LONE

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

We are All Equal

::What more can one ask for this Merdeka Day, for upon waking up and opening the day's papers, one reads that ::

"All of us are the same,
We are all Malaysians.
We are all equals."

The new PM has spoken. We will work with him, tell him the truth as we see it and ensure that as he has spoken, so it will be that Malaysia will be a land, where from this day on ::

"All of us are the same,
We are all Malaysians.
We are all equals."

P.S.

"All of us are the same, we are all Malaysians. There is no individual in this country recognised as "more Malaysian" than others," he said.[Bernama]

Abdullah said there is no individual in the country recognised as "more Malaysian" than others.
"All of us are the same, we are all Malaysians. We are all equals," he said. [The Star]

Let all citizens of Malaysia, without feeling inferior, without feeling sidelined, irrespective of race or religion, rise to become statesmen in our own land. We are equal, we are all Malaysians. No individual in this country is more Malaysian than another.[New Straits Times]

| ¶ 8/31/2004 04:02:00 PM

Midnight in Malaysia

::It is once again midnight in Malaysia as we move into the 48th year of our Independence. But have we really got out of our midnights and found Daylight in this Malaysia of ours. Dr. Mahathir Mohammad (now Tun) has stepped down as Prime Minister of Malaysia in October 2003, after about twenty-three years in power, the Mahathir Era had ended?
We now have a new PM, one who has in his early days imbued us with hope that Daylight may once again be descending on this Malaysia of ours. On taking over, Pak Lah had asked for the TRUTH and had requested that we work with him and not for him. By now many would have realised that it is not easy to tell him the truth. He said he was finally going to go all out to reduce corruption to ZERO; as if that was possible. A few smaller fishes were charged for corruption, presently the Eric Chia case is on-going and has gone to HongKong and is expected to move to Switzerland soon. A Royal Commission with the difficult-to-mention-exceptionally-long name of The Special Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police [SCEOM-RMP] has been set up. It has even come out with a controversial interim report, what it had to report, many Malaysians may have already known.
2004 also saw Malaysians participating in the 11th general election, what was new? There was the usual complaints of the BN caretaker government and the EC not ensuring a level playing field. Hopes of a fair election failed to be realised. The BN Poll Merchandise scandal appeared in July. These merchandise even surfaced during the recently concluded Kuala Berang by-election! This by-election, as in most by-elections, was won handsomely by the BN, scoring a bigger majority and has been called a Merdeka Gift to the BN by none other than the former PM, Tun Dr Mahathir. We can expect the BN to win the next by-election and can expect the said poll merchandise, which were not BN ordered to surface in Ba’Kelalan
Has there been changes in our students entering tertiary education instituitions for their further studies? The usual hue and cry regarding "guided meritocracy" or "meritocracy ala BolehLand" was still to be heard. What's so special this year was the case of 128 top students not being able to gain entry to study medicine. The new PM finally came out with "the solution" which was not really a solution.
Like the years before, patriotism has once again been equated with flying the Jalur Gemilang. This year there has been a request by you-know-who for there to be a "sea of Jalur Gemilang". That "Bow-Tied" man is still around like before.
One could just go on and on with the little or no change which have taken place since the last Merdeka day and since the new PM took over. We are still waiting to come out of the midnights and still looking for Daylight.
Happy Merdeka all the same and one of these days Daylight will surely come to those who dream like you know who does. Cheers and Good Morning.

| ¶ 8/31/2004 01:23:00 AM

Monday, August 30, 2004

Dr Jekyll, Mr Hyde?

::In the murder of T. Kumaresan is the latest in the series of senseless killings which have troubled the Malaysian scene recently. He was the People’s Progressive Party Wangsa Maju division deputy Youth chief. The Star had this account regarding his murder. He was said to have been killed while trying to diffuse a conflict between a group of vandals and flat residents of a housing area in Setapak. The Star reported that T. Kumaresan was described by friends as a "helpful person".
The Malay Mail also carried reports of the murder, describing it as a "a senseless death which could have been avoided". The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) president Datuk M. Kavyeas when expressing his sadness over the senseless murder of Kumaresan, had this to say ::

"I have lost someone good...his death is also a loss to the division and the Federal Territory, It is one of the most effective divisions in terms of offering social services."

"He was hard-working and always ready to help those in need," said Kavyeas who is also Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, soon after his arrival from visiting his constituency in Taiping, Perak.

The Malay Mail report said that Kumaresan’s mother-in-law, P. Susie, 45, said the deceased had been the pillar of strength for the family. She added ::

"You cannot find a son-in-law like him. He even supported his six sisters. I am very sad. I don’t know what to say," said the distraught woman from Kulim, Kedah.

Having read these reports, one can only conclude that Kumaresan was a "pillar of strength", a helpful person and a good PPP leader. It would not be wrong to say that his senseless murder had resulted in a great loss.

But the New Straits Times seem to have a differing account and headlined its report thus :: Vandalism not linked to death of PPP Youth leader. This NST report claimed that vandalism ie the smashing of cars, did not lead to his murder. According to this report, Kumaresan was returning to Wangsa Maju in his car when a motorcycle emitting "loud revs" overtook his car. He gave chase and ended up at the motorcyclist's house. There an argument broke out and Kumaresan was struck with a knife in the ensuing exchange of blows. The report also carried a rather different picture of Kumaresan, it had this to say ::

Kumaresan, also known as "Chinna Kanna" and who is believed to have had at least three previous run-ins with the law for gang-fighting and robbery, was rushed to hospital, where he died.

Now there you have it these contrasting accounts of the murder and the victim, the NST report painting a totally different picture of Kumaresan. The NST and Malay Mail are from the same stable of newspapers, which is the correct accounts of Kumaresan and his murder? All can't be correct. If what the Star and Malay Mail have to report are right, the NST account can only be extremely distressing to the family and even the PPP. Can we expect more light to be shedded on this?

| ¶ 8/30/2004 11:10:00 PM

Sunday, August 29, 2004

Justice must be Swift

::We should all be glad that in the new PM we have a PM who is committed to Justice being meted out swiftly and fully understands the English saying :: "Justice delayed is justice denied."

In connection with the conclusion of the Nurul Huda Abdul Ghani murder trial, the PM is quoted as having said the following ::

Judges should be mindful of the old saying, "Justice delayed is justice denied" and make an effort to expedite longstanding cases for which decisions were pending.
"If a suspect is detained for many years and his case is not heard, and probably, when the case is heard, he may be found not guilty."
"So, longstanding cases, for which decisions are pending, have caused lots of problems to many people."[The Star]

"That's what I like, what I don't like when cases are delayed," he said, quoting an English saying "Justice delayed is justice denied."
He said if the trial or judgement of a case took too long, there might not be justice anymore.[Bernama]

"That's what I like. What I don't like is when cases are delayed," Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said after launching a training programme for small- and medium-sized industries here.
"It is a relief that justice has been served swiftly." Abdullah was commenting on the much-publicised case which ended in security guard Mohd Abbas Danus Baksan being sentenced to death by the High Court.[New Straits Times]

Of course none of the media editors remembered to point out to the PM that there are cases involving a former deputy PM which have had their decisions regarding bail and appeal and review postponed and delayed for inordinately long periods of time. How could they have glossed over these cases and not reminded the PM that "Justice delayed is justice denied". Or is it a case of "sauce for the goose is not necessary sauce for the gander".

All these calls for swift justice have also brought along some detrimental effects, one only need to look at these two cases :: Norrita's murder and Norjan's murder to be reminded that these calls may have resulted in shoddy polis work and prosecutions.

| ¶ 8/29/2004 11:26:00 PM

Saturday, August 28, 2004

Last Malaysian Action

::The last Athens 2004 event is over for Malaysia. The youngest, lightest, shortest male Olympic competitor has finished his event. Bryan Nickson Lomas just missed going into the next round of the Men's 10m Platform diving competition, he was placed 19th out of 33 competitors. Bryan probably received another 'distinction' during his event, he was the one who received the most claps and cheers each time he came out for each of his 6 dives. At the end of the 4th dive, he was placed 20th and had a fighting chance to make the cut of 18 for the next round. But unfortunately, after all 6 dives he was placed 19th!

These are Bryan's comments after his 19th placing in the prelims ::

On his performance::
"I feel a bit disappointed for not having qualified. I was really close. I needed just four more points approximately and I would have made it. The crowd was with me. It supported me a lot, even though that made me a bit nervous."

On the future::
"I have a lot of work ahead of me. The future is open. I am still young, I know I can improve."

On his idol::
"My idol is DESPATIE (CAN). I really admire him very much."

This is what his hero DESPATIE Alexandre (CAN) had to say about Bryan ::

"He reminds me a lot of myself back in 1998. I think he is very good and very talented."

And here are your hero's words regarding learning and improving :: "I always learn and I always try to improve my dives."

So there you have it Bryan, in your own words, you are "still young and can improve". Bryan don't be too disappointed, as the PM said :: Prepare, Prepare, Prepare, Peking 2008 awaits those who start early.

In the meanwhile, lets listen to "I will Survive"

| ¶ 8/28/2004 02:13:00 AM

Friday, August 27, 2004

No Longer Waiting?

::Much as i would like to see ali eats his words and see "pigs fly", the wait for d'First Athens 2004 Medal is almost over with Elaine going out of the taekwondo competition in the first round. i never managed to get around to see her in action. She was defeated in the first round by a Guatamalan, Euda Carias They had ended their 3-round contest 4:4, but Elaine's opponent won as she was said to be the more 'aggressive' combatant when compared to Elaine during the round. The Guatamalan was beaten later on in the second round and failed to enter the final, because of this Elaine did not get to compete in the repechage for the bronze medal.

i, for one, cannot understand the entire taekwondo scoring system. Just imagine training for 4 years, fight in round one, get equal points and have your opponent win because of 'aggressiveness', why no 'penalty kicks' or extra time or their equivalent. Then having your chance to partake in the repechage being determined by whether your winning opponent progress further in the competition. The whole thing sucks or do i know nuts or am i senile?

Now there is only one Malaysian competitor left in Athens 2004, all hopes are now on Bryan Nickson Lomas. Bryan has the distinction of being the youngest, lightest and shortest of male competitors in Athens 2004. He also has the distinction of being the most interviewed competitor in the Malaysian camp. Will he be the Malaysian last action hero in Athens 2004? Will he get more 'distinctions', we wonder?

With the showing at Athens 2004 thus far, our Pak Lah has lamented :: "What has happened to our athletes"?. It is kind of funny, this coming from him. Does he not have the answer(s)? He can be forgiven, as he is not just also a denizen in our culture of mediocrity but also a fellow-leader-contributor to the culture. Lets not just blame the majority of our sportsmen and sportsladies, don't we all share some blame for allowing this culture to have crept upon us? All those involved in one way or another in our mediocritic sporting scene, ranging from the sportsmen and sportsladies, trainers, coaches, managers, sports newsreporters, sport councils, sport MINister etc. The Star reported saying :: PM : Athletes failed us. Is this really true? It could just have been the other way around :: PM: We failed the athletes" for the PM reportedly told our athletes to be better prepared in the future. Now apart from the athletes who are those tasked with the preparations of the athletes? Those reading the online version of this Star report would have noticed that we have a cyclist called "Ivy Josiah" who came out 5th in the keirin race! [The print versi had a blank space where 'Ivy' was.] Just a couple of days is all it takes to forget Josiah Ng.

Come what may, i will be rooting for our Bryan Nickson Lomas today, our Malaysian last action hero at Athens 2004.

| ¶ 8/27/2004 10:33:00 AM

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Another Reality SMS Scam?

::We have had Akademi Fantasia [AF] as well as "Who Will Win" and the "Malaysian Idol", all these 'reality' programmes targetted the younger set to spend, spend, spend and soon enough they were parted from their millions in cash via SMS. Now it is TV3's turn for a bit of the SMS millions. Now the newly-weds are the next target and here comes the latest entry in this genre of reality SMS scam :: "Oh Ayah, Oh Ibu". This is being billed as the first ever reality TV parenthood show in the BolehLand and is a joint effort between TV3 and SCA Hygiene Marketing (M) Sdn Bhd [SCA], which is the producer of made in BolehLand Dryper's Disposal Diapers [DDD].

According to sources, the show would keep track of three couples [presumably married ones and to each other as they arre in BolehLand], capturing their real trials and tribulations as they go through the last two -months of pregnancy and during the first two months after delivery. As it is gonna be a 'reality' show, will we be following them into labour and the delivery room? Just wait and see. A part from the three couples, the viewers will also receive expert advice regarding parenting and babycare from, what i would expect, healthcare experts.

Whatever the viewers are expected to vote for, the ultimate winners will be those telcos and celcos. Meanwhile, this evening i am waiting to see our 'last hope', Elaine Teo, in action and patiently wait for d'First Athens 2004 Medal. Cheerio.

| ¶ 8/26/2004 05:22:00 PM

Patiently, Awaiting d'First Athens 2004 Medal

::As the Athens Olympic 2004 finished its 10th day, some in Malaysia appears to have lost hope as far as getting a medal is concerned. Sin Chew Editorial's Desk had this to say ::

Just as athletes from more than 200 nations gather in Athens to pursue their Olympic golds, Malaysia's hopes are dashed less than 10 days after the opening, adding a sense of gloom over the Merdeka celebrations beginning August 17.

Malaysia's only hope for Olympics has been from badminton. Nevertheless, all our badminton players have lost and our contingent is expected to come home empty-handed this time.

The Sin Chew editor had pinned all his hopes on the badminton players and was ready to throw in the towel. The Editor has obviously forgotten that there are still Josiah Ng and Elaine Teo who are targetted to possibly deliver medal(s). One shouldn't give up hope so easily, Josiah according to his personal coach is "a tiger that will pounce and kill" and " will be the best [cyclist] Malaysia have ever produced."

Tonight, Josiah Ng is in action and he can be considered a potential medal prospect. Well the Madison is presently going on and we are all waiting for the Men Keirin Final to start. Yes, Josiah Ng (or as the announcer says Josiah Inch) of Malaysia is through to the final of the Keirin, Ng's pet event. He had earlier failed to make an impact in the Men Sprint event. Will Malaysia finally get her first Athens 2004 medal, whatever colour no matter? We will have the answer in the next few minutes.

Earlier on in Heat 2, Josiah was 5th and had to go into the repechage, in the latter he came 2nd and made it to the final round. Having achieved his personal target of being in the first 10 positions, the next target was to be in the first 3 in the final to get Malaysia's first medal. He has been quoted as saying " I will leave it to fate and let my feet do the talking."

Well, the final race of the Men Keirin is over, Josiah came out 5th of the 6 cyclists, his feet have spoken and Malaysia can now claim that we have the 5th best Keirin cyclist in the Olympic. But as for d'First Athens 2004 Medal, looks like Malaysia will still have to be patient and wait. Will Elaine Teo deliver? She has been reported in the press as wanting badly to win a gold to give her father and her family a better life. Lets wish her all the very best when she goes into action tomorrow in taekwondo and lets be patient and not give up hope yet. Remember we are in Malaysia Boleh and it is not over 'til the "cows come home" or is it "the fat lady sings". Goodnite.

| ¶ 8/26/2004 12:23:00 AM

Monday, August 23, 2004

Unreliable MCP Astro

::i am fuming, fuming fuming and damn angry with Astro. i had cancelled all my lunch engagements today to see the repeat telecast of the Olympics Gold Medal Women's Tennis Double match and what a letdown by Astro, it decided not to show it at all. Just whoosh like that and it was taken off the air. The announcer, one Alan Bligh or was he Alan Lye, just said that the repeat telecast of the Men's Tennis Single Gold Medal match had taken too looong, as it lasted some 4 long hours and there was just no time for the ladies' double finals. Big bull, Astro could have shown a shortened versi of the Men's finals, highlighting the significant moments and shown the ladies' which onlly took just over an hour. As both the two finals were repeats, editing them would have allowed both to be shown so that fans of both would have had the chance to enjoy the matches.

Another tennis fan had told me this morning that the 8th seeded Chinese pair had beaten the 2nd seeded Spanish pair for the Gold Medal and that the match was really enetertaing and fun to watch. The Chinese pair of Li Ting and Sun Tian Tian beat the Spanish pair of Conchita Martinez and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-3, 6-3 despite having double-faulted 10 times! The Chinese pair of Sun and Li was said to have been the moore aggressive throughout the match, volleying well and playing accurate ground strokes. The more experienced Spanish pair were said to have been under tremendous pressure from the first set and were never able to really take charge of the match. So in the end the Chinese pair made history with the first ever tennis medal for China.

What an Astronomical injustice to fans and supporters of ladies' tennis matches, here was finally a chance to see an Asian nation winning her first medal in tennis and a gold medal at that. China, the winner of the Women's Tennis Double had never ever won a medal of whatever colour in tennis at the Olympics. Finally there was this big break through and just imagine it wasn't just winning an Olympic medal but an Olympic Gold medal. This would certainly have been a great boost for all sports ladies in general and Asian lady tennis players in particular. But those Astro guys has to let everyone down. But Astro is not the only channel to be blamed, other print and electronic media have also treated our sports ladies poorly, remember the last time when our badminton ladies did well, there was also scant reports on theri success. Even today's MMail and the Star and the NST did not carry news regarding this Chinese Gold Medal effort but the match between Mardy Fish and Nicolas Massu could be found in one of them. Shame on the media. How is ladies sports going to advance if there is this bias and little support?

For the fans, click here for a report on the Olympics Gold Medal Women's Tennis Double match. And for pictures of the winning pair click here and here.

Click here for the postmatch interview with Pascual & Martinez and here for Sun & Li.

| ¶ 8/23/2004 04:13:00 PM

Sunday, August 22, 2004

Who Should Resign

::The "cracking link" of the MRR2 and the subsequent ACA report has resulted in Samy Velu carrying out his threat to stop the repair of the "cracking link". The threat has been labelled by the opposition leader Lim Kit Siang as "pure political gangsterism" and this has caused the opposition leader to call for Samy's resignation as Works MINIster. See this article in M'kini. The said article clearly stated this ::

DAP leaders are demanding for S Samy Vellu’s resignation as works minister following his alleged threat to shelve repair works on the Middle Ring Road II (MRRII) if a graft probe is initiated against the project.

The Works MINIster obviously does not understand English or chooses not to understand. Next our Samy has shown that he has difficulty counting too. In his rebuttal to the DAP's call for his resignation, he has instead said that Lim KS has no shame and should resign as ::

"He is responsible, but he has no shame and remains as chairman of DAP. Because of him, the standing of the DAP has gone down so much in Parliament."

It is to be noted that in the 11th general election, the DAP increased its parliamentary representation from 10 to 12. So is our Samy also unable to count these days, apart from failing to understand English? Is he joining the ranks of senile ones like me?

While the ACA is busy checking on the faults with the "cracking link", busy photographing the cracks; our Works MINIster has gone to India for a 5-day official visits, reports Bernama. He will attend a construction summit and witness the singing of an agreement for the construction of the RM1 billion Manesar-Palwar Expressway between the Haryana State Government and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). This singing is also reported by Bernama, obviously our national news agency is joining Samy's ranks. Now one can only wonder how this singing will be affected by the "cracking link" of Kepong. Will the Indians wise up and not be over enthusiastic over Samy's singing? India is the single largest market for Malaysian infrastructure companies with projects worth more than RM1.5 billion. Will what happened to the MRR2 have any effect on this?

| ¶ 8/22/2004 07:00:00 PM

Thursday, August 19, 2004

More ScapeGoating

::Less than 10 months ago, a 'great' leader left the scene over which he had 'ruled' for more than two decades. At the time of his leaving there were praises galore which placed him on the highest of pedestals. He was even said to be an irreplaceable Malaysian and world leader. He was certainly glorified just short of being deitified some said.

But not many months after his leaving, the all glowing accounts and highest of praises for him appear to have been misguided. For it now appears that he left, leaving behind him messes galore. Corruption during his tenure became apparent soon after his leaving, almost like overnight; the polis force which was thought by many to be unprofessional, trigger-happy and heavy-handed among other things, was reported to have been found by the Special Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police [SCEOM-RMP] to be corrupt at all level; the financial position of the nation appeared to be in dire-straits, the MINIstry of Health finances were reported to be drying up; a civil service which unfortunately is rather 'uncivil'; more recently a flyover built at the end of his 'reign' was found cracking. And now of all person to have just noted it, a younger generation of Malaysians who has been found wanting, a generation he has just found to have become morally decadent. Was he not aware of this state of affairs during his 'reign'. This generation of Malaysians has during their growing-up years only known one leader of Malaysians.

The 'great' leader has these shocking words to say when giving his talk entitled "World-Class Schools", he is reported by Bernama saying ::

"I'm very upset with the declining moral and cultural values plaguing our younger set."

"More saddening is the growing violent crimes like murders and robberies involving students as published in the mass media."

"Recently, a group of students from a secondary religious school can even assault a fellow student to death with no pity for him, without feeling guilty."

"I'm shocked by the incident. Murder is a heinous crime and it is happening in our society, in the midst of our youths and students."

He is reported to be sadden by the state of affairs. There is no mention made whether he became teary-eyed this time around. By saying these words, is the 'great' leader of more than two decades admitting responsibility for the sad state of affairs? Is he ready to bear the cross? Far from that, he attributed the rising crimes and moral decadence to the perpetrators being unable to control their emotions and not having good values and qualities. He added, saying :: "They're also indisciplined and allowed the lust to control them." And for good measures and to continue with his western bashing of old, he advised the younger generation, especially students, not to ape the western lifestyle culture which did not suit the lifestyle of the eastern society.

The Bernama article concluded with this gem of his ::

"We are easterners, not westerners. Easterners have their own way of life. Easterners still have rich values and qualities. We should not copy the undesirable misdemeanours of the west," he said.

When is he going to stop pointing fingers at the West, does he not realise that when he starts pointing a finger at the West, his three other fingers are pointing at himself. Of course we should not allow this old man who will be pushing 80 to bear the cross all by himself nor should we blame the younger generation entirely. All of us, Malaysians, must also share some of the blame for the present sad state of affairs; the younger members of our society, the parents among us, the teachers among us and the gomen collegues of his. Least he forgets, more than some two decades ago there was a Malaysian PM who among his many slogans was this one :: Kepimpinan Melalui Teladan. Could it be that during his prolonged 'reign' a good deal has rubbed off onto a generation who has only known one leader and has decided to take that particular slogan to heart.

| ¶ 8/19/2004 11:25:00 PM

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

The SMS Millions

::i am amazed, truly absolutely 'stupidified' by the huge amounts of ringgit, some of us, Malaysians, can spend on, of all things, sending SMSs [read ass-m-asses]. There is this report in the Star quoting an Utusan report that says ::

FANS of the second Akademi Fantasia (AF) – which ended on Saturday – spent about RM7.5mil sending 15 million SMS messages since the reality programme was aired last June, Utusan Malaysia reported yesterday.

.
5 million SMSs were sent for the first AF and they translated into RM2.5 mil. Together could that amount of ringgit have been put to better use, like for eg ::

to repair half of the "cracking pillars" of the MRR2 link (even in the face of what many suspect are inflated prices)
to build 200 or more units of not so low low-cost houses
to send another 25,000 primary pupils, who want and need it, for free private tuition
to send a second Malaysian astronaut half way to the moon; applications may have closed but if one has money, tentu boleh
to buy more than sufficient Jalur Gemilangs to create that much wanted "sea of Jalur Gemilangs"
to sponsor many many more Boleh Malaysians to become instant Heroes of BolehLand
to better train and better equip our elite "Search & Rescue" teams since in recent times, one too many of our helis seems to be falling from the sky too frequently [please see this in its proper light, no malice meant]
to better train and equip our CSI teams and prosecution teams in order that we will not see so many murder cases being shown not to have sufficient evidence which can withstand scrutiny of the courts
to kick-start live telecast of our parliamentarians in action when Parliament is in session

There are many more things for which RM10 mil could come in handy but i am exhausted and so must you be.

We certainly can do a lot with RM10 mil instead of letting those telcos and celcos and Astro laugh all their way to their banks. The papers also reported, at the same time, that Astro would donate RM300,000 to three Malaysians to pursue their studies in the arts and Astro and Maxis would also contribute RM100,000 each to welfare organisations. Of course Astro and Maxis belong to the same stable of companies. Would you say that they are generous to a fault, magnanimous or miserly, have your say?

| ¶ 8/17/2004 03:36:00 PM

Monday, August 16, 2004

Unwanted Free Tuition

::Tuition outside school hours is a unique activity for school going children in Malaysia and Singapore.It would be more appropriate to label tthis activity, private tuition, as the school going children are already receiving their tuition in school. But as it is so so common among our children, say tuition and everyone understands what it is. It is even commonly used as a greeting when parents meet, "Mana Ah Chong [Ahmad, James, Gopal for that matter] pergi tuisyen, pusat mana?" is often heard, this greeting is as common as "Siak Pau May" [Sudah makan? Have you eaten?]. As to how this national activity has come about, no one knows really, but the perceived idea is that tuition in schools these days are not enough and to get ahead one's children must attend private tuition classes to keep up. Is it true that the tuition in school is insufficient to pass exams? Why is this so or is it a figment of parental imagination? Are the teachers in schools slacking and withholding? As far as one knows there have not been well conducted surveys or studies regarding this national activity.

Despite the lack of these surveys and studies, the Pak Lah gomen has taken upon itself to give credence to this belief tat tuition received during normal school hours is insufficient and there is a need for private tuition outside of regular school hours. So with much ado, without any pilot study of significance, the gomen Free tuition scheme for poor primary school pupils in Standard 4, 5 & 6 was born. Apparently the gomen had identified some 500,000 poor pupils for this scheme. Some RM200 million of the taxpayers' money have been allocated for this scheme.

The PM had this to say regarding the scheme ::

“Without the aid, poor pupils will not be able to afford the additional help in these subjects.
“We know that tuition can have a positive affect on the pupils’ performance; that is why we have decided to implement this scheme,” he said after attending a briefing at the Education Ministry.
"At the same time, the project would allow government school teachers to earn extra income."

For finer details of the scheme, read this

So it was with much fanfare and much extolling of the virtues that the scheme was launched early this year. That the scheme will level the playing field for the UPSR pupils who were too poor to afford private tuition, that the scheme would encourage the mixing of pupils of thevarious races and that the gomen teachers would earn more were touted as some of the good features of the scheme.

Some few months down the road and it looks like problems are surfacing, like those cracks on the pillars of the MRR2 link. On 2rd Aug, our Edu Minister was still launching the scheme in Kota Bharu. On 14th Aug, the Nibong Tebal MP, reportedly said that only about half of primary school pupils entitled to the free tuition voucher scheme are attending tuition classes held at schools nationwide. And yesterday we are told that the Edu Ministry is going to probe the "Low Response For Tuition Vouchers Claim". So it looks like another one of those hare-brained scheme is gooing back to the drawingboard.

| ¶ 8/16/2004 10:58:00 AM

Friday, August 13, 2004

Patriotism is the Flavour of the Month

::Whenever August approaches each year, calls for the people to demonstrate Patriotism are heard. In the past many years the demonstration of patriotism has been equated with the flying of the Jalur Gemilang, be it in front of the shop, the house, on top of the car or van and even the becha, bicycle or motorbike. A MINIster has even said that he would like to see a "sea of jalur gemilang". This year the playing of patriotic songs has been added to the patriotic display. Does all this indicate that August should be the only month when patriotism is to be evident by flag- flying populace and for the remaining 11 months of the year, it can be forgotten?

The obvious answer is a big NO. Patriotism should be evident everyday of this year and the next and the next. It should be evident daily, in all things and deeds, big and small that we carry out and do daily in the course of living. Simply defined Patriotism is love of one's country and the willingness to do and sacrifice for what is right and good for the country. It can range from not littering the streets, paying our bills, assisting the old folks across the street, paying taxes due, not commiting fitnah or vandalising public phones, studying smart and hard, applying one's knowledge and knowhow appropriately, ensuring that the MRR2 does not crack to the ultimate sacrifice of one's life. And these things, many of the non-flag flying populace of this country do daily and quietly. So hopefully, this silent non-flag flying patriots will also be thought of, during this month of flag-flying and playing of patriotic songs.

It is sad to realise that after almost 47 years, we still need to look for a patriotism formula. It is sad that come each August, our leaders are still require to drum up that love for the country by calling for the flag-flying display and the blaring of patriotic songs. Obviously patriotic fervour is sagging and flagging, especially so in the past few years. Where one would have expected more patriotism as the nation approaches her half century mark; if we could really measure patriotism, many would agree that may be we are all less patriotic now.

In the past two decades or so we have become more self-serving and less nation-serving. more materialistic and less patriotic, more money worshipping and less God worshipping. Could we have been led astray by all the Bolehs, the tallest buildings, the longest satay and the biggest cha siew pau? To say that we have been misled would be to blame the leaders alone but in actual fact we are also to be blamed for allowing ourselves to be misled for the past many years.

We are now so fortunate that this Merdeka day, we have leading us a new leader, one who says that he is a leader of all of us, a leader who has proclaimed to the nation that he is God fearing. We have a leader who not only will act accordingly today, tomorrow and the day after but actually a leader who has also declared that for what he does today, tomorrow and the day after, he will be answerable in the thereafters. The actions of such a leader will surely have their effects on all of us. How can we not mirror his acts and actions. As our leader goes into the first year of his leadership and with the fast approaching party elections soon to be out of the way, he will be able to lead us back to the correct path for obviously he must be aware of the main cause of the present state of the country. So in the years to come, we may have no need for the flag-flying and patriotic songs of the month of August to remind us to be patriotic for we would, by then, be a nation of daily patriotic people.

Now am i a dreamer or am i senile?

| ¶ 8/13/2004 04:21:00 PM

Thursday, August 12, 2004

More SamyVeluSpeak::ACA Welcomed maybe Not?

::On Wednesday, Kuala Lumpur ACA Director Chuah Chang Man said that the agency would investigate if there were any wrongdoings in the construction of the MRR II project, provided a report was lodged at the agency on the matter.

At 443pm today, Bernama reports :: The door of the Works Ministry is always open to the Anti Corruption Agency (ACA) if the country's corruption watchdog wants to investigate the construction and management of the Middle Ring Road (MRR) II, its minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy
Vellu said.

Samy Vellu further added, according to Bernama ::

However, Samy Vellu said that while the ministry was ever willing to assist the ACA in its investigations, the Kepong stretch of the MRR II would remain closed until investigations were completed.

"Let the ACA investigate...but until then we will stop work. We will not be opening the road in three months.

Is Samy Vellu making some kind of a veiled threat that if anyone makes an ACA report, the reopening of the "Cracking Link" will be indefinitely postponed till ACA investigations are over. This makes little sense as the "Cracking Link" has already cracked and the affected columns have been identified. What the ACA would be investigating are happenings in the past and its investigations shouldn't hold up the work of repairing the pillars, tie beams and girders. What if withholding the repairs results in the whole "Cracking Link" becoming the "Crashing Link"? Will Samy then say that it would be in the best interest of the people to tear the whole link down and rebuild a completely new "Missing Link"?

News Update by The Star News Desk has this to report ::

Repair work on the Middle Ring Road 2, flyover in Kepong will be stopped if the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) decides to conduct an investigation into the highway construction project, Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said.

This, he said, will result in the road being closed for more than the originally proposed three-month period for repair work to be completed.

"Anyone who would like to investigate can come forward, our doors are always open. They can come, take the documents and after that, we will just stop all the repair works," he said.

Do i detect a veiled threat or am i senile?

| ¶ 8/12/2004 08:27:00 PM

SamyVeluSpeak, Can anyone understand?

::When announcing the reopening of a segment of the recently closed MRR2 flyover in Kepong to traffic, Samy Velu was quoted in the Star as having said this ::

“I have told the Cabinet that the RM20mil repair bill is not easy an amount to be spent by the contractor.

“This is no time to sit down to quarrel over who is to pay for the repairs but it is the time to do it to and safeguard the people’s interests,” he said.

He said this when asked as to who will be footing the bill for the repair of some 30 pillars, tie beams and road girders found on the flyover. In a previous news report also carried by the Star :: Samy had this to say ::

Samy Vellu said it was the responsibility of the consortium to fix the problem and foot the bill for all remedial work.

So why is he backtracking now? Or has he forgotten what he had said onlly recently? Is the gomen going to foot the billl or what? Having the gomen [read joe-public taxpayer] foot the bill is in the best interest of the people?

Our MINIster appears to be very familiar with the needed repair works and the space-age materials required for the repair. He must have had a crash course on flyover repair 101. As he is already so conversant with what needed to be done and even the materials required, why is the gomen still going to appoint a third consultant in the next few days? See the Star report.

Can anyone understand what the MINIster is saying, is he going senile or am i?

| ¶ 8/12/2004 10:31:00 AM

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

The Cracking Link

::What used to be called the "Missing Link" of the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) ie the 1.7km flyover of the MRR2 in Kepong has now become the "Cracking Link" of Kepong. The flyover was closed recently because cracks have appeared on several tiers supporting the flyover, so reported the Star. It was named the "Missing Link" as it was the last portion of the MRR2 to be completed in 2002.

The RM238.8mil MRR2 package was awarded to a consortium made up of Sukmin Sdn Bhd, Bumihiway (M) Sdn Bhd and Konsortium Kontraktor Melayu (Wilayah) and the construction was carried out between 1999 and 2002. It has been in use for the past two years or so.

The decision to close the link was made by the JKR and is reported to be in the interest of public safety, it is also probably the safest option available. But with its closure the downside is the resultant masssive traffic crawls and jams. Samy Velu feels that proper signage and rerouting would help but as we all know, the state of JKR signage in this BolehLand of ours has been found wanting many a times. At the best of times, confusing and the worst, no guesses to be made.

As to how a relatively new flyover can become the "Cracking Link", our Samy Velu, our MINIster and whom we all know is an architect too, knows for sure it is not design failure. And he has more or less invited the designer and syarikat to sue anyone making such allegations. Bernama has this to report ::

"This is no design failure. The engineer can sue them (those making such allegations). The design was submitted to our office. Noboby (sic) can simply open his mouth and say design failure. The question of design failure doesn't arise," he told reporters after witnessing the signing ceremony awarding the contract to upgrade the Route 5 Ipoh-Lumut road to Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), here

.
Why there should be no possiblity of design failure? Samy's simple reason is because "the design was submitted to our office". Those who may think otherwise should just keep their mouths shut or risk being sued. Meanwhile the Star says :: "Meanwhile, Samy Vellu has issued a gag order stopping parties from commenting on the issue." Our Samy certainly has taken care of all stops.

Why should there be a need for joe-public to debate the closure and the causes of the cracks, the JKR and 2 foreign consultants [one from Monash, Australia appointed by the contractors and the second from Germany appointed by the JKR] are already cracking theirs. After having cracked their heads over it, they are now cracking Samy's. For it appears that, and this has been revealed by our MINIster, the 2 foreign consultants have given 2 differing recommendations! So what action will our public safety conscious MINIster and his JKR be doing? Engage a third consultant to give its opinion and recommendation! And if this third recommendation again differ, engage the 4th and so on and so forth till an independent recomendation can be found. After all who will be footing the bills; BolehLand joe-public ultimately. But hold on, aren't the 2 present foreign consultants' recommendations independent enough. Why the need for another consultant, foreeign at that, surely there are local Boleh consultants in BolehLand who can give their expert and independent recommendations?

Another funny thing happening is that in the presence of differing recommendations and even before the 3rd consultant has given its independent views, the contractors are busy repairing the said flyover. See this pic in the Star. But then again, anything and everything is Boleh in BolehLand.

| ¶ 8/11/2004 04:13:00 PM

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Corrupt from Top Down

::The Special Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police [SCEOM-RMP] prelim report is out. The Commission found that many of the complaints alleged that corruption was rampant in the commercial crimes, traffic, narcotics, logistics, placement and promotion divisions as well as investigating department of Unit D7, it is alleged that corruption occurs at all level of the RMP force. We can only wonder how high does corruption in the RMP really go.

A copy of the prelim report has been presented to the DYMM Yang Dipertuan Agong. As to whether joe-public will have the chance to take a peep at the said report, the chance is probably slim. After all what can joe-public know or understand about the report, even knowing it, what can joe-public do. Without looking at the report, joe-pubilc already claims to know that the RMP is unprofessional, trigger-happy and heavy-handed among other things.

It is obvious from the little the SCEOM-RMP Chairman has revealed that the RMP does have many problems in performing its duties. Our Pak Lah has been reported in the media that he wanted the recommendations of the commission to be implemented immediately. How is joe-public going to know if these recommendations are implemented if he does not get to read the said prelim report. Or will as usual he be kept in the dark?

At the moment, two of the revealed Commission's findings are of interest. Firstly the Commission Chairman says that the shortage of personnel, finance and equipment has jeopardised the performance of the RMP. And this is widely reported in the main newspapers. Only the NST has reported on the situation at hand ::

The average police-to-people ratio in Malaysia is 1:287, not far below the 1:250 recommended by Interpol. In Kuala Lumpur, however, it is 1:649, while in Subang Jaya it is a weak 1:7,536.

So as can be seen we are not really that bad off as far as the Interpol recommended ratio is concerned. But what is troubling is the distribution of our polis personnel. Densely populated areas are being given a bad deal with insufficient polis numbers. So where are our polis being deployed? Our former deputy Home MINIster said that only half the polis force is involved in crime fighting. What is the other half deployed to do? For other shocking polis:people ratios, see this article and this too.

Secondly the other interesting finding is that the RMP has a severe disciplinary problem, the Commission Chairman has this to say ::

"Firstly, there is an obvious disciplinary problem among police officers and personnel. This is complicated by the fact that they do not understand and do not carry out their duties correctly. And they do not follow rules and regulations that have been set by the Royal Malaysian Police Force."

So how are we going to get the RMP to reform, transform and perform? We await the answers from the SCEOM-RMP. i sincerely hope that the prelim and the eventual final reports of the Commission will be made public.

| ¶ 8/10/2004 06:24:00 PM

Happy Birthday, DSAI

Happy Birthday DSAI, you are 57 today,
Though you may be down,
But obviously you are not out,
Though you are not physically free,
But obviously your spirit still soar,
Though you are 'shackled',
But the good fight you still carry on,
Happy Birthday, DSAI, you are 57 today.

| ¶ 8/10/2004 09:58:00 AM

Friday, August 06, 2004

Australian Idol ::Flynn

::Looks like the "Idol" series has picked up another William Hung wannabe. This time he is called FLYNN.
Read Flynn's interview here

See his audition clip here

Watch Malaysian Idol here

Read the Malaysian Idol protest here

Thanks Tua Kia for the pointer.

| ¶ 8/06/2004 07:13:00 PM

Quote for the Day

Justice Datuk Azhar Ma'ah had this to say when he found the 8 Fifth Form students of the Sekolah Menengah Agama (SMA) Dato' Klana Petra Ma'amor guilty of the murder of a Fourth Form student, Muhammad Farid Ibrahim, of the same school ::

"Like the Malay proverb Ikut nafsu lesu, ikut rasa binasa, ikut hati mati (If you follow your urge, you will be weakened, if you follow your desire you will face ruin, if you follow your heart you will face death) ," he said.

He said all eight students were fortunate for under the civil law they were still considered juveniles even though in Islam they had attained the age of puberty and know how to differentiate between good and evil.

They were fortunate as age had saved them.

"Hence the court cannot impose the death sentence even though all have been found guilty under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which only provides for the death sentence."

"I hope you will regret what you have done and repent over it," he said.

Bernama report :: Eight Seremban School Students Found Guilty Of Murder

| ¶ 8/06/2004 03:53:00 PM

The Encounter with The Yellow Jacket 2

::Was called away and did not get to finish my post. Anyway, to continue, spent a sleepless period after the sting. Was left wondering whether to self-medicate or go see the doctor in the local hospital Casualty Department. Decided just to take a couple of panadol for the pain. Antihistamines like piriton and benadryl are said to be helpful in reducing the itch and swelling but would also cause some drowsiness. By the morning, i had not suffered any systemic reaction but the right foot was puffed up like a mee koo [a bun made of flour] and i had some difficulty getting the foot into my usual shoe when getting ready to go to work.

During the day with all the walking, the swelling and the itch got worse, irritation set in and my work performance was affected. And my work does involve walking and being on my feet. The right foot throbbed and the itch and pain got worse, by the evening, the shoes had to come off and something had to be done for the itch. Rubbing some steroid cream seemed to help somehow. Luckily, i was able to have an early night and slept with the assistance of some more panadols. Slept with my right foot elevated and managed a fairly peaceful night.

The next morning, the swelling had gone down a lot and so too the itch and with that the grouchiness too. Walking about was easier and the right shoe fitted better. i hope my next encounter, if i am so unfortunate to again step on another of those nasties, will prove just equally troublesome as this time around or even better less of a bother. i am hopeful, as looking back the first encounter was worse than the present one. This being so probably owing to the stinger having been removed fast this time around.

Oh yes, remember me saying that the best method to remove the stinger is by scraping using a credit card or equivalent, well there is this article in the Lancet which disputes this and i quote::

The advice :: "The stinger should be removed with a scraping motion by using the rigid edge of a credit card or a dull butter knife. Never attempt to pull out the stinger using fingers or tweezers, since this will result in the injection of more venom."

An excellent study published in the Lancet, August 1996, turns this advice on its ear. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, and Pennsylvania State University tested what really happened by measuring the size of the weals raised on their own forearms by bee stings. After stings in the left arm, they left the stinger in for 0.5 seconds, 1, 2, 4, or 8 seconds and then scraped the stinger out with a credit card. On the right arm, the stinger was removed by pinching the stinger between the thumb and forefinger at the same time intervals. There was no difference in weal size between the different methods of extraction. The weals did get larger, though, with each second that the stinger remained.

So there you have it, forget about the credit card or equivalent, just remove the stinger as soon as possible!

Anyway today, i was able to access some sites dealing with Bees & Wasps and those interested can check out the links below ::

| ¶ 8/06/2004 12:41:00 AM

Thursday, August 05, 2004

The Encounter with The Yellow Jacket

::The past couple of days, i have not been feeling myself after the nasty encounter with the 'yellow jacket' Having to limp around with my 'wounded' right foot certainly added to the discomfort and soreness and accounted for grouchy me. The last encounter i had with one of those nasties was many years ago and that resulted in a swollen left foot and even to this day, i have a small nodule with the stinger inside as a reminder of that encounter.

A picture of the 'nasty'

This second encounter happened in the wee hours of the morning, upon stepping my bare foot on the doormat, there was sharp painful sensation on my right sole. In a flash i recognised it as another encounter with the stinger of a yellow jacket. i next proceeded to carefully scrape the stinger with the edge of a credit card, this is said to be the best way to remove a stinger so as not to inject more venom into the wound, more about this later. Next on getting into the house, i headed for the kitchen to get some meat tenderiser, which is said to be great for neutralising the venom. Literally bathe the point of stinger entry with liberal amounts of meat tenderiser soaked in cotton wool. Virtually spent the rest of the sleeping hours awake as i was expecting signs and symptoms of any possible systemic reaction to the venom.

| ¶ 8/05/2004 05:19:00 PM

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

The Fatal Shooting of a Polisman

::In conjunction with the shooting and killing of a polisman recently, the PM has been quoted in many papers as having said this ::

A crime in which a member of the police force was killed was a serious matter and it implied that law enforcement was no longer respected.

That's not quite a mouthful but it has made many a citizen to sit up and wonder. Most if not all would agree with what the PM had to say and would probably have added that "a crime in which a member of the public, civilian or other, national or otherwise, VVIP or otherwise, was one real serious matter." With the daily news reports of numerous serious crimes like murders and rapes and armed robberies, most if not all would agree with him that law enforcement was no longer respected
.
Daily when perusing the first few pages of the MMail tabloid many would wonder whether we have effective law enforcement and wonder where have all the polis gone. Often enough we are told that there are insufficient law enforcers and crime busters around but those who have been caught for offences like improper parking and speeding can attest that on such occasions polis are not in short supply. Gone are the polis patrolling the streets like some of us use to see in the old days. Those in authority should ensure, even with the present shortage, nevertheless the polis should be properly deployed to ensure public safety. Meanwhile, those who have been specially assigned to look after the VVIPs should be put to better use. The polis have to perform to be respected as law enforcers. The MINIster looking after the polis and internal security should, at the least, ensure that the polis perform and the MINIster is none other than our PM.

| ¶ 8/03/2004 11:01:00 AM