Singa Beng

Just ramblings.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Mahkamah Tiada CF

BH today front page. Not surprising. You'd be astonished at how many government buildings, housing, industrial and public buildings DONT have CF's. Try asking if Stadium Darul Makmur has a CF. Its been used for YEARS already.

The authority issuing CF's should be abolished. You actually dont need one, all you need is some high powered official saying yes or jotting down on a piece of paper 'do not disturb the operation of this premise, signature'. Simple as that. IF you still want a CF and want it urgently, well, just pay a few hundred thousand. Or better, if your building ISN'T fit at all to be occupied, pay a bit more and automatically it'll be fit. Remember Highland Towers? Anyone prosecuted yet? What about MMR2? it ain't a building but hey, its just a structural or design flaw, no one to blame. Bummer.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

National Service = 3 MA's + 2 Nurses + 1 Weekly Dr.

Fine, Malaysia has finally gotten rid of that Biro Tata Negara Thing secondary school students used to go, or those after SPM (considered as compulsory at the time). To tell you the truth, I went to a BTN camp THREE times. Why not, the government was spending money, the food was nice (AND free), loved the exercise and discipline. Once during form 4, then form 5, then after SPM. Made a lot of friends. Our school was actually under the edu departments eyes since we were rather...erm... opposition prone? That included the students as well. Explains the customized BTN modules.

Anyways, they got rid of the BTN camp, i assume they absorbed the training staff and policies to the NS. Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, a name honored, an individual respected for his contributions towards society. Involved directly with NS, but, he should've been given FULL AUTHORITY to run the program. That way he could kick the butts of ass lickers and opportunists thinking of making profit from the NS. You can't imagine the profit the camp operators, caterers, transport services, suppliers of NS camps are making. Surprisingly, this involves just a handful of people. Typical Malaysia.

In the paper today MOH mentioned that 3 Medical Assistants, and 2 nurses will be stationed at each NS camp. A weekly visit by a Doctor was deemed sufficient, if possible. Government hospitals are in shortage of medical staff, we really are drying up our medical human resources.
Take a look at the link below,

http://www.khidmatnegara.gov.my/brg2.htm

Pernahkan anda mengidap penyakit2 berikut? What the tutututut la. Half the mentioned conditions are conditions that may go unnoticed for years. Some people don't even go to clinics when their sick. Do you have kidney problems? Why not ask if they have tubular necrosis, sick sinus syndrome or demylenating disorders???? Or just ask, 'Do you have a farking brain tumor?'. Even if it was compulsory for ALL participants to go for a medical check up, it would be impossible to rule out everything, but at least vital stats are recorded. Just make the medical check ups compulsory, not only if there's a 'YA' in that form.


The website for Malaysia's NS (below) had a list of newspaper articles :

20 Oktober 2006 - JLKN Lapor Polis (1,426 Diburu)
- Skuad Khas Buru Pelatih PLKN Ingkar
- Report To Police, NS Dodgers Told

17 Oktober 2006 - Pelatih Ingkar Perlu Dikenakan Tindakan
- Ucapan Selamat Hari Raya

14 Oktober 2006 - Pengendali PLKN tak Bayar Gaji Pekerja
- Aduan SMS

12 Oktober 2006 - MLKN Bantah Cadangan
- Let Courts Decide Punishment
- Thumbs-up to Weapon Handling For NS Traineers
- Ribuan Pelatih PLKN Ingkar Belum Didakwa

23 September 2006 - Dari Jepun, Demi Khidmat Negara
- Remaja Bermasalah Disaran Sertai PLKN

22 September 2006 - Aduan SMS

16 September 2006 - 110,000 Pelatih PLKN 2007

15 September 2006 - PLKN Bentuk Bakal Pemimpin
- Patuhi Piawaian Jika Mahu Terus Beroperasi
- Goverment Eye On NS Camps & Trainers
- Action Against Sub-standard NS Camps

That was 2006, no updates, and somethings bugging me... there seems to be some newspaper articles missing..... mmmm.... THE NEWS REGARDING PARTICIPANTS WHO DIED, MOLESTED, INVOLVED IN FIGHTS and other stuff. Yeah, PLKN Bentuk Bakal Pemimpin.

Compare this :

http://www.khidmatnegara.gov.my/utama.htm

with this :

http://www.ns.sg/nsPortal/index.jsp

The gap is too obvious. Sad. Wasting money just to fulfill a whim.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Open Air Burning... Environment... Ports?

Open air burning... always wondered... is there closed air burning? How exactly does one do that? Incinerators? Still got emission.

Moved to Dungun a few months back. The house was in a mess, previously rented by a family with 10 children. 10!!! Some of the old furniture was too shabby and had to be discarded. Lumped them in a pile outside, and they stayed there for...erm ... 3 months at the least. Was home once or twice a month, didn't have a pick-up truck or lorry to dump them somewhere (somewhere appropriate mind you, i'm no litter bug). So this afternoon, got a bundle of old newspapers, crumpled them, the sun was shining and the wind whispering 'burn, burn, burn...'.

Was quite a fire, felt the heat 2 meters away. Had the hose in standby, and my mobile with the local fire departments number on dial, just in case. If this was in Shah Alam, i would've been fined and jailed within 30 minutes. Fortunately was somewhere remote, didn't even have full mobile coverage. Almost everyday i see some folks burning stuff. Old makciks tending their lawns, pakcik-pakcik kat kebun bakar sampah, etc.

When talking about conservation in Malaysia, its like training a carnivore to eat spinach. Theres a thick spindle of red tape surrounding the departments involved, DOE, Forestry, NGO's like WWF (NOT World Wrestling Federation). Development with (so called) environmental impact studies are just formalities, rarely done with true transparency or free from biases. If a no go decision was made, it can always be overruled by the powers that be, money. Even water catchment ares could be developed, at a price.

Again mentioning, Malaysia is a blessed country. Our wildlife, plants, little fishies (and big fishies too) are unique and vast also unfortunately, endangered. Preservation & conservation sadly, is just so-so. See my attitude towards open air burning? No enforcement, so why should i care. Heard about that 'Cintailah Sungai Kita' campaign? I did, ONLY after the Director of DOE made a press conference and stated it FAILED (electronic & printed media). See? We're totally ignorant. Have you seen the state of our rivers lately? You can even find human body parts, dead babies, dead people, instead of cute little fishies. Industries are just not monitored enough (industry does not have anything to do with dead babies floating, mind you) for their emissions and toxic wastes. If fined, they can easily pay. 3 times in a row, possibly get a stop operations order, then after some this and that, continue operating. Issues like this, in addition to corruption, public ignorance, is almost impossible to overcome. Personally blame the government. The top folks are just not strict & transparent enough. Hell, all issues just blame the government. Simple as that. They say it isn't easy to change people. I say it is if you do your duty and utilize the power in hand with an iron claw. Just see what Dr. M did. Despite the evil doings here and there, NOBODY dared oppose him. Authoritarian yes, but it gets the job done.

The Klang Valley is running out of land. Development is now moving towards north, Rawang, Ulu Yam, Serendah... up to Ipoh. South bound, Seremban is already up and running its way towards KL. The new highway from Kajang running thru Beranang, Mantin, Lenggeng is expected to be finished soon. Property hunters, buy buy buy!

The East coast is also expanding at an alarming rate. Thanks to the East coast highway. Businesses thriving, job openings... Mega Mall Kuantan!!! Heard that Kedah will get its own refinery + industrial hub, the North Corridor... pipelines going all the way thru banjaran Titiwangsa to Kelantan. Kelantan too has it's share of planned refineries and possibly a new port. Hopefully it will be a large one at that. Imagine, West coast = WPI + Port Klang + North Corridor, East coast = Kuantan + Kerteh, + Kerengga (Industrial Developement? Last time i heard it was at proposal stage in 1998) + Kelantan. WOW! Singapore sure would be deemed useless. That is of course if our politicians or balachi's of state heads don't SELL OFF these strategic investments to them already. Pos Malaysia. PantaiMed. Possibly thousands more that we Malaysians don't know of.




Wow, Payrise!!!!

Yes!!! Finally a pay rise for the government servants. And quite a substantial percentage too. "Pay rise not related to polls" ( the Star23rd May 07 pgN4). Noted. read a few paragraphs and you'll read "We work for the developement of the country because we want to make sure that PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH US AND CONTINUE TO SUPPORT US to achieve vision 2020 and beyond". Ok. Yeah, not for polls. The problem with Malaysians = we cant differentiate a political party and a government. A political party serves the members, governments serve the people, no exceptions. The famous saying here nowadays is "Satu lagi projek kerajaan barisan nasional". No shame. They use the peoples money, claim it as their own. Bummer.

If the government was truly sincere with the pay rise, they would've issued it ages ago, after the last election when petroleum prices hiked.

Lucky & Flo

Recently a senior official from DTCA made a statement that Malaysia will ask the government of Ireland to give Lucky & Flo, two canines borrowed to the DTCA and used as sniffers for CD, VCD & DVD raids. This was published in the Star and also Kosmo, or was it Metro? Forgot.

The statement was given during an Intellectual Property function, seminar or forum or something. Erm... ok. Sounds so inappropriate. Asking Ireland to GIVE trained canines (that cost around RM100,000 not inclusive of CD sniffing training). Erm... at an Intellectual Property function?? I mean, i know Malaysians are cheapskates, but please, not at a function that totally opposes the request. I'd assume the training for the dogs AS intellectual property. You want the services, you PAY for the services, canines or not.

The best option i see is for Malaysia to work out a program with Ireland to make our own CD sniffing cuddly canines. Put costs aside, since the returns they give definitely overweights it.

Talking about cheapskates, i've come by a few Ministries and Departments that are interested in GIS. That stands for GeoInformaticsSystem. Its a cool software and the applications are limitless. With the proper data attained by proper research, it can be a powerful financial, planning, political and information tool. Some sectors did show interest, others just keep bugging for freeeeeeeeeeee information (from the GIS). I think the Statistics Department has already used the system for some years. Imagine, one system compiling info from the Stats Department, Jabatan Pendaftaran, Pendidikan, Pembangunan Luar Bandar, Belia & Sukan, EC, DTCA, ALam Sekitar, Pertanian, Industry, JUPEM, the whole lot. Endless uses. Think about it. Oh, and make sure the security of the system is flawless, such info would be really2 valuable forr those with bad intentions.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Mumblings

Hi,

blogging's a new experience. never had the time, nor opportunity beforehand. currently on leave from duties, so gave it a shot.

Malaysia's a lovely country, blessed with vast forests, natural resources, friendly people from different races and all in all, an attractive country anyone would love to call home. At least for most people.

The years i spent studying... were the years i enjoyed most (despite the fact i flunked out more than once). Took medicine up to 3rd year, clinical. wasn't up to it. took biomedicine instead and now working in a field totally irrelevant, international commodity trading. seems life has lots of turns junctions for me.

After finishing my studies, was expected to take microb somewhere in Australia. Instead, ran away from home, and worked as a farm hand. It was a 'Ladang Itik Penelur' owned by a friend. The breed was khaki campbell, one of the most productive and sturdy breeds of egg laying ducks in Malaysia. at the time there were 3,000 plus minus 5% ducks. Work started at 6.30 am. Started off by picking eggs, putting them in buckets, cleaning them, grading them, taking records. Feeding them was fun. They'd quack and quack yelling "We're hungry!!!!" and once the feed was in place they'd rush in like a mob of hungry refugees. They needed around 8 bags per day, 8 X 50kg's, 400kgs of feed / day.

The first week of work was torture. As a guy who grew up in urban surroundings, life as a farm hand wasn't really suitable. The muscle cramps, the back pain, and even the thought of waking up each morning to face another day of work was agonizing. That was only for the first week. Once my body adapted, everything was a breeze.

In three weeks was entrusted to do delivery. This ranged from Selayang, Kepong, Rawang, Brickfields and up to Bentong. Met the clients (who once in a while came to the farm) and more or less made friends. Most of my old friends were so damn skeptic i would survive, some even thought i was bullshitting them. But 6 months passed, was doing ok (the pay isn't exactly lucrative) and when the time came, took leave and got married.

That was a few years back. Now, after being sought by another old, old friend... took the post as a marketing executive for a trading company. Once again was at loss. Totally new stuff. I mean, what does international trading have to do with biomedicine or egg picking? Again took the challenge. But at a cost, had to live away from the women i loved. Things went good for a while. Still are i guess.

In trading, you meet lots and lots of characters. Some good, some bad and some downright evil. Scammers / con-men? At least 7 out of 10. Took time learning the ropes, took more time to be able to convince clients, and an eon to gain the Big Boss's trust. The terms Mini Boss, and Big Boss, are terms i use for MD's and CEO's respectively. At times i set up meeting with other company's Mini Bosses or Big Boss's with my own. At times i have to personally monitor Mini Boss's progress (at the Big Boss's request). You see, in the end, we people, who do the ground work know the ins and outs of a transaction. The Mini Boss's RELY on our reports, and info gathering skills. But then again, our work is nothing compared to the magnitude of the Mini Boss's SIGNATURE. They have the authority. Same goes to other fields i guess.

Recently read the news, our beloved PM announced salary increments for the public service. Good news. Then again, its under his leadership that highway tolls rate increased absurdly, basic amenity's charges increased, petroleum prices, cooking oil, and most recently flour. Which means the salary increment is nothing. The ministry involved did issue a statement that food prices will be monitored. They must be kidding. Malaysia is the only country which puts Individuals' interest ahead of the people. The people in the government have proxies like cats have fleas. Add one to one, you can make a conclusion.

I love my country. We are the largest producers of Crude Palm Oil. Surprisingly i can get CPO from Singaporean traders much much much cheaper than Malaysian Palm Oil giants. Bummer huh?

I love my country, our oil is of premium grade. Who hasn't heard of PETRONAS D2? Then again Malaysia isn't a member of OPEC. All exports are controlled by PETCO. Even PDA's have to beg from them. Always thought policies are for facilitating trade, not restrict. PETRONAS's arrogance just might be the cause of their downfall. More humiliating, they aren't even listed in the top 200 Energy Producers, but TNB is! Hilarious.

I really love my country. Once in a while in YouTube, I'd watch one of the most viewed comedy vid's. Just type 'Sidang Parlimen'. You'd see the quality of our MP's. These are the people we vote for. This is the level of intellect, charisma, knowledge and transparency that rules Malaysia today. The only person i really respect is Mr. Lim. He has think tanks supporting him. Others have nonsense, not even common sense.

Recently Malaysia was highlighted as going up the ranks in transparency polls. Corruption becoming more rampant. A minister told us to not believe such polls. Same goes for that minister that argued bbc's invitation of an opposition leader to a live interview. Who are we to argue other people's views? Polls or studies done by international bodies more or less are at a professional level. Studies made here in Malaysia? Huh. If the findings are not in accordance to what the authorities wishes, manipulation occurs.

I love Malaysia for Islam is the official religion, on paper. You can see its manifestation by driving through Federal Highway, G.A.B. Thats an Islamic country for you. Islam Hadhari, seems more like a gimmick. Should be no corruption or biases, but someones son in law has his fingers in every hole. Literally. Recently, there was a drive for people to respect Ulama's. Then again, fatwa's are just laughed at and ridiculed. Ulama's say this and that is not allowed, government officials give the green light, say these are 'kolot' views. We have 'Ketua Agama' for every state. Heard one even slapped a mufti. May God have mercy on Malaysia.

I love Malaysia because politicians are Gods. They are so immune that statements like 'Itu Tuhan punya kuasa' / 'That is God's Will' about a project gone wrong, can go utterly... accepted?? In that position you can even go blowing up people with C4. You can even frame high level officials as sodomizers. You can grant thousands of AP's and say you know nothing about it. You can even repeatedly give government projects to contractors who openly violate previous projects. Whats more you have absolutely nothing to worry about, you'll always get elected again since the EC is an instrument you can manipulate.

I love Malaysia because the people are so kind. They accept whatever i mentioned above. We are so proud of that sailor that journeyed the globe and getting a datukship. We are so proud of conquering Everest. We are so proud of parachuting in north pole. We are so proud that some Malaysians have barely enough food to eat, live in dodgy houses (if they have one), go thru rubbish for food, beg, being violated of their basic rights and have no freedom of speech whatsoever. One wrong statement = ISA. Info on contracts with public interest = OSA.

Enough for now. This is fun. Blogging i mean.