Rintihan Lagi Pada Hari Malaysia

Ku termenung lagi pada pagi 16hb September . Termenung terfikir kenapa ku dinasihatkan untuk tidak ke mana-mana atas alasan keselamatan dan bukan untuk meraikan hari yang bersejarah ini.
Isu perkauman dan agama dimainkan oleh pihak pihak tertentu untuk alasan yang diketahui hanya mereka sendiri. 52 tahun telah berlalu, ku terfikir inikah yang diimpikan oleh pemimpin dahulukala semasa menyatukan semua pihak untuk menjadi sebuah negara. Inikah negara yang kita sebagai rakyat mahu?

Pabila tidak bersuara, ku melihat saban hari perbuatan mereka ini semakin berleluasa. Pabila bersuara, ku diseru pula pemimpin yang sepatutnya menjadi teladan rakyat untuk balik Tongsan jika tidak gembira dengan negara ini. Kekadang ada juga terfikir masih adakah masa depan untuk negara tercinta ini dan mungkin kah ada padang yang lebih hijau di tempat lain yang boleh ku pergi.
Ku pernah ditanya samada ku telah putus asa dengan semua ini dan memikirkan untuk mengangkat kaki. Nun jauh ke dalam hati ini, ku tahu tiada lagi tempat yang lebih baik dan jika ku putus asa, ini juga bermaksud ku putus asa dengan negara tercinta ini. Ku hanya jawab, di sini tanah tumpahnya darah aku, di sini lah nafas terakhir akan ku hembuskan. Perjuangan untuk negara yang lebih baik untuk masa depan yang lebih baik terpulang kepada ku dan bukannya mereka ini. Hari yang cerah pasti akan datang satu hari nanti, mungkin bukan generasi ini tapi generasi anak-anak kita.

Selamat Hari Malaysia kepada semua rakyat !!!

Bersih #4

I am marching not because I hate my government, but because I love my country more. I am marching not because I am disloyal to my government, but because I am loyal to my country. I am marching not because I hate my leaders, but because I love my fellow Malaysians more. I am marching not because I want to, but because I need to.

Rintihan Seorang Rakyat Biasa

Di petang sambil menjamu teh dan kek di rumah ku melihat langit dipenuhi awan mendung. Teka teki samada hujan akan melanda atau tidak membuat ku termenung. Termenung terfikir kesusahan harian rakyat masa kini. Terfikir ke mana hala tuju negara yang tercinta ini.

Ketelusan dan amanah seolah-olah umpama perkara yang asing dalam fikiran pemimpin yang dipilih rakyat untuk menjalankan kewajipan mereka. Betapa pilunya hati ini pabila ku melihat seorang emak dipenjarakan atas kesala...han mencuri untuk mengisi perut anaknya sedangkan pemimpin yang terang-terang mengenyangkan perut sendiri dibiarkan berleluasa. Derma, saguhati, ganjaran walau diberikan apa nama sekalipun, pabila jumlah itu menjangkaui kemampuan seseorang itu, rakyat mempunyai hak untuk mengetahui hal sebenarnya.

Hal kebelakangan ini membuat ku terfikir samada keadilan benar benar wujud, terfikir samada benarkah adanya tupai yang pandai melompat takkan tersungkur. Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan membuat ku yakin kebenaran dan keadilan sememangnya ada. Betapa besarnya rumah yang boleh dibeli, betapa banyak kereta mahal yang boleh dimiliki, betapa banyaknya wang yang boleh dimiliki, pabila kita meninggalkan dunia ini, lubang kubur itu tetap sama seperti rakyat marhaen yang lain. Eulogi yang akan diberikan hanyalah berdasarkan sumbangan apa yang berikan oleh yang meninggal dan bukannya berapa harta yang dimilikinya semasa hidup. Walau macam mana susah pun kehidupan yang tidak dapat ku jangka, ku tetap akan berjuang. Berjuang atas apa yang benar, berjuang atas apa yang betul dalam segi moral dan etika
 

MH370: Lessons to Learn

This will probably be the biggest news this year although it's still March. No need for me to elaborate further on what happened on that fateful day, 8th March 2014 as this been covered daily since then. You are probably staying in Timbuktu if you've not heard of this. Dammit, there's even a Wikipedia page on it already.

I refrained from posting anything about this earlier for there are too many unconfirmed, wild rumours pertaining the incident to the flight MH370 and not wanting to join the bandwagons of self-appointed military experts, conspiracy theorists & aircraft investigators. On the cause of the disappearance, you have stories from alien abductions to pilot suicides. On its whereabouts, they even said the plane landed on the moon. Yes, u read me, landed on the moon !!!! And of course, the unrelevant news of the pilots' & passengers' private lives. Don't even mention the incompetencies of the related authorities in handling this crisis. Don't quote me. Irregardless of the outcome of this crisis, there's few lessons to be learned on crisis management, hard knock style by everyone.

LEADERSHIP

(1) Your true leadership character will be revealed during time of crisis. Delegation is one thing but people will be able to read your body language / actions if your are plainly avoiding or not. Ensured to be seen by your stakeholders (in this case your country citizens) during crucial time
(2) Speak if you're required to so. Silence is not golden each time as during time of crisis, people expect to hear voice from the highest authority for comforting reasons etc.
(3) The crisis should be made the main priority & any other unnecessary social appointments such as visits to the market, launching of new store etc should be cancelled or to get representative to attend instead.
(4) Give instructions from the start and get the tasks done immediately.

PUBLIC SPEAKING

(1) Have only ONE single voice (the most 2 people) of who knows what's going on and not having many unrelated people talking on different tunes/directions
(2) Be adaptable to the situation when facing the public and present yourself accordingly. Laugh when u need to and don't, if it doesn't requires you to do so.
(3) Get the concrete facts right before presenting it to the public. Providing assumptions or giving unimportant information will cause more frustrations.
(4) Being protective of your own is understandable but being defensive is the opposite. Know the differences of both and project yourselves accordingly with your words & statements
(5) Your words & tones carry different messages. Enrich your vocabs and brush off your spoken language to ensure you say the right words with the right tone, at the right time
(6) If you don't know what to talk, don't talk. Don't make yourself looked like a bloody fool when u said the wrong stuff at the wrong time

What's my stand up till today? Announcing of the plane "ended" in Indian ocean based on "conclusion from analysis" done is not a convincing answer to give to the families of 239 passengers on board. Specific explanation on how do you make the conclusion and giving concrete evidences are required here. We are facing international medias here and not any half-past-six journalists who will willingly accept all the answers given. It's mentally torturing really. Instinct tells us it has crashed but we don't have the proof up till today to substantiate the claim. This explains exactly, why I didn't give out any condolences or obituary messages till today.

One thing that hurts me individually on how we Malaysians manage this situation of getting the bad publicity from overseas people and medias. And here, we have people wanting to denounce their Malaysian citizenship. As much as we are frustrated on the whole scenario, we must not let our emotions cloud our rational minds and be confused on the differences between government and country. Mark Twain said "Loyalty to the country always, loyalty to the government, when its deserve it". We may be frustrated with the current government incompetencies in dealing with the MH370 crisis but this shouldn't shake our loyalty and love to the country. Everyone around the world may be cursing us like hell now but this does not mean we should be embarrassed to call ourselves Malaysians. Perception by others is created by humans and it can be changed too by you and me. We can't stop others from condemning us, which is why we should reciprocate by educating the unawares. Otherwise, if we, Malaysians don't do it, then who will? Protect our nation if you need to and let Almighty God deals with the uncontrollable factors.

2013 - Year in Review

It's a whole new year & reviewing back all happenings last year in my life & compacting them all in browse-thru photos. First thing to say has to be about this blog. Can't find the willpower to write for some time, thus the 2 years hiatus with only 3 posts. I sat down, I thought a while & got myself to write again early this year about my passions; food, travel, economics, sports, politics & philosophies. Writing, even about your passions is not easy really. One moment you're blank but next moment, a spark of a sentence & then a sudden overflow of thoughts to write about. Glad to say I found back my writing mojo & sincerely hope this will continue till my physical body tells me to stop.

HKR 112 Public Assembly - One of the public assemblies attended, held in Merdeka stadium. Not being busybody or a person, wanting to overthrow the government but to attend as a show of unity & pride for being a Malaysian who want a better nation for all. With the current political environment, assemblies like this will be a norm. Definitely won't be my last one. 

13th General Election - Exercised my right as a voter for the first time. Although the final result is not up to expectation, this would not dampen the spirit as I truly believe the day will come where common sense will prevails & true democracy will be achieved



Singapore trip with Akurians - Officially a trip for year 2012 but technically, made a 2013 trip. The annual trip with the usual suspects. We still act as if we're still in Form Five even though we're in our 30s & some even had kids in tow. Still, there's never a single moment of boredom felt with the peeps around. I pray that this friendship will continue till our last breaths.

Mount Kinabalu climb - This is one trip struck off my bucket list. Truly a test of willpower & strength. A battle of physical & mental toughness. A sense of achievement felt till today, providing myself a motivating sentence "If I can go up & down Kinabalu, what more I can't do??" each time I felt down.  



Cameron Highlands family trip - One of many trips with beloved family members. With the addition of a sister in law & a brother in law into an already happy family, now I understand the meaning of "the more, the merrier"

 

Foodie trip to Penang - My personal favourite from many foodie trips made this year. Great food, great durians, great company. Officially been made an annual pilgrimage trip up north together with my best bud 

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!!!!!

 



Understanding GST: The Analysis II

Continuing from my previous posts on GST on the theory & analysis, this last post will focus on how GST affects us in our daily life, giving model scenarios in different fields. Below are analysis of the six areas that bound to take a substantial amount of our income.

FOOD/GROCERIES
As informed in my previous post, although some basic food & other items are exempted, there's the grey areas in the whole flow of selling of the goods to the end-part of the supply chain. The manner of how the GST will be charged on sales of these items (standard rate supplies, zero rated supplies & exempted supplies) at retailer level has not been clearly defined. Unless you are buying all your normal groceries at small sundry shops (which not subject to sales tax), barring any changes in implementation, GST shall be charged all across the board at retailer-level, which are the hypermarkets & supermarkets irregardless what items you are buying.

FINANCE
Financial services including all banking & insurance services are exempted

TRANSPORTATION
Transportation services such as LRT, taxi, train, ferry, boat & highway is exempted. Under certain circumstances as explained in this link, GST is taxable of these services too. Domestic transportation by air such as from KLIA to Penang, is GST taxable but taking flight from KLIA to international destinations is zero rated. On personal transportation, purchase of new cars is GST taxable. Buying petrol for your car is GST taxable. However, it is not clearly explained on what petrol price value of the GST will be taxed. In Singapore for instance, the price shown on the pump is already inclusive of GST. The receipt will specify the value of the GST shown separately. Judging from this, this should be practiced in Malaysia too.

EDUCATION
Enrolling your children in:-
- Government schools & tertiary institutions - GST-exempted
- Private nurseries/ kindergarden - GST exempted
- Private colleges / universities - GST taxable

UTILITIES
Electricity: Exemption given for first 200 units of electricity only. Calculating against the current TNB tariff rates (which I guess will be increased next year), this means any electricity bills costing minimum of MYR 43.60 are subject to GST 6%.

Water: Water supplies is a zero-rated supply & not taxable. However, the role of water concessionaires in Malaysia like Syabas in Selangor holds the key in deciding if this is GST taxable or not. Judging from the fact that Malaysian water concessionaires are either privatized government institutions or semi-private government vehicle, GST shall be taxable

Cable TV: Astro bills are GST taxable

Telecommunication: Supplies of telecommunication is a service, thus, all telecommunication-related bills such as Wi-Fi, handphone, fax etc are subject to GST

MEDICAL
Supplies of medical-related services such as consultancies & surgeries by government & private bodies are classified as exempted supplies. Thus, no GST involved.


With the lack of awareness given, this not surprising to see most people, especially in the rural & lower-income group are still in the dark about GST. Lastly, tackling the question on whether this GST implementation is good or bad??? 3 posts on this topic, giving you the useful information to decide for yourself. Not being diplomatic but it's depends on from which viewpoint you're looking at. Whether its from a macro-economist point of view, a government point of view or just an ordinary Joe's viewpoint, this is bound to be a hotly debated topic among politicians/citizens for years to come until the next election I guess.

A certain Mr. Prime Minister said GST will help the country from bankruptcy. Stupid explanation, I say. Greece & Portugal have GST & the countries are bankrupt. One thing I must say is, as a government of the day, the implementation of any new policy must comes with a clear direction, clear message to the people, giving realistic reasons (& not incredibly stupid reason like reducing diabetes among people by cutting sugar subsidies), besides coming up with standardized actions to complement it. U don't come out n say you need money to tackle the fiscal deficits but at the same time, wasted the citizen's money on unnecessary/unprofitable/doubtful projects. This is like a smoker father who tells his son not to smoke as it's bad for health. This won't gives u any credibility n will leads to loss of respect from the people. If only people from high above there can understand this basic rule......

Understanding GST: The Theory & Malaysian Framework

GST, or goods & service tax is one of the hotly debated topics among local politicians & economists for the past 5 years. It was made one of the mostly discussed topics during the last election. Being in a freight forwarding industry, which need me to be at the front line at the first level of the import flow (which I will explain later), I'm pretty interested in getting to know on how does it works & studying how much of impact it will have to our local economy. Will try to explain it as simple as possible, compiling information from multiple sources.

GST is a form of value added tax, or commonly known as VAT. The main purpose of VAT is to generate tax revenues to the government, similar to the corporate income tax or personal income tax. More than 160 nations in the world today practice this form of taxation. With China & other top 10 most populous nations in the world in the list as well, it's not surprising an estimated of 90% of world population live in countries with VAT or GST.

Quoting source from Wikipedia, VAT is a consumption tax, which levied on the supply of goods and services at each stage of supply chain from the supplier up to the retail stage of the distribution. In simple term, VAT is collected on the value of goods or services that have been provided each time there is a transaction (sales/purchase).

Current Malaysian Tax Framework
(source: GST)

a) Sales Tax
- Introduced as a single stage consumption tax, levied, charged and paid on goods manufactured locally and imported
- Reduced rate at 5% for non-essential foodstuff and building materials
- General rate of 10%
- Levied on locally manufactured goods at the time of goods are sold or disposed of
- Levied on imported goods at the time of goods declarations
- Government collects tax at manufacturer's level only
- Element of sales tax embedded in the price paid by consumer (in simple term, hidden cost)

b) Service Tax
- Introduced as a single stage consumption tax, levied, charged and paid on specific service provided by a taxable person in Malaysia
- Flat rate of 6% (effective January 2011)
- Government collects tax when service provided to consumer
- Imposed by businesses in hospitality industry (hotels, restaurants, pubs & spas), licensed under service tax act
- Not to be confused with service charge (levied to consumers at 10% rate), which is a sort of replacement for tipping charge for the hospitality provider though not necessarily so

c) Import Duties
- Levied on goods brought into Malaysia
- Varies from 5% to 40%, depending on nature of products
- Duties determined by government using classifications of HS codes for each goods
- Element of duties paid embedded in the price paid by consumer

d) Export Duties
- Levied on goods produced for sale outside Malaysia
- Varies from 0.2% to 10%, depending on nature of products
- Duties determined by government using classifications of HS codes for each goods

e) Excise Duties
- Levied on critical / sin goods such as automobiles, liquor, beer & tobacco products
- Varies from 15% - 105%, depending on nature of products
- Duties determined by government using classifications of HS codes for each goods
- Element of duties paid embedded in the price paid by consumer

The proposed GST will replace sales tax & service tax

Proposed GST Framework

Business making taxable supplies, with annual sales turnover which has exceeded the prescribed threshold of MYR 500,000.00 are liable to be registered under Goods & Service Tax Act 2009. This includes individual, sole proprietor, company, partnership, estate & even trust, union, club, society, association or any other organization including government department of local authority which is involved in the business making taxable supplies in Malaysia. Business who are not registered under GST Act does not need to pay for GST or charge GST to the customer, but they can voluntarily register into it. Check the flow below, using the 4% rate as the model



In simple understanding of the GST regime, although tax is collected throughout the supply chain, it is only the final consumer who pays for it. As explained above, the businesses may recover the tax at every stage of the value chain of a taxable product or service until it reaches the final consumer. As of today (1/10/2013) indicated in Royal Malaysian Customs website, below are industries exempted from collecting GST although Ernst & Young website showed otherwise.

1) Medical services (government & private)
2) Supplies by government, eg. education services, issuance of passport by Immigration, issuance of road tax by Ministry of Transport etc.

However, specific supplies such as water supply & rubbish collections by state government are subjected to GST due to the commercial nature of the services. Supplies made by government statutory bodies & local authorities will also be subject to GST. Example list of statutory bodies are attached. This also means taxable supplies provided by semi-government institutions such as Tenaga Nasional, Telekom are also subject to GST.

For the accounting aspect of handling GST, registered person/company is required to submit all tax returns within stipulated period given by government between 3-6 months, depending on threshold set. All payments are to be made to Royal Malaysian Customs, acting on behalf of government. Claiming GST refunds, however is to be made within 14 working days to Royal Malaysian Customs if claim is submitted online or 28 working days if the claim is submitted manually. Refund of tax maybe offset against other unpaid GST, customs & excise duties. All business & accounting records relating to GST transactions are to be kept in Bahasa Malaysia or English for a period of 7 years.

I've attached some relevant guides for more clarifications of the above. A basic overflow of the proposed Malaysian framework of GST. Attached also is a link for getting guides for companies in different industries. As of today, the general understanding is that GST will be implemented in year 2015. We were made to understand that when it is announced, everyone will be given 18-24 months to be GST ready.

For those who don't know, Malaysia has been experiencing budget deficits since 1999. In simple terms, budget deficit means that the government spends more money than it receives. With the economy downturn happening across the region & observing the local political/economic environment, my prediction is the GST could be pushed forward to year 2014 & will be announced in Budget 2014, scheduled this October 18th. Do bear in mind, at time of this blog post, before the announcement of this bill, all information here may not be treated as 100% accurate. I'm purely sharing information with all, with the current reliable sources which I've linked all over this post and giving you all a picture of current framework (at the time of posting) & what might happens. My next post shall be on the analysis & impact to the individual, company & economy as a whole. This of course, will be depending on the announcement of Budget 2014 and shall be posted after it.

Election Watch: Analysis...All Is Not Lost Yet

5th May 2013, it has to be one of the saddest day in my life & I'm sure the same goes to many other Malaysians too. The incumbent BN got the mandate to form a new government with 133 parliamentary seats against PR's 89 seats. Almost immediately after Najib Tun Razak, BN chairman announced the win on TV, a significantly large numbers of the Malaysian Facebook users changed their profile pictures to all black screen. I will not dwell much on the controversial incidents happened on the election days since they have been widely discussed / shown in Youtube, Facebook & other social media sites. Check it out yourself.

Any right thinking Malaysian has the right to be angry with all the going-ons on the election day. Took me 2 days to fully recover from this but some people still not got over it & even writing petition to demand intervention from Obama administration & United Nation to investigate the electoral process. Even if we can do it, the best they can do is to advise the newly elected PM to look into the alleged irregularities of the electoral system. General election is deemed an internal matter & other parties have no rights to interfere.

After the 5th May, people pondering what's went wrong for Pakatan Rakyat coalition (PR) & where was God during this time when we need Him? Not trying to be Dalai Lama to preach about spirituality here. Forget about the frauds & cheatings but there's a saying "Everything in heaven & earth is the voice of God". Everything happens for a reason, really. Getting people to accept the change of government is like going into marriage with a potential partner. We can always say we're ready & we can never know actually until we get into it. Even if we are, the other partner-to-be may not be ready & not willing to take the jump. The result this time could be a message saying PR is not ready yet to govern, or perhaps the people is not ready yet to accept a new untested government. Which answer is best to explain the loss? Check this below.

Mourn for now but we need quickly go back to the drawing board, reflect, find out the root causes of the fall & rectify it from there. Looking at the GE13 results, statistically it was the best achievement by Opposition against the ruling government in the history of the Malaysian election. Check the parliamentary seats won by both sides since 2004. It's safe for me to say that in terms of political maturity of the people, this country is moving towards the right direction for a 2-party democracy system.

Malaysians are one of the highest users of social medias in Asia. We are now made aware of all the political-related events around the country within minutes of the happenings. It was just too heartbreaking with the loss this time, when electoral frauds & gerrymandering happening in front of our eyes & yet nothing can be done to stop it. However, several wins by PR leaders proved that the impossible can be made possible when the people votes strongly for the candidate. Even with additional ballot boxes coming from no-man land, phantom voters etc, it's insufficient to take away the rakyat's choice of candidate, Nurul Izzah Anwar for Lembah Pantai parliament. With large majority, buses filled with foreigners voting could not stop underdog Michael Jeyakumar (PSM) to win Sungai Siput parliament. This reinforced the pleas why all Malaysians are urged to come in droves to vote. Although PR has lost credible leaders such as Mohamad Sabu (PAS), Dr Dzulkefli Ahmad (PAS), Saifuddin Nasution (PKR) & many others, be thankful that we managed to vote in highly qualified newbies such as Rafizi Ramli (PKR), Wong Chen (PKR), Kasthuri Patto (DAP) as replacements. Parliament sitting is bound to be interesting really with more check & balance.

For PR, despite of many assurances, it's a fact that many voters (even in urban areas) still skeptical of having 3 parties of different ideologies in a coalition governing the country. Coupled with mainstream media branding of DAP being anti-Malay, PAS wanting an Islamic state, PKR with full of scandals etc; it requires patience & perseverance to make the majority understand. Look at this, if a certified racial bigot like Zulkifli Nordin can afford 38,070 votes (which is 43.7% of total who voted) in Shah Alam, the capital of Malaysia's most industrialised state Selangor & some jokers like Bung Mokhtar, Tajuddin Abd Rahman can still be elected into Parliament, we ought to look into the voters' thoughts about having a new government. Leaders from all 3 parties should avoid making contradicting statements, especially sensitive issues of religion, race etc. Politic is about perception. With the mainstream medias, u can be assured of "twisted" information given to the public with a single blurt of word which can sparks hatred & anger. This GE13 results proved mainstream medias are still the main communication medium to the people, even with rise of Internet medias. All PR parties are to have common understanding of having single seat allocation to stand against a single BN opponent for a seat. Semenyih, Sungai Acheh & Kota Damansara are example of state seats lost unnecessarily to BN, because parties unable to have conclusion of allocation causing split votes.

On the voters side, reports confirmed that PR has the popular votes of 5.3 million voters, more than the victor, BN coalition. Sad truth is, with current electoral system, u cant win the Parliament even if ur popular. This is not an American Idol contest. Area delineation in the constituency system makes it more difficult to get the votes possible to gain control of Parliament. Teresa Kok (DAP) thrashed her MCA opponent with majority 51,552 votes but that still only contributed 1 parliamentary seat from Seputeh, KL. This amount itself, however is sufficient to win at least 3 parliamentary seats from Sabah. We cant deny that PR lost out in rural constituencies, which actually hold more power votes than the urban areas. This gives PR no choice but to penetrate the rural areas.

It is very important to take note that the aspirations of rural Malaysians are very different from those in urban areas. Rural Malaysians are more concerned about their next meal while urbanites are concerned more about the bigger picture & the next generation. Read up on Abraham Maslow's Hierachy of Needs theory to understand this. Penetrating the rural areas does not mean just having regular talks (ceramah) & elaborate about the manifesto.  A lot of PR party branches are not strong enough in the constituency, causing the rural voters to choose the devil that they know, rather than the angel that they don't know, borrowing a phrase from a certain doctor originated from Kerala. Have service centres in reaching the locals & identify the potential candidates (who are locals) to expose him/her in serving the people. People in rural areas are more comfortable with people they are familiar with & this will break the ice before informing them about issues. Parachuting outsiders into an area for the sake of getting better chances to win, will not helps although DAP played their cards right by sending their big guns to semi-rural areas in Johor.

Do not underestimate the power of the people. Has we forgotten what's Makkal Sakthi means?

Nation building is a tough, long winding process. Americans take centuries to learn to accept the blacks as equals after Martin Luther King's legendary speech. Comparing to Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela & Mahatma Gandhi who spent their entire life waiting to see a country built with their dreams, what can we say about waiting for another 5 years to realize our dreams for our country? The battle may be lost but this must not shake our faith & beliefs. The world is watching. They can deny but they can't hide. With the power of the people wanting a change, I sincerely believe with God's grace, change is imminent even with the existence of the dirty tricks & all the election machineries, police, medias controlled by the current ruling government. It's just a question of when it's going to happen. We must reflect & musn't stop now. For the sake of our children & future generations, the show must go on.

"Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength. No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful the experience is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster"

- Dalai Lama -

 

 

Election Watch: The Judgement Day

Today is the day. I've done my part & I believed many of us have done so too. Now that human role has been performed, let us leave everything else to the Highest Order above.

I will be staying up late tonight, probably awake till next day to catch up the latest results and hopefully, witness a new beginning. Till then...

Election Watch: Knowing What To Do on Polling Day

Now that nomination day today is done, the battle for next GE has now begun. Considering there will be estimated of 3 million new voters & another substantial numbers of overseas citizens (registered voters who have never voted before) getting ready to perform their duties on coming May 5, its such a bewildering situation where the Election Committee didnt make efforts to educate the would-be voters on do & dont during the polling days. Thanks to NGOs' efforts, now the new voters will have ideas on code of conducts the polling days. Check these out from multiple sources that i've got.

The Voter Agent Training recently conducted at the PJ Civic Centre brought to the fore some very critical issues which every voter ought to know.

These are :
1) As soon as you enter the polling station, you will be ushered to Kerani 1, who will check your personal identity against your NRIC. He/she will then read out your name, NRIC number and the Siri/Bilangan number in accordance to the List provided by the Election Commission (SPR).

2) Once all that is verified, Kerani 1 will pass your NRIC to the next officer, Kerani 2.

3) Here, Kerani 2 will hand you a ‘Kertas Undi,’ which is identified by its Serial Number. As a Voter, please know your rights. You have the constitutional right under our Election Laws to NOT accept the ‘Kertas Undi’ that the officer assigns to you. You CAN and should ask for a different ‘Kertas Undi’ from a different book. To do that, just say to the officer, “Encik (or Cik), saya minta Kertas Undi dari buku lain atau dari bawah.” Translated, that is, “Sir (or Madam), I like to request a different ballot paper from a different book or from below.” This must be done so that the Voter CANNOT be identified via the SPR’s Master List. It will take just ONE voter to upset the whole sequence, which will eventually affect the SPR’s Master List for that voting centre. The aim of doing this is to SAFEGUARD every Voter’s identity. No one has the right to know how you want to vote.

4) Once your ‘Kertas Undi’ is issued to you, just stand there and do NOT leave immediately.Instead please CHECK BOTH SIDES of the ballot paper in order to ensure that there are NO pencil markings or any other form of suspicious markings on it. If there are, REJECT the ballot paper issued to you and instead request for these markings to be either erased to your satisfaction or for you to be issued with a new ‘Kertas Undi.’ Also do NOT accept any loose-lying ‘Kertas Undi,’ which may have been strewn about because it was rejected by someone else earlier. ALWAYS ask for a fresh ballot paper from the book. An alternative, as suggested by certain other people via email, is to bring along your own eraser so that when you see any pencil marks, you can rub them off completely yourself.

5) Kerani 2 will then hand the ‘Kertas Undi’ to the next officer, Kerani 3. Kerani 3 carries a seal, which will be used to stamp your ‘Kertas Undi.’ PLEASE watch carefully that the officer stamps your ballot paper FULLY and CLEARLY. After that, see that it is folded into two before the ballot paper is handed over to you. Incomplete stamp mark can and will render your ballot paper as spoiled vote.

6) You can now proceed to the voting booth.

7) At the booth, please ensure that the ballot paper has only your ONE marking of a single X. If for whatever reason, suspicious or otherwise, you overlooked some pencil marks of numbers or markings on the front or back of the ballot paper (ie other than your own mark), please ERASE those markings completely. REMEMBER, these markings can and will render your ballot spoiled – so be Extra Cautious. The most careful approach is to check your ‘Kertas Undi’ thoroughly before you accept it from the officer. REMEMBER to check it in front of the relevant officer so that if you have to reject it, he is right in front of you.

Please be aware that the indelible ink (marked on ur fingernail upon registration) takes 30 seconds to dry and when the folded ballot paper is opened with both hands, there is a great likelihood that this ballot paper will become smudged and therefore rendered as a spoiled vote.

 

To prevent this happening, instruct kerani 3 not to fold your ballot paper so you can check it for markings straight away. Make sure you handle the ballot paper only with your right hand as the left hand finger has indelible ink that is still wet. Move to ballot station and mark X in the box of your chosen candidate with your right hand without handling anything with your left hand.

8) Do not be afraid or cower in fear when you have to express your objections because there are representatives from the various participating political parties who will be there to observe the whole voting process and they are there to assist you as and when you need. As mentioned earlier, It is this kind of information that GUILTY PARTY does not want others to know. They thrive on public ignorance so that they can do whatever they feel like brazenly. One way to stop them is to send this information to as many of your friends as possible so that everyone, on voting day, knows exactly what to do, and? is fully AWARE of his/her constitutional voting rights. Print this out and keep it safely. When Voting Day finally arrives, it will be handy for you to access and read again. PLEASE bring along your own pencil ERASER. It is VITAL that we get this information across to as many people as possible.

9) UTMOST IMPORTANT!!! Do not wear any clothes bearing the symbol of any political parties into the polling hall. Knowing the tide against the rakyat, DO NOT even wear anything that deemed sensitive or have anti-government themes such as Bersih, Himpunan Hijau Lynas etc. The officer can deny u the opportunity to enter the hall to vote. U've waited 5 years, dont waste the chance to vote just because of some silly mistakes....

 

"The idea of election is much more interesting to me than the election itself. The act of voting is in itself the defining moment"

- Jeff Malvoin -

Election Watch: Being Apolitical & Non-Voter

Read some articles recently in Star newspaper & MSN website about youths today who are being apolitical & non-voter. A non-voter means he/she is not a registered voter who is not eligible to go to the ballot box in his/her country's general election. Main reasons are either they are not qualified due to age etc or they are apolitical. Seems there are confusion on the actual meaning of being apolitical. Oxford classified it as "not interested or involved in politics" while Collins classified it as "politically neutral, without political attitudes, content or bias".

My understanding? The first one hit the bull's eye straight away although the latter meaning showed a more reasonable explanation which will be accepted by any rationale person. Sad truth is that many citizens of this country, the eligible voters did not have themselves registered as voters due to their apolitical stance. I used to be one too, for not registering myself as a voter. I was just frustrated with the political circus going around, frustrated with things such as economy, civil service etc that should have been managed better, frustrated seeing how other countries overtook us economically & socially. Even with all that, I was still contented as long as I can still earn enough to survive in this country. Moreover, what can a vote do to change a country?  However, the last election in 2008 totally changed all that.

No one expects voters in 4 states (Selangor, Penang, Perak & Kedah) will vote out the state government of the day & elect parties from "the other side". From 2008, u can see for yourself it provides the people a stronger voice in Parliament debating against controversial government projects such as one-sided toll concessionaires, implementation of GST, the installation of AES & Lynas plant etc. Whats the benefits of these projects? Check out all the sources in the Net & u decides urself with ur rationale mind. This forced the ruling government, to temporarily suspend the implementation till further notice. The ruling government themselves initiated some changes & gave goodies to the citizens such as BR1M etc. Without strong opposition voice & with 2/3 Parliament majority, do u think this is possible?

Reasons often given by apolitical people are as below:-

1) My one vote wont change anything
Theoratically & numerically, u may be right if ur speaking as one person. 10 people saying this means a group is saying it. 1000 people saying this mean a community is saying it. Election Committee estimated that 5 million of eligible citizens did not register as voters, which means one third of eligible voters (of total 16 million eligible citizens) have been denied of the right to vote (or rather chose not to vote). Does these numbers big enough to make a difference then?

2) Nobody approach me & give me the registration form
Voter registration campaigns been carried out for past 5 years in many places. Even though ur not being approached, post office & the political parties service centre are the next best places to register urself.

3) I can't stand the long queues at polling stations
Utter bullshit. If u can patiently wait for hours waiting to get free McDonald meals or to buy the latest editions of Iphone on first day of launching, then what's holding u back?

4) I can't stand the heat
Get an umbrella, sunblock, battery-operated portable fan & ur sunglass. By the way, Vitamin D, derived from UV rays benefits ur calcium metabolism, boosts ur immunity & has regulatory roles in cell proliferation & insulin secretion.

Message to the apolitical people, the question here is not about who are you voting for but what are you doing to improve the situation? If ur not happy with ur current handphone line service provider, u don't just sit still. U complain to the customer service call centre. If service still suxx, then its time to change to a new provider. When we change, its only then we are able to compare the service between the old and the new.  However, if u keep whining about how bad is the service etc but yet, nothin is done to improve the situation. Maybe sounds little harsh here, but its solely ur fault then & no one else.

So, April 5 is the judgement day. If ur a registered voter but chose not to vote last time round, do it for once this time. If u need to take a flight, do it (By the way, Air Asia & Malindo Air having promo fares). If u need a friend to tag along, get one then. If u need to work on Sunday 5th, perform ur duties as a employee & then go perform ur duties as a citizen of tis country. If ur not a registered voter, go talk with people whom ur comfortable with, who are voters & ask. Then, reflect. Its never too late to register for next round.

 

"Loyalty to country always, loyalty to government, when it deserves it"

- Mark Twain -



Election Watch: Parliamentary & State Seats

Now that Parliament has been dissolved & election date will be announced anytime soon, will post on opinions & views on the local political scene and today will be the first one. Approximately 3 million newly registered voters (not inclusive of the phantom ones) are going to the polls for the first time.

However, based on my observation & talks with the people, apparently many are still confused or have different knowledges about voting for candidates at parliamentary level & state level. Let me explain in few bits here. 1 parliamentary constituency usually consists of minimum 2 state seats, with the exception of Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya & Labuan. For example, at my place, Kelana Jaya parliamentary constituency consists of Subang Jaya & Seri Setia state seat. Below are the current incumbents with their parties:-

P. 104 KELANA JAYA
LOH GWO BURNE (PAKATAN RAKYAT - PKR)

N.31 SUBANG JAYA
HANNAH YEOH (PAKATAN RAKYAT - DAP)

N.32 SERI SETIA
NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD (PAKATAN RAKYAT - PKR)

Look out for your polling & voting areas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Malaysian_electoral_districts In the election, I will be voting under Kelana Jaya parliamentary & Subang Jaya state seat. How to know which area ur voting for? Go check your voter status at Election Committee website www.spr.gov.my. Some telecommunication company offers sms service for u to check the status. Users can also sms to 15888 & type "SPR SEMAK xxxx (IC no)" to know their areas. Once checked, dont panic if ur areas are not supposed what it should be. For example, u could be staying in USJ, Subang Jaya but instead of voting for N.31 Subang Jaya state seat, ur could be assigned to the nearby N.30 Kinrara. Some are worst, being assigned to areas that they never set foot on. Dont need to be panic as this is a result from factors below:-

1) U did not update your latest address in the electoral roll with Election Committee
2) Election Committee had area declination process (usually this is unannounced), separating the zones into few areas.

Most of the time, this incident happens due to the 2nd factor. Whether its permissible or lawful or not, up to u to decide, which is why much-criticized Bersih committee is fighting for the Election Commitee to clean up the electoral roll. Even if ur assigned to vote in areas other than where are u living now, for once, make an effort to go and make your vote counts. If u need to take a flight, do it. If u need to tumpang in a stranger's car, do it. If u think u need a GPS to help u to find the place, do it.

Bear in mind, if u dunno, the federal government Cabinet will be formed from candidates, from the party with most seats and these are the people ur putting ur votes to shape our country's political, economic & social environment & so forth. Meanwhile, state governments are formed with candidates sitting on state seats. Looking at seat composition in Kelana Jaya, all seats belong to Pakatan Rakyat (PR). The 2 current state assemblymen above sit in Selangor state assembly & helped PR to rule Selangor since they hold the majority state seats in Selangor state assembly, refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selangor_State_Assembly Our Kelana Jaya member of parliament (MP) represented PR at federal government level but BN still holds the majority shares of seats in Parliament. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_Parliament This gave them the mandate to form the current ruling government.

Now, back to the voting of the candidates in the next election. In the past, most voters' tactic of having check & balance factor while voting is to vote for the Opposition for the state seat while voting for BN for parliamentary seat. It could also be the other way round, depending on how do they look at the whole picture. Problem is many people still dunno what are they voting for & how can their local concerns being disseminated. U see, if ur rubbish not collected by the local contractors, the increasing crime rates at ur area, increasing sights of illegal immigrants etc, u go to the local service centre & see ur state assemblymen (or rather women) for immediate solutions. Its their duties to look into this & bring up to the local municipal council, local police authorities etc or worst, the state assembly to be debated if problems still unresolved.

Its ok to inform the MP too but this situation is like your office toilet often ran out of toilet papers & instead of complaining to ur departmental manager, u tell your general manager to highlight the issue in the directors' meeting. Ur MP's job is to look & highlight the issues which may need to be addressed at national level. Eg, the increasing sights of illegal immigrants at ur area could be result of failures of Immigration department staffs to check their identities & monitor their movements etc. This, could caused increased crime rates & many other social problems.

Check the background of the candidates & the appearance. He/she doesnt need to be an orator but check out Youtube during the campaigning period or better still, go check out the campaign speech expected to be held near your place. A MP also needed in debating Bill in Parliament which will may affecting us in our daily life. Think AES, GST etc. Look out for his/her abilities to give public speech & present his/her points well. Bear in mind, being loud does not mean having charisma. Think Datuk Ibrahim Ali, Datuk Bung Mokhtar, Datuk Tajuddin Abd Rahman etc. Bear in mind also, we are looking at people who can become Minister material & not racial bigots, sexists or people with big egos. Now, if ur having a problem in ur area & ur state assemblymen is from one camp while your MP is from another camp. It will be alright if both have the same goal of wanting to serve the people. What if one of them is just not interested?

My view? Vote for changes in both seats & ensure all are given to same camp. In my area, I wont change the incumbents parties of course. Your rationale will helps you in making your choice. Happy Voting !!!!

"Ask not what the country can do for you, Ask what can you do for your country"

-John Fitzgerald Kennedy-

Demo = Democracy or Demonstration??

Somebody was asking again if demonstration necessarily needs to be done in order to send our message across instead of just putting our votes into the ballot boxes. Not being diplomatic but my answer is yes & no, depending how's the local political condition is. Yes, if the lawmakers & decision makers are not doing the necessary steps to rectify the worsening issues, which need to be addressed urgently. We cant afford to wait till end of parliamentary term each time to say no. No, if everybody (including the voters, incumbent & opposition parties) are politically matured enough to handle the situations in a democractic system.

Analysing the local scene, one of the tactics is to beat the drums to build up the momentum towards general elections. This is definitely one of the most important political tools to gain people's votes with the existence of so many govt's controlled challenges. Watch dramas like The West Wing, Commander in Chief etc to understand tis. U see, people have short memories actually. At the polling day, if no issues been highlighted earlier, basically people will decide based on happenings during poll campaigning period & not during the 5 years ruling term. Taking into accounts that all mainsteam medias are being controlled by ruling political parties, u can be assured of "controlled information" to the people during the period. Of cos, situation in 2008 proved that Internet has played a critical role in shifting the votes to the PR coalition. Still, mainstream medias' roles cannot be downplayed due to rural people still referring to mainsteam medias as source of information.

Lots of countries used demonstrations to great effects in changing the ruling governments. I dont need to mention more about the Arab Spring. At regional front Taiwan, Ma Ying Jeou's Kuomintang party used continous pressured demonstrations to force out Chen Shui Bian's Democratic Progressive govt, tainted by corruption. Remember how Suharto fell from his grace, back in 1998? Here, we have Bersih NGOs playing big parts to pressure the Election Committee to buck up. And then, Lynas issue, continued with AUKU university act, then the PTPN vs free education issue,  Kelantan oil royalty, Felda's FGV listing, Sabah's illegal immigrant issues & finally, the mother of em' all, summarising all issues into one HKR 112 last January 12th.

We have long way to go, comparing with USA or UK's 2 parties system where the democracy spirit is so much alive. Watch any of the Obama vs Romney debates & u will understand what I meant. I truly believe we will finally embrace true democracy one day. We may not live long enough to see it happens here but we are definitely taking steps to reach there NOW to ensure our grandchildrens & generations beyond witness it. This, needs supports from both political sides. Under the current situation, the current ruling BN government needs a heavy KO from the people & needs to be taken off for them to wake up from their slumber to initiate changes within themselves. Look at how Congress Party reflects & rise after being knocked out by BJP in India. LDP regained back the power in Japan in 2012 after ousted by DPJ years earlier.

HKR112

A BIG wave is coming. It strikes the country in 2008. This time, it's gonna be a BIGGER one. For those who still dunno, I'm referring to a people's revolution, being angry with the ruling government for many issues. Indians called it "Makkal Sakthi". Corruption, misuse of powers, cronyism, nepotism, racism, uncontrolled usage of people's money n many others. All got worse after the last election held in 2008, causing the rakyat to be angrier and those peeps are hell bent on kicking out the present government in the next election. Now that election is looming near after the 5 years term is coming to the end, its the battle between incumbent BN government n the opposition PR coalition to get the votes from the real power, the people of Malaysia.

Many demonstrations were held to tell the government to meet up to the demands. I participated in one, Bersih 3.0 rally last April 28. Truly an eye-opening experience. Being on the streets with hundreds of thousands of Malaysians from all walks of life, for the same common goal which is for the Election Commission to BERSIH (clean) the electoral roll to have a fair election. Experienced the teargas too. Not a proud thing to boast actually but its the feelings after that....Being offered water n salt by unknown strangers from different races, calming u down n advising u. This, I say is priceless. Sadly to say, nothing was done to meet the demands besides many other human rights, n even environmental issues cropped up along the way. Another bigger rally was held, called Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat - HKR (People's Rise Assembly) was held on 12th January in the capital city. Hence, the title of tis post.

Proud to say I was there together with larger crowds than last Bersih 3.0 on the historical day, held in a historical place, Stadium Merdeka. Rais Yatim said attendance was 5K. The PM said it was 10K. Police said it was 40K. Note: Stadium seating capacity is 45K, not taking into consideration countless people assembling outside stadium n around town. Google the images, see my hp photo below n give your estimation.

Waiting to enter stadium

Full capacity

What's so great about being in a full capacity stadium then? Long story indeed. Being an avid local political observer, my fault for not sharing the issues n thoughts in here earlier. It's a touching scene where u can see countless people of different races in a single place under hot blazing sun wanting to make themselves count for a common goal. Trust me, tis is not like gathering with everybody in a stadium, rooting for Dato Lee Chong Wei versus Lin Dan. U can really see in the people faces that they want a better-managed economy, a better environment, a better welfare for the people, a better way to live their life, & most important of all, a better future for the next generations. Never before I've sung Negaraku so proudly in my life, singing it in a stadium full of proud citizens, it goes deep straight into our heart, causing even the toughest of men to shed tears. Who say singing national anthem is boring??

Singing of Negaraku before the start of the assembly

Doubters ask is it necessary to attend rally of this kind to send our messages across . We should support on what is right & make ourselves count. Giving real life example, if no one attend & listen to the famous Martin Luther King speech, do u think there'll be changes & he be revered as a legend? Going back to local history, if there's no demonstrations & agressive opposition by locals towards the formation of Malayan Union, will the British be pressured to give independence to us? Will I do it again if there's another one? For the sake of my future generations, I just need to. No hesitation about it....

Vote Vote Vote

Finally managed to register myself as a voter today at a booth opened by Election Commission today at Subang Parade. Took only 3 minutes to write my details...The lady staff looked at my IC & gave a strange look. Hey, I know I missed 2 elections before this but better late than never rite?? Reports said that 2.1 million eligible Malaysian voters has not registered & at least 50% of them are below 35 years of age....So, peeps out there who are not registered yet, what are u waiting for?? Go register at your local Election offices & visit the web http:// www.spr.gov.my

Overdue Updates

One blink of any eye & it's end of February now. There's the second annual Akurians trip held in Langkawi last December, Chinese New Year celebrations & the current political circus goin on nationwide (Perak & Selangor to be exact)

Sorry to the Akurians for not posting anything bout the trip. Next post okay?? Let me begin here with HAPPY NEW YEAR, HAPPY PONGGAL, HAPPY THAIPUSAM, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR to everyone there...that wishes alone explain how much time passed since my last post...

Just that too frustrated with current local issues to write a post. As we knew here, economic situation in tis part of the world is not doing well. Being in the freight forwarding line, servicing mostly semiconductor firms, my company was in the frontline of affected parties. Factories are closing down & retrenching workers, causing thousands (but I believe it could run into hundred thousands) of people left jobless. For those barely surviving, drastic cost-cutting measures are being implemented. Paycut, longer shutdown period etc, anythin else under the sun that can be done to minimise the costs. Some companies are just only operating 4 days a week as some existing staffs forced to take unpaid leaves. Don't even mention about OT here. Worst part is nothing much really been done to help the worst-affected industries, at least to help them to sustain. Japan, the strongest economy in Asia has announced it's being in a recession & even Singapore has done it. And this is the funny part, here our beloved PM in-waiting insists the country is unaffected with the current state of world economy & we're not showing any decline and that we have the strong fundamentals to sustain. Wondering what fundamentals he meant & if he actually knew what he's talking about.

Don't even wanna mention the current political circus going on in the federal & state governments where all the players are acting as if the world is their oyster. The in-word now seems to be "stimulus package"...Statements after statement given, first stimulus, second stimulus etc...The question is where is the so-called packages? What is the projected domestic growth after the stimulus given? Which industries will be given priorities? Where is the roadmap of all those packages?? As one citizen Anas Zubedy correctly said it in an open advertorial in Star newspaper on 26th February, it's the people who suffer the most now. Check it out at thestar.com.my. Problem with those politicians is that thought of admitting about a problem equals to admitting their weaknesses. Listen here, everybody knew this recession thingy is like a lifecycle & bound to happen to every country. It's about being realistic & going through the tough times together to ensure there's food on the table for everyone. People will understand & not to the extent of ignoring the pleas of those who voted you into power.

I pray for wisdom to be given to those not able to be rationalise things. I pray for forgiveness for those who preach to others but don't admit of their own shortcomings/mistakes. I pray for strength to be given to those who lost their jobs and still need to feed their families. I pray for perseverance to be given to those having huge debts & problems piling up. I pray for courage to be given to those are still unsure how to remedy the setbacks they're facing now. And most of all, I pray for those on the verge of breaking down to continue to believe in themselves & Him in these trying times.

51 Years of Progress or What??

Our nation celebrated its 51st year of independence recently on August 31. However, recent events of our politicians making fuss over racial issues in public, which completely ignored the feelings of the ordinary people like u and me. Just make everyone thinking where are we actually heading to after 51 years of so-called de-colonisation & freedom of outside interferences.
Not wanting to highlight any particular incident of so-called being insensitive to other races, the question is are we still that shallow-minded despite of 51 years of independence. Come on lahh, 51 years and those people still dont know what to speak & what not to speak, especially when ur in public? Dont ur mum teach u about adab & budi bahasa (manners & decorum)??

Nation building indeed a tough & takes long winding roads to complete it. Historical facts showed it takes generations for people mindset to change & accepting them. It takes 3 centuries for America to recognise the equal rights for the black people, thanks to a certain Martin Luther King. And now, they're having Barack Obama, an African-American as candidate for president. Does this showed our nation is still too young & our people still too naive to recognise equality among people? Will it takes us centuries for our people to start respecting each other like ur own blood? Read an article (cant remember whom) and it said something like "Our skins maybe of different colours but inside us, our blood are of same colour. Our physical bodies maybe different but our souls are one"

Glad that my life was filled with beautiful, colourful people from all walks of life. And I thanked God for letting me having these people in my life. Certainly few childish,stupid statements from some donkeys wouldnt change my thoughts that there's indeed still hope for the us. Hope for people to change. Hope for people for accept. Hope for people to learn to love & respect. And hope gotta be followed up with actions for its to be fulfilled. Question now is what can we do for a start to make a change. As said earlier in my last post, it's all starts from us. We need to make the changes ourselves by practicing ourselves. Learn to respect if u wanna be respected. Learn to care if u wanna be cared for. Learn to love if u wanna be loved. Learn to be considerate if u want others to be considerate towards u......enough said.

August Round-Up

Been a while since last time updating the blog. One blink & August is no more and September is here now. Browsing thru all the happenings in the month & there's Beijing Olympics running for almost a month, the mother of all by-elections in Permatang Pauh, Penang; Jun Tai In Yokoshi training and Merdeka day.

Opening & closing ceremonies were out of the world, as they said. Sparkling performances from athletes from multiple sports awed the world & seems as if they originated from another planet. If Michael Phelps is a country, his 8-gold performance in swimming would have put him ninth in the medal standing. And our very own Lee Chong Wei left reeling from the one-sided badminton final match loss against Lin Dan, missing out on the gold medal & the RM1 million reward. And we will need to wait another 4 years for another hope & aspiration for the precious one. Kudos for him though for bringing back the silver. Usain Bolt, mark this name now for he shall be the next athletic superstar after the legendary Carl Lewis & Michael Johnson. Astonishing world record 9.69 sec in the century dash & it could be made lower, judging from Bolt's comment "It wasn't my best performance". And sexy pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayaeva's hobby could well be breaking world records. London 2012 organising committee members will now be under pressure to match Beijing's outstanding organisational displays. And I'll be eagerly waiting if Sir Alex Ferguson actually coaches the Great Britain football team in 4 years time in Wembley.

And of cos, there's the Jun Tai In Yokoshi training held successfully over 6 days in KL Dojo with then theme "Know Yourself". Special thanks to June & Hon for their efforts during this training and not to mention, Taicho & Vice Taichos'. Personally, it was a tiring journey, having to travel everyday to KL from my working place in airport. However, upon looking at the participants' bright faces, the tiredness just went off. It has been a pleasure getting to share knowledges & experiences with those peeps. There's 6 of them. Put it this way, it was a learning journey for both leaders & members. From the activities & upon observation, each of them has shown potentials to be of someone who can contribute to society and it makes me more motivated & eager to help them to unearth their potential & eventually, getting to know themselves. Apparently, one of the member popped a question "How can I make a difference to the society when the whole world is currently full of chaos & being materialistic?" As Al Gore said in his groundbreaking presentation "An Inconvenient Truth", it all starts from us, ourselves. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King & Nelson Mandela started alone & held their beliefs despite of massive challenges & life threatening barriers. They moved & inspired people with their beliefs & actions, even if 2 of them are no longer around. It's about putting into actions what we think is right & no turning back after the first step. The only choice is to move forward.

Not talking about Merdeka (Independence Day) in August could be seen as doing injustice to the country. August 31 was the date & went to Curve the nite before for the countdown party. Honestly, the response of the nationwide celebration of the 51st Merdeka this year is rather lukewarm. No more Merdeka ads on TV, with the exception of Petronas. Hardly seen any cars flying at least the mini-national flag on road. Cant blame the people though, costs of living is increasing and we're seeing never-ending political circus going on in the local scene. And the frustrating part is no one seems to be bothering looking at the needs of the ordinary people, especially the middle class group (which forms the largest income group in the country). Who will have the mood to celebrate then? Anyway, we observed the fireworks & here posted a photo of it, which hopefully signify a spark in the local scene in the next 3 months before end of the year.

Petrol - A Necessity or Luxury?

Just something to laugh about & make u feel better while pumping ur petrol. Might not be funny for some though...

Aftermath Next??

After March 8th 2008, June 4 must be the second most shocking day for most Malaysians in 2008. Petrol prices was increased 78 cents to ridiculously RM2.70 per litre while diesel prices skyrocketed to RM 2.58 per litre, up RM1 from previous price.

I've been bombarded with forwarded emails for whole day, with emails stating of how we were actually cheated by government, how our petrol price can be controlled etc etc. Honestly, those stuffs just don't strike me anymore. Why the cry over split milk? Not that government will turn back its decision despite of the massive outcry by the rakyat, the actual kingmaker who chose the government of the day. In fact, the increase is unevitable, being in line with the increasing world market price of crude oil. We all knew it's going to happen but the rate of increase apparently caught everyone in a shock.

In one report, Idris Jala, MD of Malaysia Airlines said there's actually more than enough of oil supply in the world at the moment but the rising prices are works of speculators. Being an ex-Shell guy added more credentials to his statement. There's some Soros' out there making hell of a profit & there's no one seems to care about stopping this (increasing prices) It's coming....it has happened & nothing we can do to stop it. We just need to move on. The magic question now is - how are the ordinary citizens (that's you & me) goin to move on from here???

This is just the beginning with the impending aftermath of a national level inflation, as predicted by economicians & politicians. Tenaga Nasional has increased its rates of electricity supply. Coupled with the continued rising prices of rice, all basic stuffs in our daily life will bound to cost more with some parties will take full advantage by increasing the prices unnecessarily. The "roti canai" I had for breakfast near my place in SS14 Subang yesterday, now costs me RM1.10 each !!!! Being in an airfreight forwarding industry means I'm in the frontline of the worse hit affected industries. Trucking costs increased two fold in a space of a day. One full tank for a 40-footer trailer now costs RM750.00. Airlines has given hints of increasing fuel surcharges within a month. The most painful truth is being tied to contract agreement with customers, we're unable to divert the increased costs back to them.

Back to the question, it's time to sit down & lists down the things in order to negate the inflation. Let me think about it & share with all next time...