BERSIH - Today In Yellow

All the road leading to Kl were in super duper jam. The Police got nothing better else to do than checking all the cars that drive toward KL. Water cannon and Tear gas were used against the Rakyat.

Damn It!!!

What a day of Malaysia that being observed by the world!

More News on BERSIH (click here, here, here)

Lahad Datu Town, Sabah

Lahad Datu Town

Jalan Teratai

Mini Airport of Lahad Datu

If only you need it!

Fokker 50, Maswings

Some photos to share. Having my dinner somewhere behind the hotel i stayed - Asia Hotel, a new operated hotel officially opened in August this year. The restaurant called Restaurant Pantai, they have a special teh called Teh Pantai. The Asia Hotel equiped with WiFi and for twin beds room, only RM 108 nett.

It is a small town. A super small Airport only Fokker can be landed. If you are giving a choice now, i do not want to fly in Fokker anymore, so painful! Small is one issue as i am tall. Engine noise is killing me for the 55 minutes journey from Kota Kinabalu to Lahad Datu. Maybe i still prefer to travel by car, where i can always enjoy the scenery.

Oh ya, i am going to Lumut on 21st Nov 2007 and one more time to Gua Musang early next month. And other trips to Johor and Sabah, sorry la, i am bored now to travel to Johor and fly to East Malaysia, i will ask my engineer to go alone la. Time to grow up!

Kota Kinabalu - Lahad Datu

KKIA

Flying whole day, tired like heck. From 5.40am get out from my house till reached LCCT to take the flight at 7.50am, touched down at KK international airport at 10.30am, transit via Maswings at 1.30pm flight and finally reached Lahad Datu at 2.20pm.

Two words:

Farking Tired!

Off to Lahad Datu, Sabah

Again, i am outstation this week. I am going to Sabah for another stakeholder meeting from Tuesday till Wednesday, still able to celebrate Deepavali in KL. Will leave LCCT to KK, transit via Maswings to Lahad Datu.

Call me lah if you wanna look for me.

Malaysia's PM seems to be failing his people at every chance

by Michael Backman
The Age
Otcober 24, 2007

ON OCTOBER 31, Abdullah Badawi, Malaysia's Prime Minister, will have been in office for four years. Abdullah
came to office promising to fight corruption and to be a breath of fresh air. He has failed on both counts.

But he has achieved one remarkable feat none of his predecessors could: he has united most of his country's
elder statesmen, established businessmen and intellectuals.

They are united in their utter dismay at his performance, a point that many such individuals made to me on a
recent visit to Malaysia.

The despair is compounded by the near impossibility of getting rid of Abdullah.

Before 1987, anyone who wanted to challenge the president of the ruling UMNO party (and hence prime minister),
needed to get endorsements from just two divisions of UMNO. Previous prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had that
changed after his finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah challenged him for the leadership and almost won.

Would-be challengers must now acquire the endorsement of 30 per cent, or 58, of 191 divisions. This means that
the prime minister's office needs to pay off fewer than 150 division heads with government contracts and licences
to ensure their support.

Critics within UMNO are anaesthetised by patronage and sadly the Prime Minister probably thinks that he is doing a
good job because his inner circle constantly tells him he is. He is their ticket to riches, after all.

Ramadan has just ended and once again Malaysia has been treated to the spectacle of government ministers and
other officials fasting and playing the pious Muslim on the one hand and stealing from their fellow Malaysians on
the other.

Abdullah has had three chances in recent times to show that times have changed in Malaysia and to clearly assert
his authority when presented with examples of such theft.
He has blown each one.

The first was when it emerged that his Trade Minister, Rafidah Aziz, had handed out to her relatives, government
officials and former officials hundreds of lucrative licences to import cars - without any clear procedures or
transparency. A good leader would have fired Rafidah immediately. She is still there.

Another opportunity arose with revelations by the auditor-general last month of fraud and corruption in government
purchasing. Some of the more flagrant abuses were at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs. It had wasted
millions on purchases such as paying 224 ringgit ($A75) for sets of screwdivers worth 40 ringgit, or 1146 ringgit for
a 160 ringgit pen set.

More seriously, the ministry's head, who had the authority to approve contracts worth less than 5 million ringgit,
was found to have approved contracts for almost 450 million ringgit. The ministry claimed that the then minister and
now Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had written a letter of authority for the purchases but this
disappeared during auditing. Despite all this occurring under Hishammuddin's watch, he remains in the cabinet.

The third incident relates to an ongoing scandal at the Port Klang Free Trade Zone - Port Klang is Malaysia's main
shipping port. Essentially, the port authority was forced by well-connected individuals to buy far more land than
planned for the free trade zone and at highly inflated prices, even though it could have compulsorily acquired the
land, literally saving billions.

This and development costs, and "professional fees", blew out the total cost for the zone from 1.845 billion ringgit
to 4.2 billion ringgit. It is a scam of outrageous proportions and is just the sort of thing that is turning foreign
investors off Malaysia in their droves.

Rather than make arrests, the Government is using taxpayers' funds to bail out the authority. The auditor-general
tipped off the responsible minister (a term I use loosely) - Chan Kong Choy, the Transport Minister - about the
problems, as did a foreign partner in the zone, but Chan ignored the warning. Has Abdullah fired Chan? Of course
not. Has the previous minister Ling Liong Sik been questioned by the police? Of course not.

These three instances were good opportunities for Abdullah to show his ministers who is boss. Well, he certainly
did that.

One might ask what on earth the Finance Minister has been doing in the face of all this waste and theft. Or,
indeed, even who is the Finance Minister? Extraordinarily, it is Abdullah. In a break with tradition, he occupies that
post as well as being Prime Minister. The firings should start with him.

After all, it's not as if Malaysia has a shortfall of ministers. On the contrary, Malaysia has no fewer than 72 ministers
and deputy ministers at the federal level. By way of comparison, Australia has 32 ministers and assistant ministers.
Is the quality of public administration in Malaysia more than twice as good as in Australia? Let the facts speak for
themselves.

Malaysia is truly at a cross-roads. It has many good people with great potential but it is slipping beneath the waves
of mediocrity, weighed down by officials intent on an orgy of plunder while the ship's captain stands idly by.

The process of government needs to be dramatically and urgently overhauled. Malaysia needs a dynamic, strong
visionary leader who is up to the task. Instead, it has Abdullah Badawi.

ends

General Erection & General Election

Even before Pak Lah got the ilham to announce when is the 12th General Election, we, Rakyat that living in Malaysia already felt the General Erection and it has been erected for months, not even has the intention to ......

Last week, a 2kg pack of Milo sell at RM33 ++ in I - Department store. Initially i tought that Dept Store always sell at high price as what we always think. Blardy hell, until i went to shop at J - Dept Store last Saturday, the value buy 2kg Milo sell at ~ RM29. Purchase with Purchase sell at RM 23.90.

Nia mah, even milk powder for my son also increase ~RM 10 / 1.8kg tin. Previously i can buy at RM 65/tin, now J Dept Store sell at ~RM 75/tin. 700g Refil pack increase to RM29.90 (value buy) compared to ~RM 24.90 previously. For this item, I - Dept Store selling cheap, i am still able to buy it at RM 65.99 (1.8 kg tin) last week. Thinking of sapu another 1 tin for this month.

Flour increase 60c in a month (October). As to sustain the Roti Canai & bread business, all the price transfer to end users like us. Roti Canai in Penang increase 20c to 80c per piece, mee goreng up 30c to RM3.80. All roti up from 20c to more than RM1. CPO (Crude Palm Oil) hit RM 2900/mt last week trading for Jan 2008. All the millers laughing to bank now, heard that they are getting 6 months bonus due to ever long lasting Erection of CPO. But, how about us?

Petroleum per barrel hit USD 96 last week, another fear factor that going to scare us, but we still have few weeks time before we feel the heat. It will only happen after General Election (then follow by another round General Erection). Be Prepare (Scout Motto) for dearer cooking gas and subsequently more expensive dinner when you having it outside. Start 1st January 2008, another Erection going to hit all of us. Eight (8) blardy toll going to increase. PLUS is one of them, Penang Bridge is another one. These money-earning-like-hell companies keep on robbing money from us. For example, PLUS expand the road from 2 lanes to 3 lanes at Ipoh - Rawang, Senawang - Melaka, and extending thier toll colection beyond 2038. Who is the contructor for the expansion plan? One of the UEM subsidiary, UEM Construction. So they earn one part in the construction and transfer the cost to road users by extending the toll collection. Who carry out the road maintenance? Propel, another subsidiary of UEM. This is all the Left Pocket to right Pocket story, and we, road users bear the cost until anak cucu kita.

Some people blame Global Warming that cause the food price shoot up. Milk production decrease resulting all dairy products price increase. Wheat flour production decrease resulting flour price increase like no body business. But who should blame to?

I am still waiting for Dept of Statistics Malaysia to release its latest Consumer Price Index. September index increase 2% compared to previous year September. I can feel that my money is shrinking, very fast! But some con-man are gaining big time and enjoying it!

September Index:
Vegetables 6.7 %
Food Products n.e.c. 3.5%
Fish & Seafood 3.3 %
Milk, Cheese & Eggs 3.0 %
Meat 2.5 %
Rice, Bread & Other Cereals 1.4 %
Oils and Fats 1.2 %
Sugar, Jam, Honey, Chocolate & Confectionery 0.9 %
Fruits 0.6 %

GENERAL ERECTION & GENERAL ELECTION

No more LIVE telecast

Last year Live telecast on astro caused many dissatisfaction among non-bumi, with some idiot waving the keris, some even asked when to use that keris.

Quote TheSun through Malaysia Today:

"In addressing Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who is also Umno Youth chief, Hashim was reported to have said: "Datuk Hisham has unsheathed his keris, waved his keris, kissed his keris. We want to ask Datuk Hisham, when is he going to use it?"

Since this month is the hottest month for General Election, therefore NO MORE LIVE TELECAST for this year UMNO General Assembly. Why, because Ketua Pemuda UMNO already said that he will continue waving the keris.

Quote from Thestar:
"TELUK INTAN: The opening and closing speeches by Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the party's general assembly will only be aired live by RTM.
Deputy Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said only RTM was given the rights to carry the live broadcasts on Nov 7 and 9.

He said the speeches of other leaders and the debates would be broadcast during the news. He said the Umno supreme council decided not to grant Astro the right to carry a live telecast like last year. – Bernama "

If UMNO do it LIVE, you think they will get more support from non-bumi? Sorry lah, too late lah.

Gua Musang - Kuala Krai

Welcome to Kelantan in Peace

Gua Musang

Gua Musang old town

Main road of Gua Musang

Some chinese shops

New road linking Gua Musang to Cameron Highland

Area near Lojing


Total destroy

Projek Diraja Kelantan

Flowers, Development vs Environment

Border Kelantan - Pahang

Budak-budak orang asli living at the border

Farms at Cameron Highland

What can i say about the trip to Gua Musang, Kelantan?

WONDERFUL !!!!!!

A peacuful & small town. I believe you can live 10 years longer in Kelantan compared to KL. Just one problem for me, i can't understand their Bahasa Malaysia, masalah sikit ni. I will come back to Kelantan for another trip soon, to work and to get back my Hush Puppy shirt that i left in Fully Inn (Hotel).

Actually, Kelantan is not that scary of what we always heard from & read from newspaper, News, etc. I believe it is all the propaganda being carried out by certain party who try to create a fear factor for non-bumi. I saw the non-bumi live there happily, work there happily, everyone is living in harmony. I fell 10x safer walking in Gua Musang compared to KL/JB. Maybe i should walk also in Kota Bharu in order to give further comment.

We started our journey from KL office, using KL - Karak highway, exit at Bentong, going toward Raub, then Kuala Lipis and past through Merapoh, crossed Pahang - Kelantan border and reach Gua Musang. Total time requried is 5 hours including lunch break.

Rest for a while and had a walk around the town and discovered that there are quite a lot of chinese and indian living in Gua Musang. Yes, Shin (i think is Shiok Shin) is right, it is a very small town.

Then we drove further 70km toward Kuala Krai to the palm oil mill to have a look before the presentation for next day morning. From here, it is ust another 120km ++ to Kota Bharu.

After we finished our work, we used new road that link Gua Musang and Cameron Highland. Nice scenery, cool weather. On the way, we saw a lot of camp sites for logging, whether illegal or legal, i have no idea. However, when approaching Cameron Highland, we noticed a lot of forest has been cleared for planting Flowers. No proper planning!

From Cameron Highland, we used Cameron Highlang - Simpang Pulai road instead of Cameron - Tapah road. I bought some corn that damn expensive - RM10 for 4, called Jagung Susu, damn sweet. Bought some "dong chong chow" as well, carrot, vege and tomato.

If not my "broken" knee, i will organize a cycling trip. There are many options you can choose from.

1. KL - Gombak - Bentong - Raub - Kuala Lipis - Gua Musang (~ 300 km) (using bus to go back KL)
2. KL - Gombak - Bentong - Raub - Fraser Hill - KL
3. KL - Gombak - Bentong - Raub - Kuala Lipis - Gua Musang - Jeli - Grik - PG
4. KL - Gombak - Bentong - Raub - Kuala Lipis - Gua Musang - Kota Bharu - Jeli - Grik - PG
5. KL - Gombak - Bentong - Raub - Kuala Lipis - Gua Musang - Cameron Highlang - Tapah - KL
6. KL - Gombak - Bentong - Raub - Kuala Lipis - Gua Musang - Cameron Highland - Sipang Pulai - Ipoh
7. PG - Grik - Jeli - Kota Bharu - Gua Musang - Cameron Highland - Simpang Pulai - Taiping - PG
8. PG - Grik - Jeli - Gua Musang - Cameron Highland - Simpang Pulai - Taiping - PG
9. PG - Tai Ping - Cameron Highland - Gua Musang - Jeli - Baling - PG.

So many route you can plan with, nice scenry, unpolluted area, not many car at most of the road...... Wait till my knee operation and fully recover next year.