacks. Medical research then pointed to an inflammatory cause for the blockage of arteries especially those supplying blood to the heart. The next marker to appear next is called C-reactive protein or CRP. Levels of CRP is said to be a good indicator. It falls fairly rapidly after the patients exercise effectively.
The latest marker to appear on the horizon is Lp-PLA2, this is another indicator of inflammation. In patients with low cholesterol, but high levels of Lp-PLA2, they were twice as likely to develop heart disease, said lead researcher Dr. Christie Ballantyne of Baylor College of Medicine. Add another measure of risk — a high level of C-reactive protein — to a high Lp-PLA2 level, and the risk of heart disease tripled, he said. Like CRP, Lp-PLA2 can now be measured by commercial test-kits. There are also other inflammatory markers like NT-proBNP and Troponin T awaiting for commercial test-kits. Together all these markers will aid in assessment of heart disease risks for patients with normal or low levels of cholesterol.
{Be Heart Conscious, Eat Healthy, Live Healthy & Exercise Daily}

Recommended Heart Links :

1.webMD

2.HeartCenterOnline

| ¶ 7/20/2003 12:10:00 AM

Saturday, July 19, 2003

Most Ipoh Hospital staff don’t believe in smiling
Shocking responses to Ipoh Hospital survey

The Ipoh General Hospital website has this mission message : "It is hoped with the establishment of this site will draw more awareness about the quality service provided by the Hospital to the public and further increase information about Hospitals in Perak and Malaysia as a whole. ". But if a recent survey carried out "is to be believed" (the DG of Medical & Health Services, is sceptical) the "quality service" do not come with a smile often enough, as only 20% of Ipoh Hospital staff think that it is important for them to smile/senyum/chio while on duty!

Other shocking findings of the survey which was carried out by the head of Ipoh Hospital Health Promotion Unit recently :

1. 60% responded to the 300 survey formed distributed.
2. 60% respondents felt they should not be friendly to patients.
3. 65% felt that patients' complaints were false, hopefully they are not talking about patient'medical complaints.
4. 93% of respondents felt communication among the staff was bad.
5. 70% would complain if their colleagues took emergency or medical leave.
6. 31% of respondents were friendly to each other.
7. 45% greeted their colleagues in the same department.
8. 70% of respondents say that their co-worers were willing to help them, but only half of them were willing to do the same.
9. 20% would share patients' secrets with their colleagues.
10.100% of respondents would discuss their own problems with their superiors, this being the only 100%!

With the above survey results, what can our DG do, but be unbelieving. The shocked DG was quoted as saying "“If the findings are true, I better pack my bags and leave,” he was in Ipoh Hospital recently to launch the Hospital's "Service with Love" campaign.

The Ipoh Hospital staff obvious wants their DG to stay on. Looks like Ipoh Hospital staff is taking the survey seriously though, for they have already started coaching lessons on how to SMILE (see pic) :

Lone says : {It takes a SMILE from the HEART, to reach the HEART}

| ¶ 7/19/2003 12:34:00 PM

Now they are "soft"males

Our NUSD Minister, Datuk Dr Siti is very concerned over the number of "effeminate males" in the varsities. The Star now calls them : "soft males". Can they not stop all these names calling. As Lone knows it, even in his varsity days, some 20-30 odd years back, there were males with some feminine behaviour then. Don't we all have a little of the opposite in us? "There is a little of the Devil, even in an Angel", similarly like what one of my Prof used to say, "There is a little of the female in the male and vice versa", occasionally, there just happen to be more. And when that happens you will get a little more of the female in some males and a little more of the male in some females. The question that arises is it really true that there are more males with feminine behaviour in varsities nowadays or is in just that particular varsity, which our Minister has chosed not to disclose. As mentioned earlier there has always been such males around, is there really more now, to get alarmed about?
As our NUSD Minister will be carrying out a study on this phenomenon, Lone would like her Ministry to, sekali gus, study whether there are also more females with male behaviour in our varsities now, and she will be able to get two sets of study results for the price of less than two.
Similarly, when the Ministry is developing a course for these males to act like gentlemen (not macho ones), can it also develop one, for females to act like gentle ladies (simiarly not macho ones). Such courses will also definitely be useful for those "hard" males and females, so that they can also be gentlemen and gentle ladies.

Lone says : In the meanwhile can those macho men and ladies out there in the various varsities, stop the bullying! Remember that we are all GodMade!

{Be a responsible Malaysian, Remember Everybody(thing) is Beautiful, in their Own Way}

| ¶ 7/19/2003 11:07:00 AM

Friday, July 18, 2003

Traffic Decongestion using Handphones

Using the signals from individual motorists' mobile phones as beacons, Finnish government researchers charted vehicular traffic patterns along stretches of road in and around Helsinki. The data it obtained would be useful in issuing travel advisories that authorities could transmit for use in television and radio broadcast.
Traditional traffic measurements work by simply counting the number of vehicles that pass a given spot on the road, typically using a camera or sensors embedded in the road or on a nearby pole. By using cellular phones, the system can monitor how long it takes for cars to travel a stretch of road in real time and provide it instantaneously.
The systemis not perfect yet. In order for the system to provide reliable data, researchers say at least 5% of the vehicles must have a mobile phone in them. Vehicles with more than one mobile phone can also contribute to erroneous data, so can stationary humans with mobile phones on them.
With the high number of mobile phone users in the Klang Valley, such a system may prove to be a boon and help to ease traffic congestion. Datuk Seri Samy please take note! Thank you.

{Be a responsible Malaysian, Ensure the Government is doing its Work Well}

| ¶ 7/18/2003 03:11:00 PM

Computer Labs Scandal

A CTF or Cabinet Task Force will be set up thundered the DPM, this time to look into the delay and the shoddy work done so far concerning School Computer Labs. The building of these labs were to have been completed last year, at a cost of Rm 200,000 each. It has been reported that only some 64% have been completed to date In May this year, the roof of one of these computer labs collapsed in Bera. Following this the JKR was requested to ascertain the conditions of these labs. In the 3 East Coast states, of the 600 labs checked, 487 were found unfit for use and 87 had roofs that were in danger of collapsing. It is not certain whether the 87 with dangerous roofs were included in the 487 unfit ones or are in addition to them, the latter would then make the total figure of 574, this would mean that of the 600 labs, 95.666666% are unfit for use! What does this mean to the Rakyat, apart from their children spending time in unfits labs, a whopping Rm 114.8 million of the Rakyat Ringgit were spent on unfit labs!
Now where were the authorities when these labs were being built and before they were commissioned for use. It is of no use now "crying over spilt milk". Isn't it too late for the CTF to be getting into the act. In the meanwhile where are the 574 computer labs going to be housed while they are being repaired and made fit for use?

{Be a responsible Government, Ensure Safe Computer Labs}

| ¶ 7/18/2003 11:02:00 AM

CCTVs in Public Toilets

In a move to curb vandalism and misuse of public toilets and the writing of graffati on toilet walls, the Government proposes to install CCTVs in, of all places, Public Toilets. Who will be doing the job of monitoring these toilet CCTVs? These CCTVed toilets will they serve their functions, will the public be willing to use them, knowing that Big Bro is watching while they are doing their business of getting rid of their waste products? Will those who are doing the monitoring be doing any thing illegal too?
The Deputy Housing and Local Govt Minister said the Government is considering this CCTV installation so that public toilets can be kept cleaner. He said this at a press conference announcing the National Clean Toilet Campaign which will be held on July 28th and 29th. Is there no other better means, eg like employing someone to supervise the toilet cleanliness, like in most shopping complexes.
One wonders if the CCTVs could be better utilised if they were installed in carparks instead?

{Be a responsible Malaysian, Keep Our Public Toilets CLEAN}

| ¶ 7/18/2003 09:37:00 AM

Thursday, July 17, 2003

PCM-UM Collaboration Update

The Universiti Malaya medical faculty has sent a written explanation to Education Minister Musa Mohamad about its involvement in a twinning programme with a Perak-based private medical college. The said letter is not for the press, could it be covered by the OSA as often such letters are.
It looks like even the Minister has been kept in the dark prior to this. Last Thursday, Musa told reporters lthat he had no knowledge of the twinning arrangement and said the ministry did not give an approval to any private college to collaborate with public universities in the medical course. So much for our up to date Minister.
An official from the college said the arrangement was a temporary one pending the completion of PCM’s facilities and infrastructure by the following year. "Students admitted this year will join UM for one year and transfer back to Perak once our facilities are completed. We will have our own lecturers and tutors."
Read the whole article here, if you are a subscriber, if not be one.
Read this one too.

{Be a responsible Malaysian, Register as a Voter}

| ¶ 7/17/2003 02:49:00 PM

Elections Watch : Cyberpolice Patrol

The Star's frontpage news "Internet Watch" The Election Commission (EC) will monitor materials posted on the Internet during election campaigning period for polling offences including the circulation of sensitive issues. It would help, those on the Net if these sensitive issues are defined by the EC.
The EC would set up teams to keep an eye on cyberspace campaigning, including through e-mail It would be interesting to see whether the EC will have their eyes wide open when doing this and not have selective elective blindness. Commission secretary Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said that any evidence that someone is campaigning by using illegal means, such as circulating sensitive issues via the Internet, will be charged in court. He added that candidates would be held responsible for the behaviour or action of their supporters. He is also quoted as saying, "If we get any evidence that a candidate is involved in any violent or untoward incident, court action will be taken even if they are elected." Is he expecting cyberspace violence?
He does not have to say it, like him, all of us want a peaceful general elections, just like the good old days. Elections do not come cheap, it will cost the people a whopping Rm 90,000,000 this time around.

{Be a responsible Malaysian, Register as a Voter}

| ¶ 7/17/2003 10:50:00 AM

Medical Students of PCM

Malaysiakini recently highlighted how students are admitted to the UM medical faculty. The first 2 routes are via the STPM and Matrikulasi and there is another third route via PCM or the Perak College of Medicine. The third is said to be the backdoor route to a MBBS from UM. As mentioned in the Malaysiakini article, these PCM students generally have admission standard allegedly not on par with that of the central processing (UPU) system. This is not to say that these PCM will not eventually become good or even great doctors, what is being questioned is how and why is UM Medical Faculty using the limited seats that it has to cater for students from a private medical college. The letter written by "Concerned parent of PCM" seem to have missed the point.

A check with the PCM website showed that it has 2 programmes. One with Sheffield University which lasted two batches, the first batch (1997-2002) of 27 graduated in 2002 and the second and last batch of 35 is expected to graduate in 2005. The second programme is with UM. The website states : "THE PCM - UM COLLABORATION :The Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, being the pioneer in medical education in the country, is the most suitable choice for PCM to collaborate and adopt their medical curriculum to train medical students for Malaysia and other countries in the region." PCM is owned by PCM Sdn Bhd, which is in turn wholly owned by the Perak State Secretariat Incorporated. Out of the UM Medical Faculty annual intake of 230 students, 70 are said to come from PCM.

PCM entry requirements are as follows:

STPM---Pass in General Paper, Grade B in two (2) Science subjects selected from Biology and Physics or Chemistry,
Pass in one (1) other subject selected from Economics, Accounting, Business Studies, Mathematics, Additional Mathematics and Computer.
Matrikulasi---Matriculation Qualification from the Ministry of Education of Malaysia or Pusat Asasi Sains, University of Malaya or any other
recognised Institutions with a CGPA of at least 3.0 and above.
Diploma---Obtained a Diploma in Science or Microbiology from the Mara University of Technology (UiTM) with at least: One (1) Grade A and two (2)
Grade C; or Two (2) Grade B and one (1) Grade C; or CGPA of 3.0 and above

These entry requirements are less stringent then for UPU the system. Is the admission of these 70 students from a private college depriving more deserving students who may have better entry requirements but had applied through the UPM system for various reasons. The other question is how did this PCM-UM Collaboration come about? The third question is, if there are foreign students enrolled in PCM-UM programme, should these foreign students be depriving our own of a medical education?

| ¶ 7/17/2003 01:29:00 AM

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

T-Shirt Messages, ART and Pregnancies

The other day I was at this ART - Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic, a clinic where patients who have fertility problems go to to try having a baby using ART. Was on my way out when, this couple came in wearing identical T-Shirts. When they sat down at the registation counter, I read the words on back of their Ts : "We don't believe in promises, only Results". What a statement the two were making, I am sure the doctor had a hard time that day.

So I decided to check out ART on the web. Did a Google search using, "assisted reproductive technology" came out with 88,300 results. Looks like ART is BIG business. Add "malaysia" to the search and you get only 3,400 result. Was unable to get any statistics on ART success rates for Malaysia. But this report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is the best one seen. For those interested read on :

What are the steps for an ART procedure using fresh, nondonor eggs or embryos?

An ART cycle is started when a woman begins taking medication to stimulate the ovaries to develop eggs or, if no drugs are given, when the woman begins having her ovaries monitored (using ultrasound or blood tests) for natural egg production.
If eggs are produced, the cycle then progresses to egg retrieval, a surgical procedure in which eggs are collected from a woman’s ovaries.
Once retrieved, eggs are combined with sperm in the laboratory. If fertilization is successful, one or more of the resulting embryos are selected for transfer, most often into a woman’s uterus through the cervix (IVF), but sometimes into the fallopian tubes (e.g.,GIFT or ZIFT).
If one or more of the transferred embryos implants within the woman’s uterus, the cycle then progresses to clinical pregnancy.
Finally, the pregnancy may progress to a live birth, the delivery of one or more live-born infants. (The birth of twins, triplets, or more is counted as one live birth.)
A cycle may be discontinued at any step for specific medical reasons (e.g., no eggs are produced, the embryo transfer was not successful) or by patient choice.

How is the success of an ART procedure measured?

Pregnancy per cycle rate: the percentage of ART cycles started that produced a pregnancy. This rate is higher than the live birth per cycle rate because some pregnancies end in miscarriage, induced abortion, or stillbirth.

Live birth per cycle rate: the percentage of ART cycles started that resulted in a live birth (a delivery of one or more living babies). This rate is the one many people are most interested in because it represents the average chances of having a live-born infant by using ART. Throughout this report, live birth rate means live birth per cycle rate unless otherwise specified.

Live birth per egg retrieval rate: the percentage of ART cycles in which eggs were retrieved that resulted in a live birth. It is generally higher than the live birth per cycle rate because it excludes cycles that were canceled before eggs were retrieved. In 2000, about 14% of all cycles using fresh, nondonor eggs or embryos were canceled for a variety of reasons .

Live birth per transfer rate: includes only those ART cycles in which an embryo or egg and sperm were transferred back to the woman. This rate is the highest of these four measures of ART success.

So when one attends an ART, one should be sure which one of the rates the center is quoting, the most commonly used is the live birth per cycle rate. So do ask the doctor which one he is alking about. In order to give a higher figure some centers may use any of the other three rather than the live birth per cycle rate.

As stated earlier, there are no Malaysian success rates available but they will not be very far off the American ones. For the year 2000, the success rates for the American study were as follows :
Most of these cycles (68.6%) did not produce a pregnancy; a very small proportion (0.6%) resulted in an ectopic pregnancy (the embryo implanted outside the uterus), and 30.7% resulted in clinical pregnancy. Clinical pregnancies can be further subdivided as follows:
17.9% resulted in a single-fetus pregnancy, 11.1% resulted in a multiple-fetus pregnancy and 1.7% ended in miscarriage before the number of fetuses could be accurately determined. Slightly more than 82% of the pregnancies resulted in a live birth (54% in singleton births and 29% in multiple-infant births). Approximately 16% of pregnancies resulted in an adverse outcome (miscarriage, induced abortion, or stillbirth). For 1% of pregnancies, the outcome was not reported. In the final analysis, the live birth per cycle rate is 25%. This is probably the rates quoted by most American, Australian and British programmes.

Now back to what started this whole search, those messages on the Ts, maybe the doctor should be wearing a T with the message "No promises, Results not Guaranteed, 25% at Best"

| ¶ 7/16/2003 10:57:00 PM

Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Gorillas in the limelight

More news on those 4 illegal gorillas or "The Taiping Four" as they are now called, in Taiping Zoo, they are in the limelight again. The MPT, which runs Taiping Zoo, is said to have spent Rm 300,000 in purchasing those illegal Taiping Four, some Rm 600,000 was also spent to built the enclosure which is no longer needed and more on their upkeep. Now the Taiping Four are said to be sent to the National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria, SA. Taiping Zoo hopes that the offsprings of these illegals would be sent back to Taiping Zoo in the future. What is eventually hope for is that these illegals will produce legal offsprings which can then contribute to the zoo attractions!

Sahabat Alam Malaysia or SAM is not happy with this decision and would prefer the 4 baby gorillas to be sent to a rehabilitation sanctuary where they can be trained and eventually returned to the wild. SAM thinks that the welfare of the gorillas should be the first consideration and not benefits to Taiping Zoo, what is illegal to start with should not be turned legit.
SAM has suggested the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon for the baby gorillas, here they can be rehabilitated and eventually returned to where they belong. Renowned primatologist Dr Jane Goodall had written to the Minister of Science Technology and the Environment, last October urging the minister to deliver the gorillas to Limbe, a move which she reckoned would discourage further commercial trade in the highly endangered species. The Minister Datuk Law should see that the right thing is done. He should also ensure that the culprits in the scandal do not escape scot-free. This scandal has brought Taiping Zoo, the MPT and Malaysia instant "fame" for all the wrong conservation reasons.

See this previous blog : Law Monkeyed and also this Star article---Gorillas going to Pretoria.

| ¶ 7/15/2003 10:41:00 AM

KWSP/EPF

The KWSP or EPF is very much in the news lately. The EPF has full-page advertorials in the newspapers today, it is entitled “EPF WORKING HARDER TO MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS”? If this is how the EPF wants to show that it is "transparent, efficient and diligent" , it has failed. Those who gained from these advertorials are surely not the 10.3 million EPF members but the newspapers carrying the advertorials. The only way the EPF can prove that it is "transparent, efficient and diligent" is when it produces much higher dividends for its members next year and the next, after this recent low of 4.25%, the lowest in 40 years. The EPF with total funds of more than 200 billions, is actually a very large fund but it has fared badly in recent years after the economic downturn/crisis ol 1997. Despite the local economy having improved over the past 2 years, EPF dividends continued to dip.
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) should look at the investment strategies of the Armed Forces Fund (AFF) which declared 12% in dividends, compared to EPF’s 4.25%, said the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) recently.?Fomca president Datuk Hamdan Adnan said the higher dividends by AFF, which has just over 100,000 members (EPF has 10.3 million), showed it invested its money more wisely.?EPF should really look into this for the members' sake.
Suggestions have been made that the EPF should also consider emulating the CPF of Singapore (see Personal Money June 2003 issue) and allow the members to withdraw funds for other investment options. One way is to remove the Rm 50,000 limit, another option is to allow more investment vehicles. But what is more important is to educate the members to use these options wisely. Maybe EPF should use the money for member investment education rather than for those advertorials.
MTUC has protested the low EPF dividends and the DAP has launched the “EPF Contributors Deserve Higher Dividend” campaign yesterday to protest the low dividends. EPF members, themselves, must also voice their concerns, for if not, we will surely have to put up with even lower dividends in the years to come.

| ¶ 7/15/2003 01:34:00 AM

Monday, July 14, 2003

Bail Watch 00 to 08

It looks like Anwar will not be getting his day in court today. According to this news flash from Malaysiakini. Anwar's counsel, Karpal Singh is unwell and has been admitted to hospital. Hope he gets well soon.
The case is now postponed to 22nd July.
According to the report, the prosecution has filed an affidavit in which they have stated more reasons why Anwar should not be granted bail. Among them are that he would continue to commit offences if he was released.. Are they not expecting too much of a wheelchair bound guy. Or are there going to be more verbal rather than the other forms of offences expected. We do have very highly imaginative prosecutors, who certainly can let their imaginasi run wild!
Update : In opposing Anwar's bail, the Attorney-General’s Chambers stated that there is nothing to guarantee that Anwar will not commit any offence while free on bail. The chambers must be really scraping the bottom of the barrel/chambers in trying to come up with reasons to oppose bail!

| ¶ 7/14/2003 11:29:00 AM

Malay Mail, Northern Edition launched

For the northern region readers of MMail, a northern region edition has been launched yesterday. This edition is printed by the Balai Berita Prai plant on mainland Penang. This will allow the readers in this region to read issues of MMail the same day.
MMail has been around for 107 years and until yesterday has mainly catered for those in the Klang Valley. It has been mainly highlighting issues in the Klang Valley, now with the new edition, maybe it will also look into issues concerning the Northern Region.

| ¶ 7/14/2003 09:06:00 AM

ADUNs reinstated?

If one is to follow what is in the news, one would be confused as to the real status of the 2 ADUNs, namely Ms Tan and Mr Lim. It appears that the MCA may have lifted the suspension of the two, but the BN supreme council has yet to do so.
Datuk Ong KT said that MCA has followed the BN way but confusion reigns as Tan Sri Koh and the DPM do not see things that way. Tan Sri Koh says that the status of the 2 ADUNs as ADUNs should be determined by the BN Supreme Council and not MCA.
So are the 2 ADUNs really reinstated or has someone jumped the gun? The sandiwara continues.

| ¶ 7/14/2003 08:47:00 AM

Bail Watch 00---J-DAY for Anwar & ISA 7

Today, the 14th of July, will see both Anwar and the ISA7 have their day in court. We pray and hope that justice will be done.
PRAY

| ¶ 7/14/2003 08:33:00 AM

Sunday, July 13, 2003

Bail Watch 01

On the eve of Anwar's date with the court, his lawyers said that they expect the prosecution to strongly oppose the bail application. While the need for surgery for his back injury is high on the list of arguments for bail, his lawyers will also press the case on the basis that Anwar's appeal against his nine-year sentence for a sodomy conviction has not yet been heard.
Elizabeth Wong, secretary general of the National Human Rights Society/Hakam, said that Anwar should be released on bail since he had not exhausted all his appeals. "Technically, there is nothing that could keep him inside, with the exception of course of the political will of the government," she said.
Like many other Malaysians, she hopes the judiciary would rise to the occasion and prove they were independent of government pressure.
When tomorrow comes, if the prosecution does not oppose bail or if the court allows it, Anwar, who has already served four years in jail on a corruption charge, could walk free immediately if bail conditions were met.
Read the entire Malaysiakini article here

| ¶ 7/13/2003 03:42:00 PM

Saturday, July 12, 2003

More on effeminate undergrads

Just managed to get a print copy of Malay Mail, in this town of mine, (which incidentally has not a single cinema, but that's another story waiting to be told), today's MMail is only available the next day or the same evening. The MMail also carried an article entitled "More effeminate men in varsities". In this article, our Datuk Dr Siti has more to say. She said one reason for the increase of effeminate males in varsities was the lack of self-esteem when the males discovered that female students monopolised the various fields of studies offered in these instituitions. She also said that this increase needs to be taken seriously and given attention because this problem is sometimes scientific, such as excessive hormones and this can be fixed if, when still young, a medical practitioner is consulted.She also said that she would like to see an increase in the male intakes and also mentioned that the smaller percentage of male undergrads could be due to weaknesses and problems in early primary and secondary education
It is unlikely that the 3 to 4 years spent in a varsity can make a male effeminate, most effeminate males are conditioned from early childhood and may have a genetic basis and a visit or two to a medical practitioner is not going to de-effeminate an effeminate male. The reasons why a male becomes effeminate is unlikely to be found in early schooling or be due to excessive hormones. It would be nice if Datuk Dr Siti could come up with figures for us to digest. All that we may conclude now is that more girls are entering varsity than boys and among the boys, a higher number of effeminate males are to be found than before.
The more worrying problem is why are there so many more females than males in our varsities? Could the majority of Malaysian studying overseas be males? Could it be that a big proportion of our male undergrads are unable to do courses of their choice in local varsities? Are we offering courses more favoured by females? Are our boys doing so badly in school and unable to gain varsity admission? Are they lacking in motivation, if so why? These are questions, whose answers we all, as well as the Ministry of National Unity and Social Development, should be seeking for.

See previous blogs "More Effeminate Undergrads"and Incredible Shrinking Y (chromosome)
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| ¶ 7/12/2003 07:13:00 PM

More Effeminate Undergrads

According to reports in the New Straits Times and Malay Mail, our National Unity and Social Development Minister says that there is a rise in the number of effeminate males in universities. Datuk Dr Siti Zaharah said this at the launching of the Women Undergraduates Interaction Programme 2003 and National Female Undergraduates and Women's Leadership Convention at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
She also said that in some universities, the percentage of females is as high as 75%. This imbalance is expected to cause problems for Malaysian society in the years to come. Successful female graduates will have difficulties finding spouses. And with more effeminate male undergraduates resulting in more effeminate male graduates, the problems would snowball. Siti Zaharah said the imbalance should be studied and monitored by all parties to determine the reasons behind the phenomenon.
The report in the Star said that female students were also found to be goal-oriented practical thinkers, had strong survival strategies, assertiveness, discipline and perseverance. The report goes on to say that boys appeared to lack self-empowerment qualities and sense of achievement compared to girls.

Lone says : If what Datuk Dr Siti has to say is true; the imbalance will lead to the Malaysian males becoming the weaker sex, the male graduates will eventually become much sought after and in no time we will be having a lady Prime Minister. Does Datuk Dr Siti really want the imbalance balanced, let's ask Rafidah.

| ¶ 7/12/2003 03:22:00 PM

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