M'sian Deputy PM says "We did not cook the figures"

Yup, we heard it from the proverbial "horse's mouth" we did not cook the good economic figures.....hey CNY season lah... nowadays many chinese families eat outside or "tah pau" dishes cooked by paid chefs.....so no need to cook ourselves mah!!!

As I said....look at the "street smart indicators"...restaurants...massage parlours...karoake clubs.... how's business there? Number of tower cranes....how fast the number plate of cars change....the faster it changes the better the economy.....hey maybe we can do a study on it.....or maybe something like Freakonomics..... must get Dr. Yeah of RAM to do it as an indicator and test how reliable it is as a quick indicator.....

Spirit of Muhibbah...CNY greetings recieved from Sabah

I recieved this "Malaysian" CNY greeting from my fren Robert in Sandakan

Anjing pergi
Babi mari
Soi pergi
Ong mari
Tahun ini
Mesti lucky
Kena magnum
Kena loteri
Dalam MyBank
Banyak money
Selamat Tahun Baru Cina

Lunar New Year's eve...2007

Seems to be alot of good news of late.................. the KLCI is searing to the top......FDI had increased....it seems things cannot be wrong

Good new year for the country...and so it seems....maybe an election is around the corner....

Penang FDI best year ever since 1980's

The NST and Star came out singing this tune.....that Penang achieved its best FDI in 2006...the best in more than 27 years.

The NST has this to say
Investment in Penang is booming. With more than than RM5 billion invested last year, the state clocked up a high it hasn’t seen in 27 years.


......could it be true?

Really? who is coming...... the NST noted that penang can't even provide decent public transportation to move its labour force around....what a shame.....

Lots of good news for Malaysia or just plain ole' spin

Lots of good newsa been splashed over the local rags lately....one trillion rm in trade....KLCI reaching 1,200 points...more government spending....

The news, and government polies say so...but others have their reservations....what can a man in the street know?.....what indicators can we see....

First look at the restaurants.....are they packed? ...even on so call slow nights.....what about supermarkets and retail outlets ask around and see.....are they more tower cranes.....job advertisements....how many of them on Saturdays or on week days....

Going through these I find that the indications are that the economy is rolling along well this time (I don't know how it would do another 6 months down the track)...in Penang at least...the reastaurants are reasonably packed although not during the weekdays....more twoer cranes...especially along the Jelutong Expressways....and more job advertisements in the Star..even on the weekdays...

So things may not be as bad as the detractors are saying....

This hot dry Penang weather

Penang and the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia, has what geographers call the Indo-Burmese climate.....which simply means that the early part of the year (starts just before Christmas and ends in late March or early April) we have a very dry and hot weather.....the Chinese new Year weather....although last year we had a really mild one.....

But this year it looks like its going to be a scorcher....real hot and dry.... drink lots of air nyior....guarantee to cool down your system....

Pemudah formed to reduce red tape in Malaysia

Good luck.....the committee has only six months to achieve results....what a tall order....what took a life-time to accumulate cannot disappear in such a short-time.....old habits die hard...too much vested interests....too much "territory"....

Unrealistic to expect real significant changes to the Government's delivery system t5o change overnight because it is the same people doing it...just changing their clothes and some posters in office won't change an addictive behavoir that took a life-time to acquire....small-time clerks and even office boys wield tremendous power....watch how the towkay driving big Mercedes Benz talk to u ever so politely because u can either find the file or lose a file....

soo goood luck Pemudah.....hope u make it mudah....and not just NATO which is becoming the trademark of the Badawi government...big talk.....

Tun Dr. Mahathir......for the Nobel peace prize

Well, if it can attract more tourists to come to Malaysia and why not? To see another S.E. Asia's Nobel peace price winners who is not under house arrest....

There is no harm trying......maybe another Malaysian record.....making the biggest roti canai in the world or the longest anything....

Malaysia boleh mah!!!!

Tun Dr. Mahathir......trying to "try" George W. Bush & Tony Blair for war crimes.....

Its interesting how our exPM is trying to get Tony Blair and George W. Bush for war crimes.....and compare this to Sabahan politicians trying to find out how quite suddenly the population of Sabah surged over a short period of time making KadazansDusun Murut community the minority in Sabah...Project IC or Project M (I wonder what does M stand for)

I think the world community or UN would try Tony Blair or George Bush as much as Malaysia would established a Royal Commission to investigate the sudden surge of the Sabahan population.... as they say a Chinaman's chance or a snowflake's chance in hell before both these things can happen

Climate change & Malaysia...

Humans are to blame for the changes in world climate. A few degrees hotter....what the big deal....well more unpredictable weather, more rains during the rainy season (if there is going to be rainy season....or the rains will come anytime of the year without any predictable patterns at all) and droughts during the dry season...again there will be no patterns....so what?

It will affect us in Malaysia and the rest of the world precisely because of it's unpredictableness...old patterns of rain and dry season does not come at predictable times of the year...they just come in and out unpredictably....thats bad for the agriculture and tourism....and the unpredictable weather will also mean very high maximums and very low minimums....i.e if it rains it will beyond what has happened in the past and it dries up...it will go on for longer periods of time...

So this means the assumptions that we have used to build our infrastructure (bridges & culverts; or reservoirs) may not be able to cope.....we may have to rebuild .....so much $$$$$ down the drain (which may not be big enough to carry away the storm water)....

Welcome to disasterville

Is someone monitoring my blog?

I don't know about this...but since I started blogging abit about politics i.e. voting the opposition...I find sometime weird happening to my blogs...I cannot access it.....sometime...hey u out there....there nothing subversive here so don't waste time and money .....

I write what i feel...that is concern for the state of my oikos i.e my home and environment....its for its betterment...I believe in the democratic process.... and in the ballot box.....no matter how the powers may try to twist it within the rules to make it tilt towards them...surely if there is a surge of voter sentiment or popular swing.....it will surely reflect the people's decision...it happened in Kelantan, Sabah, and more recently in Sarawak.....it does not mean that the Opposition will win the Government but the popular votes will surely reflect the will of the people...and the BN government will have to respect that...world opinion and the investing world will see to it.....

So stop pestering my blog...ok....no subversive people here just plain ole me....no incitement....no libel or sedition.....just opinions and sentiments....

Can we trust Keadilan if we vote Opposition?

Yesterday, I was thinking about the consequences of voting the Opposition. Although I am not worried about the consequences of BN's backlash of depriving Penang of development funds....I really doubt whether they would seriously undermine our National Interests (not just UMNO's) to take revenge on Penang's voters....because if they do the International Companies and MNCs would just move from our shores and be very welcome in Vietnam or Thailand........

But there is another side to the proposition, what if Keadilan betrays its non-Muslims supporters by moving in with PAS in an unholy marriage......Islamic state with full syariah......then what? thats the risk.....

So the question is can we trust Keadilan????

What if Penang falls to the Opposition?

Penang people must be brave...they must not be scared to vote the opposition.....a DAP-Keadilan alliance would be good....

After that, the people in Penang must face the onslaught of the BN.....they will surely try to undermine the rule of the opposition by restricting funds for development and so on and so forth......

But the question is would the BN cut their nose to spike their face....PENANG IS THE HOME TO MANY MNCS ...the INTEL, DELL, AVIVA, AMD, BENQ......would the BN Federal Government risk driving them away not only from Penang but from Malaysia forever...?????

I doubt it, there will be lots of sound and fury...but in the end....who knows??? Never underestimate the stupidity of politicians....(look at George W. Bush.....and u know what I mean)...

But it still better to vote the Opposition then to let the BN take us for granted.....i.e no matter what they do ...we still elect them....there is no reason for them to behave any better....

Clock-tower at Customs House

When I come across from Butterworth to Georgetown by ferry, the first thing that used to catch my eye is the clock tower at the Customs House. Years ago when the Malayan Railway was only operating from Prai, one has the building where the clocktower stands served as the Penang Railway Station. I remember in 1958, taking a train with my father down to Kuala Lumpur & then to Johor Bahru. It was at this station we waited patiently to board the ferry that takes us from the Church Street Peir to Prai and then from Prai to Kuala Lumpur by train.

Yesterday, I took the ferry back. The tower greets you as the prodigal son that came back.....it welcomes you to the familiar sights and sounds....& memories....Today this landmark has been dwarfed by many....yet as one approaches the Raja Uda Pier from Butterworth, the familiar tower greets you like an old friend & beckons you never to forget your place and hometown.....

Yup beats coming back from Butterworth across the Penang Bridge...but the iconic twin towers of Penang and the water tower of USM greet you and welcome you home and I suppose in time they too will become landmarks that reminds us of all that is good and precious in Penang.

National Education Blueprint, ....Malaysia's attempts to leapfrog into the 21st Century

The two recent initiatives launched by the Government is indeed laudable.....abit too late but still better late than never....while our competitors are streaming ahead...we are still trying to play catch up....well as the Singaporeans say.."catch me if u can....". The Mid-East countries are asking Singapore to help them in the education systems...because they recognized it is world class.... they don't ask Malaysia even though a Malaysia is supposedly a model modern Islamic state.....(it is sad when malaysians especially our politicians begin to believe in our own PR material...what a laugh)

Regarding the National Educational Blueprint, the NST through its regular columnist this sunday recounted all the bad gripes malaysians have about the so called blue print...some evn said u turn blue before you can c something implemented....the columnist even cited a letter written by a malay who had send his son to a chinese school instead because as the letter writer saw it most the national schools had turned into small parochial semi-religous ones....so much hope...we have in our system...even politicians children are not educated in them....so it goes to show....how 'good" the system is....can the blueprint do it?

Maybe that is not the right question to ask? rather the right question to ask is who is going to implement the blueprint? is it the minister? NO....is it the Chief Education Officers ? No they are busy attending to the politicians PR exercises....

Who then will implement the blueprint ? the teachers and the assistant headmasters and headmasters......hello .... these are the ones who degraded our education system in the first place...enforcing their own beliefs and opinions onto to schools....and the inspectors and educational district heads that let them off......

These are the people who will implement the blueprint...the people that caused the rot in the first place....no wonder malaysians have lost hope....Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, and all the kings' horses and all the king's men could not put Humpty Dumpty together again....! Someone says that our education systems and institutions are the most racist and continues to perpetuate racists myths and beliefs....

Cleaning up after the flood, pledges & new resolutions to avoid the flood..

Can't help but feel a sense of deja' vu when our leaders start to pledge to make things right...clear drains, deepened the rivers and canals, desilt them...and so on and so forth.....like new years' resolution soon to be forgotten when the sun starts shining again...until the next flood....

RM300 million or more to repair damages to infrastructure.....really? not a 10% here and another 5% there....and we can truly see how far RM300 million will go these days.....

Promises, promises...words that are made in the heat of the night.....how unreliable....we have so much flash floods in KL and elsewhere...and it is always the same...deepened the rivers...desilt the drains...yet floods still come...

i wonder how singapore avoided the floods and devastation....i am sure there are not so far away that there are unaffected by the rains that hit southern johore....yet except for a few landslides and temporary flooding...the singaporeans had been spared.... did they pray harder than us? or is it that they had better drainage, better desiltation and lots of better maintenance and services than malaysia boleh? or bodoh? or rasuah?

Why Malaysia is losing out?

Well, finally the Government had finally admitted why we are losing out in terms of FDI. No less the PM himself informed us that it takes more than 30 days to start a business in Malaysia, compared to 2 days in Australia and 6 days in Singapore. It takes almost 300 days to build a factory or warehouse in Malaysia and half the time in Thailand, Singapore or Vietnam.....

Then, on NST yesterday, Syed Nazri cited an expat friend who waited 6 months to get his car into Malaysia compared to two weeks in South Korea....whats more the expat experienced all the stupid and silly reasons that cause the delay.....officers giving him the wrong forms...and after submitting and not getting response ..... the expat went to the dept to be told that he has filled in the wrong forms....

How many malaysians had suffered these indignities so many times.....that we just give up!!! Like the time we went in to file an application for a TOL, but was told that there were no forms available....."come back in a weeks' time" ...then we were told that the office cannot accept the applications because the office had run out of receipts.....but if we want to solve all these problems use a broker or if u are brave enough "incentivise" them....the new buzz word in dealing with recalcitrant "civil servants"......

The stories the expat told Nazri is not new and sounds and looks like the tricks and games people play to get us to give up or cough up.....

Not that these things are not known to the powers that be......but until now there were no incentives to offend the entrenched interests.....after all as the filipinos say "pakikisama" but with so many countries bucking up and offering better and superior conditions for businesses....well if they don't like what malaysia has to offer they can certainly take their businesses elsewhere.....and so they should.....

Good luck Pak Lah,...but u need more than luck and mere rhetoric...lets see some action...start sacking.....or it is just mere talk....all NATO haha....

Devastating Floods

When disaster comes...it sweeps everything....it does not discriminate it does not take 30% of this community ...nor does it spare any community....it just blows everything in its path...leaving nothing in its path untouched....

Like the Katrina hitting Louisana, the poor and marginal of all races are affected most. Just like the Afro Americans which comprise the most of the poor, the Malays and Indians in Malaysia especially in the flood affected states of Johore & Pahang, are most badly affected by the floods.....and so should the aid and help go to the most affected regardless of race or religion....and by so doing most of the Malays and Indians will mostly benefit from the Government's assistance...nobody can argue against that!

Just wish they could do the same thing with the affirmative policy...just help the most needy and vulnerable in our society regardless of race...and nobody can argue against that!

Better security for all.........

Thailand started the year with a big bang.......a bomb blast in downtown Bangkok...many are accusing Thaksin but his supporters are vehemently denying it......good luck to the Thais....maybe too much democracy in the recent past and now they are starting to get democratic diarrhea....

Should Malaysia go the Thai way by having too much democracy....marching in streets and protesting...maybe opening up too much in Malaysia is something we are too in mature to handle...

We misinterpret everything and take offence so eaily & quickly even though no offence is meant...just discussion.... haha....can we discuss...can we talk rationally....or we just submit...submit....and submit....

So if we all submit and submit....no discussion...pretend that everything is honky dory....thats why Malaysia is such a peaceful nation...because a significant portion of the Malaysians are very good at being submissive... so we get better security....

Welcome 2007

I believe that 2007 will be a crucial year for Malaysia......whether we can snap out of our downward spiral.....as Kit Siang said Malaysia used to compete with Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore....now they had advanced and we are now competing with the likes of Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia......how low had the "mighty fallen"......

NST belatedly reported in their new year editorial that malaysians are now worried about the expansion of the pie....and the PM in his new year message urged all Malaysians to work hard for the year to come....

But for me as a non-Bumi Malaysian, I say I'm opting out....why when the hard work needs to be done we are all Malaysians...when it comes to sharing the pie and how to share it we are told to shut up....well I will shut up and I will sit back and relax and let the rest of the guys go expand the cake......

I'll go fishing instead....good luck Hishamuddin, you beat the Thais, and watch out for the Vietnamese for me...and be careful of the Indons out there....and don't forget the Filipinos they can beat us if only they can refrain from shooting themselves in the foot....

As for me....why worry ...be happy !!!

Happy working......have an ulcer on my behalf ...Khairy...